tler and man-about-town as a means of fitting into the subculture he had chosen. As he noted, "In the ghettoes the White man has built for us, he has forced us to aspire to greater things, but to view everyday living as survival û and in that kind of community, survival is what is respected" (Haley and X 91). Thus, Malcolm performed the role of survivor. Everywhere he went was his 'front stage' û the arena in which he performed publicly. He performed this role for Ella - the maternal woman with whom he lived, for Shorty - who trained him in the role, and for both Laura and Sophia - the women who acted as supporting characters in his play.
In addition, Charles Cooley's Looking-Glass Self theory argues that the self, the individual's sense of who he or she is, is socially created. In other words, we determine who we are by how others react to us (Henslin 66). Malcolm X's early life is a clear demonstration of this theory. Malcolm determined whether he was successful in his subculture by the praise of others, such as his pleasure in Shorty's approval of his conked hair and the positive feedback he got from other street people when he was seen out with Sophia.
But Emile Durkheim also developed the term "anomie" to refer to a breakdown in the controlling influences of society that makes people feel isolated and detached from other individuals and social groups (Henslin 14). Malcolm's early life demonstrated anomie even as he successfully performed the role of street hustler. For example, the incident with West Indian Archie demonstrates the pathological individualism that Durkheim blames for anomie (Haley and X 127-131). In a world based primarily on survival, it's every man for himself, so to speak. Thus, business partners will turn on each other if they feel threatened by the other. There is no overarching sense of community to bind individuals together, making the subculture in which Malcolm lived inherent pathol
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