Freedom
This book was written in the middle to late twentieth century. Generally, this book dealt with Indians living in East Africa. The book is set in native Tanzania where Vassanji was raised after his family moved from his birthplace Nairobi. This book is a collection of short stories that chronically move from the narrator’s early childhood until he returns to his homeland years later to find that much has changed from his childhood.
There are many issues that are intertwined into the text that Vassanji incorporates to relay his stories. Being a part of the lower class Indian community in Tanzania during the 1950’s, there is much class struggle. There is an instance early in the book where massive discrimination is evident in the book.
“Schools went through preparation and drill for the royal visit.” “But to my great disappointment only the higher forms were allowed to welcome the princess.”
The narrator overcame this discrimination by working through the crowd and essentially got a glimpse of the young queen. This was one of the more symbolic scenes in the book. The narrator overcame oppression here on a small scale as he later will by leaving Africa and going to a University in North America.
The market place called the “Mnuda” was a place of massive thievery and just not a good place to go. However, many members of the “community” would go to the “Mnuda” to pick up odds and ends. The point is that this is a low class society we are dealing with.
Later on there is a mention of green government trucks that randomly show up in the streets of Tanzania during the night. Green government trucks just give the impression that the government has something to fear if they are sending out “watchdog” trucks to keep an eye on the demos or population. This example just shows the kind of totalitarian government that was in place during the mid-twentieth century in this part of Africa. Just a reminiscent of 1984 and the concept of “big brother ” mentioned in that novel. It seems this type of ruling is in place around the narrator at this time.
The family of the narrator would go on to have their own lives. When the narrator prepares for going to the University, he talks about his sisters already married.
This book addresses the issue of race all throughout the story, which is while it is probably the most discussed aspects of it. The books presentation is very complex in many ways. There is no clear-cut stance on race but the book uses racist language. The racist language durin...
While the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are most reliant on one another, all body systems require a functioning circulatory cycle in order to thrive. Blood circulation and consistent transfer of oxygen to cells is required to maintain cell and tissue life. Disturbances to this process will cause cells and tissues to die (Red Cross 48). This state of balance and functioning body systems is referred to as homeostasis, defined as a “condition of equilibrium in the body’s internal environment due to constant interaction of body’s many regulatory processes” (Tortura 8). Changes or disruptions to homeostasis are regulated by the Endocrine and Nervous systems of the body. The endocrine system is made up of glands placed throughout the body
The power of limitations that African American Women faced during the time of slavery hindered their ability to gain freedom, as freedom for slaves was the ultimate American Dream. James McBride exemplifies this in the novel Song Yet Sung as the first characters that we meet is Liz whom happens to be African American Women. When McBride first introduced Liz to the audience, she is running away from her master as she is chasing the American dream know as freedom. Liz is unable to have the privilege of freedom due limitation, that she is one a female and second African American not to mention that she was in fact a slave because of these same limitations. African Americans during the time of slavery would never have the privilege of freedom unless they took dramatic matters such as running away to the north, the unknown in the hope of gaining freedom where the
Equiano, Olaudah . The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, Written by Himself. 9th ed. W.W. Norton &Company, Inc., 2000. 448. print.
In one way it is symbolic of the African Americans’ struggle for equality throughout our nation’s history. The various hardships that the narrator must endure, in his quest to deliver his speech, are representative of the many hardships that the blacks went through in their fight for equality.
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
• AW’s work is deeply rooted in oral tradition; in the passing on of stories from generation to generation in the language of the people. To AW the language had a great importance. She uses the “Slave language”, which by others is seen as “not correct language”, but this is because of the effect she wants the reader to understand.
Throughout Gendered Worlds sociologists argue that gender and sex are socially constructed as opposed to being innate. The authors present evidence in regards to history, biology, and contemporary viewpoints using day-to-day examples. Although alternative viewpoints may argue that through biological perspectives, gender and sex are innate characteristics through deeper examination it can be determined that gender and sex are truly socially constructed.
Even though racial discrimination may not be as prevalent in the present day society, many African American men and women believe that they do not experience the same opportunities as the white race. Media in general plays such an active role in bringing more information about racial discrimination and how it is still occurring today. But media can also bring negative effects to the struggle in living up to social standards to today’s society “norms”. Anna Mae was very brave in lying about her identity to become someone she really wanted to be. But, I feel she should have never had to have done that. He story just goes to show how the power of society can change you as a human being. It can make you believe that you must change your identity in order to “fit in” which I find to be very sad. I think that more people in this world need to stand up to theses stereotypes of being the “perfect American” and say that no one is perfect in this world and everyone is created by the most perfect human God. Overall, racial discrimination is a part of our everyday lives and "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" can still speak to us today, even with the play set in a time 80 years
Gender differences are best understood as a process of socialization, to organize the roles each individual have to fulfil in society. From parents to teachers, religions, media, and peers; we observe and make sense of the behaviors exhibited by the people around us since young. We imitate and construct our own understanding of how to be of a particular gender, and of how to position ourselves. Parents socialize their children based on their biological sex, and this process starts as soon as the sex of the baby is known. Gender is hence socially constructed.
Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.
It has long been debated whether there is a difference between sex and gender, and if so, what that difference is. In recent years it has been suggested that sex is a purely biological term, and gender is socially constructed, or defined and enforced by society. Sex is assigned at birth based on the genitalia, and usually, gender is determined by the sex. If parents are told their baby is a girl, they will reinforce traditional female stereotypes for her whole life. Society and peers will also help to reinforce her gender as she begins to spend more time outside of her immediate family. In this way, gender is a process, whereas sex is simply a static characteristic based on one’s physical appearance. The more dynamic process of gendering, however, defines “man” and “woman,” teaches one to see and internalize what is expected from one’s gender, and to act according to those expectations (Lorber 2006).
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
In this paper, I will briefly talk about the current status of wind energy, the pros and cons of wind energy technology and wind farms, and also, show several recommendations for wind energy’s further development.
The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des...