Oppression Of African Americans In Reservation Blues, By Langston Hughes

What defines a human being? And what makes us diverse in society? Having a variety of individuals with different racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds is quintessential to America. The authors Sherman Alexie, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Eddie Huang demonstrate the infectious white society we live in, and how it negates humanity. The juxtaposing circumstances of the characters in each novel bolster how our society neglects ethnic vibrance; minorities appearing wrongfully as indifferent to white Americans. The characters highlight the oppression that swarms their bodies, consuming and decomposing the fruitful diversity they bring to constitute our country as a whole. As human beings who are consciously born to freely express themselves

In the novel Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, the associating ideas of cultural exchange and cultural appropriation are emphasized through the conversion of despair into building an identity for the Coyote Springs band, which presently highlights the glimpses of white dominance recurrent in our country. On the Reservation (Res), Thomas-Builds-the-Fire forms the band, Coyote Springs, which takes heavy influence from blues music, originating from Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. Alexie represents the band as having rich cultural elements, allowing for beautiful distinction from other musicians to view the emotions of Spokane blues. Alexie writes, “The audience reached for Coyote Springs with brown and white hands that begged for more music, hope, and joy. Coyote Springs felt powerful, fell in love with the power, and courted it” (Alexie 80). The band, living on déclassé land, desperately needed money to support their lives and escape from adversity in the pursuit of the optimal American dream. But what defines the band’s identity? As Alexie states, audiences often felt moved or empowered by Spokane

Coates educates his son, Samori, on the reality of white society. Coates is of African-American descent and reflects that America is built upon the spines of black Americans. Coates emphasizes that America had built a legion based on the idea of “race” and remains unsatisfied with the falsehood it has brought to the current day. Similar to Alexie, Coates ponders the question whilst educating his adolescent son; What does it mean to be a black man in America? As the book opens up, Coates reckons, “In accepting both the chaos of history and the fact of my total end, I was freed to truly consider how I wished to live– specifically, how do I live free in this black body?” (Coates 12). Coates impactfully asks how he can identify and represent himself within his body. The race he identifies with limits him from seeking freedom. Coates believes that the history of slaves is disregarded and that America stows away slavery to praise working-class white Americans as the backbone of a successful nation, displaying his vexation with American democracy. As a mentor, Coates shows Samori Civil War battlefields and cotton fields to unveil the true American foundation. Coates quotes Amiri Baraka, an American writer, “We are breathing people