Analysis: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson “The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth and Harlem's Greatest Bookstore” The Book Itch is a historical fiction book meant to inform us about a real place and real events in Harlem, New York. The audience of the book is children ages 7-9 because although it is a picture book it talks of an assassination and most kids around this age would still be learning about what assassinations are. The entire story is an allusion because the story is set in a real bookstore in a real place. It has small allusions in it such as when Muhammad Ali visited the bookstore and when it talks about how Malcolm X speaks at his father's shop. However the most prominent allusion is when Malcolm X is assassinated because it is referencing an …show more content…
Well it was my dad’s office at the train station , but I spent so much time there its was like mine. On the weekends and summer I ride my bike to help dad set out signs for different destinations or unlocking doors. My dad created this stop and when he went to ask the bank for money they said “ No not a single black man should have to take so much responsibility”. But my daddy just worked at other places saving his dimes, nickels, sometimes quarters. Then when he did open it lots of people came every day. He is now saving his dimes for me. Not a single famous person road our railroad and that's how we liked it . It made it less crowded. Less crowd meant more me and dad time and we had a lot of fun. Every day people would come early for travel and then leave late at night. Then one fine wednesday i was late to the train station. My father picked me up really quick and got me there we then found a hug crowed and in the middle-was the very president of the united states. We heard around that he was waiting for a train to go to his old college. Suddenly a man in a big coat went over to the presidents and pulled out a gun after that all we could hear was a whole lotta hollering . After that,all I remember was being trampled by all the people running. When I woke up,my daddy was right there and told me that the president had been shot and was dieing. I said that's why we don't like famous people at
Leon Litwack’s Trouble in Mind paints an extensive picture of life for black southerners in, and after, the Jim Crow era. Litwack takes the reader through the journey of a black youth, then slowly graduates to adulthood. As the chapters progress, so do the gruesome details. The reader is exposed to the horrors of this life slowly, then all at once. The approach Litwack utilizes is important, because he needs the reader to stick with him even through the tough chapters. By utilizing firsthand accounts of raw, emotional experiences, Litwack successfully communicated the daily struggles of black southerners in the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century South.
Books: a group of blank white pages where authors record memories, reveal what they imagined, and take us along on a ride through their minds. These past few weeks, I had been reading two popular novels that did in fact take me on that journey: The Outsiders written by S.E. Hinton, and Miracle’s Boys by Jacqueline Woodson. In no uncertain terms, I did notice that these two books could be compared to one another. Although these are two separate books, written by two different authors with separate journeys, they actually have great similarities and differences in the characters and plot.
To depict the unfair daily lives of African Americans, Martin Luther King begins with an allegory, a boy and a girl representing faultless African Americans in the nation. The readers are able to visualize and smell the vermin-infested apartment houses and the “stench” of garbage in a place where African American kids live. The stench and vermin infested houses metaphorically portray our nation being infested with social injustice. Even the roofs of the houses are “patched-up” of bandages that were placed repeatedly in order to cover a damage. However, these roofs are not fixed completely since America has been pushing racial equality aside as seen in the Plessy v. Ferguson court case in which it ruled that African Americans were “separate but equal”. Ever since the introduction of African Americans into the nation for slavery purposes, the society
Indeed, the narrator comes from a long line of black men who’ve felt the difficult struggles while trying to live alongside the white people. The protagonist speaks of his grandparents, who felt after the civil war, they were free, but on his deathbed, however, the grandfather spoke to the narrator’s father, telling the protagonist’s father that he himself felt like a traitor. He advised the narrator’s father to subvert the whites. The narrator recalls a speech he had given in high school—one that spoke of ways to advance as a black man in America. With great success, the protagonist is invited to deliver this speech to his community’s white citizens. Upon arriving, the narrator is told to take part in what is called a battle royal; believing its part of the entertainment, the narrator agrees to take part. The white men then blindfold the youths and order them to begin fighting each other. The narrator lasts until the last round, when he suffers a loss. After the men have removed the blindfolds, they lead the black men to a rug covered with coins and bills. The boys dive for the money, but discover that an electric current runs through the rug. Having endured the battle royal, and when it comes time for the narrator to give his speech, the white men all laugh and ignore him. When the narrator accidently says “social equali...
In the 223 years our country has been instituted, the way black people are perceived in society has always been less than acceptable. Great leaders and motivators like Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have come and gone, their voices and action have attempted to change the role of black people in society. However, even in today times, equality is still far off, and there is no voice comparable to what blacks relied on in those days. Instead of marches in Alabama, or speeches in Washington, the plight of the blacks are heard through literature. Small voices in literature that makes a big impact on society. Toni Morrison and bell hooks use words to motivate people of all color. Morrison and hooks open eyes to this so-called free country we live in with the purpose of showing society's condemnation of black life, interracial relationships and black woman in a traditionally men's roles. In the two stories by Toni Morrison titled, "On the Backs of Blacks" and "Friday on the Potomac," she strives to prove the effects of racism in America, the oppression of African Americans in society, and the racial and sexist aspects of the Anita Hall and Clarence Thomas Hearings. In "Sorrowful Black Death Is Not a Hot Ticket" and "Seduction And Betrayal" bell hooks criticizes the way black life is depicted the movies: Crooklyn, The Bodyguard, and The Crying Game.
