Losing My Cool : Book Review : Losing My Cool

John Howard Griffin, the author of Black Like Me, writes an autobiographical account what he passed through for a period of about 10 months. Howard has an idea that has been haunting him for a long duration of time; he wondered the various kinds of life changes that a white man would need to be labeled a Negro in the southern region of the United States. Howard wanted to acquire first hand information of the daily experiences of the African Americans in the Deep South. Black Like Me offers an account of the bad and good things that Howard went through because of the vivid makeover from being white to being black. This paper reviews John Howard Griffin’s Black like me, the paper provides a summary of the book,

Furthermore, this essay gives a perspective on what a Black man goes through. Brent wanted to enlighten his readers about daily life as an African American man. This meant explaining his view of the public from his perspective. By bringing these issues to light, he

This true story is based on two African American males who grew up with many similarities but landed a completely different outcome in life. One of the main similarities is their name, Wes Moore. Both Wes Moore’s grew up in a fatherless home, born in the same neighborhood of Baltimore during the 1970’s, and both were handcuffed before age 11. The same question remains. How did one end up as a scholar, veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader and the other one end up serving a life sentence for a robbery that ended in the murder of a police officer? The book reflects how developmental psychology is implemented by focusing on the physical, social, and cultural environments influence developments that occur over time.

black man fights against, constantly trying to identify himself. At the same time, black men have found approaches to detach from this narrow minded image that society has created for them including; sports, education and family. The black male struggles to gain his own identity because there is already a firm image created for them that the white man visualizes the black male and the expectations of the black male. However, it isn’t just the society that plays a role in the development of the black males identity, there is also the consideration of how black males are brought up or raised in their current lifestyle situations. For example, athletes,

On the day Charlie was fifty years old, after years of abuse by his overbearing white boss Beau, he said “I been ‘bused enough” (Gaines 189). Charlie reached his breaking point and Beau was soon in the weeds, dead. After he killed Beau Boutan, Charlie ran away, similarly to how he had avoided his problems for his whole life. However after he ran away, he soon came back and proclaimed “I’m a man,” (Gaines 186). Charlie was not only speaking to the sheriff and white people, but more importantly, to the old black men. Charlie wanted to foster the confidence of the black men, helping them to understand that a change was coming. On this hot, sweltering “Friday” (Gaines 166), Charlie stood up and proclaimed “they comes a day when a man must be a man.” (Gaines 189) and for Charlie, that day was today. Even though Charlie knew he was facing a life and death decision by standing up against Beau, he still stood up and faced his problems. After explaining the story of Beau’s death, “a deep, all-heart, true grin, a grin from a man [Charlie] who had been a boy fifty years.” (Gaines 193) sprouted from Charlie’s lips, a grin telling the world that he was a black man and proud. After Charlie’s confession he became the bravest man in the conflict between Tee Jack and his chums and the plantation workers. In one day Charlie transformed from a fearful boy into a fearless man. Today, the other black

Tom discovers his real identity which changes his life drastically. He is finally aware of the fact that he is not white and it become noticeable in various ways. “It was the ‘nigger’ in him asserting its humility, and he blushed and was abashed. And the ‘nigger’ in him was surprised when the white friend put out his hand for a shake with him” P.56 Tom’s behavior is innate and raises the question of nature and nurture, and racial heritage.

Everyone wants to be accepted by their peers, especially if there are key differences between them. That acceptance can only be achieved in one of two ways; either the person has to change for their peers or their peers have to change for that person. Since James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is set in a tumultuous time of racism, the Ex-Colored Man only has one option and that is to change himself. However, Johnson’s novel forces the reader to question if changing who you are will actually make you happier.

