Embracing the Past: A Difficult Ideal in African American Heritage

Every black male's plight in America can be regarded as a provider for his family. However, society does not afford black males the benefit of feeling secure about providing for their families. It can be easy for anyone to criticize society and place the blame on America for not affording Walter the opportunities of his white counterparts. Walter does not have control over his own responsibilities. Therefore, if he was given all the resources needed to provide his family his poor judgement and lack of business sense would create further stress on the family. Ruth, Mama, and his sister Beanetha attack him from every angle about his doubtful ideals. Ironically, those ideals are what Walter needs to shape and justify his manhood. Without ideals and proper resources to obtain them, a man's existence can be regarded as insignificannot

African American literature from the Colonial era through Reconstruction shows how African Americans were always treated differently and many of them had to either ignore the awful things the white people said to them, or they had to hide behind a mask of someone everyone tells them to be. One of these incidences of having to just ignore society was in the folktale “’Member Youse a Nigger” when John spend his days keeping quiet and doing only the things that would set him free. While the story “The Wife of His Youth” by Charles Chestnutt and the poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar were about the effects that society has on ‘colored’ people. Both stories showing how people feel it is okay to pretend to be someone that they aren’t

Racism is an issue that blacks face, and have faced throughout history directly and indirectly. Ralph Ellison has done a great job in demonstrating the effects of racism on individual identity through a black narrator. Throughout the story, Ellison provides several examples of what the narrator faced in trying to make his-self visible and acceptable in the white culture. Ellison engages the reader so deeply in the occurrences through the narrator’s agony, confusion, and ambiguity. In order to understand the narrators plight, and to see things through his eyes, it is important to understand that main characters of the story which contributes to his plight as well as the era in which the story takes place.

Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is a story about an unnamed African American man trying to find a place for himself in white America. Throughout his life, he believes that his whole existence solely depends on recognition and approval of white people, which stems from him being taught to view whites as superior. The Invisible Man strives to correspond to the values and expectations of the dominate social group, but he is continuously unable to merge his socially imposed role as a black man with his internal concept of identity. In the end, he finally realizes that it is only up to himself to create his own identity without depending on the acceptance of whites, but on his own acceptance of himself. Invisible Man represents the critical

Inspired by the Wilmington Riots of 1898, Charles Chesnutt delves deep into the racial tensions of the South in his novel On the Marrow of Tradition. Despite being set well after the end of the Civil War, the struggle between the black and white races is far from over. The white race insists on maintaining complete control in every aspect of society, including personal matters. They are constantly demanding that the black community serve them. On the other end, the black race is struggling to survive the harsh conditions the white-dominated society imposes on them. Throughout the novel, Chesnutt reminds us of the ongoing battle between the two races. At the same time, Chesnutt explores the effect this has on various members in society. The youngest two characters in the novel, Dodie and Doctor Miller’s son, exemplify the conditions and consequences for the black and white races. Although they seem to be secondary characters in On the Marrow of Tradition, both Dodie and Doctor Miller’s son play a crucial role in the representation of their respective races.

Joe Starks is representative of a much different sphere in terms of African-Americans and their ways of dealing with white cruelty. He is quick to tell Janie that he has "been working for white folks all his life," and it becomes evident to the reader through his improvements of the town; the light post, the general store, the post office that he is a man making plans of bringing Eatonville closer to the white world. Sounding like Mrs. Turner, he chastises town residents for casting doubt on his plans for a post office: "The white man don't have tuh keep us down. Us keeps our own selves down" (Hurston, 39).

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim, a runaway slave, faces many obstacles in his journey to freedom. Huck Finn, a teenage boy and friend of JIm, is also facing difficulty with whether or not he should be helping Jim escape slavery. Many characters throughout the novel struggle to deal with conflicts. A conflict that people in today’s world are struggling to deal with, is the controversy over whether Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel or not. All-in-all, Huckleberry Finn is profoundly antislavery. Twain creates Him as a man who is brave and heroic. Twain also demonstrates that the blacks and whites relationship is not the only concern over racism, and reveals the voice of a slave attempting to survive in a white slave culture.

It was a common fear among the African-Americans. The Younger Family knew that the discrimination would hold them back from their dreams and goals, but because they believe in prosperity and pride, that was the last thing on their mind. The “want” in their spirits, is what sets them at place of tranquility and hope. “In fact, here’s another fifty cents… buy yourself some fruit today - or take a taxicab to school or something! (1.1.1840) Walter is letting his son know that there is no problem when it comes to their economic status. One of the difficulties that the adults faced was their self-righteousness. The discrimination was really enabled when it came to anything in their life. Whether it be buying certain houses, jobs, or even sitting in a restaurant, it was something so common; they learned that it is far more important for their child to know how to live with no fear and worrisome in life. When it came to Walter, he knew that keeping the innocence in Travis’ life was the right thing to do, where for Ruth she was far more upright. The self-doubt they displayed was becoming a burden in their lives, but that transformation and growth is what helped them come to a better understanding of themselves. The Younger Family’s moral development would be their sense of pride, and Mama’s destiny was to continue that pride. Mama’s development within herself had grown to great measures, but when it came to her

