She names emotions in a language, both deeply personal and culturally specific. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a black novel of affirmation towards what black people experience but at the same time it's an actual piece of literature that doesn't use proper english to describe a black person's voice. Due to the dialogues, Zora Neale Hurston gains readers who understand the style of her writing and why she uses
From the way the story was written it talked about black women’s hairstyle, clothes they wore, lack of education, and the certain usage of words. The way Phoenix’s words were delivered in the story seemed as if it was a put down. The tale made Phoenix to be knowledgeable by her everyday doing in life, but in reality she was displayed to be ignorant. The story of Phoenix Jackson is an expedition, a dealing of race and imagery. This story portrays stereotypes, racism, and struggles, which relate to the previous books Malcolm X and Birth of a nation.
It does not have a rhyme pattern because written in free verse. In this poem Thretaway writes about a little African American girl that tells lies that may really don’t matter, but in some point they do. The author describes every image of the poem so that the reader can imagine everything clearly. The first stanza uses lot of color imagery; it uses six colors to describe the lies the little girl, who is the author, told (J. Sirkant). In this stanza the author is also using these colors to describe her skin tone as she was growing up in a black community.
The Struggle Continues Many feminists addressed the plight of African American women during the New Negro movement in the US. They shared the same problems and visions but some differ in strategy. The African American educator Elise McDougald’s essay “The Struggle of Negro Women for Race and Sex Emancipation” employs an interesting strategy to gain individuality amongst African American women. While displaying the direct issues similar to those of her allies, McDougald approaches her antagonists with an unusual method. This was an extremely audacious essay and a great subject to debate for that reason.
“Se Habla Espanol” The essay, “Se Habla Espanol,” was written by Tanya Barrientos. Tanya writes about the hardships she goes through trying to speak the language that she pushed away from because of racial stereotypes. Being stereotyped Tanya did not want anything to do with being a Latina, or speaking the Spanish language. Once she realized how society had changed, Tanya tried to regain the culture she had lost during her childhood. Tanya wants to inspire those of her culture that can relate to what she is going through, while also asking for acceptance within the Latino community.
Many of their stories were written about the struggles of blacks. “The Library Card” and “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is The Self” are writings that deal with the individual verses society but on different levels. The authors gave the readers a snap shot of what their life was like growing up during that time. Richard Wright’s, “The Library Card”, is an insert in his story “Black Boy” that tells a story of himself as a young boy in the 1930’s wanting to read. Wright tells his story about some of the things that happened to him during the time when African Americans were considered to be beneath whites.
But while writing her first novel she realized that Her culture and her background made her the writer and gave her the language she speaks today. Baldwin mentions the fact that we owe some of the Standard English language to the black form of English, which was derived from old clack culture. Tan’s Argument also includes many examples that have to do with how language and power relate to each other. She begins her article by mentioning that she is not an English Scholar, but she does take pride in her writing and often thinks of the power of language (178). She backs up this statement with an example, “My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well.
However, Wheatley and Antin have always stood among these communities as strong propagators of assimilation to American community. It is why both of them have been ionized as role models of assimilative women writers in American literature. Though the very socio cultural backgrounds of Phillis Wheatley and Mary Antin seem to be quite different, for Phillis Wheatley was brought up as a black slave
When she came back to visit, she had changed her name to Wangero which she believed represented her heritage more so than “being named after the people who oppress me” (112). Dee’s personal struggle to overcome the oppression directly parallels the African American community’s struggle to overcome oppression. The evolution of the African American community in society can creatively be seen through Alice Walker’s development of the characters Mama, Maggie, and Dee. Walker also uses possessions to creatively represent the heritage of the family. Through the three characters, Walker symbolizes the struggles and success of the African American community.
Harlem Renaissance Paper Langston Hughes is a well know black poet for many poems and short stories he has written. “I, too”, “The Negro speaks of Rivers”, “Harlem”, and “The Weary Blues” are just a few to name. Hughes was affiliated with the Harlem Renaissance movement. The Harlem Renaissance was collaborative of poems and short stories by African American writers. Its focus was about the experiences, desires, and communal needs of the Negros who migrated from the south to up north, where they hope for a change and a better life for their families.