Sutter's Struggle In The Piano Lesson

The triumph to freedom for african americans was a rigid war that lasted hundreds of years. Often times in this war, african americans were alone and were treated like foreigners in their home country. Walter’s battles with segregation and inequalities, such as receiving lower income than white families, are represented in Hansberry’s play and in Simone’s poem. It is difficult for Walter to see why other people behave in the way that they do, and he often does not respond well to disagreements between him and his family, making him feel even more alone. Walter said in an argument with his mother about her buying the house, "You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? (Bitterly, to hurt her as deeply as he knows is possible) So you butchered up a dream of mine-you-who always talking ‘bout your children’s dreams.” Due to Walter’s tone and word choice in the story, it is easy for readers to observe that Walter dedicates himself to his dream; when the dream does not turn out the way that Walter wanted it to, he becomes angry and feels as if nobody cares for what he wants in life. Walter often storms off after an argument or a conversation that did not go this way, and it is in this time that he hurts the most over the family’s financial situation and over the way that nobody else understands his position and his reasoning behind his actions. The segregation during the 1950s

The protagonist of the play is Ms. Sun. She is a teaching artist that goes to Malcolm X High School to teach the students a play. Ms. Sun, in all actuality, is trying to do more than just help her students learn a play. She wants the kids to “do the exact opposite of what people expect” (1370), and be able to prove those people wrong that think that they are destined to a life of crime and poverty. Many of her students do succeed and continue to surprise her. Unfortunately, Ms. Sun’s effort doesn’t rule out for

have a great relationship with Boy Willie. Once Lymon notices the piano and tells Boy Willie, this is where the drama begins. Boy Willie tells Lymon that he wants to sell the piano because he thinks it is worth a lot of money. Doaker already knows that Berniece will not let him sell the piano because of the significance it has within the family. Another reason Berniece does not want to sell the piano is because her daughter, Maretha, is learning how to play it. Boy Willie does not care if she is learning it. He would rather want her to learn how to play the guitar, instead of the piano. This causes more problems because he wants the money to buy land from Sutter. He would rather sell the piano and use the money to buy land from Sutter. The

Loosing someone you love can cause very profound feelings leading towards a grief process. One of the stages of grief is denial, which can cause someone to not enjoy life and experience many wonderful things like love. Anger is another example, it makes a person be angry for a very long time and make it hard to move on. The final example of the grief is acceptance and can produce a lack of social interaction. In the Piano lesson Berniece shows the stages of grief by staying angry at Boy Willie, denying Avery's marriage proposal, and by not wanting to have contact with the piano.

In order to change history, people must learn from their mistakes. Segregation in North America has been a big issue in North America that unfortunately still happens in the world today, however, it is not as bad as it once was. In the poem “History Lesson” by Natasha Trethewey, the author uses mood, symbolism and imagery to describe the racial segregation coloured people faced in the past compared to more recent times, where equality is improved and celebrated.

In the poem History Lesson by Natasha Trethewey, Trethewey uses nostalgic tone, sentimental mood and contrasting imagery to remind people of the tainted past of American history and encourage people to hope for a better future. The poem addresses the struggles and hardships that the African-Americans had experienced during the period of racial segregation and how this phenomenon slowly disappeared and changed over time.

This story recounts the tale of a five-year-old girl and her illiterate mother who face the task of enrolling the young infant in elementary school. Despite her efforts, her mother’s lack of knowledge and poor financial state, hold back her daughter from attending her ideal school. Nevertheless, the young girl eventually finds an elementary school where she will attend. But what the infant does not realize is that, as she begins her “first day” in school, she also begins her “first day” in a higher class of society, separating her from her mother. Short yet rich in history, The First Day captures the hardship of African Americans who face the constant