Written in a brilliant way, Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” captures the attention of the reader for its multi-layered perfection. The novel focuses an African American living in Harlem, New York. The novelist does not name his protagonist for a couple of reasons. One reason is to show his confusion of personal identity and the other to show he is “invisible”. Thus he becomes every Black American who is in search of their own identity. He is a true representative of the black community in America who is socially and psychologically dominated everywhere. The narrator is invisible to others because he is seen by the stereotypes rather than his true identity. He takes on several identities to find acceptance from his peers, but eventually

In Marrow of Tradition Charles Chesnutt uses the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, as well as other racial issues to set the scene and develop his plot. Plessy vs. Ferguson, and Williams vs. Mississippi are events that went through the supreme court. Captain McBane is an example of a person that causes racial injustice throughout the book. While reading the book, it seems as though McBane’s goal is to make Whites superior to Blacks, in status and power. McBane seems to ignore Blacks and their opinions. \ Captain McBane and Captain Belmont open the newspaper business and immediately are tested. There is an African American, Major Carteret’s servnt Jerry, that applies to work at the newspaper, stating that he is “as honest as any negro in Wellington”.(Marrow

The year 1941 saw a landmark book published, The Mind of the South, by W. J. Cash. Cash determined to delve into the true mindset of the South. His thesis contends that the South was divided into three minds, or “frontiers:” pre-Civil War, where the white planter class dominated all aspects of society, with little regard to Native Americans, African-Americans, or women; the Reconstruction era, where African-Americans were still not really free and elite whites continued to dominate society; and the beginning of the twentieth century where the old social order of the South charged on, with Confederate soldiers and elite whites assuming the lead roles in all parts of society, thus laying the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement. This is a shocking and almost comical book for modern readers, but remains a landmark book in early-twentieth century Southern scholarship. From his first few lines, Cash assumes his readers are just like him: white, male, and above all else, Southern.

The character, Harmond begins the play by representing the ideal black man. Harmond was highly educated having graduated from an Ivy League school, married, a business owner, wealthy, and involved in local government. From afar, he looked like the ideal representation of what a successful black man should be. Harmond works for himself and readers are meant to view this as honorable. However, as the play progresses, issues arise with Harmond’s status as a successful working man. Readers find out that Harmond’s success is due in large part to his father’s success, thus it seems less like he earned his status and respect by himself. Additionally, it comes to light that not all of his business proceedings are legal. In fact, readers find out that he has possessed houses in an illegal manner. Readers see that Harmond’s morals are questionable and are meant question the idea of the successful working black man.

   In the early twentieth century black American writers started employing modernist ways of argumentation to come up with possible answers to the race question. Two of the most outstanding figures of them on both, the literary and the political level, were Richard Wright, the "most important voice in black American literature for the first half of the twentieth century" (Norton, 548) and his contemporary Ralph Ellison, "one of the most footnoted writers in American literary history" (Norton, 700). In this paper I want to compare Wright's autobiography "Black Boy" with Ellison's novel "Invisible Man" and, in doing so, assess the effectiveness of their conclusions.

It was a cool misty morning on June 1, 1853. Wilbur Jennings is just rolling out of bed after the second time of Ms. Ulga yelling at him to get up. He slowly slid out of bed, barely awake until his feet hit the frigid floor; he quickly went to the tiny dresser And grabbed a pair of dingy socks, one with a hole in it. As he slipped them on he saw Terrence combing his hair in front of the cracked mirror hanging over the rusted out sink. Terrence was his best friend; And had been as long as he could remember. He threw on his old hat he had had for a year And a half. He and Terrence started towards school; on the way they went by the newspaper shop and saw in huge bold letters, “WANTED JESSE JAMES.” As they had done time and time before Terrence went in and knocked over a

This book was about a boy named Huck (Huckleberry Finn) who saw his life's challenges as great adventures. The author gave the main character an incredibly magnetic personality that surely tapped into each readers childhood. He also made the protagonist very relatable. Although I was not born around the time African-American slavery was allowed I thought that the dialogue was very authentic. Initially, I was offended on how the African-American slave characters were portrayed. However, I was satisfied when I realized that the author didn't play favorites when it came to dialogue. In this book, the way a person thought had no connection with their race. It was clear to see that the author was not biased. He gave each character a chance to develop his own opinions. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Huck was trying to figure out what was right: giving a slave back to its "rightful" owner or setting them free. Huck made a decision that most adults might not ever come to make because they are bound by something called a "generational curse". A "generational curse" is something that a person's parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents did that makes its way down in the family tree. This curse (or blessing) can be a mindset ritual tradition or just a way of life. It could be good, bad, or neither. For example, Huck was taught not only by his family but in his race that Niggers (or African-Americans) we're property. Caucasians gave African-Americans the