I. Plot summary Black like me, written by John Howard Griffin speaks about the way the Negros (as they say in the book) were treated in the late 50’s. John H. Griffin was a journalist, a white journalist working for the black-owned magazine Sepia. One day, he decided to cross the line that separated black people and white people. He took medications that darkened his skin and became brown.
Should these dark and light images only be looked at in the context of how race plays into the equation? “Facing It,” by Yusef Komunyakaa, an African-American and Vietnam combat Veteran, is a reflection on the arduous undertaking of his first visit the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC to confront the ghosts of his past. It’s obvious that Komunyakaa is creating complexity by carefully selecting words such as, “black, night, morning, and white” that pertain to the light and dark elements of war. Consequently, these words also play into his African-American heritage as well. Komunyakaa places emphasis on his ethnicity in the first two lines of the poem: "My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite" (1-2).
Baldwin shows his knowledge of the streets history as he describes how Harlem began and gradually became the ghetto that it is today. Throughout his essay, Baldwin displays his superior knowledge of Harlem as a whole. Baldwin comes right out with syntax by stating that “The projects in Harlem are hated.” He swiftly establishes his point of view and how he feels about his hometown. He emphasizes that they will remain hated no matter what attempt is made on paper by repeating the phrase “no matter how many times” on several occasions in his opening paragraph. As he begins to go into detail on the appearance of Harlem, Baldwin paints a portrait of the housing being that of a prison and the churches having slits in them like those of a castle prepared to ward off wave after wave of enemy soldiers.
The poem Homecoming, takes you along the ride of bodies of dead soldiers being transported for Vietnam back to their home country wherever it may be. As you keep on reading the poem, it grips you with the chilling outcome of war and the process of which dead bodies must take in order to return home. Homecoming uses many literary devices. One such device is repetition; in the opening sentence “All day, day after day, they're bringing them home.” uses repetition to show the monotonous task of collecting dead bodies of soldiers daily and also in the quote “they're high now, high and higher, over
Black People in the US Army In the short story ,,The Homecoming’’ by Frank Yerby the Protagonist Willie, a highly decorated soldier, gets back home. He served in the Second World War and has experienced a lot of horrible things. Willie has seen how people, no matter what skin colour they had, were treated equally. He can’t stand the unfair situation in the southern states for black people and now he want to leave. Because of this story I asked myself some questions.
I cannot remember, she whispered to herself." (Yolen 94) | As Hannah's hair is clipped away, she notices that the women are hard to tell apart. Along with their hair, their identities have been clipped away, like their heritage history and family. Hannah finds that she cannot remember her own past as Hannah from New Rochelle. However, she never placed great importance on them because she takes them for granted.
Living in the ghetto is a time of darkness and despair for most black families and for a majority of the people it is a way of life and death. In “Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin captures the lives of one particular African American Family tumultuous life in Harlem during the era of segregation with conflict and secrets that almost destroy the family structure. The analysis of the Narrator’s character helps to understand the theme of acceptance through the art of listening. As the story unfolds, the Narrator is alternating between unbelief and fear over his estranged brother’s troubles and the acceptance of his [brother’s] lifestyle. “I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my work, I read it, and I couldn’t believe it and I read it again.
05/03/2012 Black Men and Public Space In his essay “Black Men and Public Space”, Brent Staples attempts to use some strategies which have really captured my mind. He starts by telling us of how her first encounter with a white woman was, even if Staples does not tell us of his race this is clear evidence that racial prejudice played a role. Based on his race (Staples 404) he ironically demonstrates he wants their guilty to stay with them thus excluding him from the white. Staples says “my first victim’’ (197), was walking down the street but she was not comfortable with the surrounding just because he saw a black man, she soon began running down the street with an intention that she will be robbed but in the real sense Staples was taking a walk just as she was. Definitely this woman figured out that if a black man walked in that neighborhood he was mostly likely up to something.
Speech – Good Morning students and teachers today I will be talking about some Wilfred Owen Poems that conveyed the experiences of wars. The two poems that will be discussed are “Dulce Et Decrorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth”. Many of his poems show that wars are bad and it is not needed. Wilfred Owen was born on the 18th march 1893 and died on 4 November 1918, he is best known as one of the most powerful war poets, who detailed the reality and horrors of the First World War. Owen's first experience of the war was in hospitals treating the wounded soldiers.
As I read and re-read the essay I became more convinced of my position- this author appears to present a matter of fact essay, by presenting fact after fact of either his experiences of those of people known to him. To wit, a woman who crossed the street when she saw a black man walking towards her, cars locking their doors at intersections when a black man was crossing, cousins in jail, friends killed at an early age and being persecuted as a criminal while trying to deliver a writing with a deadline. Sad evidence, certainly, but related in a cold and calculated manner. As previously stated, at first glance, the author seems to present these facts just as examples of a truth. However, it is when you re-read and encounter the depth of this next example that one notices how deeply affected the author really is.