In the 19th century, the history of American entertainment had one popular and peculiar form that was referred to as the blackface minstrel act. The act was supposedly an American indigenous act that was performed by artists who were black faces. At first, the act was predominantly done by white people who wore black faces to depict how African-Americans spoke and acted, but eventually, there was a recorded increase in African-Americans themselves who too wore the black faces. The acts included a variety of comic acts, African-American music, comic skits, and dancing (Minstrel Show). However, with the shows’ popularity, it was also quite clear that the acts were highly depicted as racist towards the African Americans. This notion comes about from the fact that the acts portrayed African Americans as lazy, ignorant, and as those who loved music and dancing regardless of any other facet of life. Surprisingly, the history of the minstrel acts has over the time infatuated both black artists in the modern day and a clique of white artists locally referred to as “wiggers” which translates to white artists who want to act as black artists (Blacking Up: Hip-Hop 's Remix of Race and Identity).

In the news today, a continual debate can be found about the significance of Confederate monuments and if they should remain or be removed. Confederate monuments that have been erected throughout the U.S. should be kept because of the preservation of America’s history. For instance, in the article, The Unbearable Lightness of Confederate-Statue Removal, the author lists how slaveholder monuments aren’t the only statues being vandalized, but the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore are other symbols of U.S. history that some believe need to “blow up” (Murdock). Every historical symbol can have both people who appreciate it and who oppose it. That doesn’t mean that we should tear down all symbols, but symbols in appropriate context lead to better

The theme of “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, is that learning can cause discomfort but if you never come out of your comfort zone then you will never learn. In the story it expressed how minorities are oppressed due to social inequality. All children in the story have dreams of their own but the education system in the lower social class is not equal to the education system in the higher social class. Children do not have the same opportunity to expand their knowledge because of social inequality.

African-Americans have been subjected to racial injustices for ages due to their skin color, especially in the south. African-Americans can barely offer a home, let alone food for their families due to the obstacles whites have created. In the 1960’s Martin Luther King Jr. and others took action to stop the racial bigotry that African-Americans were undergoing this is important because Martin Luther King Jr. plays a big role in creating movements that help African-Americans and is talked about in both books. Although some blame the government for allowing the court to alter laws that oppress African-Americans, discriminatory whites are more at fault because they are the ones invoking and presenting them to the court. The nonfiction book “The

Dreams are a common thing in society that hold and bond people together. Hope is in many aspects of our life as well, and fuel many of the wishes Americans possess. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's famous “I Have a Dream” speech, to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun play, we find that accomplishing these dreams and goals is something that takes courage or passion. Throughout these two pieces of literature, equality, racism, dreams, and hope are common themes. We can find that real human beings and simple characters share the desire of freedom, and strive for better opportunities in life.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a generation with his "I have a Dream" speech. He said that he wanted his children to grow up in a country where they were not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Today, over a quarter century later, one looks at contemporary society and wonders how well has America lived up to this challenge.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play about the author’s life. The segregation life and the event of moving into a white neighborhood are events from the life of Lorraine Hansberry, the author. The events that occurred in the play along with real life events relate to the Civil Rights Movement and feminist topics. Lorraine Hansberry moved into an all white neighborhood just like the Younger family moved into Clybourne Park. The author did not modify the major events of her own life but rather added a series of complications and details to fit the play such as the event of Walter losing the investment money. Lorraine Hansberry’s life included events of her new neighbors’ threats but in the play, A Raisin in the Sun, the play ended it at the point where the Younger family moved out of their house. The author could have continued the story by adding her life events of living through her neighbors’ threat and her family taking the case to court. However, Hansberry stopped the play at the point where the Younger family moves out of the house to create a sense of ambiguity. The audience will not know what the Younger family will experience, which will allow for the audience to think about different possible scenarios. The author of the play did not modify the events that took place most likely in order to provide a view of how Africans’ lived and illustrate society in a realistic way. By writing the play in a realistic way, the audience both American and African

Social inequalities between black and white people are no longer as distinct as they were a few decades ago. Nevertheless, many people still have a lot of prejudices against African-Americans. The unfairness of socioeconomic status can be seen in our daily lives yet it is something that we push to the back of our minds.