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Susan Burton In The Foreword By Michele Alexander

Decent Essays

Michele Alexander writes a Foreword in Becoming Ms. Burton, where she makes a bold comparison after explaining an unidentified woman: “Some people know this woman by the name Harriet Tubman. I know her as Susan” (xi). Alexander compares Susan Burton to Underground Railroad heroine, Harriet Tubman. Over the course of the Foreword, it covers what Susan Burton does, how she is helping many individuals, and essentially saving lives of those in need, much like Harriet Tubman did. This comparison is crucial in setting up the idea of how special Susan Burton is, before revealing any major information about her life. Alexander, by putting Ms. Burton next to such an important and inspirational historical figure, gives the readers’ and idea of how incredible Susan is. Throughout the book, the reader can go back to the comparison made by Alexander, and see how accurate it truly is.

Prompt #2 In Becoming Ms. Burton, it’s sufficient to say Susan has suffered many high and low points in her life. There are many factors out of Susan’s control that are responsible for the downfalls she experiences. After going over the internal and external factors, I’ve narrowed it down to three: race, gender, and home life. All three factors share the same problem; all are Susan’s unearned disadvantages in life. What I mean by “unearned disadvantage” is that Susan suffers from the consequences of being African-America, a woman, and having not an ideal upbringing. To get started, as witnessed the

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