White Lies By Natasha Trethewey Analysis

In History Lesson, Natasha Trethewey uses a photograph to relive her past. She uses imagery to give a visual description of the photograph. Trethewey also uses simile to compare minnows to switchblades, “Minnows dart at my feet / glinting like switchblades” (7-8). Furthermore, Trethewey isolates her grandmother and herself from the others, “It is 1970, two years after they opened/ the rest of this beach to us”(11-12). Perhaps, because Trethewey is a mixed-race she and her grandmother and were not allowed on the beach.

One of the things that is so fascinating about poetry is that it allows readers to discover and sometimes challenge and channel their emotions as well as their understanding. A poem’s words as well as its structure can reveal many things to its intended audience. In “Myth” by Natasha Trethewey, the poems form is just as important as the words she writes, becoming a map for the journey Trethewey takes, using transitions to take us from one place to another. The nature of the poem therefor becomes multifaceted, as it encourages the reader to think about the speaker’s words and use of form and structure she uses to craft this epic story. Using form as a tool, Trethewey is able to use structure as a way to guide us as readers and the speaker across the conscious and unconscious thoughts and dreams the speaker faces in this story.

Poetry has always been a mirror to see unseen emotions and to hear unheard thoughts. Magical words used in an artistic way allows the reader to feel what the poet is feeling, to listen what the poet is listening and to share what the poet is going through. The two poems “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” by Emily Dickinson, and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar are two classical works of poetry. While Dunbar shares agonizing experience of an entire community, Dickinson shares her thoughts about individual characteristic and personality; in fact, she cleverly wins the case of an introvert. Both these poems are independent of each other in terms of thought as well as from literary perspective.

This idea of crafting a mask in literature is an old concept, though rarely discussed directly as it can even be seen in Corinthians where, as discussed by Stephan Joubert, Paul acts as, “…an encoded author…”, that can be typified also as, “…the ‘ideal portrait’ which the real author entertains to his flesh-and-blood readers” (Joubert). This concept of an author for an author is another concept that must be taken into account when the mask is discussed. Where Killingsworth suggests that the author crafts, “…the mask of the author…”, he also crafts, “…a mask for the audience…” (Killingsworth 34-35), Joubert argues that the mask of the reader is simply a result of the authors own mask as, “…a potential reader is expected to play in order to actualize the text…” (Joubert) reacting only to the text and crafting their own mask. While the reader also has a mask in Joubert’s theory, it is a reaction to the text, rather than them slipping into one of the authors design, the author only being able to influence their mask from an external and past, perspective. I implore both students and faculty to focus on these points throughout a work, as they will show the reader the perspective that the author is crafting. Weather to use this mask is up to the reader’s discretion, though from an analytical view, being bias only harms the process. Regardless, it remains important that the student not only identify but act upon these

In Pamela Perry, “White” excerpt, she discussed what “whiteness” means in American and cultural history. This blog, will discuss how being a Black person affects my personal perspective in America. It is expressed within our food, politics, music, and dance. As a naturalized citizen, in America, from Côte d'Ivoire cultural assimilation has influenced my views on being a Black person. To begin, one must contemplate what it means to be a Black-American. There are multiple ways to define Blackness, I view it as drawing from different influences both within and outside the black community. It is expressed within our food, politics, music, clothing (ethnic & urban), and dance styles. Politically, the perceived "radical" progressive movements that

Not only do other works contradict Stephanie Ericsson’s idea, but she herself contradicts it. In her essay she supplies several examples of white lies and how deception possibly benefits others. Ericsson admits to lying numerous times out of self interest, but just because she lies does not mean other people are affected negatively. A prime example of benevolent lies occurs when Ericsson informs the audience when she lies: To not bring unnecessary pain to others. Deceiving her her friend who invited her to lunch by claiming “I’m busy”(Ericsson, 1) when she is really just not hungry, does not harm anybody. Her friend is satisfied by Ericsson’s response, and Ericsson is spared from hurting her friend’s feeling or engaging in a lengthy discussion.

During this time, Harlem drew black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. People had come from the South, fleeing oppression in order to find a place where they could freely express their talents. African Americans did manage to succeed in the arts but because of the color of their skin, they faced some problems. The poem “Sonnet To A Negro in Harlem” by Helene Johnson provided this “Why urge ahead your supercilious feet? Scorn will efface each footprint you make” which means that every time a black person succeeds, it will be erases by contempt that whites have towards them. As African Americans become more affluent, they realize that not everyone will accept their triumph so they end up putting up a front or wearing a mask that hides who they truly are. The poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar says “Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us while, We wear the mask” which means why does the world pretend to understand the struggles that blacks have gone through. To avoid that situation, blacks should wear a mask to conceal their difficulties so that everybody else doesn’t need to claim they apprehend their endeavors. These poems show that the roles of African Americans changes from individuals who achieved success to ones who have to hide their

“We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of.” Sometimes people can use mask’s to change how they look, feel, and what they think. Everyone has their own mask that they use so that other people do not judge them on who they are. People also mask themselves if they do not think they meet any standards that other people have. It is more beneficial than harmful to mask yourself.

People often tell little fibs, otherwise known as white lies, that they do not think will ever matter. At the time the lies may not seem like a big deal but in the end things can change. Later on down the road, most of these lies come back to haunt the person who tells them. One example of this can be found in the poem “White Lies”. The speaker of this poem tells little lies to hide her true identity.

Lies is the most meaningful word in Natasha Trethewey's poem "White Lies" because it helps to develop the character based on the lies she tells. White Lies talks about the author telling lies to everyone in town. She lied to people about where she lived and the clothes she wore to make her feel better about herself. Trethewey did not think the lies were a big deal so she continued to lie about her life.

Lies is the most substantial word in Natasha Trethewey’s poem, “White Lies,” because it helps establish the character. “White Lies” is about a little girl, who lives among people of the opposite race, who involuntarily lies. She tells these lies to anyone to fit in.

The story portrayed in White Lies by Natasha Trethewey displays the disheartening sense of shame in a young, interracial girl growing up in the post-integration South. Though she is half-black and half-white, the blending of the two races, more than likely, constitutes her ability to pass as a white girl. Because of this, she could adhere to the façade that her family resided uptown with only the finest of clothes, just as the other white families did. She could also allow her white classmates to believe that she was white like they were. However, her complete disregard of her true identity was a punishable offense by her mother, resulting in the speaker’s tongue being met with a bar of soap to “to purify and cleanse” her lying tongue (Trethewey

We wear masks to hide our real personality from someone. In the stories we read in class everybody masks something from a family member. In Charles by Shirley Jackson it states “Charles?” She said “We don’t have a Charles in the kindergarten.” (Jackson pg.11). Laurie is a good kid at home, but at school he gets into all kinds of trouble. Every time Laurie gets into trouble he blames it on a kid named Charles. Another story we read was Fatal Flower by Laurence Yep. In the text it states “She blinked when she saw the beautiful stranger gazing up at her. The stranger’s face had eyebrows like the leaf of the

In We Wear the Mask, the author’s purpose is to push the reader to feel something about the way things were in his perspective.

Gish Jen’s short story,”The White Umbrella”explores the life of a young Chinese girl in America. Her mother has started working, but they hide that because it is embarrassing to them. The theme of the story is that people you love and trust are more important than mere objects that look nice. The author explains this through the beautiful umbrella, the repeating of the umbrella, and the narrator throwing the it down a drain.