Throughout the course of African American Experience in Literature, various cultural, historical, and social aspects are explored. Starting in the 16th century, Africa prior to Colonization, to the Black Arts Movement and Contemporary voice, it touches the development and contributions of African American writers from several genres of literature. Thru these developments, certain themes are constantly showing up and repeating as a way to reinforce their significances. Few of the prominent ideas in the readings offer in this this course are the act of be caution and the warnings the authors try to portray. The big message is for the readers to live and learn from experiences. The authors want their audiences to use these tales and examples as life lessons and hope for them to utilize these sources in their future lives. These two ideas are presented through the use of figurative language, mainly metaphors. In addition, the similar tone of these pieces allows the author to connect more deeply with the readers. Toni Morrison’s Nobel lecture, folktales, and several poems illustrate how metaphors and tone are used to describe experience and caution the readers. In Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize Lecture, she tells a story of a black woman. The dialogue between the blind black old woman and the young people is full of wisdom and complexity. The story starts with young men question her wisdom and the reason that she enjoys the noble prestige, asking her to tell whether the bird in
Dr. Doris approaches the history of the kidnapped African in America through the lens of social construction. This idea of social construction becomes one of the several frameworks of this article, adding to the overall structure of the work. Through setting up the fact that American history has been built on the foundation of social construction; Dr. Doris provides insight to conceptualize the devision between what is socially constructed as “white” and what is socially constructed as “black.” The first section of the article is particularly good at giving a excellent base in which the rest of the article will build upon. The article flows in a chronological order, building off past events moving down the timeline of history.
This paper will first incorporate a summary of the author 's argument discussing how the experiences the two leading male character in Richard Wright 's "Down by the Riverside" and "Long Black Song" highlights racial oppression and alienation. Hakutani comparing and contrasting their shortcomings leads the audience to focus on the idea that during the Jim Crow conditions the results remain that African-Americans will always be inferior to Caucasians. Therefore, their suicidal actions gave them purpose and the ability to define their existence. Then, one will provide a sum up discussing one strength and one weakness of the article and what can be utilized from this piece of work. Overall, this article can be valued as a credible document for scholars seeking a summary of these two pieces of work.
“My Favorite Chaperone” by Jean Davies Okimoto and The Latehomecomer, by Kao Kalia Yang both incorporate use of figurative language. Figurative language helps to create a visual image in the reader’s mind. Authors also incorporate figurative language in order to enhance and explain a variety of literary elements throughout a piece of literature. Firstly, “My Favorite Chaperone” by Okimoto, incorporates a variety of figurative language throughout the story.
In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.
In most stores that people read, they never notice metaphoric language. Readers may think that it is just a weird way to say something, but most metaphors have meanings. If readers pay more attention to this element it makes the story more interesting to read. Once someone reads while identifying metaphoric language, they will never stop. The authors of the two stories “The Long Rain” and “Harrison Bergeron” used metaphoric language to shape the mood and dominant themes of the stories.
On the other hand, African american history will not only expose the student to a new outlook on history but the contributions of African Americans as well. In “The Danger of a Single Story”,Chimamanda
In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” and her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” the African American social group is being represented in many ways. The texts have similar ways that African Americans are represented for the time period. The African Americans or “colored people” are represented in an aspect that comes from the author's point of view. The African Americans are represented as being unbothered, growing up in a closed community, playing the game with whites, and optimistic.
Through their works, the authors expressed their social and political view on the injustice within America. Famous authors such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Dubois, and Zora Neal Hurston, made their mark within the world with the bold, self- conscious literature. Black writers subliminally provoked and challenged racial inequality to come to a
Throughout her life she took major strides through her work and image to demonstrate the struggles of African American people, integrity, and feminism. Toni Morrison guides us in appreciating the meaning of concern for justice. Morrison
1854 was a critical time for African American voices in North American media. Nearing the end of slavery, the public perception of Black Americans were greatly affected by written works Americans consumed. Since Black Americans were denied the rights of education, their stories where largely untold or twisted to fit an oppressive narrative. In “Why Establish This Paper”, African American author Ann Shadd Cary uses optimistic tones, pathos, and rhetorical questions to persuade readers to support Black voices and media. Ann Shadd Cary heavily relies on her optimistic tone throughout the essay.
Throughout this course on the literature of the New Negro Renaissance many topics have been discussed. A common theme seen in most of the readings viewed was the effects of racism on the African American population of the United States. The poet and writer Langston Hughes touches upon this subject in many of his poems and essays written throughout the Harlem Renaissance. This theme of racism effecting African American life is very prevalent in Hughes’ poem “America”.
In the novel The Old Man and The Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway a credible author, the use of figurative language was not sparse. Figurative language enhances the story line and makes the book interesting and detailed. The most notable uses of figurative language were similes, metaphors, personification, idioms, and hyperboles. Similes are described as a comparison using like or as. We found many examples throughout the text.
Jonathan Hernandez Mrs. Franklin English 11 September 9, 2014 The Male Overcast Widely renowned Toni Morrison, is an award winning author and a Nobel recipient; within her novel A Mercy (2008), reveals the effects of hierarchy from a physiological standpoint. She supports her revealing by first introducing a female character that comes to power in a male dominant world, then the character (Rebekka) strikes tragedy as her only male support dies leaving the female with a mantle solely made for men which causes Rebekka to lose a place in her mentality of social hierchy; as such she turns to God as a replacement which can only be seen as a replacement for the vast hole in her heart for a male representative. Morrison’s purpose is to give her readers of a new perspective based on the social stratifiction so heavily influenced by the difference in gender during the late 1600’s in order to educate the minds of those that predominantly view the gender social order as a petty argument for the wealthy. She adapts the reading to revolve around a general tone of consequence and repentance.
Race theory analyzes literature from a racial perspective. Langston Hughes’ The Weary Blues, is one such great piece of literature that can be better dissected from the racial lens. Toni Morrison’s view, from “Falling into Theory,” says it best, “I realized the obvious; that the subject of the dream is the dreamer. The fabrication of an Africanistic persona was reflective; it was and extraordinary meditation on the self, a powerful exploration of the fears and desires that reside in the writerly consciousness, and astonishing revelation of longing, of terror, of perplexity, of shame, of magnanimity” (258).
AFRICAN AMERICAN WRITING Human beings share a common yet distinctive anatomical structure. The basic anatomy and physiology is uniform among the different individuals of species Homo Sapiens- air in our lungs, blood in our veins, a mind, and a soul. Yet, there is a certain kind of darkness that permeates and haunts the human race, it transcends from the skin of a few to become a blot on the minds of the others. Origin of descent and other ascribed factors have for long been the cause of a certain lop-sided development of us homo sapiens; a certain section were deprived to live a life of dignity.