Intro Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb tells us the story of Lilly, a white woman who was raised in Morocco and who was eventually forced to flee Africa from the Red Terror genocides. It takes place in the 70s and 80s, giving us her perspectives both in Ethiopia, where she is sent to live after she turns sixteen, as well as England, where she lives as a refugee. Despite the decades in which these events transpire, Sweetness in the Belly is still a relevant frame of which to compare modern struggles that come with of racism, immigration, and living in a poor country. p1 One of the reasons why Sweetness in the Belly is relevant today is its portrayal of racism. Lilly is a white woman in Ethiopia for half of the book, and a Muslim woman living in England in the other. In Ethiopia, Lilly is regarded as a farenji, a foreigner, who don't have a very good reputation and who are few and far between, leaving Lilly alone in breaking racial barriers and …show more content…
Despite moving around with her parents a lot as a child, it leaves her with no easy task when coming to England. Her struggles with assimilating to British culture are evident as she holds true to her original traditions. This is less true of her friend Amina, however: "For all her conviction that her children should know where they come from, she seems increasingly less interested in maintaining the rituals of the past" (p 140). These struggles are still true for immigrants today, which is exceptionally important considering how multicultural Canada is and the number of immigrants who come here each year. Although Lilly already knows English, language barriers are also a very real issue for some immigrants, and although she doesn't struggle in England with language, she does when she first gets to Harar. "She [Nouria] shrugged, not understanding, so I pointed at my chest, I pointed to the minaret in the sky above us, I raised my hands as if to bow down in prayer" (p
The book Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper is both a heart wrenching and heartwarming narrative story about a fifteen-year-old African girl named Amari and her journey through enslavement. She is harshly trapped by the “pale-faced” strangers in a friendly visit to their village, Ziavi, which surprisingly enough ends in a fire that destroys their village- and their people as well. Devastated by her family’s deaths and lost opportunities, she is taken down to the ship in destination to the Americas where she is expected to be worth a couple pounds. Experiencing traumatizing events like being repeatedly raped by slave owners, she overcomes many of the harsh obstacles put in her way with empowering characters such as Afi and her best friend Polly.
Small Beauty by Jia Qing Wilson-Yang is about the experiences of Mei, a mixed-race trans woman, who moves from the city to rural modern-day Canada as she deals with past and present trauma. The text is an exploration of personal identity and how one connects with the place they live. Colonization still impacts how people shape their identity today; in Wilson-Yang’s Small Beauty the lasting impacts of colonialization shape how Mei views aspects of her identity through the novel including gender identity and race. First, this essay will set the definitions that set the foundation, second it will explore colonization in relation to Mei’s gender identity, third it will examine the impact of colonialization on Mei’s racial
Captivity is a strong theme running throughout American Romantic literature. This novel is a wilderness romance with strong undercurrents of captivity and escape. Not long after arriving in the Congo, their minds are already focused on escape. The jungle is a paradise, but a dark, gothic one where evil lies in wait - in the form of venomous snakes, flesh eating ants, and the poisonwood tree. Just as surely as the slaves in Uncle Tom's Cabin were searching for escape from captivity, so too are these women and children, and their escape is equally fraught with danger. The entire time that they live in the village, they imagine that a return to America will release them from their heartache, but this does not prove to be the case for any of them. Africa takes the life of one sister, holds on to
As race continues to remain a difficult topic in the United States, the factors that affect the way race is perceived and addressed are more influential than ever. In her debut novel Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi explores these controversial issues by juxtaposing the lineages of two half sisters, both from what is now present-day Ghana. One sister, Effia marries a wealthy British governor, while the other, Esi, is sold into slavery. Gyasi travels from 18th century Ghana to the present day United States, weaving a story of institutionalized conceptions of race that resonates in today’s turbulent political world. Gyasi introduces ethnocentrism, the concept that one’s own cultural background colors their view of other cultures, in the relationships between
Perhaps the greatest difficulty for immigrants adapting to life in a new country is the language barrier. Upon their arrival, the Shimerdas only speak a few sentences of broken English. According to Jim, “They could not speak enough English to ask for advice, or even to make their most pressing wants known” (Cather 46). In the beginning of their friendship, Antonia is unable to communicate efficiently with Jim. For example, during one of Antonia and Jim’s adventures, they come across a snake that sneaks up behind Jim. Antonia, who only speaks little English, is only able to scream at Jim in Bohemian. Although Jim is able to kill the snake, he lashes out at Antonia for speaking Bohemian gibberish. While this frustrates Antonia, it also makes her more determined to learn English. For instance, Antonia illustrates her desire to learn English as she makes daily trips, traveling by barefoot, to the Burden’s home to acquire new English phrases (Gerber 11). Because the Shimerdas do not speak English, they fall easy prey to those willing to take advantage of them.
Harriet Jacob and Phillis Wheatley, Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl and On Being Brought from Africa to America both presents the existential conditions of being a black woman in a male dominated society. Despite their years span differences, both author present different, yet similar views of enslavement in America where black women struggle to reclaim their humanity and seek freedom within their society. For both Harriet and Phillis, both women used literacy as their voice to raise concern for the plight of enslaved African-Americans, more specifically the women.
