Perception v. Reality “The mask which the actor wears is apt to become his face” - Plato When viewing the documentary, Ethnic Notions, one might wonder in what ways the stereotypical images viewed have affected the images of Blacks. Although one could argue that the images seen were only devised to appeal to people of that time, these images seen in the documentary have had a lasting impact on the psyches of Blacks even to this day. As the documentary indicates, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Blacks were perceived by America as contested stereotypical characters such as Uncle Tom, Mammy, Sambo and Zip Coon. Mammy, portrayed as being happy and content with her present condition, was used as a strategic aspiration to other female slaves. She was shown as the caregiver for the master’s kids, loving to the master’s kids, a tyrant to her own children, unattractive and pitch-black.
The malicious acts committed by Malcolm X reflect the idea that people ignore truth to conform to society. Known for having strong opinions, Malcolm X seems to be an unlikely victim of blind conformity. However, as shown in his essay, “My First Conk”, Malcolm X was victimized by this need to conform. Changing to look or behave like another because it is more desired by the public is due to a disregarding of self-claimed morals and values, an over emphasis of the media and outside opinions, and an insecurity. In “My First Conk”, Malcolm X assured that black people were being brainwashed to believe that they actually were inferior to white people, thus they conked their hair; which was a hair straightener gel made from lye popular among African-American men from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Southern Christianity and Slavery One of the many character flaws of being human is trying to find justification in the wrong doings of either our self or our family members. In the United States, this trait is seen mostly in Southern Conservative Christian families, but during the years surrounding the Civil War the sense of justification for why slavery was not as horrendous as the Northerners had thought was that the followers of Christ, “held slaves without the disapproval of God.” In the early years of Christianity slavery was a sign of economic stature in the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. The Bible uses the Hebrew term “ebed” to refer to slavery, but that is not exactly correct. “Ebed” refers more to servant or hired worker than a slave. Biblically slavery is only referred to in the Old Testament through the story of Ham, but historically slavery was an integral part of ancient commerce, taxation, and temple religion.
Native Son Essay The writings of Wright reflected in his novel, "Native Son" are used to explain and describe his existence and purpose. What’s questioned is what exactly Bigger represents and within this novel and in correspondence to this, what do his actions represent and who do they reflect upon. In “Native Son”, Wright uses Bigger to represent the African-American race in society and their falsely stereotyped negative associations with communism as as well as the concept of one’s life being decided by fate or free will. The negative feelings that society had for Bigger made them happy to associate him with communism. This was out of simple stereotype and with no rational thought whatsover.
In my opinion, the narrative was very well written and it was a great resource when learning about the lives of slaves. Douglass’s Narrative shows how white slaveholders continue slavery by keeping their slaves ignorant. At the time Douglass was writing, many people believed that slavery was a natural state of being. Slave owners keep slaves ignorant of basic facts about themselves, such as their birth date or who their parents were. This ignorance robs children of their natural sense of individual identity.
Mark Twain, although a humanitarian, greatly emphasizes the extent to which prejudice and racism was ingrained in Southern culture, almost irreversibly. Twain condemns slavery and those who participated in it through his writing, but he also lets the reader know that, to some degree, the characters in the book that we would now consider cruel or downright evil were somewhat blameless for their actions. These misguided creations of Twain’s imagination are an accurate reflection of the real people that lived in that region in the pre-Civil War days. These characters were born and raised in an environment that impressed bigotry on them, and therefore it was nearly impossible for them to cease thinking in a discriminating manner, especially when everyone else around them encouraged that mentality. This realistic portrayal of Huck’s society suggests that one’s upbringing is the crucial development stage for future behavior and mindset.
His family tried their best to mold him into a better man in order to survive the later years to come. Wright had to realize the harsh realities of the consequences of being a black man in the early 1900s. In that time, many blacks were tortured for the simple fact that they were not white. Black people experienced much violence. Jim Crow Laws promoted the idea that blacks were naturally mediocre to blacks in all important ways, including intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior.
to criticize the radicalism. Hughes tried to enlighten the poor black men likewise Mrs. Jones would teach Roger “right from wrong” in this novel. When this novel was written in 1959, the problems of the poor black men were very serious in a racial society. Although they are eager to have the American Dream, it was frustrated by racial discrimination. As the result, the poverty was inherited to next generation repeatedly.
Although each of them had their own perspectives, their main objective was the same. Reparations in this society can be defined by stating that the U.S. government needs to make a formal apology to blacks for the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade due to social and economic consequences in the United States. Advocates also feel the U.S. government owes the black people. Blacks remain behind due to many things, the most important being slavery. The Constitution, until recently, did not apply to blacks; blacks feel they deserve payments from 310 years of slavery, destruction to their minds and culture.
To achieve justice, as illustrated by the works of these great thinkers, however, people must have a conscience and a sense of morality, of right and wrong. What is right is just, and what is wrong is unjust. In the presence of morality, justice, as described by Douglass, Thoreau, and King Jr., is possible. The idea that human conscience is required for justice is exhibited substantially during the period of American slavery. Few people brought attention to the evil and immorality of slavery like Frederick Douglass.