Analysis Of Sweetness By Toni Morrison

However, it was not because she was content being a slave, but because she thought she was fulfilling society ’s forced concept of a “perfect life” the best way she could (being viewed as she was by said

What does it mean to you to be a black girl? If you aren’t one, what do you see when you visualize a black girl? If your imagination limits you to just an afro-centric featured, loud and slang-loving, uneducated woman, then this piece is addressed to you. The persistence of the stereotypes concerning average black girls have chained us all to the earlier listed attributes. One side effect of this dangerous connection is the wide opening for a new form of discrimination it creates. Whether it is depicted through slave owners allocating the preferable duties to lighter-skinned black woman, or in modern times where a dislike in rap music categorizes you as not really black, segregation within black communities occur. Tracing all the way back to elementary school, my education on the subject of racial segregation has been constricted to just the injustices routed by dissimilarities between racial groups. What failed to be discussed was the intragroup discrimination occurring in the black society from both outside observers and inside members. Unfortunately, our differences in the level of education, in physical appearance, and in our social factors such as our behaviour, personality or what we believe in have been pitted against each other to deny the variety of unique identities that we as black individuals carry.

She hated the people at home when white people talked about their peculiarities; but she always hated herself more because she still thought about them, because she knew their pain at what she was doing with her life. The feelings of shame, at her own people and at the white people, grew inside her, side by side like monstrous twins that would have to be left in the hills. The people wanted her… For the people, it was that simple, and when they failed, the humiliation fell on all of them; what happened to the girl did not happen to her alone, it happened to all of them. (Silko 69)

If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be "compatible with the white female standard of beauty" (Ashe 580) in order to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of "sociohistorical racial injustices" (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat "easy coexistence" because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a "pervasive hierarchy" of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312).

     When her father passed away she had nobody to tell her what to do and how to act. This was very devastating and she had a hard time dealing with change. So much so that she wouldn't let the police take the body of her father out of the house for three days after his death. The only thing that was constant in her house was the slave

Two young girls, coalescing on a grass-laden field while lying on their stomachs, dig a hole in unspoken harmony. A picture of youth and innocence, this scene depicts an innocuous moment which the two girls share as a result of their juvenescence--or does it? In Toni Morrison 's Sula, this scene, among others, appears at first to be both irrelevant to the novel’s underlying theme and out of place with regard to the rest of the plot. Yet, when analyzed further, the literary devices that Morrison uses in these scenes bring readers to a vastly different conclusion. These scenes serve as windows into the mind of Morrison and even into the larger themes present in the text. So, perhaps two girls sharing a seemingly casual experience is not as

Gerald Early, the author of the essay Life with Daughters, describes the hardships of being African American especially when trying to raise two daughters who don’t believe they are beautiful . Early’s purpose is to inform the reader of all the difficulties that black girls face growing up in a society who has defined beauty with the image of a white, skinny blonde. He adopts a bitter tone in order to point out all of the difficulties these girls face in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences of other African American girls their parents.

So as growing up “colored” life was very difficult for these two women to grow up and lead a problem free life despite how hard they tried. Though they were very high status colored people and they had a lot of white people they were still judged as blacks so even though they moved to the north to get rid of some racism they could never actually get away from

Many times blacks who are of a lighter complexion are seen as “prettier or more desireable” towards other blacks today, and as stated previously, were offered better employment opportunities. However sometimes they are shunned by whites and blacks alike and are treated as outcasts by the community due to their inability to conform to a certain ethnicity. In the book “The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man,” James Weldon Johnson depicts the fictional life of a biracial man living in the post-reconstruction era of America in the nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. In his early childhood days, the narrator frequently struggled with his personal identity after he was told to stand with the rest of his African American classmates during somewhat of an analyzation of the gender percentages by a certain staff member. “I wish all of the white scholars to stand for a moment. ‘I rose with the others, the teacher looked down at me and said ‘ You sit down for the present, and rise with the others. ‘I sat down dazed… A few of the white boys jeered me saying:’ Oh you’re a nigger too! ‘I heard some of the black children say,’ Oh, we knew he was colored, Shiny would say; ‘Come along don’t tease him, and thereby winning my undying gratitude.’” (Weldon 11) Before he was seemingly outed

The fourth chapter of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”is about the identity development in adolescence. It is said that when black children are growing up, they engage in many of the white culture’s beliefs and values as it is all around them. It is not until a little later where they begin to recognize the impact of racism. This can happen around the early stages of adulthood. It might even happen around the junior high age. Gender also comes into play around this time as well. A black girl wouldn't be acknowledged for her beauty in a white setting as she is not in the society's standard for beautiful. Since the black girls aren’t considered beautiful, they begin to feel devalued. The black youth are beginning

Obviously, this entire poem was a flashback of the authors childhood and what she went through growing up during such a changing time in American history. This flashback occurs during the integration period, where African Americans and whites started to attend school together. Even though laws banned segregation and racism, there was still racial tension that not only affected blacks, but those that were biracial. During this time, if one has at least one drop of black blood in them, they are considered black. In American, being black was a bad thing because blacks are the ones that are oppressed. African Americans were and still are treated like they are less than, based simply on the color of their skin. Tretheway had a valid reason for wanting to disown her black side because she wanted to be treated with the same respect as those who were not black. Tretheway had an opportunity to lie about who she was since she had such light skin, and she took it. But as she reflects back on what she went through, she realizes that she should have accepted who she was, no matter how others would view her. After looking back on her past, she was able to recognize the importance of self-acceptance and how it is more important than getting acceptance from those her. Natasha Tretheway used her writing ability and experiences to share the experiences she went through to let readers know that they are not

Another topic she brings to light in her book is that society uses the legal system to deny basic civil rights to those of color and has happened continuously since the years of slavery. She goes into detail about how there are higher levels of poverty, crime and imprisonment for people of color, with most individuals being black. While I agree that there are higher levels of poverty, crime and imprisonment for people of color, I do not believe that society using the legal system to deny rights is the only cause. Yes, stereotyping does exist in this country but there is a reason for that. Not saying that it is right, or justified but a lot of the time people do end up fitting a certain stereotype. Whether is be the way that person was raised, or how they believe that they should act based on what they think people will think of them anyway are also important factors to think about. If someone grows up in a society where bad things are happening around them and with the people they interact with, it is easy to conform into the same way of life. It becomes a cycle and it continues throughout the future generations. It is not completely impossible for someone to break that cycle, and this is where I think she makes a good point.

Within their communities, many character are discriminated against because of the way they look and act. In her search for work, Willie realizes that she cannot even be associated with her husband because the color of her skin prevents him from being able to get work. When they search for work, “They no longer [walk] together on the sidewalk...they never [touch]. She never [calls] his name anymore” (208). Willie often describes Robert as looking like a white man, in fact, others might even seen their marriage as shameful. Willie, who wants to become a singer, is also told that she is “Too dark...Jazzing’s only for the light girls” (209). Willie’s unequal treatment reveals an implicit bias against dark-skinned individuals in the musical industry, particularly from a socioeconomic standpoint. Similarly, Marjorie is mocked by the other black girls at her high school because of the way she speaks, and is told that “[She sounds] like a white girl. White girl. White girl” (269). Marjorie is surrounded by a culture where “white girl” is an insult because it makes her different. In a larger sense, the expectations of what it means to be “black” contribute to cultural rifts within the black community and a sense that there is a “correct” way to be

Lastly, she also aims to demolish idea of “whiteness” being something rooted in biology, by telling them that the changes in their race are based on the ideals of making gains for oneself while dehumanizing other races

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.