Swamplandia Analysis

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

The next six lines (or next sentence) heightens the living standards of the affluent tourists, which heightened the contrast between living styles between the ‘turistas’ and the speaker. First, the speaker does not even see the tourists from a completely clear distance--she has to “peek” through the cactus fence. Here, the speaker sees how the women rub oil onto themselves that is “sweeter than honey” and children being playful, sipping on drinks with “long straws, coconut white, mango yellow.” This alone shows the options that these tourists have that may seem privileged to the speaker, for it was her and her family, there would only be plastic straws to basic drinks. The careful attention to what the tourists have and what they do (compared to the lack of attention in regards to the speaker) furthers the notion of class divide and status.

The life of a ranch girl is unknown to many people across America. In Maile Meloy’s Ranch Girl, a female narrator brings the reader into her hard life being raised as a ranch girl. Through many different literary devices including, tone, mood, and characterization, the writer set the reader to feel everything the narrator depicts and the reader ingested with a heavier impact than the reader anticipates. The obligation to the community for the ranch girl is to break all stereotypes, thus showing her community and all ranch girls alike that she can be successful and break free of the ranch girl life.

The stereotypes of rural Black women are depicted in the seemingly dilapidated state of mama’s old homestead. This is a stereotype of the poor and humble lives of the black subsistence farmers residing in the old South. Although Dee and her friend look down upon their lives, the reality is different. Mama completely owns her own reality and she is proud

To begin, Kincaid uses emotional appeal throughout the essay to further her argument. She begins by painting the audience a picture of themselves in their everyday life. Walking with an everyday crowd, they begin to realize “how alone you feel in this crowd, how awful it is to go unnoticed, how awful it is to go unloved” (Kincaid 206). Kincaid starts off her piece by making her audience feel isolated and alone, setting the tone for the rest of the piece. She makes the everyday audience, who can afford to escape their everyday life, feel unappreciative of their situation. This furthers her argument by making the audience feel poorly about things they may take for granted, that many natives from poorer countries cannot afford. They may have the luxury to travel outside of their bubble, while natives do not have the same luxury as them. In addition, Kincaid makes the reader feel embarrassed. Kincaid restates, “An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there… behind their closed doors they laugh at your strangeness” (207). She gives the reader the idea that the natives are mocking tourists because they are not familiar with their surroundings. Where people should feel the joy of exploring new places, Kincaid

Throughout the course of Coming of Age in Mississippi, readers observe as Anne Moody undergoes a rigorous transformation – the period of adolescence proves to be years of growth and exposure for Moody. As a child, she is aware of the difference in treatment between whites and blacks – however, she is oblivious to the reason why. It is not until Emmett Till’s murder that Moody really becomes aware of what is happening in the world around her. Prior to August of 1955, Moody had been so consumed with school, work and family that she didn’t pay very much attention to race relations. It’s a point of awakening when she finally grasps the hatred that whites in Mississippi have for blacks – she now begins to understand why her family had lived through such inhumane conditions. As Moody begins to understand the concept of race and equality, she thus realizes which side of the spectrum black people are placed on. On the other hand, Moody’s mama Toosweet, has long endured the brutal callousness of Chattel Slavery -- as a result she holds a different perspective than Moody. Their differing viewpoints often lead to tension between the two characters; this essay will examine and compare the psychological effects of Chattel Slavery on Moody and her mother.

There are a variety of literary devices at an author's disposal. By applying literary techniques to their works, writers strengthen the core of their messages with enhanced depth and meaning. In the poem "Crossing the Swamp," author Mary Oliver utilizes figurative language, personification, and gone to breathe life into the vast ecosystem of the swamp and establish a surprising relationship between the speaker and the swamp.

The Everglades, a vast wetlands ecosystem made up of marshes and swamps, begins at Lake Okeechobee, a large lake in the center of Florida, and ends in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay. It is nearly 50 miles across and 110 miles long (Hinrichsen), and when viewed from the air, appears to be miles and miles of shallow water flowing through thick mats of grass. This perception has earned it the name “River of Grass”. Although it does flow like a river, the flow is so incredibly slow that, from a distance, it doesn’t seem to move at all.

By employing themes such as psychosexual fantasies, race, gender, and violence, artist Kara Walker reconstructs and explores the history and effects of American slavery on American culture. Although being called names like notorious, revolting, anti-progressive, and shameless, she continues to be a pioneer of bringing the unspeakable aspects of American slavery that are not commonly discussed and are left out of the history books to the foreground of public discussion.

The longitude is: 79 48’ W to 87 38’ W. The latitude is: 24 30’ N to 31 N. The lowest point in Florida is sea level where Florida reaches the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

In the opening scene of Jane Martin’s “Rodeo,” there are many stereotypical props used to portray the beer-drinking, hard-working, cowboy image with the characteristic country music playing as an added touch. Most people are familiar with this type of scene in their minds, with a man as the character, but not this time – we find a tough, smart, opinionated woman with a distinctively country name of Lurlene, and the typical cowboy kind of nickname, Big Eight. The reader will dive deeper into the true character of this unusual woman and realize that she is no different from the average woman in today’s workforce. She is feeling the frustration of discrimination and the push out of the only lifestyle that she knows, by “Them” (1667).

At this moment, Louisiana is losing football fields worth of wetlands every hour all due to giant oil and gas companies. The oil and gas industry have been bidding for control over Louisiana’s wetlands so that they can engage in offshore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The wetlands were ground zero for where drilling started in Louisiana. These companies carved 10 000 miles of canals in search of oil and gas causing salt water to flow into fresh water marshes. The damaging effects are the deterioration of wetlands, coastal erosion and lack of fishing all due to industry activity. What’s even worse is that these marshes serve as a natural barrier from hurricanes, which Louisiana is susceptible to. The wetlands are the first line of defense

Mansfield’s description throughout the narrative is intriguing and captivating, pulling the reader into the drill hall and making them sway to the “oft, melting, ravishing tune” as though they themselves could have been Leila. Moreover, her use of description allows her to create the character of the “fat man” and utilise him to portray the idea that “happiness [doesn’t] last for ever.” Because she describes him as the fat man, who is old and wearing a coat that “looked dusty with French chalk”, she creates an evident contrast between the beautiful characters she initially described. Through this imagery, Mansfield subtly portrays Leila’s fears of losing the beauty of this first ball and emphasises that in fact, beauty doesn’t last. However, Mansfield plunges the reader back in to the dance, such that the almost

The weather in Florida is usually warm and doesn’t often freeze in winter; however, there are some freezing temperatures in some areas. In early 1900, while the frosts could damage a farmer's crop, they moved further south in Florida that is called wetlands.

As the story begins, Walker introduces “Mama”. She, the narrator of the story, describes herself as a “large, big-boned woman with rough, man working hands”