Paternalism vs. Agency
When examining historical political cartoons, an individual must be cognizant not only of the lens with which they see the world, but the lenses that others use to view such items. Each viewer brings a set of life experiences and biases that shape their perceptions, in ways both subtle and profound. Those who favored emancipation and Reconstruction argued for better treatment of newly freed men and women, but at times may have done so from a sense of paternalism, a prescient assumption of Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands.” Visual representations often portrayed blacks as passive victims of racist southerners and neglected to show them as individuals who
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It depicts a U.S. Marshal protecting a cowering freed man from a rich southerner with a whip. The title is a reference to the possible end of military occupation of the Reconstruction-era South as northerners began to grow tired of the expense of Reconstruction and the attention being paid to the problems of the south. In the engraving, the southerner appears as a diabolical figure, the marshal is heroic, and the black man is a defenseless victim. The caption, however, complicates matters. It is a quotation from an editorial in the Birmingham (Alabama) News that reads, “We intend to beat the negro in the battle of life & defeat means one thing—EXTERMINATION.” The statement is not a reflection of what the artist believes, rather an indictment of the sentiment expressed by a southern newspaper. The artist is credited as an essentially anonymous “C.S.R.”, who can be assumed a white northerner attempting to influence white northern readers of Harper’s Weekly to oppose an end to the military occupation of the South. If U.S. forces were to withdraw, the clear implication is that a resumption of white supremacy akin to slavery would occur, thereby assuaging the concern of the Birmingham News author. A sympathetic northerner might see this piece and feel a return to the outrages and injustices of the past were too high a price to pay for the removal of the …show more content…
Both scenarios are somewhat fanciful depictions that serve as stinging indictments of white southerners. In the first, he shows a dignified black farm worker carrying a hoe and pick axe. His former master idly reads a newspaper while he leans back in his chair and says, “My boy, we’ve toiled and taken care of you long enough—now you’ve got to work!” A careless glimpse at the cartoon might lead the viewer to conclude that Nast is expressing the viewpoint of the white southerner, but the headline makes it clear that the artist is ridiculing the outrageous claim. The notion that a white plantation owner had toiled to take care of enslaved people who had worked under the worst possible conditions year after year is patently ludicrous. But unlike the distracted, obnoxious former master, the black worker stands upright and in the foreground, an image of strength and
This week I read the short article on Alan Locke’s, “Enter the New Negro”. This article is discussing the Negro problem in depth. “By shedding the chrysalis of the Negro problem, we are achieving something like spiritual emancipation”. Locke believes that if we get rid of whatever is holding us back we would gain something renewing and beautiful.
Racism in 1912 was a very big issue and still is in our society today. W.E.B DuBois’ essay “A Mild Suggestion” portrays the idea and reality of the social inequality that took place in 1912. DuBois uses satire to offer a solution to the apparent African-American problem in the United States. Dubois writes “the colored man says ‘the next morning there would be ten million funerals, and therefore no Negro problem”’ (DuBois 93) He then goes on to state that on a chosen night, the people implement a planned mass killing of all the African-American folk, therefore solving all of their problems. The essay is able to show how effective racist language and ideas can be, as well as providing a good example of a writing style that keeps the reader engaged throughout the piece.
“…it is said that there are inevitable associations of white with light and therefore safety, and black with dark and therefore danger…’(hooks 49). This is a quote from an article called ‘Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination’ written by bell hooks an outstanding black female author. Racism has been a big issue ever since slavery and this paper will examine this article in particular to argue that whiteness has become a symbol of terror of the black imagination. To begin this essay I will summarize the article ‘Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination’ and discuss the main argument of the article. Furthermore we will also look at how bell hooks uses intersectionality in her work. Intersectionality is looking at one topic and
Marriage is a concept that society takes extremely inaccurately. It is not something one can fall back from. Once someone enter it there is no way back. In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” she tells the story of Delia, a washerwoman whom Sykes, her husband, mistreats while he ventures around with other women and later attempts to kill Delia to open a way for a second marriage with one of his mistresses. By looking at “Sweat” through the feminist and historical lens Hurston illustrates the idea of a sexist society full of men exploiting and breaking down women until men dispose of them.
Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston At the time when African Americans writers were struggling, Zora Neale Hurston was realized by her fresh and utterly distinctive language of text. Her style was not so much invented, but it is cleverly brewed together with the poetry of black folk speech. "Sweat", one of the most enduring of Hurston's work, explored many levels of martial conflicts and female exploitation. This story is around Delia, a symbol of Southern black woman in the early 20th century. Delia, an abused wife, has many conflicts deep inside which make her change: from being abused to defend, from shouting helplessly to anger then to a scary calm, and from accepting to revenge.
