Quicksand Analysis

I choose to analysis the ethical approach of “Zora Neal Hurston’s “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” I think the author used a very unique to say how she feel about herself. I can relate to the author, when she speaks of her town, and how she didn’t realize her skin until she left her. Growing up I really didn’t know how different my skin was, until I found myself in predominate white church. For a while, people treated me differently, until they realized I was human with a great heart and attitude.

The story takes place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in America, when desegregation is finally achieved. Flannery O’Connor’s use of setting augments the mood and deepens the context of the story. However, O’Connor’s method is subtle, often relying on connotation and implication to drive her point across.

For example, open Black support of harsh punishment and law enforcement may seem hypocritical because in reality these policies and practices contribute to mass incarceration of Blacks. Alexander clarifies that Black support is more complex than it appears and can be attributed to a combination of complicity and wanting better safety for their communities and families (Alexander, 2012, p.210). Alexander also offers a unique perspective throughout the entire book by explaining how the systems of slavery and oppression have affected White individuals and not merely in the form of privilege or the dismissal of White people as simply as racist individuals. I resonated with one particular section discussing the "White victims of racial caste" (Alexander, 2012, p.204); the author 's anecdote of a white woman falling in love with a Black man and due to miscegenation laws could not have children. I could relate to this story on a deeply personal level in that my own parents experienced extreme and countless hurdles due to their interracial relationship and having biracial

1920’s society offered a prominent way for blacks that look white to exploit its barrier and pass in society. Visible within Nella Larsen’s Passing, access to the regular world exists only for those who fit the criteria of white skin and white husband. Through internal conflict and characterization, the novella reveals deception slowly devours the deceitful.

In literature, the presence the outsider can be traced from ancient Greek dramas to modern literature, from Medea to the Underground Man. Most of the literary works pertaining to the outsider focus on the conflict between the outsider and the insider, conflicts that arise from the Otherness of the outsider. For example, in Jane Eyre, the Otherness of the titular protagonist—her fiery spirit and her subverting idea of equality based on individual merits rather than social status—leads to her alienation and conflicts with the insider wherever she goes. However, Tennessee Williams, in A Streetcar Named Desire, explored a different dynamic—namely the conflict between two outsiders, Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois. In the domestic sphere

Race is distinctly a thought formed by society, but through it, one builds their identity. Clifton describes the hardship she had to endure as she struggled to “shape” her identity, yet has succeeded. Despite the obstacles and judgments faced, she prevailed; she survived. The deviant draws attention to her hand through the anaphora “my/my” (10 - 11), emphasizing that it is uniquely two hands in use -- one “holding tight” and the other celebrating. This signifies that the persona feels isolated and left without company, and minimal support. However, the faint sense of individuality and independence the line provides can be easily detected. Moreover, Clifton raises the ambiguous issue of race and gender, in her rhetoric “won’t you celebrate with me”, clearly raising a point that no reason is explanation enough. The inequality and injustice faced renders the perceived timid and apologetic tone seemingly sarcastic. This further enlightens the author’s perception of identity, as she believes that underneath each is simply human. More importantly, the hardships endured when one is female, added on to the injustice faced when one is colored, reminds the reader that certain identities are harder to form, as “models” of such identities are not

Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress. She became the first black woman to seek a major party nomination for the U.S. presidency. Chisholm helped place the African American culture in mainstream politics. In 1924, Chisholm spoke at the University of Missouri and emphasized a black woman's role in civil rights and the American culture.

In Anderson’s short story, “I’m a Fool,” the narrator is a young man specified to be a “swipe at at a racetrack”, with no formal education. Through a series of events, he meets a young man, Wilbur Wessen, and his sister, Lucy. Upon introducing himself to the two, he lies about his real identity. He decides to appeal to what was socially respectable at the time in order to impress Lucy. It was made pretty obvious throughout the story that his real job and his lack of education were generally frowned upon. In fact, it’s heavily socially disapproved, judging by the reactions of his family.

In the early 1900s racism was still very much alive in Mississippi. Although the relationships of whites and blacks had come a long way in the sense that African Americans could live free lives, many still found their life was controlled by white people. For Essie Mae in the book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, she witnessed these scenarios to be true. Essie Mae was a young African American woman that was very well educated for her age and began to understand what type of environment she was growing up in. As events played out in her life she quickly realized the world to be hostile to all African Americans. In this story, it’s very clear of the tension that the opposite races are enduring and Essie Mae’s experiences during these times leave her confused. Essie Mae, growing up in the county of Wilkinson, experiences many heated incidences

A mammy, as defined by Mirriam-Webster University, is “a black woman serving as a nurse to white children especially formerly in the southern United States.” However, in modern viewpoints, the title of “Mammy” is considered a racial slur.

This paper aims at showcasing the exploration of African American ‘biracial’ / ‘mulatto’ women in White Anglo Saxon White Protestant America and their quest for an identity with reference to Nella Larsen’s Quicksand.

The Thanksgiving episode in the series Master of None portrays intersections of race, sexuality, gender, and class as the main character, Denise, seeks acceptance from her mother and herself as a homosexual black woman. The episode takes place over approximately twenty years during various Thanksgivings as Denise grows into her sexuality. The episode provides a true to life experience as it was largely written by the actress, Lena Waithe, who plays the role of Denise; however, the downfall of the episode is the use and perpetuation of Black and Latinx stereotypes, seen through the characterization of Denise’s girlfriend, Nikki, and of Denise’s family.

Eugenia Phelan, nicknamed “Skeeter,” is a single, recently graduated, and defiant young woman who does not fit in with the Southern ladies she grew up with. This group of wealthy, married women is led by Miss Hilly, a deeply prejudiced woman pushing for a bill requiring white families to have a separate restroom in their homes for the African American help. After making friends with her friend’s maid, Aibileen Clark, Skeeter becomes repulsed by the way her friends behave towards their help. She then makes plans to write a book depicting the everyday struggles of African American maids working for white families by interviewing her friends’ maids.

Female African American writers tend to focus more on the experience of black women (which we will consider for this novel). Black women are often introduced as the minority in the race, especially seen in writings during the 1970’s. Most of these writings have female characters who have domestic duties, which can reveal the passing of traditions and cultures from one generation to the next and the role of a woman in an inconvenienced household. They also deal with the image and perception of the Black woman, whether through looks, skin color, or her voice. The woman’s narrative is often formed gradually, often times alongside a woman who has already discovered herself, but we must consider that “it may take the form of exploring one’s own abilities, needs, and desires” (Tyson, 391). The form of narrative and self-identity, or self-acceptance is a common theme amongst these books because of overcoming violence, oppression, and/or the lack of power of the race and gender within societal views. Considering these factors, it is more practical to identify each topic and analyze them individually rather than the

The characters in Beloved, especially Sethe and Paul D are both dehumanized during the slavery experiences by the inhumanity of the white people, their responses to the experience differ due to their different role. Sethe were trapped in the past because the ghost of the dead baby in the house was the representation of Sethe’s past life that she couldnot forget. She accepted the ghost as she accepted the past. But Sethe began to see the future after she confronted her through the appearance of her dead baby as a woman who came to her house. For Sethe, the future existed only after she could explain why she killed her own daughter. She insisted on explaining the reason why she killed her daughter to the grown-up woman Beloved because Sethe felt