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Theme of identity in literature
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African-American historian W.E.B Dubois illustrated how the Civil War brought the problems of African-American experiences into the spotlight. As a socialist, he argued against the traditional Dunning interpretations and voiced opinions about the failures and benefits of the Civil War era, which he branded as a ‘splendid failure’. The impacts of Civil War era enabled African-Americans to “form their own fraternal organizations, worship in their own churches and embrace the notion of an activist government that promoted and safeguarded the welfare of its citizens.”
In the book “Black Like Me” by Howard Griffin, a journalist goes through the times of the 1950s where blacks were not treated equally. In this book Griffin turns himself black with chemicals prescribed by a doctor and lives the life of a negro. He then leaves his family, and starts his journal accounts of his negro life. In this book Griffin changes his perspective of how negroes really were, despite what he learned from others. During his journey he faced many hardships, sufferings, and inequalities.
In the analysis of the abundance of wonderful leaders who made a difference in the African American community since emancipation, W.E.B Du Bois made a special impact to advance the world. From founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to his influential book The Souls of Black Folk, he always found an accurate yet abstract way of verbalizing the strives of African Americans as well as making platforms for them to be known. Although he had less power than most of the bigger named African American leaders of his time, W.E.B Dubois’ overweighing strengths verses weaknesses, accurate and creative analogies, leadership style, and the successful foundations he stood for demonstrates his ability to be both realistic and accurate in his assessment since emancipation. Though Du Bois did have a beneficial impact
William Edward Burghardt Dubois (February 23, 1868 - August 27, 1963) is remembered as an American civil rights activist, leader, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was the son of Alfred DuBois and Mary Silvina Burghardt; Dubois was raised in a small, predominantly white town. When he was two his father deserted the family and despite their financial difficulties, he succeeded in school. As an adolescent Dubois realized his calling when a white girl refused a visiting card from him because he was an African American.
Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath follows the difficult journey of the Joad family as the attempt to move to California. Interwoven into this story is small paragraphs that deliver smaller, individual messages. One such paragraph is paragraph 11. In this paragraph Steinbeck speaks of how the farms have changed over time. This juxtaposition of times seems insignificant and unrelatable to those who don’t look deeply into this short, quick story.
Washington became the chief black advisor to President’s Roosevelt and Taft; moreover, Washington was the first African-American to ever be invited to the White House. Despite the fact that racism was rife within the whole country, both Presidents accepted Washington through his accommodating and submissive stance. Yet despite such advances Washington sill attracted many critics. Civil Right activist William Monroe Trotter contested Washington’s political dominance and vociferously opposed what he believed were Washington’s racially appeasing policies. He used the Boston Literary and Historical Association, an organisation he founded to attract likely adversaries of Washington, recruiting W.E.B. DuBois, to further this cause.
Instead, he implores them to be more political. His goal in writing is to make people aware of the social injustices occurring. The Negro writer who seeks to function within his race as a purposeful aren has a serious responsibility. In order to do justice to his subject matter, in order to depict Negro life in all of its manifold and intricate relationships, a deep, informed, and complex consciousness is necessary; a consciousness which draws for its strength upon the fluid lore of a great people, and more this lore with concepts that move and direct the forces of history today (Wright,
Close Reading In Chapter One of Our Spiritual Strivings, W.E.B Du Bois constructs a powerful argument about the history and experience of African Americans in America and how it has shaped their identity as people. He uses vivid imagery, historical context, personal anecdotes, and rhetorical questions to make his point that despite all the struggles endured by African-Americans throughout history they have still managed to find ways to stay connected with their spiritual selves through music and artistry. How this paragraph contributes to the writer's larger argument is the difference between white people and their storm and stress and black people “rocks are a little boat on the mad waters of the word sea.” I picked rocks our little boat to refer to black people because we have to take on many difficult obstacles to truly be free, but it is a distant goal.
Although there may be times when you come across races and have a racist experience; it is not an ongoing thing all the time anymore. W.E.B DuBois is explaining clearly as day how racially profiled America used to be. For example, he states “It decrees that it shall not be possible in travel nor residence, work nor play, education nor instruction for a black man to exist without…acknowledgment…to the dirtiest white dog.” This goes to show how much control whites had over black people in America before today, specifically during 1919. DuBois is using this statement to express how blacks cannot have housing, cannot work, cannot travel, or even have an education without being seen as being beneath the white man.
He wrote this piece to express his important opinion about the effect of racism and how he’s viewed as a man of color. He talks about his first encounter of racism when he was young man in college and was assumed to be a mugger or killer just because of skin. “It was in echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” I feel that the author is trying to connect to his vast audience of people who don’t understand what it is like to a black man in society. Later he contemplated that he rejected or shunned by the white race collectively as a dangerous man.
I agree with Booker T. Washington for the simple fact he has more of an independent aspect for African American people. As to W.E.B. DuBois wants white to feel sorrow for what they have done to African Americans. I do agree that whites should feel bad for what they did but I don’t think it makes anything any better if African Americans fresh out of slavery were just handed things. Just handing things to people would create a lazy society and it would start a bad habit that may turn into another big problem like slavery. W.E.B. DuBois's beliefs weren't bad considering he was the founder of a school for blacks, one of the reason I do not agree with him is because he demanded equal rights for blacks.
This paper will first incorporate a summary of the author 's argument discussing how the experiences the two leading male character in Richard Wright 's "Down by the Riverside" and "Long Black Song" highlights racial oppression and alienation. Hakutani comparing and contrasting their shortcomings leads the audience to focus on the idea that during the Jim Crow conditions the results remain that African-Americans will always be inferior to Caucasians. Therefore, their suicidal actions gave them purpose and the ability to define their existence. Then, one will provide a sum up discussing one strength and one weakness of the article and what can be utilized from this piece of work. Overall, this article can be valued as a credible document for scholars seeking a summary of these two pieces of work.
Black people have a rich and vibrant culture and that showed through clearly with the Harlem Renaissance. Since land-lords wouldn’t rent out in most other areas, a lot of African-Americans were concentrated in Harlem. Being in close contact with other black people and with the encouragement of “The Crisis”, a lot of creative work was being put out by black artists. A significant contribution would be jazz music. In regards to the Hofstader thesis, Dubois was not actually white, but he was middle class.
This statement criticizes the stereotyping of black writers and artists. In addition, it comments upon what Reed finds to be problematic: the tendency to enforce rigid standards on writers. The Atonists then, the individuals who love order and repression of natural instincts, become the embodiment of Reed’s
204). The art showed off their love and passion for their culture and the fearlessness they possessed with the challenges they’ve faced daily. The upper and middle classes of the black community could only relate to the white community by denying their tie to the lower class (Huggins, p. 204). The difference is, the lower class wasn’t so effected by the shame, they loved every part of their poor, loud, and acentric lives.
