Postcolonial Literature

Richard Rodriguez’s memoir, Hunger of Memory, and Sandra Cisneros semi-autobiographical collection of short stories, House on Mango Street, encompass juxtaposing perspectives with regards to space. Rodriguez’s expresses the purging of one’s past ethnic roots, including his association with the Chicano/x community. He develops his public voice through his mastery of English and his astute scholarship. Cisneros and Rodriquez alike expose the bleak realities of their experiences with regards to their affiliations with their ethnicity. Cisneros proclaims authority by embracing her cultural hybridity.

June Jordan, a poet who is famous for her positive blaze of justice, writes poetry while advocating a command for universal equity, which appeals to people from various areas of the world. Jordan’s poetry speaks of American issues as well as international issues, such as African countries that are oppressed by their neighbouring countries. One of Jordans poems, ‘A Poem About My Rights’ serves as a resentment against the world’s oppression, however it also serves as a mandate for change. This essay aims to discuss the meaning of the poem, “A Poem About My Rights” as well as to analyse the ideologies which it contains, through giving a short background of the poet, June Jordan’s, life and the underlying story of the poem, as well as discussing the text in depth. A brief overview of Jordans technique in spoken poetry will also be noted.

Today in class Professor Allen discussed about a book called “The Suffering Of The Immigrant” that is written by an Immigrant named AbdelMalek Sayad. In this book Sayad expressed his feelings and described what he went through from his experience. Sayad spoke within his body, that is what makes the book important. Professor Allen point out a few quotes that explains what the book is talking about, “In between, between being and social non being”, “Immigrant as atopos- no place, no true classification”, and “To immigrate means to one’s culture/and history with them.” These quotes stands out because it clarify what immigration really means and what they have to go through. From what the Professor explain in details about the book makes it sound

What feels best both in terms of your gender or sexuality.” How that relates to the readings is the Gender Binary discussed in chapter one or two, what makes a person male or female. As the book explains, we all have different glasses on how we define or see a person’s gender identity. Instead of society stereotyping for others on what makes us too masculine or feminine, we should focus on our own happiness. 2. How does the discussion of sex verses gender emerge from this documentary?

Two such people were Sojourner Truth and Lucille Clifton. Through their unique experiences with the evil of slavery, they both composed literature to inspire others to take action. Both Sojourner Truth and Lucille Clifton used poetic and rhetorical devices, some of which they shared in common, to express their messages in ways that would be effective in creating societal change and dispelling the injustice from the zeitgeist of

The great Rosa Parks once said “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” The authors Frederick Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar, both wrote about the mistreatment and discrimination towards people, usually being African Americans. Frederick Douglass used diction and figurative language to help convey his message to his readers. Meanwhile, Paul Laurence Dunbar used imagery and diction to help his readers connect to his thoughts and emotions. Authors tend to use political and or social statements to express themselves in literature.

The diction and tone in Woolf’s essay affects her message as it was melancholy and calm. The diction was clear and understandable to ensure that the audience could understand her message, rather than try and decipher large incoherent words. Woolf also uses many words with negative connotations, but takes a neutral attitude to the subject. At the beginning of the essay Woolf 's tone is very hopeful, but as the essay progresses it turns dark and somber. At the beginning Woolf used phrasing such as “ Pleasant morning” (Woolf 5) and “enormous energy of the world”(Woolf 24) .

Tobar defines being an American not in term of what it means, but what it does not. Tobar informs the book by telling stories of many immigrants moving to America with a hope of a better future for their families; good education and also the good life instead of suffering every

Anzaldua employs her text to express her emotions in regards to various predicaments faced by immigrants during their lives in the United States. She approaches personal insights in regards to language such as expectations from the Anglo population when it comes to being an immigrant and speaking proper English, and the expectations from her Hispanic parents and their desire for their children’s success. Anzaldua’s work has several thought-provoking ideas within it, but this paper will be focused on the analysis of the following quote: “I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing. I will have my voice: Indian, Spanish, white. I will have my serpent’s tongue- my woman’s voice, my sexual voice, my poet’s voice.

The novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is significant in its treatment of the issues faced by immigrants in the diaspora. Mohsin Hamid has grounded his resistance narrative in the identity narrative and through the prism of identity offers a deep insight into the American society and its ideals. The novel exposes the ugly side of the American society with its fundamentalist institutions and dislodges the narratives of fundamentalism as a Muslim monopoly and inverts the myths and discourses on identity to produce a counter narrative. Key words: Identity, Fundamentalism, Culture, Stereotyping, Resistance. Identity as it has unfolded in diaspora writings has changed our perception about this seminal issue that has for times immemorial been a central focus of academic circles across the world.