The Song Subdivisions

In his, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass experiences the songs of his brothers and expresses his understanding of this passage. Through his use of structured diction, Douglass reveals the eternal enslavement of his mind caused by the deterioration of his slave self, exposing his apprehension of the songs.

Is this the sweet sound of happiness and enjoyment or bitter resentment of slavery? Slaves who travel to the Great House Farm usually sing loud and outgoing songs that are depicted as both joyful and depressing. Douglas states “every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains” (109). Douglas explained that he didn’t quite understand the meaning during that time but now realizes that the songs were a complaint against slavery. Whenever, Douglas heard the slave songs being sung in excitement, he was moved to tears and soon began to understand the evil that slavery has brought upon them. Lastly, Douglas made a point that the Northerners who believed that the slaves were singing out of happiness were definently misinformed. In order to justify slavery, the Southerns believed that the songs the slaves were singing were for pure enjoyment. This enjoyment meant that doing their daily duties made them happy. However, to the average human today, we can presume that the songs were a cry for help. The songs were made in the spur of the moment to express the slaves’ emotions. Some would pray for to be free while others prayed to be anywhere but here. Douglas expressed the true feelings and meanings of these songs. He explained that the Southerners were trying to justify their actions through the slaves singing when in reality the slaves were expressing their

Contextual Analysis Racial segregation is still considered one of the major themes that existed in the United States in 1960s. At the center of this segregation was the undisputed place of civil right organizations that endeavored to vehemently reject socio-economic and political injustices (Brown 230). Being a social menace that succeeded to divide Americans along their racial and ethnic lines, social inequality existed with the excess force that clouded the minds of its propagators. In her song ‘Mississippi Goddam’, Nina Simone vividly portrays the depth and extent of social inequality in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi with a compelling yet lyrical relief.

For many slaves all that they knew of their history was what they were told about from their grandparents and parents. To many these stories were all that they had to link them back to a time when they were free to live their lives. Many slaves did not even know anything about their past. All many slaves knew was the horrible lives that they were forced to live on the plantations in the South. In both of their poems the readers gains a sense of longing for what they were never able to experience. They want to go back to the time where they were free to do what they wanted in a land that truly belonged to them. History was very important to them because it gave them something to dream about, and let them know that what was happening to them was not okay, and that was not how life had always had been.

The word dusky contributes to the theme of the poem cause the things that happen to the African American was dark and mean. In line 8 it states,'' Lincoln went down to New Orleans.'' I feel this means that Lincoln only went down to New Orleans to help the African Americans. I can relate to this cause I have learn about this in history class.

One factor of the song that the general public seems to unaware of is the forgotten fourth and sixth verses. The fourth verse is about how America claims to be for everyone, despite the segregation at the time, using a wall as a metaphorical representation. The sixth verse, which never made it past manuscript, is about how the citizens of America fail to help the minorities, and

This song suggests that It is extremely hard for those black people living in those southern states because of the fact that black kids could not go to the same school as those kids who are white. And they were treated unequally by going to jail for things that were not serious. For example: the singer sings “School children sitting in jails” (Mississippi Goddam, 1964). Usually, kids should not go to prison because they are under 18 years old, however in this case because they were colored, the court did not care and sent them to prison. Since the society does not care about black people, they have no choice but to protest.

Throughout every stanza in the poem, they all have a part where rhyme links into it. In stanza one, the rhyme is found at the end of each sentence, “span…hands…doors…floors…” This is a very simple rhyme, which links back to the relationship of the mother and child. This rhyme shows the beginnings of the mother helping her child and creating a bond. This influenced the mother as she was able to help her child and be close with her son. This inspires me to feel gratitude towards the mother, as it shows that she is helpful, always there and willing to help her son. I suppose I appreciate this mother’s dedication, as in this society, it is rare to find such commitment mothers or fathers. Being present and supportive can go far for your child. Therefore, the first stanza uses rhyme in order to influence the audiences’ feeling about the mother. The second stanza also creates a rhyme at the end of each sentence, “recording… leaving… unreeling…” These are similar to the first stanza but have the same “ing” sound at the end of each word. The second stanza also goes into depth about the bigger objects and the distance between the mother and child’s relationship becoming further apart. Both stanza one and two show the development of the

Quote: “Over the inner thoughts of the slaves and their relations one with another the shadow of fear ever hung, so that we get but glimpses here and there, and also with them, eloquent omissions and silences. Mother and child are sung, but seldom father; fugitive and weary wanderer call for pity and affection, but there is little of wooing and wedding; the rocks and the mountains are well known, but home is unknown. Strange blending of love and helplessness sings through the refrain”

This lines shows the poor living conditions the tenant was living under. Through the character of the tenant, Hughes is voicing how there is no justice in this society for African Americans. In stanza 6 it states "Judge gives negro 90 days in county jail"(Line 39).

As the child is shocked and then immediately dives into grief as in lines eleven and twelve are repeated from the first stanza. The last two lines are important for it shows the pressure that Americans had on each other to achieve the “American Dream”. The father may have felt he could never achieve the myth of a white picket fence with a house in the suburban neighborhood in the 1950’s. The father may have thought the only way to escape the immense pressure is to commit suicide, to leave his child behind to face society and the daily life of being an

While listening to this song, I feel the pain the slaves had to endure. I also feel both their sadness and their strength they had to have in order to not give up. Finally, I feel the desire they had to be free.

At the core of the story, the main characters are Julian, who is trapped between the white supremacy of his mother and the liberal anti-racist attitude of the modern times, and his mother, who is unyielding in her views. During this time, there was a surge of change of American society with African Americans as a huge social force leading to a truly multicultural society. However, there was constant conflict in the mind of the older generation. Julian’s mother symbolizes this. Her ancestors kept slaves and she hesitated to even travel with them. She speaks about it nostalgically, the times where owning slaves was a sign of superiority, or aristocracy. “Well let’s talk about something pleasant,” she said. “I remember going to Grandpa’s when I was a little girl. Then the house has double stairways that went up to what was really the second floor- all the cooking was done on the first.” (O’Connor, 1979). She was blind to the worlds advancements and changes in racial equality.

There are several parts in the song that catch my attention. The biggest one is “How can we sing in a strange land? Don't want to sing in a strange land.” I like the meaning because the confusion and fear is what the slaves felt.

As to The Little Black Boy, this lyric has a place with the class of verse and portrays the social issues