Analytical essay of ‘’The Baddest Dog in Harlem’’ The short story ‘’The Baddest Dog in Harlem’’ was written by Walter Dean Myers, and released in his book ‘’145th Street: Short Stories’’ from 2000. In this analytical essay, I will analyze the setting and the tone of voice. Furthermore, I will assess what the main theme and message of the short story is. Lastly I will draw parallels to Bruce Springsteen’s song ‘’American Skin (41 shots)’’. The short story takes place in Harlem. Harlem is known for inhabiting a lot of black people, and for being one of the worst areas for poverty and crime. The time of the day is possibly around dinner/afternoon. ‘’One thing about 145th street. Half of the guys on the block don’t have jobs and so they’re …show more content…
‘’ ‘’Hey, Mr. Officer,’’ Pedro called out, ‘’we got to get away from here ‘fore we get shot up.’’ – The cop looked over at us and didn't say nothing. I bet if he had his way he would have had us sitting out there in that police car’’ This quotation clearly shows that the main character thinks badly of the police, as he thinks they would like to arrest him, for no apparent reason. Furthermore, it is indirectly hinted, that they are afraid of the police, as they are in a dangerous spot, yet they are afraid of moving, without the police officer allowing them …show more content…
‘’Hey, why I got to go?’’ I asked. ‘’I don't know anything and I don't want to see no dead people.’’ Didn't do a bit of good because they made me go up there with them’’. The quotation is hinting that the main character has a negative attitude towards the police officers, and that he does not like them. Furthermore, we once again see the slang words, and lack of vocabulary. Judging by all of the above-mentioned quotations, the vocabulary is poor, and the tone of voice is very affected by the use of slang,
For a moment be any black person, anywhere, and you will feel waves of hopelessness” is a profound notion that highlights William Grier and Price Cobbs’ work in Black Rage. With astonishing information backed with real case studies, from previous black patients, they explore the terrain of the black experience in America. The unearthing critique of America they developed in the late sixties remains relevant in today’s turbulent times. Grier and Cobbs (GC) paint a very valid picture of black rage from its inception to its impact in the lives of black people.
Since the 1930’s until now, studies show that about 64% of kids and teens have been using slang terms in their school work. It is amazing what some of them are. Slang is used all of the time by almost all people and has changed a lot over the past decades. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses a child’s perspective to show how slang has changed from the 1930’s until today.
The essay of Debra Dickerson’s “Who Shot Johnny?” she explains how Americans only see the gangster, uneducated, homeless, careless black community and doesn’t
The Harlem Hellfighters took place during World War 1 or, from 1914 to 1918. Although, the United States didn’t join World War 1 until 1917. Most of the Harlem Hellfighters lived in Harlem, New York before they were brought to Paris for the battle during World War 1. The Harlem Hellfighters were the most vigorous soldiers during WW1. They were very hard working soldiers.
In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? by James Baldwin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan both shows idea of uses of slang and language in different context. In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? Baldwin states that how language has changed and evolved overtime, Baldwin describes how black English were used as white English, in civil rights movement where blacks were treated as slaves and the used slang language to communicate so that the whites won’t understand. This slang was taken from black language and now everyone uses to make the communication short. In the essay Mother Tongue Tan explains that how language could affect people from different culture. Tan states that how Asian students in America struggle in English. Tan also states that her mother is smart but she couldn’t communicate in English. Tan thinks that’s a big disadvantage for her mother and people coming from different countries cannot show their talent because of their weakness in communication.
In “Who Shot Johnny” by Debra Dickerson, Dickerson recounts the shooting of her 17 year old nephew, Johnny. She traces the outline of her life, while establishing a creditable perception upon herself. In first person point of view, Dickerson describes the events that took place after the shooting, and how those events connected to her way of living. In the essay, she uses the shooting of her nephew to omit the relationship between the African American society, and the stereotypic African American society.
