The Role Of Figurative Language In Henry Louis Gates's In The Kitchen

The author uses tone and images throughout to compare and contrast the concepts of “black wealth” and a “hard life”. The author combines the use of images with blunt word combinations to make her point; for example, “you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet”. This image evokes the warmth of remembering a special community with the negative, have to use outdoor facilities. Another example of this combination of tone and imagery is “how good the water felt when you got your bath from one of those big tubs that folk in Chicago barbecue in”. Again the author’s positive memory is of feeling fresh after her bath combined with a negative, the fact that it was a barbecue drum.

In the poem, “‘ Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez, I have annotated several pieces of syntax, imagery, and connotation. This poem is about how two brothers, of the age six and nine, have a bad experience going over to a place called South Gate to buy groceries. I believe that the author uses these forms of elements to create emphasis and emotion on the story. These elements, I believe, helped the story have more of a connection with the reader and a first person view of what the characters in the poem had to go through.

Black No More and “The Negro Art Hokum” give important insight into how George Schulyer views race and identity, the importance of essences, and his stance on racial anti-essentialism. Black No More does clearly challenge Schulyer’s ideas in his essay that race in the way it is construed in the U.S. is not a meaningful essential part of who a person is because although our main protagonist Max Disher was able to be white in appearance thus being able to fit into white society, in essence he was still a black man and found his social kinship with members of Harlem’s black community. Essence makes a person who they are in conjunction with their physical racial attributes. In some cases who a character is on the inside does not always match up with their outward appearance, as in Black No More with Disher’s white skin and his black mentality.

Here are two examples of Tim Green’s great use of figurative language. “He lay back and half closed his eyes, tears turning everything into a kaleidoscope of colors,” (Green 238), and “His blond hair had begun to fade, but his face was as red as a baby’s” (Green 4).

In The Ethics of Living Jim Crow by Richard Wright, various stylistic devices and rhetorical strategies are used such as symbolism, and colloquial language. The use of Wright’s symbolism of the “green growing things” establishes how African-Americans were disadvantaged in their upcoming. In this, the white boys which lived beyond the tracks were able to hide “behind trees, hedges, and the sloping embankments of their lawns.” The symbolism of these green things, displays how white people had an upper advantage in society, having luxurious lives to hide behind. Meanwhile, Wright remarked “I didn't have any trees or hedges to hide behind” displaying how African Americans were not protected, leaving them easily discriminated against and futile against attack. In this, Wright remarks that the green things “grew into an overarching symbol of fear.” Furthermore, the use of colloquial language by white people displayed how they had the freedom to say what they pleased, whereas Wright had to talk formally to white people using phrases such as “Yes, sir", and“No, sir, Mr. Pease.” Additionally, Wright had to question every word he said, in an attempt to not to offend a white man, describing how “To have said: "Thank you!" would have made the white man think that you thought you were receiving from him a personal service. For such an act I have seen Negroes take a blow in the mouth.” Together, these stylistic choices affect the tone and meaning of the work as they display the unjust

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.

Graff then goes on to establish his ethos in the first few paragraphs while continuing to expand the thoughts and ideas on pathos throughout his essay. He begins to build his community and trust by recognizing his own credentials and sharing his personal background in writing. One of the first things noticed from the footnote about Gerald Graff’s professional career is that he has vast experience in the writing department. He is an English professor at a prestigious university, a past president of the Modern Language Association, and part of the professional association of scholars and teachers of English and other languages (198). But, since his background only assists his argument and does not define it, it is crucial to also look at his word choice, mood, language, and ideology in order to fully claim Graff a credible author.

The ethnocentric Americans such as Louis Sears and Joe Bing show the reader how ignorant some of the Americans in the book are. They only cared about living a privileged life. These ethnocentric Americans think they can do whatever they want however they want. Bing and

The Unites States is a true melting pot of ethnicities and cultures. For many members of minority groups a certain hybridity is readily adopted, but for others, cultural assimilation can be quite difficult. Chicana author, Sandra Cisneros described this phenomenon as “always straddling two countries… but not belonging to either culture” (Doyle. 54). African American author, Alice Walker shared Cisneros’ sentiment, but focused her attention on the assimilation of black cultures and subcultures within the United States. Cisneros and Walker make the same poignant statement about the strains of cultural assimilation, with reconciliation of split identities as the goal, in their respective works, 1991’s “Woman Hollering Creek,” and 1973’s “Everyday Use,” yet their unique ethnic perspectives allow them to make it in surprisingly different ways.

The short story The New Mirror impressively uses elements of figurative language to express an account of the identity crisis faced by black Americans subjected to prejudice. While analyzing The New Mirror it is evident, the new mirror serves in a deeper context

“Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination” written by American author, feminist and social activist, bell hooks, dissects the dichotomy of black and white culture in a westernized society. Hooks utilizes the term ‘whiteness’ throughout her piece as an acknowledgment of the domination, imperialism, colonialism, and racism that white people have asserted among black people. This discipline progressively has evolved from history; through slavery and forth, leaving an imprint in

A final feature in the text which is vital for creating an emotional connection with the audience is the style in which it is written as it conveys Galloways personality, which allows the reader to understand the meaning of the text and relate to it, making it easier to connect with. The first element of style that Galloway uses to her advantage is formality; rather than writing it in a complex and serious manner, the writer presents the text in a light-hearted way making it more accessible and enjoyable. Aspects of the text which contribute towards are informality are the use of slang - "LURV", "stunk like a month-old kipper"; use of short sentences - "This did not trouble me. I was a biddable child. Most are."; and parenthesis - "(there were no men in our house)". These stylistic features all mirror the structure of natural, spoken language, therefore the reader feels as

Richard Wright’s memoir Black Boy (American Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Youth recounts the author’s personal experience growing up as an African American male in the Jim Crow South, as well as his initial years in the North in the late 1920s. While it is a personal account of one man’s life in this time period, Wright’s memoir also sheds light on the broader role of black men in American society in the early twentieth century, particularly with respect to race, gender, and class relations. By no accident, insight on these relations can be gleaned from the title of Wright’s memoir itself. I argue that Wright chose the provocative title Black Boy (American Hunger): A Record of Childhood and Youth in order to both utilize shock

     Richard Wright's novel Black Boy is not only a story about one man's struggle to find freedom and intellectual happiness, it is a story about his discovery of language's inherent strengths and weaknesses. And the ways in which its power can separate one soul from another and one class from another. Throughout the novel, he moves from fear to respect, to abuse, to fear of language in a cycle of education which might be likened to a tumultuous love affair.

In one scene the protagonist reminisces about his acquaintance, Reza, stating that he tells outlandish stories which appeal to the exoticism of fascinated Canadians (Hage 24-26). This scene showcases what scholars write as the immigrants’ dilemma to choose between appealing to the requirements to fit into Canadian culture by becoming an icon for non-immigrant Canadian citizens to fetishize, and resisting in non-conformity, represented through the narrator imagining himself as a cockroach (Hutchinson 1). He writes that this expresses the narrator’s desire to belong to the same society he rejects (Hutchinson 8), which I state is a result of the West as possibly putting on images of superiority to other cultures. This attitude brings an acceptance of traits deemed as valuable, with others placed in a space of exoticism and rejection. I cite, as evidence, instances where the narrator notes Sylvie and her companion’s fascination with him as a “savage”, until he steals from them, even fearing him after (Hage 183). His exhibits disgust for these people, expressing hate (Hage 185), and yet his brief admission into their circle is indicative of his acceptance into a foreign culture by allowing himself to be fetishized, thereby fulfilling the role needed to join. Stealing from them afterwards is his rejection of this role, repelling