In Malcolm X's autobiography, he makes some telling statements. In Chapter 7, "The Hustler," for example, he states, "Full-time hustlers never can relax to appraise what they are doing and where they are bound" (Haley 112). He explains that "the hustler's every waking hour is lived with...the...knowledge that if he ever relaxes, if he ever slows down, the other hungry, restless foxes, ferrets, wolves, and vultures out there with him won't hesitate to make him their prey" (Haley 112). This statement suggests that while the hustler is taking his own prey, he is also the intended prey of a host of others like himself; thus, once he embarks on a life of hustling, he is a perpetual target.
In Chapter 8, "Trapped," Malcolm X relates the many ways he is trapped. One of these, which he reiterates throughout the book, is his substance abuse addiction. After the confrontation with West Indian Archie, he walks outside the bar, not knowing what he will do next. The only thing he knew at that point was, as he states it, "I knew I had to stay high" (Haley 133). This, it seems, was a given with him, as he mentions at various times that those who knew him knew about his addictions.
In Chapter 10, "Saved," Malcolm X acknowledges that praying was the most difficult thing he had ever done, especially given his lifestyle up to that point. He says, "For evil to bend its knees, admitting its guilt, to implore the forgiveness of God, is the hardest thing in the world" (Haley 173). His difficulty in prayer reveals that his conversion was genuine and that he recognized his former sinful lifestyle and how that might look to a pure and holy God.
Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987.
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