Delaney Kennedy Essay Overview on “Aint no Makin it” Are you and Hanger or a Brother- the social mobility of two different races. In the book Ain’t no Makin’ it Jay Macleod presents a theory very on in this book, he calls this the “Achievement Ideology”.
According to Matt Seitz, the word “Negro” started to fall out forty years ago. He mentions that “the word negro was easier for people
I also, dislike the use of the N-word. By using the N-word, Mark Twain allowed Jim Crow and Redemption to sweep the South. When writing Huckleberry Finn the author should had utilize his rights as a citizen to write, instead Mark Twain choose to ignore the amendments by using the N-word. How does a writer give his character a conscience when he as the writer chooses not to be conscience about addressing his black character
Now it has a positive meaning behind it, such as many colored people calling a close friend there nigga, now it is equivalent to calling them a brother. Another reason it is so popular in today’s music is because of the rhythmic presentation as well as the history that falls behind the word itself. Saying the word for an African American today is like taking away all of the power from everyone else as opposed to allowing to still mean a racist term and affect them negatively. In conclusion, I believe this word that was once used to undermine and degrade many races, has now been empowered. During the Civil Rights Movement it was used in R&B, rap, and rock songs played by African Americans to take out the negativity and portray the emotions they felt about being suppressed and impairer.
In attempts to remove discriminatory language in the workplace the National Football league (NFL) decided to ban the use of the n-word for any player on the field. In response to the NFL ban of the n-word Doug Baldwin, a wide receiver for the Seahawks, defended the use of the word using personalistic ideology to illustrate his stance on the matter. Jane Hill shares that this ideology, “holds that the most important part of linguistic meaning comes from the beliefs and intentions of the speaker..” (Rosaldo 1981). This can be seen with his insistence that the n-word should not be banned as he has personally never ,“heard the word used as a racial slur and only heard it used from one black player to another”(Smith, 2014).
Don’t censor To Kill a Mockingbird Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author Harper Lee uses the n-word 48 times and negro 54 times. This alone could cause readers to feel uncomfortable, along with the vulgar language and references to sexual activities. Some people may think that the best solution to these problems are to take out these words and censor the whole book.
In the book Nigger, Kennedy (2002) traces the history of the word “nigger.” Kennedy states the word nigger can be said in many ways (e.g. niggor, niggah, nigguh, niggur, and niggar), put to many uses, and mean many things. For instance, nigger is
Going from nigger to the contemporary “nigga” has produced a fluid, adaptable, postmodern, and urban construction of identity epitomizing numerous social and rhetorical flows. “Nigga” identity has been most expressed in hip-hop and rap culture, one end that presents a sense of masculinity, misogyny, as well as sexual violence then another side that attempts to locate an authentic self amidst the difficult life that has forever plagued blacks within urban America. This is a term used to bring African Americans together. The issue that lies through this metamorphosis is that African Americans have managed to establish the unspoken rule that it is not allowed for a white person to say the word “nigga.” PBS goes on to emphasize the point, “While usage of the word in African American culture is complex in that it can be used affectionately, politically, or pejoratively, the epithet is considered an abusive slur when used by white people.”
For example, as a child, “[white kids] called [Malcom X] ‘nigger’ … so much that [he] thought [it was his] natural names” (12). There is a problem when a single word is used to describe someone’s race, which occurred in the north, where race relations were expected to be better. It’s even worse when it is used so often they believe it is their name, their identity. For another example, although Malcolm X was one of the top students in his class, and the class president, his teacher still told him “A lawyer – that’s no realistic goal for a nigger” (43). His teacher directly, without hesitation, told him he couldn’t become a lawyer.
The negative connotation has not always been there and it should not be, nowadays the word implies identity and honor to be a “nigga” , this word and what comes with it should not be forgotten, instead the survival of the race and the unity it shows should be embraced. The n-word has not always had a negative connotation, what most people know is that it came from the Latin word meaning black and it was used to refer to slaves during the 19th century. Besides this there are other variations to the word from ages farther ago that show a good meaning of the word, it
Gloria Naylor, in her essay, “The meaning of a word” describes language as a subject. We know subject is anything that is generally discussed or dealt with. So Naylor wants to say the language is a thing where it has lots of meaning and perceptions. She writes her own personal experience clarifying how a language could be misleading and misinterpreted. She writes her own experience and tries to convince the readers about different forms of a word.
To discuss the N-word its needs to be said. The word nigger is a when word, not a who word. Meaning that anyone can say it, the most important thing about the n-word is the context it is used in. It can be used in an extremely positive context or a highly racist or oppressive context.
The n-word is acceptable because of its change in context. Nigga is used as word meaning endearment and nigger is used in an offensive way from the past. Some may argue that this in fact is untrue and is highly incorrect because its past use is imprinted on the word. The n-word is acceptable because of its difference in meaning.
“To Kill A Mockingbird” is a novel written by Harper Lee, the novel is set in the 1960’s when people were fighting for the civil rights movement. The novel starts off with an upper class white girl telling the point of view of their father and the Tom Robinson case of which her father (a lawyer) is representing Tom. The use of the N-word is found throughout the novel however is it promoting the use of the term or simply shining light onto the past historical use? “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a historical document and an attestation to the terrible mistreatment, social segregation, and injustice shown towards blacks in the south before the Civil Rights movement took place. The book is shown starring a little girl named Scout and her brother Jem
Not only is the “n” word used it is used constantly making a total of 48 times in only 281 pages. This greatly
