The Hood Analysis

Based on theme two, they reconstructed the myths about whites and blacks. They began to explain the concept of “If they gain, we lose”. There was a concern of the participants having and not having and about sharing privilege but not wanting to give it up (McIntyre, 57). McIntyre explains that there are always exceptions to the rule and it reconstructs the myth of “equal opportunity for all”.

In The Comet, W.E.B DuBois juxtaposes the racial prejudices of American society in the 1920's with a post-apocalyptic human unity in order to critique the lack of foundation in systematic racism. A comet is believed to have wiped out society leaving alive only a white woman and a black man. Upon their first encounter neither Jim nor Julia had noticed each other’s skin color or societal position. As the characters look for survivors we see a back and forth battle between their double consciousness. Jim battles between helping Julia and not disrupting the institution of power of white society. Julia battles between seeing Jim as “human” and “a man with alien in blood and culture.” Towards the end of the story as both Julia and Jim recount their roles in a racially divided society Julia tells Jim, “How foolish our human distinctions seem- now.”

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.

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.

Equality is a word that possesses many meanings and feelings which encompass centuries of wars and struggles especially with racism. While it is easy to look back at history and accept the accounts for misconduct and atrocities, it is vital to reexamine and revise thoughts and actions in order to prepare for the future. An invisible type of racism that can be revealed with reexamination often times is institutional racism. The short story, “The Comet” written by W. E. B. Du Bois, is a story set in a post-apocalyptic world. The story shows that in order to bring down barriers of racism, it requires a catastrophic event to occur. Another story that focuses on a similar concept of institutional racism, but uses science fiction as a vehicle is “The Bicentennial Man”, written by Isaac Asimov. In this story, a robot named Andrew suffers through prejudice and racism despite his many contributions to society. It takes a large sacrifice in order to allow for humans to disregard race and to take robots as an equal. Although both stories pull in elements of science fiction, it is clear that the stories incorporate a dominating theme of not just racism but institutional racism. This paper will discuss some historical context to the two authors’ experiences along with a deeper dive into the text in regards to institutional racism.

Holling hoodhood, man or gutless child? You decide after reading my strong statements on how I believe he has matured into a levelheaded, strapping young man. A middle school student, Holling Hoodhood trying to figure out his spirit, The Wednesday Wars shows his quest of finding himself. Mr. Hoodhood, Heather, and the waterfall all helped Holling in finding where he is in the world.

As generations have passed, society has become less and less racist. From a young age, many children are taught to celebrate diversity. This instills a sense of being able to love everyone, regardless of skin color or race. But a little over half a century ago, it was a completely different story. There was segregation present in buses, water fountains, and even bathrooms; this was all due to assumptions people made, just based on someone else’s skin color. To add on to the list, parents instilled racism in their children in multiple ways. Records of inequality and racism can be seen in literature from that period of time. Recitatif by Toni Morrison shows how this tragic situation was

This change in racism is why both authors stress the need to understand the very specific brand of American racism as it changes throughout time. Looking backwards and forwards in time proves to be an integral method of displaying the concerns of history as it pertains to the future.

Ralph Ellison narrates the portions of his earliest days in the semi-autobiography “On Being the Target of Discrimination”, where he recalls the effects of racism had on his life. Though his chronological writing, he uses the timeline of his childhood as personal evidence of the effects of racism in the upbringing of an African American child in a Post-Reconstruction Era America. A creative narrative written in second-person, all his arguments are supported primarily through anecdotal examples that inspire emotions instead of statistics or other hard proofs. His work has two central arguments: discrimination is an institute supported by the actions of adults, and the best solution to the issue of discrimination is with laughter and

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

Throughout all of the history of the United States of America, race has been a prevailing issue. Although the ways in which racism presented itself has changed, the prevalence of the problem has not. Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man does an excellent job of allowing some insight into the way racism has and still does impact the life and self identity of affected individuals. In this book, the narrator is faced with the challenges that come with being an African American in mid 1900s. The struggle first becomes something the narrator is aware of when his grandfather utters some troubling advice on his deathbed. He said in order to succeed in a white man’s world, you have to

Race has been a dominant, defining factor in both the 20th and 21st centuries. It has been a reason for missed job opportunities, unequal treatment, harassment, and even murder. In today’s society, race discrimination is still having a heavy effect on the lives of individuals with different colors of skin. Although some progress has been made, the treatment of different races can be brutal still today. There are stories featured in the news everyday about the mistreatment of an African American or the stereotypical harassment of a hispanic person. What has improved, is the way society is handling these relations and discriminations of race. This improvement is clear when you compare the treatment of the victim in the 1930’s

Internalized oppression is just one factor that contributes to the inescapability of intergenerational trauma. Alexie uses figurative language to demonstrate that the cycle of oppression is further perpetuated by the concept of racial inferiority, poverty, and failure to achieve an education in his short story “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore”. The main character, Victor, sits on the porch with his friend Adrian as they reminisce their past and hope for others futures. Victor claims that “Indians [could] easily survive the big stuff... It’s the small things that hurt the most. The white waitress who wouldn’t take an order, Tonto, the Washington Redskins” (49).

Power binaries are a prevalent feature in all societies, past and present. One group in power holds the position at the top of the binary and, in doing so, pushes those who do not fit into the group to the bottom, socially and politically powerless. During the 1930’s in America, the most significant binary was the division between whites and people of color, specifically African Americans. (“Historical Context: Invisible Man”). Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man explores this time period through the story of an unnamed narrator struggling to find his individual identity as a young black man in a world that is constantly holding him down. The trials and tribulations the narrator endures and the people he encounters on his journey exemplify how the imbalanced power structure of a racist society will not truly allow even successful people of color to obtain substantial power unless they twist the definition of power itself.

The reader can contemplate the passage of Du Bois' essay to substitute the words "colored" and "Negro" with African-America, Nigger, illegal alien, Mexican, inner-city dwellers, and other meanings that articulate people that are not listed as a majority. Du Bois' essay is considered a classic because its' words can easily reflect to the modern day.