Mary was the first black women appointed to the Board of Education, she became the first president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and she was the first women president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Society. Mary speaks about the trials and tribulations African Americans had to endure during the early 1900’s, and how situations continue to worsen as time goes on. In her speech she goes on to make references how colored people are not being treated fairly and with dignity she believes they deserve. She makes it easy for her listeners to understand these injustices by referencing topics her audience can relate to. Her story about how a young colored women was turned away from a job just because the color of her skin can be linked with how women with higher capabilities than their male counterparts are still not receiving the position.
Self-love and racism play a very important role in Zora Neale Hurston's “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The theme of love with her Granny was force upon Janie and finding love within her was described as a pear tree and the horizon. Janie spent her days looking for passionate love in three different marriages. With the character of Mrs. Turner, she shows how everyone is racist in the world, and she is black herself but don’t want to realize it because she’s biracial. Hurston’s theme of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was based on the Harlem Renaissance and was shown dramatically throughout of the book. First, the theme of love with her Granny was force upon Janie and finding love within her was described as a pear tree and the horizon.
The story describes an old lady that is tried and just wants to hear the message the Lord has to say. The narrator is giving details “also known as die female point of view, is what makes women's literature unique.” (WHAT IS WOMEN'S LITERATURE?, 2003) “This point of view is informed by the responsibilities that kept women from creating for so long-the world of the domestic.” (WHAT IS WOMEN'S LITERATURE?, 2003) Being able to have a point of view for an old lady that is dying and all she wants is to be able to go to a church that is easy for her to get to. Child of the Americas is a poem that is in the first-person point of view which “occurs when the narrator (describing his or her personal action and thoughts) is a participant in the story.” (Clugston, 2010, sec. 5.2) The poem has what the writer has gone thought in their life with the ethnicity part of their life. The poem is really reflecting on their race and how they have multiple people from different
Critical Analysis of O’Connor’s Revelation. Flannery O’Connor is by far one of the most religion oriented writers in the American South. Her Southern upbringing and Catholic faith allowed her to paint a very straightforward picture of sin, inequality, racism, and salvation in the short story “Revelation”. O’Connor sums up her thoughts about South, “What has given the South her identity are those beliefs and qualities which she has absorbed from the Scriptures and from her own history of defeat and violation (Arbery).” During her lifetime South consisted of people who were prejudiced toward people of color and lower social status; therefore, those who were less fortunate had to experience racism, inferiority, and even hatred. “As late as 1983, Cleanth Brooks declared the American South “something of a subculture,” differing from the rest of the nation both in its “attitudes toward family, religion, place and history” and in its special “interest and aptitude for narrative that includes a vigorous oral tradition as well as formal narration in stories and novels (Davis).” O’Connor was able to recreate Southern attitude and understanding of religion.
The Scarlet Letter In the passage of the scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we see the narrator doesn’t have the same attitude or views of the community. The harsh judgment Hester Prynne receives from the wives is predictable. Hawthorne’s diction in the narration reveals a tone of sympathy, while the words of the women scorn Mistress Prynne. The women who stood outside the prison door commenting on Hester Prynne punishment are described to be goodwives of a puritan community. The first woman to speak is a “hard featured dame of fifty”, she believes the good mature women of the church should have a say in the sentence of the mistress for they are wives, and will punish correctly.
The lady got what she wanted, she had her feast with Jesus and he smiled down on her. Now the whole story is about a woman wanting to have a final feast with Jesus Christ, she got a little better, the woman walked along the highway talking to Jesus. Now who knows if she was actually talking to someone or if she was just a crazy old lady? The theme should not only be religion; should focus on racism as well. Whites and blacks have been at it for years; racism started a long time ago and is still an issue today.
In relation to this, when Calpurnia exclaimed “I puttin’ on airs to beat Moses,” the author described how if Calpurnia conversed with her congregation members in normal English, the church members would assume that Calpurnia is better than them, so she wanted to resemble the African-American community in the town of Maycomb. Thus, she would preserve adequate relations with members of her race. Transitioning back to chapter 2, Calpurnia exclaimed, "She would set me a writing task by scrawling the alphabet firmly across the top of a tablet, then copying out a chapter of the Bible beneath. If I reproduced her penmanship satisfactorily”(20). Harper Lee used the word “Alphabet” to showcase that Calpurnia was teaching Scout original English, and thus, Calpurnia has a high literacy proficiency.
The author chooses not to name the characters because he wants to allow the reader to involve themselves in the story to a certain extent. With a situation all too familiar he believes the reader can easily associate them with someone they know. The author is relying on commonly based gender stereotypes that will help readers to create they’re own image of the characters with whatever names or characteristics they choose. As in the story when the woman is yelling, “Im glad you’re leaving! Im glad you’re leaving!
Calpurnia was living a double life, one in which she acts and speaks as a white woman, and one in which she embraces her color. She continually tries to reason with adversity by keeping her mouth closed and allowing Reverend Sykes to properly introduce the Finch children to the congregation. Reverend Sykes helps clear the air when he takes the pulpit in front of the congregation announcing, “Brethren and sisters, we are particularly glad to have company with us this
Race and Ethnicity ENG 125 Instructor: February 12, 2012 Race and ethnicity are problems that we face in our world even to this day. It is no wonder that there are so many poems and short stories written about these trials and tribulations that we must endure. In the short story “Country Lovers” and the poem “What It’s like to be a Black Girl” you have the main characters who are black females. Both of these women deal with a certain degree or racial discrimination due to their skin color. Every day we read or see something about racial discrimination.