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author
Unconsciously, we all speak different languages; we categorize the way we speak by the environment and people at which we are speaking too. Whenever a character enters an unfamiliar environment, they experiment with language to find themselves and understand reality. For immigrants, language is a means to retain one’s identity; however, as they become more assimilated in their new communities their language no longer reflects that of their identity but of their new cultural surroundings. When an immigrant, immigrates to a new country they become marginalized, they’re alienated from common cultural practices, social ritual, and scripted behavior. It’s not without intercultural communication and negotiation
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
Sally takes a big risk immigrating to Canada. She leaves her relatives, culture, and language behind in China. Sally meets a kind elderly couple, Elizabeth and Joe who invite her to their apartment for a cup of tea and watch the fireworks. They are generous and even offer her a free refurbished vacuum. However, the conversation becomes stressful for Sally when Joe judges single mothers in his apartment building, “ ‘Do they know it’s their responsibility to educate their kids? Especially, some of them don’t even go to work, they live on welfare’ “ (38). Although Sally could have simply ignored Joe’s comments, she “decides to take a chance” (39). This is a significant moment in the text because Sally risks losing her friends and being misunderstood. This is a very fearful situation for an immigrant living in another country because it can make her feel isolated. In response, Sally tells Elizabeth and Joe that she is divorced and single mother. In regards to single mothers in general, “Perhaps the single mothers in your building have circumstances you don’t know about. Perhaps they are struggling against their personal crises. Perhaps they need advice, just as I did with the vacuum cleaner” (42).
Throughout her novel Passing, Nella Larsen explores the limits of a monochromatic world and the separation of black and white. Larsen reveals what it means to be black, what it means to be white, and ultimately the struggles one faces should they try to be both. Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, two African-American women in post-World-War-I-America, find themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum despite having started from the same place: the ‘black’ streets of south side Chicago. Clare, passing as white, searches, from the depths of her ‘new life,’ to re-immerse herself in the life she left behind, however despite her desperate efforts, finds her self lost in a grey area. Clare has a vast hole in her identity, which progressively grows as she struggles to find herself culturally, physically and emotionally bouncing back and forth between two races.
Phillis Wheatley’s, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ is a testament to writing that utilizes irony and satire to produce a salient argument. As Susan Martin, states in her analysis of Wheatley’s poem, “a young woman who sought to assert her views on the passage from freedom to slavery, ignorance to knowledge, darkness to enlightenment” (Martin, 157). In particular, Wheatley’s aim was to construct a piece which addresses the ideals expressed by Martin utilizing irony and satire. Moreover, Wheatley, at the time of writing this poem, was amongst those enslaved. In fact, Wheatley published her first book in 1773. This is a time before America’s independence and most certainly a time where slavery was prominent. This book, which contained numerous poems, proved those enslaved were more intelligent than previously thought. Within Wheatley’s book, her famous poem, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ was read. Read by those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. Typically, Wheatley addresses Christianity and avoids any discussion of race. However, this poem addresses racial issues straight on. On the surface of this poem lies words that when first perceived, appear to support slavery and her deposition from Africa. Moreover, Wheatley utilizes irony and satire to provide a deeper message that speaks out against slavery. More importantly, satire and irony allow two views to form. Through analysis from authors, Levernier, Loving, and Martin, their multiple perspectives can be formed into one. This analysis, will allow a better understanding of Wheatley’s intent with each line and a closer analysis of her clever rhetoric. Furthermore, Wheatley aims to reveal the improper treatment of, “Negros, black as Cain” (Wheatley), while also allowing the poem to be perceived as an appraisal of slavery. Furthermore, Wheatley utilizes each line to provide discussion on different issues regarding slavery in terms of criticizing white Christianity. Furthermore, Wheatley makes her viewpoint of slavery clear; an improper treatment that will not last.
Flowers” by Alice Walker is a story that takes place around the 1800’s and it is about a Myop, who is a ten year old girl that lives in the country. She seems to be a very curious and observant as it describes her journey from her family’s Sharecropper cabin to the woods behind her house. Myop roams around the woods with not a care in the world and admires the beauty of her surroundings such as the blue flowers she discovers. However as she is exploring the land she stumbles across the remains of a black man who was lynched. The story “Sweetness” by Toni Morrison takes place in the 1990’s is about a mother who gives birth to a dark-skinned baby and is a ashamed of the child because of how society frowns upon a situation like her own.
Bildungsromane follow the journey of individuals who often seek both their self- and national identities. The story of Lucy revolves around the “intersections of colonialism, racism, sexism, and heterosexism” (Lima 130) in contexts that limit her individuality. In order to stop her her present that is defined by the violent history of her ancestors from becoming her future, Lucy migrates from her motherland, only to discover herself in a situation where she must contend with internal struggle, exploring “complexities and contradictions” (Lima 129) which are the result of the life she is born into. In her novel Lucy, Kincaid adeptly chooses the Caribbean as Lucy’s motherland—a place with a “history of foreign domination, slavery, imperialism, and neocolonialism”—to juxtapose the “revolt, resistance and struggle” (Lima 129) embodied by Lucy. Mariah serves as a provocative reminder of the very past that triggered Lucy to leave her mother and Antigua, through embodying colonialism as a mother figure. The eponymous protagonist’s futile attempt to elude the reigns of Mariah is a reflection of the inevitable intergenerational damage of not only gender oppression in a patriarchal society, but also colonial violence on a marginalized person like Lucy.
Throughout the poem, “White Lies”, Natasha Tretheway was able to show the difficulty of growing up biracial by using different literary elements that include puns, irony, and flashbacks to demonstrate how self-love is required in order to find one’s identity. By using first person, the author was able to connect with her audience on a deeper level by letting them experience what she did by taking them on a journey as she reflects back on her tough childhood.