Humans have an instinctual response, emotionally and physically, on fear towards danger or any unpleasant situation. When one is not in their right, conventional state, they become too concentrated towards the danger in front of them, thus leading to vicious outcomes. These may affect the person himself or to the one he is in opposition to. Fear stimulates the lost of individualism and encourages a group mentality to one another. The book “Lord of the Flies”, written by William Golding, manifests fear all throughout the book which directly triggers the savage acts the boys commit themselves . When one is scared, they are prone to create groups to disperse the fear and accompany it, or in the case of Simon’s death, the loss of individualism, a creation of a group mentality, is an and
Throughout history, there are many influential pieces of literature. They shape the way that human society as a whole view various matters, such as politics, religion, and justice. Still, one book stands apart in the volumes of history, and continues to impact generations of readers to this day. It is an endless source of discussion for scholars, and provides both historical and moral value to students of all ages. This famed work is none other than Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; a timeless story detailing the childhood of tomboy Scout Finch and her adventures in Maycomb county. While the book is fictitious, this does not take away from the very real effects it has on readers. How does Harper Lee accomplish such
During the winter of 1928, in Montgomery, Alabama, a black girl who was only fifteen-year-old got on a city bus so she could go visit her sick grandmother. She was supposed to go to the “colored only” section, there were no seats so she went to seat up front, but just as the girl sat down, a white man boarded the bus and the bus driver yelled “I said move”. “This bus ain’t goin’ anywhere until you get on back there with your kind”.
Often times, literature reflects the problems within a society. An author finds their character’s struggles and triumphs in the people of each era. Inspirations from real life events fuel not only great literature but also books that become remarkable social pieces. A perfect example is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel is reflective of the 1930’s era. In the story racism runs rampant through society with only a noble few trying to stop it. The racism that is apparent and a focal point for the novel is, although fiction, closely matched to that of a racist era in America. Racism represents fear of the unknown in many themes in the book as well as in the daily aspect of life.
I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. “(Barack Obama pg.2). This is important, because it shows that Obama is able to relate to both black and white people. This in return gives reassurance to the readers that Obama would be fair and understands both of their perspective. Barack Obama starts to give his own experience of racism and stereotypes, Obama expresses “At various states in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough”. We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary” (Barack Obama pg.2). Barack Obama being able to share his own experience makes his speech
“American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is a short story set in 1963. Back then, prejudice and segregation amongst different races were still in full bloom. The protagonist, Elena is a fourteen year old girl of Puerto Rican descent who lives in Paterson, New Jersey along with her parents. Elena’s neighbor, Eugene, is a boy of European descent whom Elena likes. The story takes place the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. While the people in Elena’s community are shocked by President Kennedy’s death, Elena is dealing with her own tragedy: being shunned by Eugene’s family. Ortiz Cofer’s story examines the theme of tragedy, personal and collective, and revolves around the dreams of Elena which can be shattered in one shocking moment.
Novels often depict realistic situations and outlooks on life. This enables the reader to view and learn about different aspects of life through the author’s depictions. Authors expose world issues and their opinions through their novels and create stories about them. In the novel, The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill exposes the issue of racial discrimination through a fictional character named Aminata. The protagonist is abducted into slavery and experiences hardships, tragedies, oppression, and betrayal. She encounters the many horrors and obstacles of the world in her long journey to freedom. Aminata’s story captures the truth behind other people in terms of their treatment and judgment of the unfamiliar. Hill’s novel effectively exposes
The story clearly illustrates that when one thinks of their ideal lifestyle they mainly rely on their personal experience which often results in deception. The theme is conveyed by literary devices such as setting, symbolism and iconic foreshadowing. The abolition of slavery was one step forward but there are still several more steps to be made. Steps that protect everyone from human trafficking and exploitation. Most importantly, racism is something that needs to stop, as well as providing equal opportunity to all without discrimination.
There has been many great debates about how the classic fiction books over the popular fiction and be taught in the school curriculum. Christopher Bantick had an opinion about how classic fiction should always be taught in the school curriculum. In his opinion he states that “Reading literary fiction leads people to perform better on tests that measure empathy”. And that if you read popular fiction it can get you nowhere. But others have argued that popular fiction books are better and are relevant to today’s kids. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic fiction book and it has been read and taught in many schools. In this essay I will be arguing about how the novel to kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee should be read in school rather than popular books such as “The fault in our Stars”.
The speech was deliver in the school auditorium at shadowland Elementary school with about 100 to 150 students between the ages of 9 -13. (Grade 4th to 5th Grade). As it comes out, the director of the school was given the speech about black history. He, himself was a black African American born in the United States. The student enter in the one entrance door quietly and sat on the floor. Little by little, more kids join in. As soon as the door close, the director shows up and cheer the kids up. I could tell that the students had a connection with the director. On the screen was his name and the tittle of the speech “Now and back then” Black history speech.