Desire by Paz Latorena

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)

1. What piece of paper did the author’s mother carry for twenty years, and why did she carry it?

To be an ethnic American is a culture all on its own. Hunger of memory by Richard Rodríguez gives an insight into the rarely viewed world. A person that no longer falls into either category of family or American community. Such an individual is stuck between two worlds, in which two different cultures collide yet form a rift through family, language and education.

A lack of self-awareness tended the narrator’s life to seem frustrating and compelling to the reader. This lack often led him to offer generalizations about ““colored” people” without seeing them as human beings. He would often forget his own “colored” roots when doing so. He vacillated between intelligence and naivete, weak and strong will, identification with other African-Americans and a complete disavowal of them. He had a very difficult time making a decision for his life without hesitating and wondering if it would be the right one.

She had a healthy body, she was intelligent. She had an “abundant sexual drive and possessed strong arms and back,” (2, 8-9). She was herself blind to her own positive qualities as she was too busy trying to please others with her looks, “she went to and fro apologizing,” (2, 10). She apologized to everyone for her imperfections. The imagery of, “Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs” (2, 11), portrays the indifference society felt towards her. She wanted to be appreciated, but she was only seen her for her looks and not her inner self. She had learned from the time she was a child her imperfections made her not good enough or socially

In Richard Rodriguez autobiography, Hunger of Memory, Richard himself writes about his educational journey. Rodriguez wrote such book in 1982. The book revolves around the life a young immigrant child, whom has a difficult time understanding how to adapt himself in the given environment. Furthermore, the book navigates the readers though Richards transition form boyhood to adulthood. Not only so, but Richard discusses how the opportunities that were presented to him altered his viewpoints in life as well as education.

The themes of power and control in Stokey Carmichael's "What We Want" and Huey Newton's "The Founding of the Black Panther Party" and "Patrolling" are expressed in different methods to make a point. However, they both share similar goal to end racism by educating their communities of their legal rights and ways to create unity in their communities.

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, is a writer,and she is known for many auto-biographical novels and she also writes poetry and essays. She also loved to study music, dance,and drama. From 1963 to 1966 Angelou was involved in the black civil rights movement. Maya Angelou wrote this specific poem called; “Phenomenal Women”. Angelou has a very creative way of saying things throughout her poem. Angelou talks about a woman in the poem that talks about herself a lot she repeats the phrase“ I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman that's me”( Angelou) therefore Angelou might be this person in her poem. Angelou is trying to show the reader that you need to have more confidence in your own person instead of worrying about others judgment.

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

Her writings are heart-wrenching and full of longing for freedom, happiness, and her mother. At the end of each entry she would draw heart shaped balloons and look at the moon, hoping her mother could feel her love and sense that she was still out there somewhere.

The short story “Little things” by Raymond Carver which was previously titled, “Mine” was included in Carvers 1981 collection, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and later got the title, “Little Thing’s” and was included in his 1988 collection, “Where I’m Calling From.” In this story the author uses symbolism of metaphor and foreshadowing to present the themes such as lack of communication, struggle and separation. The short story also has more than one tone which are hostile, unfriendly, and aggressive. The author demonstrates in this story that little is more by the lack of names and details he uses, but still can express the feelings, and points of the story for the reader to establish while reading the story. Even though it may

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick provides insight into the lives of North Korean defectors while in North Korea. Their accounts give inside information about the North Korean regime which makes it possible to analyze to what extent society was an egalitarian utopia. The interview reveals that people were discriminated by social class as evident by those who were richer, and thus in a higher social strata, having more opportunities for success. There was also economic inequity which was apparent by people having different degrees of struggle. However, the problems North Koreans faced was similar, which showed there was some equality from their struggles. Overall, the interviewees give accounts which contradict the idea that the North Korean regime was promoting egalitarianism through their accounts which give counterexamples regarding social class and economic status, so their claim of egalitarianism is mostly false.

“An Unknown Girl” by Moniza Alvi is a free verse poem about the author’s experience getting her hand hennaed in an Indian bazaar. Throughout the poem, Alvi makes use of structure techniques like end-stopped lines, occasional rhymes, language, imagery, and changes in tone to explore different aspects of the concept of identity.

   To a reader unfamiliar with his work, Raymond Carver's short story, "Little Things" may seem devoid of all literary devices owning to good writing. Fortunately, these people are mistaken. With his minimalistic style, it is what Carver doesn't write that makes his work so effective. Most of Carver's short stories describe situations that many people could find themselves in and that is why his work is so appealing to readers. They are not restricted to harsh explicative details or over-dramatized language, but are allowed to create their own rationale for the actions of the characters and the consequent results.

Understanding her own purpose in writing, Barrett set out to perfectly portray it to others. This search for clarity in vocabulary is what drove her to create such complicated poetry that, unfortunately, more often than not, perplexed her critical contemporaries. Barrett characterizes her process of writing as being "thought-tied"