Matlwa’s Coconut dispels Bhabha’s idea that being suspended between two spaces is “positive, liberating and dynamic”. The opposite is true when the said space is based on race; instead it breeds a state of mental colonisation and internal hate as they are trapped in their in-betweens. This essay will demonstrate this through the discussion of the different ways the characters have responded to being in a space of ambiguity.
Fifi’s character wants to desperately fit in with all the wealthy white people whom she is constantly surrounded with. She is constantly seeking, not only approval, seen in the way she proudly thinks of the white boy who said “[she] is not like other black girls” but she also seeks to be included in their communal activities. She must be like them
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Although it may seem as though he much more conscious of the issues that come being in the space he occupies. In his attempt to avoid aspiring to be like those who will never accept him, he romanticises being Black as wearing Dashikis and writing poetry about the African sunset. This is problematic because it essentialises being black. Hlongwane points out that some people who believe in racial difference will consider “acting black” as for example “using fingers instead of utensils and slaughtering livestock in the suburbs”. It is said that w]e may not be black in restaurants, in suburbs and in schools. Oh, how it nauseates them if we even fantasise about being black, truly black‟ (Matlwa 2007: 31-32) the problem then becomes what does being truly black mean? If it boils down to the qualities mentioned above then that ignores the idea of multiple blacknesses which is the opposite of the suggestion that there is such a thing as a „truly black‟ self (Hlongwane 16).Tshepo’s efforts to become more the other side of the space he is trapped in becomes hollow and superficial the way a coconut is on the
In this article Felly Nkewto Simmonds discusses her experience as a socialiost as a black women. She dicusses in this article how her identity as black women is always put at the fore front, whenever shes asked to introduce herself shes never identified as just british even though was born their. Compared to a white person where their race is the normative, she delves into how black bodies are seen in society, and how that effects the treatment of those black bodies.
She evokes the negativity and gives a critical point of view on how the Americans view African Americans. She gives us her reason on why we should believe what she believes or the way she
The main idea of this entry is about the stereotypes that come along with racism. Also, Brent Staples wants his readers to realize how much colored people sacrifice from their normality in order to fit in with society, in hopes of not being attacked or offended. The author proves this in his entry by mentioning ‘innocent’ behaviors, such as singing Beethoven, that he did in public in order to relief those surrounding him from danger. Moreover, the author compared hikers to the country’s bears in order to provide readers with a valid connection between black and colored people. In addition to that, Brent Staples uses flashback as one of his techniques when sharing with us his encounters with white people, this gives readers an idea of how
She is focused on trying to be someone she's not(white), in order to be seen differently. On page 184, Jackson wrote, "In order for you to be intelligent, as you state it, you must like Western music, clothes , food, architecture, western education, religious superstition, pseudo philosophy, and Western ideals." St. Augustine believes that that's how our ways were sought and should have been but it does not need to be like this in order for someone to stand out and be intelligent. I myself can relate to this because I have been put into situations where I could wish to be someone else, I've wished to have grown wealthy just so that people can take me more serious because that's they way people work. My mom tells me to not lose faith and be myself because at the end of the day I am me and i can't change it but change other's perspective to see that color and wealth does not matter.
In Black Men and Public Spaces, Brent Staples handles the stereotyping and ridicule he receives from white individuals serenely. Staples vividly describes one occasion in the essay when a woman was on the same street as him, she looked back at him and observed him, and then she began to run. It was the
Tatum uses the theoretical perspective of both symbolic interaction and conflict theory in this book. The symbolic interaction in this book looks at the social interaction between racial identities, how we see ourselves and how others see us. Furthermore, it manifests itself in the stereotypes and prejudices that are perpetuated in our society; stereotypes help to reinforce negative images and ideals that we have about different races. An example in her book Dr. Tatum explains that one of her white male student once responded in his journal “is not my fault that blacks do not write books” (1445).
