In the influential and provoking essay “Learning to Read” (1965), Malcolm X, a civil right activist and powerful black leader, narrates his story on how books transformed his life forever into the realm of human rights. Incorporating sequential narrative and social analysis, he explains his methodology in attaining literacy and how this process influences him to espouse black separatism and resent white people, while providing historical fact and jarring criticism in his arguments. Using first-person
Critical Analysis As a young African-American man in America, my life (past, present, and future) has been a constant struggle for survival, adequate education, and self- awareness. No matter how handsome, smart, or strong one is or can be, the level of success and peace will always be determined by skin color in America and others countries across the globe. For example, black and brown- skinned people all originated from different areas of Africa. In present-day South Africa, the black or brown
Analysis of Setting, Major, and Minor Themes of Native Son The major themes of Native Son are environment, racism, black rage, religion, Communism, determinism and freedom. A minor theme is the relationship between men and women. One of the major themes of Native Son is the effect of environment on behavior and personality. Thus, setting is especially important in the novel. The story takes place in Chicago in the late 1930s
of the wind, [...] but [a caged bird] stalks down his narrow cage [and] can seldom see through the bars of his rage [...] his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” (Angelou). Angelou’s poem indirectly describes the divide in every society, with the bars of the cage being a metaphor for the inevitable isolation that occurs between the types of people, and the ominous words like “rage” and “stalks” are disturbing compared with the joyful ease of the free bird. Her poem connects to Harper Lee's novel
themes. In this next book, the analysis and perspective the author gives are different yet shows similarities in their perspective relating to race. Johann Hari writes Chasing The Scream, which gives readers a new perspective about the start to the War on Dugs, what makes people addicts, and how legalization of some substances has impacted societies. The start to the War on Drugs is a startling reality that Hari shines a light on. The subject of race is emphasized in this book and is shown as the
the book. The central theme of the book is to reflect the perspective of a black man in an era that called for equality struggles between races in the United States while battling views on racism and his rise and fall within the Nation of Islam religion. The author’s purpose for writing the book was for the reader to gain knowledge of Malcolm X as an individual and not as a phenomenon. He wanted to deliver truths that spanned his brief lifetime. Alex Haley’s qualifications to write the book were
well-written essays. He had his first book published at the early age of 19 and has published some astounding literature during the time of civil rights activism. He succeeded himself to rise out of his poverty to become an amazing writer through self-determination and courage. In his essay entitled, “Notes of a Native Son”, Baldwin does an excellent job making use of binaries and repetition of words and phrases as well as switching back and forth from narrative to analysis. He also cleverly connects his
History books and old television clips do a good job of telling the story of racial hatred in America, but not what it actually felt like to be an African American during those times. James Baldwin, a noted African American author from New York in the 1950s and 1960s, knew what it was like to experience years of unrelenting, dehumanizing racial injustice. In his essay, “Notes of a Native Son,” Baldwin uses his literary skills to
To understand a story such as “Sonny’s Blues”, a reader must also understand the author and the purpose of their writing. James Baldwin was describes a “rare and gifted writer” (Verde). He often used his books to convey a message to the public. According to Verde, he attempted “to help us - Americans of all races and backgrounds- to better understand ourselves.” In the story “Sonny’s Blue’s”, Baldwin uses the plot and characters to demonstrate the struggles that African-American men face in their
The Sufferings of “ 12 Years Slave”: Empathy and Brotherly Love would Have Saved the Day In book The Blank Slate (Pinker 2002), Steven Pinker of Harvard University had presented this argument: Thanks to natural selection, human nature is built around greed, lust, revenge, rage, machismo, and tribalism. The film “12 Year of Slave” portrays such a human nature in its visceral terms. The main theme of the film is slavery, greed, and tribalism, American life characteristics on a par with apple pie