The theme of Night is resilience. To be resilient is to be strong and able to bounce back when things happen. Elie shows resilience many times throughout the course of Night, and some of these times included when Elie and his block are being forced to run to the new camp, when somebody attempts to kill him and when he loses his father to sickness. When Elie is with the group of people running to the new camp, he knows that he needs to persevere and be resilient, even when the person that he is talking to gives up (Wiesel 86). Elie tries to tell somebody that they need to keep going, and that it will not be much longer, but when they give up, Elie does not seem to pity the boy, and he stays strong. Somebody also attempted to strangle Elie while
Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, was a popular American writer and cartoonist ironically known for his work with children’s books rather than wartime propaganda. His work was published throughout the wartime era by PM Magazine. As one of the few primary sources, this visual provides a foundation for criticism throughout my paper. The content provides an interesting vantage point, such that focusing more on the details enables the viewer to observe the sly innuendos of racism. Furthermore, the cartoon serves as a foundation in which it can be compared by its content and message to other works, such as the cartoon by Austin.
Lynch is a writer and teacher in Northern New Mexico. In the following essay, she examines ways that the text of The Souls of Black Folk embodies Du Bois' experience of duality as well as his "people's."
The New York Times journalist David Brooks has wrote countless editorials about the political climate of today’s current election. Brooks also contributes to the New York Times by writing various articles regarding culture and the social sciences. The issues Brooks presents in his pieces is about the political candidates and how they’re faring in their respective parties. In addition to this, Brooks provides an overlook on the various aspects of American culture which can date back to the 18th-century America. His focus is on the national issues and includes United States history that has effected today’s society such as Frederick Douglass, who wanted to change his society’s perception of African Americans so he had 160 photographs of himself
Hare writes that the color white symbolizes purity and black stands for evil and derogatory referent and that “... theirs brains,..., at last has been washed white as snow.”. At a young age, children are taught how to read children’s books. ‘“Why are they always white children?” asked by a five-year old Black girl” (Larrick, 63), as many books seen are only white. Nancy Larrick wrote an article about children’s book and argued how children’s books portrays only whites in books, while there are many non white children and white children across the United States that are reading these books about white children. Larrick also points out that across the country 6,340,000 million non white children are learning to read and understand the American way of life in books which either omit them entirely or scarcely mention them in it (63), and of the 5.206 children's book, only 394 included one or more blacks, which was an average of 6.7 per cent (64). Children’s books will not contain a black hero/heroine because in the books, being depicted as a slave or a servant, or better yet to ...
George Yancy, in his piece Dear White People, tries to get white people to recognize their racism just like he recognizes his apparent sexism. This is a bold move by Dr. Yancy, who is a professor at Georgia State University. The quote above, is a simple statement of his goal for his New York Times article from December 24th, 2015. My reaction to this quote and the entire article is; why I am being blamed, as an individual, for black suppression and my overall happiness in the system? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us to not judge by one’s color of their skin, but by the content of my character. Yancy goes against these teachings, as he uses group politics to race bait white people into a certain reaction that he will use to prove his point.
In The Negro’s Friend, Claude McKay makes readers visualize the true meaning of salvation and segregation. African Americans were fighting to end segregation, but McKay spoke and said that they were wasting their precious time. McKay wanted African Americans to know that the state was under control by the white supremacy. He said that their cries were useless and didn’t help anything.
Since 1945, in what is defined by literary scholars as the Contemporary Period, it appears that the "refracted public image"(xx) whites hold of blacks continues to necessitate ...
Zora Neale Hurston’s writing embodies the modernism themes of alienation and the reaffirmation of racial and social identity. She has a subjective style of writing in which comes from the inside of the character’s mind and heart, rather than from an external point of view. Hurston addresses the themes of race relations, discrimination, and racial and social identity. At a time when it is not considered beneficial to be “colored,” Hurston steps out of the norm and embraces her racial identity.
In “The Miracle of Purun Bhagat,” Rudyard Kipling uses the setting to let you see the true personality of the main character. The story is about giving up everything you know and have come custom to, to find out who you really are. As Purun Dass, the main character, grew up he realized that things were changing. Dass was of the upper class. He and his dad were so important that everyone looked up to him. Dass realized that being wealthy and having everything was not the right thing to do. He wanted more. He wanted to understand what people believed to be good. In order for him to do that, he had to give up everything. He changed his name and only took with him an antelope skin, a brass- handled crutch, and a begging- bowl.