The story “Society’s Child – My Autobiography”, written by Janis Ian, an American folksinger and songwriter, is a book written in 2009. Ian was only 13 years old when she sold a single that was considered as refractory all over America. The reason for this was the racial problems it refers to in the song lyrics. Believing is what is getting Janis Ian through her concert in the 1960th, where the audience booed her down from the stage. In the extract from “Society’s Child – My Autobiography, we are being included, in her struggle against the spectators and the world, in order to express her opinion. In the excerpt we hear about a concert in Encino, California. Janis Ian is performing her song “Society’s Child” on the stage and at the same time …show more content…
She decided that she did not want to be afraid anymore. Ian did not expect her song to become a big hit. As she mentioned in the text, she only wrote it “to clear out my system” and then all of a sudden she has a responsibility. Seen from the perspective of a child, that must have been intimidating, but she grows with task. She is being faced with the issue and persuades to show her surroundings, that she is strong. The story Janis Ian tells us is in fact a retro perspective of her life. This argument is based on the fact that she writes in past tense through the entire story. She leads us through the story from a first persons perspective and makes the reader understand the feelings and atmosphere, which you can see here, “I felt like crying, but you can’t sing and cry at the same time so I tried to keep on going”. The words “Nigger lover” is being repeated several times. The meaning in these words is interesting. Cause, in fact, she is either a “nigger lover” or a “white lover”. She is in the middle. She is trying to convince her surroundings about her statement. She is trying to make the segregation
Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status. Concerted cultivation is a parenting style where the parent(s) are fully invested in creating as much opportunity for their child as possible, but results in a child with a sense of entitlement. An example of this would be a parent who places their children in a wide array of extracurricular activities and/or actively speaks to educators about the accommodations their child needs to effectively learn.
She uses pathos by referring to herself and her audience as one group. She also expresses that African Americans are growing with their country, subtly stating that in order for America to progress they need to improve themselves “As the great country grows, we grow with it…” This is to show that they are all
This is her personal belief about how she feels towards her race and mixed background. Furthermore, in the New York Times article, ‘Counting by Race Can Throw Off Some Numbers’ by Susan Sulny, the article states,
The fact that she is in color seems to show that she still has an imagination,that not everything in her life is black and white, but there is a little
Instead of using prejudice or stereotypes, where negative thoughts and attitudes are created and shared, she extends it to the level of discrimination and racism. Although instead of calling it racism, she uses “eyeism”, as she is discriminating on the basis of eye color rather than skin color. She calls all white men “boy”, she interrupts them when they are talking and she talks to them like she is superior. She uses the racism, prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination black individuals have experienced for hundreds of years and turns it around on the white
The first half of the book, Dr. Glenn Altschuler, largely focused on how rock ‘n’ roll and those who wrote and produced it stirred up topics such as race and sexuality. As with any new social or cultural shift, rock ‘n’ roll faced an almost immediate resistance from both religious and fundamentalist extremists. In most cases, it was the same types of people that opposed rock ‘n’ roll also opposed other major social reforms such as racial integration.
She felt “light and good in the warm sun” (L8). To her young and inexperienced mind, “nothing existed for her but her song,” (L8) which just goes to show how oblivious and careless she is to her surroundings and worlds greater than her own. On the contrary, as she made her way a “mile or more from home,” (L23) she began to hit a turning point. The comfortable world at which she knew is now cracked open and unguarded.
Though Janie faces loss multiple times through the deaths of these people that she loves dearly, she gains qualities in herself which she can use later in her life. In her first relationship with Joe, Janie is continually oppressed in terms of when she’s allowed to speak and how she controls her own appearance but this oppression only works to shape her personality into one that can speak back and be more assertive in front of anyone. By having to be in a situation where she has to choose whether to shoot Tea Cake, she becomes more resilient and proactive. Only through the loss of youthfulness and two loved ones is Janie able to truly discover who she, conveying Hurston’s larger message that self-discovery is fueled through loss and
In 1971, Alvin Ailey choreographed Cry, a three part work solo dance set to gospel music that describes an emotional journey filled with struggle, hardships, defeat, survival and joy. It was intended as a birthday present to Alvin’s mother and a dedication to all black women everywhere. The first part of the dance is the struggle of trying to maintain pride irrespective of the opposition faced from outside. The second part reveals the sorrow within after the woman’s pride has been shattered into pieces and finally the third part is a spirited celebration of finding strength and joy in God. Even though cry was dedicated to only black women, i argue the notion that all women both black and white of the nineteenth century could relate
Carrying such powerful lines as “the world is big / big and bright and round / and it's full of folks like me” (Simone, 1967), Backlash Blues became a popular song in the civil rights movement, allowing African Americans to express their proudness and protest racism in a more accessible way. Freedom songs such as Backlash Blues were and are still so significant to African Americans as they “sustain as well as … publicise the struggle[s]” they face (Stefani, 2015). Furthermore,
All first generation experiences in America have common grounds but have some differences. From the first Americans in the 1700s till current immigrants, which included the Irish, Germans, Africans, Chinese, Scandinavians, Hispanics, South Americans, etc; They all had to adjust to American culture, adjust to the way of life, and struggled financially and emotionally. Some improved their lives in society while others had it terrible. I can sort of relate to the emotional and financial pain like most immigrants, especially of my age. I’ve had the good times and the bad, but I’ve managed to pull through.
She says, “‘Well you keep your place then Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny,’”(81). She uses a racial slur and threatens him with her white
Moreover, demonstrate consequences are taken to oppress racial and ethnic minorities to keep them in a subservient position. Overall, this film has provided me with a visual depiction of how stereotypes are a mental tool that enforces racial segregation and self-hate. The label of “White” became a necessity for Sarah Jane to achieve in society. To attain it she needed to move to a new city, change her name and deny her mother.
Most songs are designed to entertain, however, they also communicate a certain message that the rhetor(s) intend to share with an audience. Songs can defy societal norms and provide a new perception of a problem in our culture. Dr. Funnell uses Beyoncé’s song, Flawless, as a prime example in her “broad based discussions about the women, the industries, and the messages in popular culture that are being presented to our society and what effects they have”. So when she uses
I am a middle child, yet I am not the yelling, screaming, dramatic kid who strives to get others’ attention. I am probably the only middle child in the world who doesn’t hunger for the spotlight to shine on them as they act in idiotic ways to gain scraps of validation. I remember the very day that I became a middle child. Up to my sixth year I lived as the youngest child, bathing in the attention of my father.