Essay on "Makes Me Wanna'" Literature Review

There have been many novels written about the experience of being born black in America but only so few have been able to give the reader a vivid point of view of what African Americans have gone through for generations. The book “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a very sympathetic letter to his fifth teen year old son Samori. Coates explains his experiences in the past on how being born into the world as a “Black Body” is considered as a disadvantage in America. Coates grew up with strict parents that were consistently keeping a keen eye on him always having his father constantly beating him and an always anxious mother. But as he grew older and had a son of his own he then realized the reasons behind his parent’s actions.

The hardships of the African American race

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.

The stereotypes in the story, makes it difficult for the readers to conclude the race of each character. People assume that the African American character would be illiterate and uneducated and the white character to be well-educated. During the time period of the story African Americans did not have access to a decent education; making it harder for them to learn just the basics. Whites had access to good education, making it easy to believe the white character is more educated. It is also believed that a person that is well educated will have a better lifestyle when they are older. A well-educated person will have a better job, paying more, and have a better opportunity to afford the means of a luxurious lifestyle. An under educated person will most likely live in poverty, struggle for their basic needs, or live in a declining neighborhood. Behavior is a harder stereo type to use to distinguish a race. Many assume that whites have an entitled attitude toward life. Whites had access to a good education and jobs, they had a “I’m better than you” attitude. On the other hand, many think African Americans were upset because of how easy it was for whites to have better access to the basic necessities such as education and housing.

Reading the content in this book made me get a picture of what it was like to be a colored person in this time. My eyes were opened to the meaning of the word “nigga”. Nigga is such a derogatory term, yet now-a-days it is used by people so much. Kids in this generation use it as a term of endearment when they see their friends, or they say it when they are shocked by something. Frankly, I don’t believe they know how serious it really is. The fact that white people could look at a person and see less than a human being when they did nothing wrong distresses me. They (white people) treated them as if they were property and below them. Even though we don’t have racism to this extent

The next morning Jones wakes up with a hangover combined with terrible images from his dream of a white and black boy fighting with knives and the black boy slowly losing with each additional stab wound. Looking back Jones thinks of his place in America where he is a black man but all he wants is to be seen as just a man. When arriving to work Jones has decided to quit only to find the manager talking to every white boy that enters, rather than him. While on break he tries to get ahold of alice to discuss things only to find that she is out. Then he decides to go looking for Madge who is complaining to Don about bad gear from a black guy. Don brings up her date from the previous night prompting her to storm off. Jones again tries to find Alice

The reason I chose this book was because the title jumped up at me and my curiosity was aroused. I wanted to find out more about it. I was also drawn to the fact that the book was based on a true story. True stories interest me a lot and I instantly knew that I wanted to read this book. I also noticed that the book was a best seller and sold thousands of copies. As I read this book I’m glad that I choose it because it broadened my perspective on racism and the lengths that an individual is willing to go to in order to personally experience or understand a situation. This book has clearly

Before laws were passed for equality, African-Americans had a difficult time coping with being undermined by whites. This led them to build their own communities and remain among their own. The story “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston was written in 1928, about her moving from a community of her own kind to neighbors who discriminated against her and her family. Though a person’s environment can affect how they see himself/herself or how others might perceive him/her, difficult times does not exactly mean that a person will become bitter or vengeful about it.

From the beginning of the story, we are shown racial inequalities. Ellison introduces us to our character who is a broke and hungry African American economically struggling to save his lady friend’s, Laura’s, life. The protagonist “got no birth certificate to

He discusses being a child and seeing his parents and other adults humiliated. I watch my father say, “yes-sir” to white teenagers. My mom and I were in the car

From the beginning when the African slaves first set foot on American soil, the Negro has been perceived as an inferior race. Unfortunately, the effects from slavery still take a hold of the Negro race even today. In this novel, Carter G. Woodson attempts to thoroughly explain why exactly this has come to exist. Although written years ago, the ideals in his book are still seen to be true. Woodson's theory is that because of the way the Negro is treated by the oppressor, he has been brainwashed to believe his inferiority to other races to be the truth. This in turn keeps him from trying to advance in any shape or form because he thinks that he will step out of his place. "When you control a

In the beginning chapters of the book, we get a glimpse of the typical home and community of an African American during segregation. Many Africans Americans were too adjusted to the way of living, that they felt

Throughout the novel it is apparent that everyday instances of racism occur, causing people of color to feel outcasted. There are two very obvious occasions where this happened. In the first instance two African American woman are in a workspace of primarily all white co-workers. When a woman they worked with got these two names mixed up, it was stated that she had a “fifty-fifty chance of getting it right” insinuating that these two women are the only black ones working here. Later, the woman who had the mix-up with the names wrote an apology note; however, in the note she stated it was “our mistake” and seemingly put part of the blame on the to women. This is a primary example of how African Americans can be thrown against a white background making them seem different than everyone else.

His first stop is New Orleans. Where he is shocked to the extent that he experiences racism and oppression. He is also comforted by the kindness he is shown by the black community. He then hitchhikes through the south,

I remembering watching a talk show that Jessica Simpson had appeared on a few years ago. She had gained a few pounds and was discussing all the negative feedback she had been getting from the public. Because of this experience she started a reality show called “The Price of Beauty” where she travels around the globe and reveals what ideal beauty is in many different parts of the world. In one episode she go to Uganda and visits with a community that embraces larger women as their ideal model of beauty. As soon I saw the book “Feeding Desire” it reminded me of Jessica’s experience. Rebecca Popenoe is a social anthropologist. Her book, “Feeding Desire” details her