The Fourth Of July Summary

Audre Lorde’s essay “The Fourth of July” explores a childhood family trip and the way it opened her eyes to racism in America. Lorde allows the reader to better understand her emotions in response to this by sharing specific details or language that conveys her idealized expectations of D.C., as well as her unawareness of racism she will find there. This allows the reader to empathize with her when she relates her naivety, ignorance, and uncertainty both before, after, and during her trip to D.C. During and after the trip, Lorde feels overcome by the suppressive authority of white people she perceives in the capital. Since she has not been uneducated on these subjects, Lorde feels overwhelmed by her new encounters there. Lorde’s enthusiastic mood before the trip, indicating her unawareness of what she will encounter, later dissolves into a sense confusion and exclusion from the wonderful things D.C. has to offer.

The memoir “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, was first published in 1928, and recounts the situation of racial discrimination and prejudice at the time in the United States. The author was born into an all-black community, but was later sent to a boarding school in Jacksonville, where she experienced “race” for the first time. Hurston not only informs the reader how she managed to stay true to herself and her race, but also inspires the reader to abandon any form of racism in their life. Especially by including Humor, Imagery, and Metaphors, the author makes her message very clear: Everyone is equal.

The American Revolution was my first board on the Pinterest project. I looked up 10 different pictures that would describe the war such as the soldiers and their uniforms, battles, and timelines of important events. I used pictures of significant battles in the Revolutionary War like the Battle of Kings Mountain- the turning point of the south. I have the famous picture of George Washington crossing the Delaware. I also have a picture explaining the numbers of the war which include the number of soldiers before and after the war and the number of casualties. I learned a lot about the number of casualties in each battle.

The reading begins off with describing a mother, Dinah Kirkland and her traumatic experience with the concept of lynching. During the early 1930’s her son went missing after he was arrested and although Dinah knew that her son had been the product of a lynching, she could do nothing about it. She did not know where he was kept, who killed him, or even why he was killed. She contacted the head of the NAACP, and told him the fear she had regarding her son. Members of the African- American society came together to help Kirkland with her efforts, and eventually, Dinah did find the remains of her eighteen-year-old son.

The author of 1776 is David McCullough. It was published by Simon & Schuster, New York, NY in the year of 2005. With his diploma from Yale, he jumped right into writing at Sports Illustrated in New York. While at American Heritage, he built a reputation of documenting accurate and real scenarios of how our history was made. Mr. McCullough then became enthralled with the politics of the day. Mr. McCullough also won many awards including The National Endowment for the Humanities, and a medal for distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This book subject would be the year of 1776 and everything that

In this paper, I will be summarizing the following chapters: Chapter 3: "A Legacy of Hate: The Conquest of Mexico’s Northwest”; Chapter 4: “Remember the Alamo: The Colonization of Texas”; and Chapter 5: “Freedom in a Cage: The Colonization of New Mexico. All three chapters are from the book, “Occupied America, A History of Chicanos” by Rodolfo F. Acuna. In chapter three, Acuna explains the causes of the war between Mexico and North America. In chapter four, Acuna explains the colonization of Texas and how Mexicans migrated from Mexico to Texas. In chapter five, Acuna explains the colonization of New Mexico and the economic changes that the people had to go through.

On an “unremarkably clear and pleasant” day in April 19, 1775, the shot that was said to had been able to be heard around the world was fired. (A Guide to Battles) This began the battles in which we know as Lexington and Concord, and the war we know as the Glorious/American revolution. It was fought between the British whom had feared American retaliation for some time, and the American Colonies whom were tired of feeling oppressed by the British. General Thomas Gage advised his British superiors to prepare for war, but this advice was refused and when the time finally came, they were not prepared for the fight at hand. (History of AM Rev) Many events, rules, and regulations helped to lead up to the retaliation of the Americans.

about how black people had to deal with white people and how they survived through all of it.

Racism is a big part of this book. It shows the absurdity of what people thought back then, which is an important lesson. It is important for us to learn what people’s views used to be, and how important it is not to go back to that mindset.

The poems “Tableau” and “Incident” by Countee Cullen are about racism, but both have a different take on it. The African American author wrote in 1900’s , when racism was common and more acceptable. Cullen’s work became more popular during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s. Both poems are developed with different writing mechanics to convey a clear message to the reader or audience. Cullen uses figurative language and tone to develop the theme in each text.

The fourth of July represents a unity among all Americans across the country, this unity does not judge these citizens on where they came from, their social class, or their race. In this piece of writing “The Fourth of July”, Audre Lorde recalls a summer family vacation to Washington D.C. where her eyes are opened to the horrific reality of racism in America. The author uses the rhetorical strategies of pathos, complex diction, as well as situational irony to effectively share her anger towards America’s racist habits along with her parents’ response to racism.

Another event displaying racism was when Roberta was spotted at a high school. Her and other mothers were outside “picketing” about their children attending a racial integrating school. Twyla was driving by, and

In “The Fourth of July” written by Audre Lorde, an author and poet who took it upon herself to confront and address issues of racism, she describes the time she took a trip during the summer to Washington, D.C., where she obtained her own memory and meaning of independence. In her essay she shares with readers an account of experiencing racism on a day of the celebration of freedom. Lorde conveys her anger regarding her parents avoidance of racism and more specifically how she felt about the people and society surrounding her by her usage of specific tone, the repetition of words, and irony.

There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and

In her essay “The Fourth of July”, Audre Lorde described the enlighteningly awful experience of the reality of racism she had during her first trip to Washington D.C. as a child. While Lorde’s older sister had been rejected by her high school from traveling with the rest of the graduating class because she was black, Lorde’s parents decided to take a family trip to the nation’s capital on their own to compensate for such an injustice. Nevertheless, the reality of racism and discrimination the family felt while on their trip foiled their attempt to ignore and overcome such oppression, and led Lorde to view the trip as a frustrating experience. By employing this personal anecdote of her family’s replacement graduation trip for her older sister, Lorde successfully conveyed the impossibility of pretending to live in ignorance of racism and discrimination, and powerfully presented her anger at her family, the black community, and all of American society at trying to do so instead of addressing these problems.