Analysis Of The Book ' Caucasia '

Although society advocates believing in a ‘sameness’ between people who are black or white, individuals are still organized by race, class, gender and sexuality into social hierarchies. These hierarchies essentially formulate stigmas that suppress certain races and discriminate against them. Caucasia written by Danzy Senna is focused around a young mixed girl, Birdie, who encounters obstacles in her life that help her form her own perceptions about issues regarding class, race, and sexuality. These obstacles fundamentally shape her to have a unique outlook on society where she begins to question white privilege and also sympathize towards the mistreatment of black individuals. Senna explores the fundamental problems that are associated

As a mixed race product of an African American mother and a Caucasian father, Vyry isn’t given much of a chance to establish her identity from the moment she is born. Being the child of an African American woman automatically labels her as the “other” within the society she lives in. At a younger age, Vyry loves to play with her half-sister, and she is still oblivious of the racial separations in existence on the Dutton plantation. Soon enough, Vyry comes to learn what it means to be, not only a girl, but a Negro girl living in a white dominated society; as she finds herself and her half-sister being treated more and more different. In Jubilee, Vyry’s stepmother, who is a Caucasian woman named Salina is the emblem of white, middle class womanhood.

Punished was written by Victor Rios and published in 2011. Rios wrote the book to chronicle the challenges young black and Latino boys faced within their improvised highly criminalized neighborhoods. Rios grew up in Oakland California and lived in what was considered the ghettos mainly a minority poor community; he was also a gang member with his fair share of trouble. Rios began looking for answers to the plights he and his community faced after the murder of his friend while they ran from a rival gang member. A conversation with the police whom Rios claimed told him they wanted the gangs to kill each other off made him seek answers to the prevalence of violence that plagues his community.

The book that caught my attention the most for this essay was Ourika, by Claire de Duras. It was about a black girl who was raised by Madame de B before the French Revolution had taken place. During this time period blacks were not given the right to live their lives the same as whites due to slavery. Ourika is the main character who when is born her family dies but is saved by the rich family whom she was raised by. Ourika was not considered a normal “negro” at the time because she could read and write but not only that her living conditions were never heard of to a black. This is the life Ourika had only known of until the day she overhears Mme de B’s. and marquise’s conversation. After Ourika hears the truth her whole life

Racism is the main theme that you see throughout the whole book. Alexander begins her narrative with a history of racism in this country. Beginning with the inception of slavery in the

In this excerpt ZZ Packer clearly points out that the aversion the girls feel towards the whites is not based on their own experiences, but rather their families. According to their parents, dealing with “whites” was a problem every adult had to face. Lauren’s statement clearly exposes the young African-American girls’ lack of reasoning on racism, and thus portrays the parents as the responsible for the children’s behavior. Resentment on behalf of the parents did indeed have a huge impact in the brownies.

Anyone who think that boys are the only ones to play baseball, they are exceedingly wrong because a little girl was born to play ball, named Toni Stone.

The story takes place at Camp Crescendo, a summer camp near the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Our narrator, Laurel, who is in the Brownie troop tells readers about how the word “Caucasian” excites the girls in her troop, to them “Caucasian” was a comical word that can fit any situation. Laurel and the Brownie troop attend Woodrow Wilson Elementary. Laurel gives readers a clue that the South suburbs of Atlanta are predominantly African American when she says, “Even the only white kid in our school, Dennis, got in on the Caucasian act” (Packer).

The thought that Sissela Bok about the “whole truth” being attained is that it is impossible that it can be attained. She believes that people are lying deceived everyone, and sometime is used to protect the person. She also thinks that people that are lying is more important than anything in all of the decision that a simple lie brings. I believe she doesn’t have any faith that everyone could tell the truth. The truth is something that is hard to say, and people at times need to lie to protect their love ones. In the beginning of the chapter of “The Noble Lie” she explains how there are different lies. She explains how the lies have different reasons to for people doing it. For some of those reasons it is impossible to be completely truth. Some have to lie to protect others, and cover up the secrets that can be told. There are plenty reasons that there are to lie to people. She states, “The lies are often seen as necessary merely at one stage in the education of the public.” (Bok 166) This is something that everyone does growing up, and no one in one time of their life cannot lie to anyone.

