Comparing two genres of life writing :a study of Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Marable's Malcolm X : a study of Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Marable's Malcolm X : a life of reinvention

Abstract

This qualitative study attempts to compare and contrast Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Manning Marable’s Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, and evaluate the representative images of Malcolm X as portrayed in each book under the framework of narrative theory. This is achieved by examining the narrative strategy each author employs in constructing their text and discerning the ‘identity’ of Malcolm X. The study also questions the narrative truth of both the texts and explores the authors’ lives and careers in order to determine the veracity of the overall narrative of each book. This study finds that the authors’ portrayal of Malcolm X did not differ much from each other, except that concerns the final stages of his life. Sensibilities of each author were found to be embedded into their narratives and especially in their respective portrayal of the final identity of Malcolm X. This is because they project their own political ideologies and personal ideas onto their interpretation of Malcolm X’s ideological trajectory towards the end of his life. This study identifies life experiences, financial difficulties, marketing goals, and image management on the part of Alex Haley as influences over his narrative of Malcolm X’s life. Conversely, it considers personal experiences, political affinity to Democratic Socialism, and marketing strategies on the part of Manning Marable as factors that influenced his narrative constructions of Malcolm X’s identity. Additionally, the findings reveal that each author’s narrative agendas contribute to the fiction of non-fictional historiographic narratives as theorised by narratologist Hayden White. Lastly, while both narratives are not entirely factual, they represent the truth of Malcolm X’s life and legacy in their own way.