Review Of Anna Deavere Smith 's ' Twilight ' Essay

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the story of a poor black woman living in the south between World War 1 and World War 2. This was at a time when, although slavery had ended,many women were still virtually in bondage, and had to put up with many conditions that was reminiscent of the days of slavery. The problem was that they had to endure being treated like an inferior being by their own families sometimes, as well as from the white people that lived there. It was a life that was filled with misery for many black women, and they felt helpless to do anything about their situations.

Based on Annie Dillard’s account of witnessing a total eclipse in her essay “Total Eclipse” I would have to say she definitely encourages her readers to witness a total eclipse. She says that it is almost the opposite of a partial eclipse, which I am sure most people have seen many times before, that’s how different they are and I believe most people including myself think partial eclipses are spectacular and almost dreamlike.

“Teenage Wasteland” is a short story written by Anne Tyler that focuses on the relationship between teens and parents. Many times it seems like they live in completely different worlds but they just have a different understanding of what they both want from each other. The story focuses on the two main characters Donny and Daisy. Donny is a teenage boy who isn’t the best student and doesn’t necessarily follow the rules or obey what his parents say. Daisy is a stay at home mom to her two children. And she doesn’t seem too motivated on helping her children but just focused on pointing out all the bad things that Donny does.

Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, is a one-woman performance piece written and originally performed by Anna Deavere Smith, who was commissioned to transcribe regarding the 1992 Los Angeles riots corresponding with individual’s experiences, outlooks, and concerns that contributed to those who were exacerbated by the abominable and nerve racking riots. For her production, Smith interviewed hundreds of Los Angeles’ residents who were present during the occurrence of the riot. The entire script consists actual quotations from members of the Los Angeles community and their reflection on their personal experience being surrounded in the midlife crisis atmosphere. She applied Smith strived to maintain capturing an extensive range of perspectives of the situation by interviewing several individuals from various ethnicities, financial backgrounds to different occupations for instance, Koreans, Latinos, Whites, Blacks, poor and rich people, police officers and gang members. As a result of her contribution, she received positive feedback for her own work. The composed piece is combined with historical research to provide a significant examination of the underlying cause of the devastating riot. The play, Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, provides assistance to illuminate speculations and emotions of numerous diverse viewpoints behind the horrendous racial tensions, the perceived police brutality, and the absence of leadership, which is desperately needed for restoration.

Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred is categorized as science fiction because of the existence of time travel. However, the novel does not center on the schematics of this type of journey. Instead, the novel deals with the relationships forged between a Los Angeles woman from the 20th century, and slaves from the 19th century. Therefore, the mechanism of time travel allows the author a sort of freedom when writing this "slavery narrative" apart from her counterparts. Butler is able to judge the slavery from the point of view of a truly "free" black woman, as opposed to an enslaved one describing memories.

Lydia’s Open Door by American Anthropologist Patty Kelly is an intriguing case study about both the hidden and not so hidden aspects of sex work in Chiapas, Mexico. Her book proves the usefulness of ethnographic works where she engages with unconventional ways of knowing in order to determine the complex relationships that help to reproduce gender inequality. Lydia’s Open Door contextualizes prostitution within a political and economic framework revealing how it is impossible to diagnose one without the others. She uses both macro and micro-analysis to deconstruct the variability in how prostitution is practiced, regulated and perceived through space and time. Throughout her ethnography she discusses how globalization and

This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution

Set in a futuristic society, a central influence on ones status and wealth in “The Semplica-Girl Diaries” by George Saunders, comes from ownership of semplica-girls; women from poor countries who agree to become human ornaments, strung by a microline installed in their temple, in order to provide money for their families. Through characterizing Eva as sensitive, and abnormal, Saunders shows that the average person doesn 't see how owning semplica-girls is morally wrong. The majority of people who can afford SG’s have them; in Eastridge, a presumably rich neighborhood, approximately 39/50 had. This number shows the normalization of owning SG’s. Eva consistently expresses her dislike saying, “I don’t like it. It’s not nice. . .If we want to help them, why can’t we just give them the money?”. The rest of her family are fascinated by the semplica-girls, and aspire to have one of their own. However, Eva sees the cruelty in displaying humans as ornaments for their own benefits, because as she suggests, if they wanted to help them they would give them money. In an attempt to defend themselves, her parents justify owning semplica-girls because the women have seen worse, are “happier”, and able to send money to their families. The fact that Eva goes against society’s beliefs, shows that she sees through the distorted justification society proposes. Her father writes that Eva “has developed tendency to set herself apart from others” and sees her sensitivity as “an

There is a quote from the Chopin story, “Story of an Hour”, that is quite profound. It says “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature”.

While comparing the two poems, "Gretel in Darkness" by Louise Gluck and "Hansel and Gretel" by Anne Sexton with the original Brothers Grimm tale "Hansel and Gretel", different perspectives, point of views and messages are shown.

In the first half of the historical nonfiction novel, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperini endures many hardships in his life. These struggles make me feel sorry for him and the trouble he is in. As a child, he was unable to fit in, his peers considered him “a bad kid”. Louie would unfortunately steal things on the streets, and consistently get into fights with others, commonly for no reason at all. However, the positive side to his actions, was the speed and running ability he built up. I felt relieved when his brother encouraged his participation on the school track team. In a nutshell, Louie was a natural star. His large, skinny frame and long frame gave him ideal running characteristics. No longer was Louie a bad kid, he was a

Anna Kingsley, a woman of strength and determination overcame many odds not expected of an African American slave. She married a slave owner, owned land, and was once a slave herself. She was well known in a free black community she helped establish.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

In life, each person, book, movie, and much more contains a worldview or outlook on life as a whole. Lao Tzu states that a worldview is, “When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.” Despite the fact that most people, movies, books, and other components in life do not realize that they have a worldview, in reality, they actually do. One specific example of an element in society that contains a worldview, is the action-filled and world-renowned book entitled Divergent. This specific element contains a striking plotline, worldview, and purpose in order to catch the attention of people around the world.

     In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes is a lost man who wastes his life on drinking. Towards the beginning of the book Robert Cohn asks Jake, “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize that you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” Jake weakly answers, “Yes, every once in a while.” The book focuses on the dissolution of the post-war generation and how they cannot find their place in life. Jake is an example of a person who had the freedom to choose his place but chose poorly.