Symbolism In The Bluest Eye

The wealthy people tend to be unwilling to live in poor neighborhoods. All of the rundown homes on Mango Street are occupied by poor people. This quote may also be interpreted in a way reflecting racism throughout the text. In many different vignettes people are treated poorly because of their race. Racism and this text effects Esperanza and everyone around her in a very negative way.

Slaves were at the bottom of the social order but the individuals above them were not much better. The white people that were poor did not have as many hardships because they always thought at least they were not slaves, even though they were towards the bottom of the social structure. Slavery had a tremendous impact on all aspects of Virginia. It helped keep Virginia afloat and at the same time slowly helped its downfall. It affected the economy, social, and class system.

Larsen has felt alienated and lonely due to her being the only black member in her family and that must have also had an impact on her writing Clare's character. Larsen's idea of marriage was shaped from watching her mother and stepfather come together. Irene relationship with Brian represents the lack of communication, and being resentful.

Black Codes was one of the horrible consequences of reconstruction. Without the help of powerful government officials looking out for freedpeople unfair treatment continued. Another negative consequence of reconstruction was that after the north issued there land back they didn’t stay to insure the blacks were freed. Because, of this over sight many freedpeople stayed put and continued to be endure unfair

In today’s world, the topic of race is evaded. It’s not talked about because we all assume that we have progressed from segregation. That now we do not focus on skin color as much as the early 1900’s.But those are false thoughts, or a thought that we have not accomplished to its entirety. The ones that suffer from this silent attack are the African Americans. Our society perceives African Americans negatively thus inflicting pressure on their daily lives.

However, through repeated use of different pronouns in Citizen, Rankine pulls the focus of the readers making them feel like they can identify with the different situations. Claudia Rankine begins Citizen: An American Lyric by describing different situations where subtle racism is experienced. These type of subtle racisms that occur in everyday life are known as micro-aggressions. Micro-aggressions are a subtle form of racism that undermine a person’s existence. Instead of using first person point of view to explain each encounters Rankine uses second person point of view.

Some of the comparisons brought about in these writings were that both groups were oppressed, controlled and unheard. African Americans worked for low wages and housewives worked for no wages at all. The skills of the African American were not available to help the common good since they were often times stuck in menial jobs or never given the chance because of their skin color. Housewives didn’t get a chance to help the common good because they were taking care of the household, children and a husband. Both groups would like to have been recognized and treated as an equal, but they were unheard voices in a world all too busy to listen.

In the contemporary era, the issue of race remains a prevalent topic in public discussion. Thus, Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is meaningful as it explores the legacy of racial injustice in the United States and its consequences in today’s society. In his development of the underground railroad as a literal and physical vehicle to freedom, Whitehead is able to candidly detail the ubiquitous nature of racial prejudice and the horrors associated with it. Over the course of his novel, the author utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices in order to further explore the many hardships that ‘freedom’ inevitably entails. In particular, Whitehead’s use of imagery, character interactions and figurative language brings to attention aspects of race relations that were and are still often misunderstood or disregarded by society.

Throughout history, we have seen that being black in America comes with the realization that you may have to learn to navigate the world differently than other groups. This can be confusing when you’re trying to find yourself in a world that doesn't truly see you. Along the way you may end up losing your individuality and end up trying to escape reality. In the novel, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and the memoir Black Boy by Richard Wright we are introduced to two African American characters struggling with their identities and their invisibility. While both narrators are trying to develop a sense of identity, the way they deal with their external circumstances differs greatly.

Root, Identity and Community have always been the underlying theme of Toni Morrison. Through the accounts of her novels, Toni Morrison shows several ways in which slavery, which was the most oppressive period in the black history, has affected the identity of African American. In Bluest Eye, Morrison shows that a black woman who searches for her true identity feels frustrated by her blackness and yearns to be white because of the constant fear of being rejected in her surroundings. Thus Morrison tries to locate post colonial black identity in the socio-political ground where cultures are hybridized, powers are negotiated and individuals are reproduced as resistant agents. She not only writes about claiming the superiority by the white but also