Her sense of race is affected by the environment she is in, in some places she doesn’t feel “colored”, and so she does not let it hinder her. She tries to get readers to see race and ethnicity as fluid and dynamic as opposed to static and rigid. She wants readers to
The ongoing problem of discrimination due to appearance has affected many, specifically black people. One of the most unusual things with no point or definition. This prejudice against black people has caused much unification within the United States. The lives of these black people have been severely affected, as it has affected their acts, appearances, and ways of life. As Brent Staples explains in his essay “Black Men and Public Space,” black people deal with many problems, from discrimination, and he explains these points in an orderly manner and each very thoroughly.
Society in today’s world is very alike to society years ago, with different social classes and stereotypes. In “Just walk on by” by Brent staples, a variety of rhetorical devices are used in order to convey the message of how a black man is trying to show society that he is so much more than the color of his skin. The author explains how the character was characterized as violent and dangerous because he was black. Staples continues on a sort of journey with the character to show how he overcomes that stereotype, by whistling classical music to give the idea that he is mature and less threatening. Throughout the piece, Staples uses devices that will help the reader better understand the struggles that the character has to face on a daily basis.
In the poem “ What it is like to be a black girl”, Patrica Smith uses metaphorical language to show us how young black girls are being judge in society based on stereotypes . It’s describing how she wants to change and become like other people in the racial society because she’s having a hard time accepting who she is. In the beginning of “What it’s like to be a black girl” it gives you a view of a young black girl who doesn’t feel accepted in society. It emphasis the fact that many young black girls want the world to accept them for who they are.
Brent Staples “ Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” and Richard Rodriguez comparing the similarities and differences of Staples and Rodriguez 's article. Racism is a very difficult and confusing problem to deal at a very young age that can affect one 's mentality and perceptions of oneself then and later on. ,both Staples and Rodriguez had experienced racism for a very long time having firsthand experience of racism at young ages, such young ages in fact that it left a mark on each of them as they begin to realize at vulnerable times of their life what life is like being black or having dark skin. For example, Staples discovered this at the age of twelve as a white women saw fearing for her life. Rodriguez’s first experience of racism was at the age of 7 told by his mother to put a towel over his shoulder to cover some of his dark skin.
Throughout his essay, Staples is able to make the audience understand what he has to deal with as a black man. Staples does this by using words and phrases such as, “...her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny” and “... I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area…” (542). By writing and describing how he (Staples) feels, the audience is able to get an inside look into how black men are treated and better understand why society’s teachings, play a vital role in how we see each other. Staples’ powerful writing also allows the reader to take a step back and see how as a society, people make judgements on others based on appearance alone.
The skin color is no longer the target of discrimination. In Eatonville, the adequate supplies of food and space and Hurston’s father rank place Hurston in an upper class, where Hurston’s awareness to her black self has not yet awaken. Under the culture constrains, in her self-representation, Hurston has transcended the boundaries and somewhat inevitably become a white. The following paragraph shows Hurston’s father’s alerting of her being black. Hurston has depicted herself as a girl who likes to discover everything and enjoys being different from others: “I was always asking and making myself a crow in a pigeon’s nest.
They also had a readily constructed position of who they should be and how they should be in their homes, church and society at large. Like the dancer whose head was held up several times in the first part of cry, black women were proud of who they were irrespective of the challenges they faced. However, their pride was destroyed by the struggles they faced as subordinate beings in their society. They struggled really hard to oppose the hierarchical structure. This is represented by the manner in which the dancer pushed.
Recurrent racism, its social impacts, is a central theme of immigrant writing that creates many landscapes in contemporary literature. The immigrant writer takes an opportunity to attack and tackle racism and its consequence from different angles – religious, cultural and historical. The writer does not randomly preoccupy with and write about her/his intricate experience in the new land, but explicitly unfold his/her race/gender experience with its ups and downs. This type of writing has created a new understanding of theories such as racism/gender/ethnic/counter-narrative and post colonial studies among many others. This alternative genre is maneuvered by political, psychological, social and cultural processes of power that is influential to its construction.