Gloria Naylor's Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean?

Helga’s rage is rationalized by her conflicted identity, and as another literary critic puts it, "Through her love of color, Helga attempts to create a spectrum rather than an opposition, a palette that will unify her life rather than leave it divided" (Hostetler 35). She attempts to cement her identity by sympathizing with her African American side through activism, but she fails as she realizes she does not belong to either side; not white because she is empowering blacks and not black because she is supporting a system of white superiority. Thus, she remains divided, and she cannot help but feel repelled and

In relations to the double –consciousness concept the author is showing how the black artist is still reflecting on how w someone else may view them and how they are second guessing themselves as a black poet or artist. Hughes is trying to show how some individuals are not satisfied with being considered a black poet and artist and may measure their success on being accepted by the white community. The author is not agreeing with the double-consciousness but is only giving examples of how some individuals view

It is more likely being used to make the readers understand the misery that mainly the black people went through. The use of pathos is probably also a way to make people remember the essay – it is easy to say: ‘a lot of terrible things happened’, but when you write it down on paper and you use specific events, it tends to get more under your skin, which means that you presumably will not forget it right away. It does not seem like the author is using ethos because she does not have a specific education or a

She had to do a thirteen-week stint in speech therapy to help her become more confident with her speech. Back then we never would have guessed that there was more behind her struggling with her ability to speak. Then she went into primary school, she was quiet, but she thrived in the younger years of school. It was only when she reached senior level in primary school that we began to see a difference in her. She was quite immature for her age.

Helga’s frustration is rationalized by her conflicted identity, and as another literary critic puts it, "Through her love of color, Helga attempts to create a spectrum rather than an opposition, a palette that will unify her life rather than leave it divided" (Hostetler 35). At Naxos, she attempts to sympathize with her African American side through uplift. Eventually, however, she realizes that the colored men and women surrounding her remained complicit to the oppressive system, whether for pretend or not, and she cannot help but feel alienated from the black

She would have been surprised but accepting of it. She would continue to be herself. Although, she might have had self-esteem issues that she would need to work through either way, adding race to her identity would have been much less stressful had it not been perceived as a bad thing. But she saw black people as people who were different: in the way they act, talk, and exist. And so, she thought she had to be someone different to fit the idea of who a black woman is.

Evidence: Rauch begins his essay stating that “I-hope-I-don’t-sound-too-defensive tone, that I am not a racist and that this is not an article favoring racism or any other particular prejudice” (350). Analysis: Rauch uses a scholarly, yet defensive tone indicating that his essay is primarily to address a liberal intellectual audience. While Rauch`s targeted audience and political views are prominent throughout his essay, Naylor takes a different approach to educate the readers. While African American maybe able to sympathize with Naylor through her personal life experiences, she establishes a persona that ultimately forms credibility with other racial groups that may be reading her essay. Evidence: Naylor enlightens the audience “Words themselves are innocuous, it is the consensus that gives them true power (234).

Social norms are rules and regulations that society is supposed to live by and if one goes against them, they are sanctioned. For instance, going against these norms and expectations one might not be able to handle the sanction that follows and give them anxiety which would lead to them feeling like an outcast and not enough. These types of problems are showcased throughout the book whenever there is a confrontation with Emma Lou’s family and other members of the community; however they are put in a situation where they can either defend Emma Lou or discriminate against her too and accept all the criticism and that is what they choose to do because they too, don't want to be outcasted. During Thurman’s life, he never fit in properly in his community, he was treated as a wallflower, never interacting with anyone because of his fear of rejection. One cannot blame him for not ever desiring to have friends because nobody in his community had anything judicious to say, Thurman thought it was because he wasn’t “black enough” (Ganter).

No one knew I had trouble reading because I never showed it. As a kid I did not know what to do or how to improve. All I would think about is having fun. Starting third grade the teacher noticed I had trouble reading and in open house she talked to my mother. She told her my reading

People argue that the quiet people are the ones that don't think. It leads to assumptions that quiet people don't have anything to say. The quietest ones are boring because they sit wondering off instead of talking to others. Quiet ones don’t get notice but they do notice the people who talk without thinking about what is being argued. Quiet people use silence as a way to express without talking so that the loud ones can learn from the mistakes when not thinking ahead.