Malcolm's Supervising Driver (2)

In the teenage years of Malcolm's life, he is living alone and without parents or family around. He's relying on his friends and getting involved with dealing drugs, experimenting with guns, smoking, taking drugs, partying all night, and working at many different places. Malcolm has so much freedom that he is just too young to know what to do with it. Malcolm's life starts on an extremely rocky road that is headed no where. It is at age 20 that Malcolm is sent to prison for partaking in burglaries. Malcolm was on his own personal fast track to death until law stepped in and threw him in prison. This may sound harsh, but at this point in the book, I was like happy that he went to jail. He seriously needed to spend some time growing up; and he did. The transformation that he went through in jail was so amazing; he went from a crime-committing boy to a responsible young man in the ten years that he was forced to live by discipline. From before he went to jail to when he was put in jail, Malcolm never had to follow any rules or listen to anyone but himself. Jail and Islam really helped him kick his bad habits and whip him into a man.

Malcolm grew up so fast that he didn't take the time to be responsible. He was so focused on what he wanted that his destiny was pushed to the side. He was so young, yet he looked older than he really was. In this manner, people believed he was older, and Malcolm started doing more grown up things and hanging out with older people such as Shorty. Malcolm recounted: "I never told Shorty-- and he never suspected--that he was about ten years older that I. He took us to be about the same age. At first I would have been embarrassed to tell him, later I just never bothered" (Haley 46). Malcolm really took advantage of the fact that people thought he was older than he really was. 

All young adults, such as myself, just can't wait to grow up so that they can do whatever they want. I can't wait until I get my license because my sister seemed to have the time of her life when she started driving. I just can't wait to drive without my nagging father in the front seat saying, "Watch this, watch that, slow down. SLOW DOWN! Or your driving slower too slow." Every time I get in the car with my dad, I can't wait till I get my license. Now, I think about this and I'm kind-of glad that I have parents, nagging as they may be, to help me through life and to help me learn how to drive. I think of Malcolm as driving a car that he started driving at too young of an age without the supervising driver that I have. I have my dad to supervise my driving and help me learn and grow accustomed to the rules of the road. Malcolm, although, doesn't get his supervising driver until he has made all the wrong turns, that my father wouldn't have allowed to happen, and ends up in jail. It is in jail that Malcolm finally gets his supervising driver--the religion of Islam and the rules of prison.

In conclusion, Malcolm grows up too fast without the right people influencing his life. Just as in society today, kids are growing up faster than you can imagine. In the political cartoon I found, at  there is a kid who is in the card store and he is looking at the Fake ID cards and the Birthday cards contemplating which to get.  http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban317l.jpg This cartoon really shows that society puts an unbearable amount of pressure on kids to grow up at an unnecessary young age.  Kids these days are just blooming so fast that they aren't really getting the full use of their supervising driver. I have mine, Malcolm eventually got his, and society will hopefully give kids the inspiration they need to be become great responsible people!