The fellow contemplates the man's proposal, “Well, sir, I’m tellin’ you, I was so tired and hongry and cold that night I didn’t hardly know what to say, so I said all right, and we decided to do it. Looked like to me ’bout that time a Hundred Thirty-third Street was just workin’ with people, taxis cruisin’, white folks from downtown lookin’ for hot spots” (Hughes 254) The fellow thinks about his past, and his current situation, “Well, sir, I ain’t never been mixed up in nothin’ wrong before nor since, and I don’t intend to be again, but I was hongry that night. Indeed, I was!” (Hughes
The Harlem Renaissance gave African American women new opportunities in literature. “The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the end of World War 1 and the middle of the 1930s.” (Wormser) It was a challenge for women poets during the Harlem Renaissance because they were both black and women. (Walton) Jessie Fauset, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Regina Anderson, and Nella Larson all played important roles in the Harlem Renaissance. (Lewis) These women inspired many generations of women to come. (Walton)
African-Americans’/ Affrilachians’ Suffering Mirrored: How do Nikky Finney’s “Red Velvet” and “Left” Capture events from the Past in order to Reshape the Present? Abstract Nikky Finney (1957- ) has always been involved in the struggle of southern black people interweaving the personal and the public in her depiction of social issues such as family, birth, death, sex, violence and relationships. Her poems cover a wide range of examples: a terrified woman on a roof, Rosa Parks, a Civil Rights symbol, and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, to name just a few. The dialogue is basic to this volume, where historical allusions to prominent figures touch upon important sociopolitical issues. I argue that “Red Velvet” and “Left”, from Head off & Split, crystallize African-Americans’ /African-Americans’ suffering and struggle against slavery, by capturing events and recalling historical figures from the past.
African-Americans aged 12 and up are the most victimized group in America. 41.7 over 1,000 of them are victims of violent crimes, compared with whites (36.3 over 1,000). This does not include murder. Back then during the era of the Jim Crow laws, it was even worse. However, during that time period when there were many oppressed blacks, there were many whites who courageously defied against the acts of racism, and proved that the color of your skin should not matter. This essay will compare and contrast two Caucasian characters by the names of Hiram Hillburn (The Mississippi Trial, 1955) and Celia Foote (The Help), who also went against the acts of prejudice.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
1. After my close reading of "Story in Harlem Slang", it can be said that the Harlem Slang is unique to people from Harlem and if you are not from Harlem or an Harlemese, you might not understand the message they are trying to convey. The author, Zora Neale shows us how this slang is unique through Jelly and Sweet back's character. Both characters communicate using their Harlem Slangs and spent a lot of time trying to seem bigger than they are to one another through lying about the women they’ve been with and the money they have received from them. Jelly decodes his words by using words and terms whereby Sweetback would grab quickly, he said "Naw-naw-naw-now Sweet Back, long as you been knowing me, you ain't never seen me with nothing but
An adequate, detailed description of the setting in ay novel is essential to the reader’s experience. The reader is not provided with any visual cues (unless it is a rare case and the book is illustrated) and must rely solely on the author’s writing ability to achieve a sense of full emersion into the storyline. When the reader is provided with vague detail it is easy for the individual to become frustrated and quickly lose interest. In Chester Himes novel “A Rage in Harlem”, Himes does an excellent job of putting the reader directly in the center of twentieth century Harlem. At times his descriptive writing style border on the extreme, perhaps even making the reader in an emotionally uncomfortable situation. However, with his unique writing style was able to bring the city of Harlem to life for many individuals, who if not to Himes, would have never been exposed to the reality of Harlem and individuals who “lived” Harlem every single day of their lives.
Johnson mentions his nephew that is only four years old, who is growing up to be terrified of the police. Johnson captured the moment when his nephew exclaims: “Oh man, Uncle 5-0, we gotta hide” (Line 28). The term 5-0 is another reference for cops. The dialogue Johnson uses with his nephew shows the fear this little kid has with the police. Why should a little kid have to be afraid of the police at such a young age? Society is teaching the little kids that they should be afraid of the police because of all the brutality they have caused against black people over the years. As a child, the majority of the time they grow up fearing the police. However, as they grow up they start to feel hatred against the police because of what they make their people go through. They feel as though they have to make a stand and let it be enough with the treatment they get. The dialogue Johnson shows helps emphasize the damage that the police has against people especially the little kids. Kids should do nothing but admire the police because they are supposed to be heroes. However, due to the circumstances of how they treat colored people, they have kids who are in fear of
12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright is a photo and text book which poetically tells the tale of African Americans from the time they were taken from Africa to the time things started to improve for them in a 149 page reflection. Using an interchanging series of texts and photographs, Richard Wright encompasses the voices of 12 million African-Americans, and tells of their sufferings, their fears, the phases through which they have gone and their hopes. In this book, most of the photos used were from the FSA, Farm Security Administration and a few others not from them. They were selected to complement and show the points of the text. The African-Americans in the photos were depicted with dignity.