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Discuss the themes of African-American literature
Does African-American Literature Exist? Review
Discuss the themes of African-American literature
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Zora Neale Hurston, author of the Gilded Six Bits, has a very unique writing style. The artistry in her story makes it a pleasant, easy read for any audience. The title suggests the story is based around money; but rather if one were to dig deeper the reality of the story is being told around the playfulness of money. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.
Hurston’s characters have idealistic dialect for an African American in that time period; correctly depicting any stereotypes that might fall on the situation. The slang and slurs used throughout the characters dialogue makes the tale more realistic and believable. “Nope, sweetenin’ is for us men-folks. Y’all pritty lil frail eels don’t need nothin’ lak dis. You too sweet already” (987). This type of language appeals to me because of the fascination of a thick mock southern dialect. It is interesting to read the words and be able to hear the dialect sounded in your head. The language in this story helps the theme become more effective because it is obvious that they are less educated than most individuals. Typically, it is understood that the less educated have less money and money has always been known as the “root of all evil”.
Gayl Jones suggests, “Not only does the dialect have more functions but it is used in a story of greater complexity of character, greater thematic range and literary sophistication. Though the people themselves are “simple” in the sense of being “ordinary folks,” their range is more than sentimental or comic emotion.” The dialogue in this story helps to move the narrative along and give it additional char...
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...ers today. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora N. "The Gilded Six Bits." 1933. The Norton Anthology American Literature.
Seventh ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 985-93. Print. 1866 to the Present.
Jones, Gayl. “Breaking Out of the Conventions of Dialect.” Zora Neale Hurston: Critical
Perspectives Past and Present. Henry Louis Gates and K. A. Appiah, eds. New York: Amistad, 1993, 141
Laurie Champion, Socioeconomics in Selected Short Stories of Zora Neale Hurston.” Southern
Quarterly 40.1 (2001): 79-92. Rpt. In Zora Neale Hurston, ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008, 181-195.
Lillie P. Howard, Zora Neale Hurston. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.
Vol. 65 Issue 4, pg. 78. 316-319. The. 4 p. Ebsco Host. Tucker, Phillip Thomas, 1953.
Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1993. 126-1 58.
Rosenblatt, Roger. “Roger Rosenblatt’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Rpt. in Modern Critical Views of Zora Neale Hurston. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 29-33. Print.
Hurston begins the essay in her birth town: Eatonville, Florida; an exclusively Negro town where whites were a rarity, only occasionally passing by as a tourist. Hurston, sitting on her porch imagines it to be a theatre as she narrates her perspective of the passing white people. She finds a thin line separating the spectator from the viewer. Exchanging stances at will and whim. Her front porch becomes a metaphor for a theater seat and the passers
Money is the root of all things evil. When a person puts money before their beliefs and values a lot of things can go wrong. Delia and Missie May are the two women Hurston wanted you to see what money do to two different type if people, one self-made and one depended on money given. Delia was the woman that had to work hard for everything she wanted and have. She is not a person who let money define her, whereas you have, Missie May, a housewife and her husband gives her everything she wanted and needed. It’s Funny how Hurston depicted two different kinds of bad marriages. In “The Gilded Six-Bits” the wife cheats on the husband, whereas in “sweat” the husband cheats on the wife. In both stories, Hurston tested a Woman’s strength and weakness by showing your love, regret and hate in two different viewpoints.
The world in which Lily grows up in is one where money is the standard by which everyone is judged. In a setting like this, “money stands for all kinds of things- its purchasing quality isn’t limited to diamonds and motor cars” (Wharton 66). Therefore, even small things such as the way a person dresses or the places someone frequents become of high importance as they are representative of how much money a person possesses. This materialistic tendency ...
The American Dream is an ethos idealized by millions of people. It is an attitude and mindset that can promote success and prosperity throughout life. When it comes to the American dream, a significant part is the quest for money. As shown in classic American Literature such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the influence of money plays an important role throughout both novels. There are characters in both books that use money as a way of representing what their morals and values are. The decline of the American Dream is evident in both novels considering the negative effects money has on certain characters.
“The Gilded Six Bits,” by Zora Neale Hurston is about a happily married couple, Missy May and Joe Banks, who discovers that something is missing from their life when sly Slemmons comes to town. The story exhibits how capitalistic-patriarchy dominates and eventually distorts Joe and Missy May’s marriage.
Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits” is a story about the changing relationship of Missie May and Joe Banks after their morals and values are tested with material items. A clear message in “The Gilded Six-Bits” is one that contradicted the beliefs of the American society during this time period, the idea that money or the urban life would bring happiness to the American household. Early in the story, Missie May and Joe Banks are a happy couple. They live an average and modest lifestyle, but are content with what they have because their relationship is what mattered most to them. However, the arrival of a character that represents a materialistic way of life turns their marriage around because they began to want the wealth most people wanted. In “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Missie May’s character is a character that is loving, innocent, and vulnerable, and she provides an excellent example and connection to the themes in Hurston’s story of marriage, love and betrayal.
From dreams deferred to identity affirmed Lorraine Hansberry’s, “A Raisin in the Sun,” presents readers with many differing themes. The most prevalent and reoccurring theme is the effect money plays on society’s views of manhood and happiness. Readers are shown multiple characters with a diverse view on manhood. From Walter Lee with his matching societal views that a man should be able to provide whatever his family needs or wants to Lena whose views are a biased compilation of her late husband’s behavior and her own ideals, that a man should maintain his honor and protect his children’s dreams.
Most would say that money does not define who we are. However, socially we are conditioned to think that a person of good character has money and can manage wealth. In Stevenson’s day, even more so than today, a person of wealth is assumed to be of good character. who knew you;
Appiah, K.A. and Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. eds. Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1993.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily uses setting, characterization, and figurative language to show us how old money is selfish and responsible with their money and how new money is selfless, but uses their money unwisely.
8th ed. Vol. C. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 662-72. Print.
The. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. a *(page) of the. Print. The. Lewis, C. W. & Co., Inc.