Nobody Turn Me Around: A Literary Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr. once stated, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” As King has stated once, freedom must be demanded, because it will not be given voluntarily, as there are many examples in history when freedom was achieved because it was demanded from. In the texts, “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, “A Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy, “Nobody Turn Me Around: A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington” by Charles Euchner, and “Reading Lolita in Tehran”, a memoir by Azar Nafisi, different people were segregated and treated unfairly, but they were not given their freedom; they had to demand it. Freedom is demanded because events such

Martin Luther King Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy, where both talk about Martin Luther King and how he protests for freedom, because by demanding for freedom, it makes people more aware of the situation whereas if it is not, no one will really care enough to give the oppressed their freedom. According to Charles Euchner, in his book, Nobody Turn Me Around: A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington, he says on page 58 “-that gradual improvements will not satisfy blacks anymore. Conflict could turn into a bloodbath unless the American people redeem the promise of freedom.” The text evidence suggests that progressive, slow improvements will not be satisfactory, and that the conflict could become violent if the Americans do not give their people freedom. This example backs up the claim that freedom has to be demanded because their freedom has not been given to the African Americans; they had to protest for it and that there could be conflict over it, since they didn’t get their freedom easily. Also, on paragraph 3 and 13, for the speech: “A Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy, he says that, “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings... let's dedicate ourselves... tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of

In the book, Reading Lolita in Tehran, in page 82, “if she gets on a bus, the seating is segregated. She must enter through the rear door and sit in the back seats, allocated to women.” In this piece of evidence, Sanaz, who is the girl, sits in a segregated bus, and has very limited freedom. This is significant because her freedom is very limited, and this proves that freedom is not given voluntarily because nothing happens if it is not demanded from. Another example is on page 83, when the author asks, “Does she compare her own situation with her mother’s when she was the same age? Is she angry that women of her mother’s generation could walk the streets freely, enjoy the company of the opposite sex, join the police force, become pilots, live under laws that were among the most progressive in the world regarding women?” Based on this evidence, readers can assume that this example is talking about the times when freedom was available to women, when they could do what they wanted without having their options limited by others. This piece of evidence is important to note because during the time of the older generations, they had freedom because other people demanded for equal rights for women. However,