Many times we do not feel like we are an individual, but another piece of a giant puzzle of other pieces just like each other. This is similar the story of the narrator in Invisible Man who is a young African American Man living in 1930s American society. After he is expelled from school, the narrator is forced to go to the north in search of employment to work and then return to school. However, life is not as easy as he thought it was going to be and is forced to confront the reality that he is black and many different things come along with that. On his journey, it becomes clear to him that there are many stereotypes that are associated with his race, which then translates into racists ideologies that forces him to realize that all along he has been an invisible man, hidden amongst other people and forced to be just like all the other black people, rather than take on his own identity

“Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future regarding career, relationships, families, housing, etc. The individual wants to belong to a society and fit in” (McLeod). This quote explains how James thinks which group he belongs to, so he would decide to hang out with people who do drugs and rob people. In addition to after James’ stepfather has had passed away, it has affected James, which lead him to decide to skip school to watch a movie, do drugs and rob people on the streets with his friends. “I virtually dropped out of high school after he died, failing every class. I spent the year going to movies on Forty-second Street in Times Square with my friends.” … “Me and my hanging-out boys were into the movies. Superfly, Shaft, and reefer, which we smoked in as much quantity as possible. I snatched purses. I shoplifted. I even robbed a petty drug dealer once” (McBride 6). This quote explains how James doesn’t know his identity well and doesn’t know where he belongs. Although James could have asked his mother or is friends that he “hangs out” with about his identity, his mother wouldn’t even speak about the topic and his friends aren’t going to tell James the correct understanding. “…I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn’t want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds” (McBride 103). “Am I black or white?” “You are a human being,” she snapped. “Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody!” (McBride 92). The quotes are describing how he wished his mother to be black so he could find out his identity, but with his mom being white, it was difficult for him to understand why she was white and why he was black. As James gets older, he will be independent, and

Chicago, home to Richard Wright in Black Boy, poses several challenges to Wright. Outlined in this autobiography, Wright discusses the struggles he overcame throughout his life to reach the success he sought after. Reminiscing on his younger days through the book, Wright writes about growing up through a tough childhood, eventually leading to how this influenced him as an adult. With the ambitions of reaching the North and becoming successful, Wright goes on a journey through life to accomplish these goals. Wright uses the rhetorical strategies of point of view and repetition to examine how these struggles influenced him.

In “Black Boy” written by Richard Wright, the main character Richard shows us that our nature will overcome our environment. Richard’s nature for reading and writing overpowers what he’s told by his family and society. Richard just got a new job with a new family. The women of the house is questioning him: “‘What grade are you in school?’ ‘Seventh, ma’am.’

Everybody, at one moment or another during their childhood, has wished to gain the responsibilities of an adult. However, most kids are held back by the childish part of themselves. They have to go through a coming of age cycle, that once completed, has matured them and made them evolve from their old-self. In Richard Wright’s autobiography Black Boy, we follow a young boy named Richard through his own journey to become a man, as we see him struggle and overcome obstacles. The author uses the motifs of hunger, discrimination, and religion to represent his quest and to emphasize on all the challenges life throws at him.

Although I did not know why, I understood that I was different from my peers; for most of my childhood the black experience for me was denying the ‘black’ part of my identity. That weird obsession for elementary school kids to differentiate between being black and African was very prevalent in my black peers, which led to the suppression of not only a pride in my culture, but of the desire to learn more about it. All throughout elementary school, I was not only aware that I was different from those I did not look like, but also from those that I did. This was the trend for most of my adolescence, but it was not until I arrived at the University of Texas at Austin, that I was able to stand unashamed of all parts of my identity. As I became more

In The Gentle Art of Discipling Women Dana Yeakley shares a system of discipling women that she has developed through years of experience. While reading this book I learned the difference between mentoring and discipling, ways to connect with women with the purpose of making them disciples of Christ, and helpful tips on how to structure our time together in order to build relationships as well as help the woman grow in her maturity as a Christian.

Cutler’s (2007) work shows that for white youth, there is a struggle for authenticity when youth negotiate their identities across cultural spaces. Much of the research on authenticity (Bucholtz 1999; Cutler 1999, 20003, 2007; Morgan 2005) highlight the notion of ‘keeping it real’ that represents the “quest for the coalescence and interface of ever-shifting arts, politics, representation, performance and individual accountability that reflects all aspects of youth experiences” (Morgan 2005:211). Spears (1998) in Cutler (2007:10) says “the dual personality caused by the cohabitation of two consciousness’s or cultural systems within one mind, [in this case] the white and the African American.” Cutler (2007) shows that there are certain ideas