It is often said that kids don’t usually understand race or racism, and that is true until Janie is met with kids who have faced oppression all their lives. Janie is a young girl who is raised by her grandmother in the deep South during the 1930’s. Janie lives among many white kids and doesn’t realize that she is not white until she sees a photo of the children and cannot identify herself in the picture. “Dat’s where Ah wuz s’posed to be, but Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark chile as me. So Ah ast, ‘where is me?’ Ah don’t see me’”(9). Janie didn’t know that she was a black girl because she had always been treated the same as the white kids, and they never treated her any differently than anyone else. The only kids that ever abused her with their words were the other black kids at school, they always teased her for living in

Antonio Márez is a young catholic boy living in a world where there are so many different beliefs and perspectives that influence who he is and what he chooses to believe in. With so many different options for Antonio to choose from he struggles in deciding which path to take regarding religion and who he is as a person. Ultimately, Antonio realizes he must decide for himself and not follow others because they tell him to. In the book Bless me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Anaya illustrates the idea that people must choose for themselves because it is what they want and not what others want them to be.

Jalapeno bagels is about a boy named Pablo whom cannot decide what to take to school for International Day. He wants to bring something from his parents’ baker. He wants something that represent his heritage but he cannot decide what to bring. His mother who is Mexican baked pan dulce and change bars. His father who is Jewish baked bagels and challah. Both of the bake good were good but while helping his parents with the bakery on Sunday morning, Pablo made a decision on what to bring. He decided to bring jalapeno bagels because they are a mixture both of his parents and just like him too. The multicultural representations in the story line is Mexican and Jewish. The pictures that were drawn in the book, the family has the same color of skin even though the parents are different cultures and the main character is mixed. There were no different skin colors.

Dunbar utilizes the analogy of caged bird in his poem “Sympathy” to expose the emotions and struggles of enslaved African Americans to achieve freedom. He begins his poem by describing the free bird singing when “sun is bright and first bud opens” to portray the beauty of landscape. However, the beauty turns into sadness when the poet states "I know what the caged bird feels, alas" which depicts a tone of sadness. This contrast between a free bird and caged bird initiates the losses of caged bird. It cannot go out and experience the freedom under the open sky. It struggles with physical constrain “till its blood is red on the cruel bars” helps visualize the intensity of struggle the bird is experiencing to gain his freedom to go where he desires, and to be with those who give him happiness. This struggle is similar of African American who tried to rebel in hopes of gaining their freedoms, but all resulted in vain. Their wounds, just like the caged bird, are “old, old scars” emphasizes that African Americans

In Americanah by Adichie Ngozi Chimamanda, the characters Ifemelu and Dike undergo two different experiences of race in America. Ifemelu, coming from Nigeria, has never witnessed what it means to be “black” because in Nigeria she is simply Nigerian; there are no grey areas with race there. Her cousin Dike, on the other hand, has only experienced “blackness” in America because he is born into it. Throughout the novel, Ifemelu struggles to assimilate because she is trying to understand race in America. While, Dike is seemingly numb to any social injustices that occur to him because he has grown up around it. Using Ifemelu and Dike, Adichie highlights how the realities of racial inequality force Non American Black people to confront their expectations surrounding their immigration; but ultimately their confrontation often results in a major loss of identity in hopes of dealing with reaching the ideal American dream.

Discrimination and racism is always an issue, but the hardship these women had to face and suffer is something that is still being discussed. Understanding the fear, struggle and hardship that women of color went through during this time period is very important. Both “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker discuss race and the struggle with trying to be accepted in society.