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War Shadrack And Plum By Toni Morrison

485 Words2 Pages

I believe that the leading event that changed gender roles was the absence of males in the community. Society had not yet realized how vital a father figure is to the upbringing of the next generation. The book shows several men that were not in their families lives and as a result, it noticeably creates future problems for mothers and their children. The novel enlightens us on some of the causes for fathers to abandon their families. One of these causes is lack of work for African American males. One example of this is Wiley Wright, Helene’s husband. According to Toni Morrison, “[Wiley] was a seaman (or rather a lakeman, for he was a ship's cook on one of the Great Lakes lines), in port only three days out of every sixteen” (17). The lack …show more content…

Two characters from the book have been to war Shadrack and Plum. Shadrack, a World War 1 veteran that returned to the Bottom after the war. Majority of the citizens do not know much about Shadrack which makes him mysteries, however, we know about his war times and how it affected him. He suffers from PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder which affects the mind. PTSD for a soldier is usually caused by traumatic or life-threatening events, such as combat and in Sula, Shadrack had an event during the war. According to Sula, “Wincing at the pain in his foot, he turned his head a little to the right And saw the face of a soldier near him fly off. Before he could register the shock, the rest of the soldier’s head disappeared under the inverted soup bowl of his helmet” (8). It is obvious why Shadrack suffers from PTSD, watching someone you have to spend an abundance of time with getting killed in such a brutal and horrific way would affect your psychic. We see evidence of Shadracks PTSD in the hospital when he tries to grab his cup and, “ ...his fingers, they began to grow in higgledy-piggledy fashion”(9). PTSD plays games with the mind. Shadracks heads are regular normal hands yet, he believes they are more than that. Even when he leaves the hospital he has trouble walking and tying his shoes. Although Shadrack does not have any family in the novel, he represents males

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A quote from the article states: “We must challenge the taboo topic of the aftermath of war, which we have avoided for so long” (Penk and Robinwitz 3). The previous quote shows that the society soldiers came back to after war was one that disregarded them as people with feelings. Society made it seem as though their trauma did not matter and the author points out that it is time to pay attention of be aware. A quote from the poem presents this same idea: “I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke” (Komunyakaa 12-14). My interpretation of this line is that he almost died and that is why he has so much trauma.

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Mary Walker & Charlotte Doyle Born in 1832, Mary Walker was one of the leaders for the women’s rights activist, and also this meant that she was in America. When Mary Walker lived in America she lost her job from the Nullification Crisis that had happened in mid-late 1832. Mary was a nurse during the Civil War and she had received the Medal of Honor for her service. These women were part of something you wouldn’t think a women could do like hanging with sailors/pirates or becoming a war hero for being a healer, so if you set your mind to do anything daring do it.

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The novels' portrayal of gender is more nuanced than their portrayal of race. The novels delve deeply into the intricacies of gender identity, including the intersections of gender, sexuality, and motherhood. The novels also highlight how gender influences relationships and social dynamics within communities. In contrast, while race is an essential factor in the novels, it is not as nuanced as the portrayal of gender. The novels highlight the experiences of Black people and their struggles in a racially oppressive society.

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For a very long period of time, women were considered the property to men, first starting as their father’s property and eventually being their husbands. This chapter flipped the social norm of domesticity onto the men, and the men were rightfully upset about it. I think with the book being released in 1915, it called for a social change. Men do not like being treated less than equal and put down by women, and I think this chapter called the social norm out to be changed. “Terry was grinning at us.

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Black men were expected to end up murdered or in prison, and it was uncommon for them to live a long life that was free of trouble, and away from their hometown. Jefferson is the man who ended up in prison, and Grant is the man who stayed in his hometown. The women in the black community described in the book seemed to do everything. Since the men were not usually around, the women became the men of the household. They cooked, cleaned, took care of the kids, and worked, they did it

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Companionship is one of the greatest desires a human can have. People often do anything to try and find the person they believe is “the one”. However, feelings can be difficult to understand since even if the emotion is identified, the cause can be hard to understand. When faced with heartbreak people often take extreme actions to try and make it less painful but end up making the situation worse for themselves. In Sula by Toni Morrison, this idea is represented by Nel.

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Expectations for women expanded and displayed the idea that women should not be frowned upon in the workforce because they could do any job that was typically only set out by men. As more women joined the workforce, this would change the

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A fire sparks and the grand bird burns, leaving nothing but ashes. From these ashes, a new bird is born, restarting the cycle. Thus is the story of a phoenix, the immortal and legendary fire bird. Fire and water commonly appear in literature and can represent positive or negative symbols. Water is usually associated with baptism, rebirth, cleansing, but as an element it can also represent negative signs of death and destruction.

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Every person who goes to war changes. You can see that wa changes a man, even the most hopeful of men, lieutenant Cross, was broke down and hardened by

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Motherly Roles and Responsibilities By the end of the 1800s social change was in full bloom across the United States; the end of the Civil War preserved the Union and led to the abolishment of slavery. While black americans still faced fierce opposition and prejudices they were free from the shackles of slavery and had more rights than at any other point in American history. As black americans were granted new freedoms, such as the right to vote, women in the United States began to re-evaluate their role in the political and social spectrum across the nation. This led to more demand of being treated equal to the white males in the country and brought upon the Women’s suffrage movement and first-wave feminism.

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The reason for the change being that women begin to fight for the rights and equality they deserve. In early colonial times gender roles were not a huge issue. Women knew what was morally acceptable, and they were pretty content with living with that. Do not get me wrong, women faced issues and were unhappy but they were just not doing anything to change the situation.

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When you think of work, what do you think of? Toni Morrison and Danial Adkinson think of supporting their family and using work as an escape from family. Morrison believes that your job does not define you, but how you act and respond to it does. Adkison believes that your job is not all about work, you can also find family and friends. While Morrison uses compare and contrast to demonstrate that your job does not define you; Adkison sets out to prove, through imagery, that your job is not all about work and that you can find family and friends in a workplace.

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More specifically, gender’s role on women and their positions in the world. Being a young woman, I fall into the intended audience of the book. The rhetoric in the book appeals to the young girls around the same age of the main character

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“Sula” by Toni Morrison is a beautifully dense book that deals with so much in it’s relatively small amount of pages but one of the most interesting and complex of all the themes in this story is friendship. Toni Morrison develops this friendship in an expertly done way and this friendship between Nel and Sula is one of the main driving forces of the book and the friendship between them is a symbiotic one. These two kind of opposites create one working unit even if they don’t realize it at it the time. The identities they created for themselves is formed around one another's friendship and love for each other.

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1682 Words | 7 Pages

Female African American writers tend to focus more on the experience of black women (which we will consider for this novel). Black women are often introduced as the minority in the race, especially seen in writings during the 1970’s. Most of these writings have female characters who have domestic duties, which can reveal the passing of traditions and cultures from one generation to the next and the role of a woman in an inconvenienced household. They also deal with the image and perception of the Black woman, whether through looks, skin color, or her voice. The woman’s narrative is often formed gradually, often times alongside a woman who has already discovered herself, but we must consider that “it may take the form of exploring one’s own abilities, needs, and desires” (Tyson, 391).

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