All the readings we have read so far have been very relatable or eye opening to things I did not even realize was going on. Two out of the many readings that we have read have stuck out to me the most. The first one was the “There Is No Hierarchy Of Oppression” one by Audre Lorde. The second one was “If Men Could Menstrate” by Gloria Steinem. The “There Is No Hierarchy Of Oppression” by Audre Lorde influenced me most because it is about a woman with many differences that are not “normal” in our society. Not to mention she is a woman so it makes it harder for her not only to be lesbian, black, and in an interracial relationship but to just live in all the different groups that she fits in she is always different in another way. An example
I think that the messages this book displays are important for anyone to think about, and apply to their lives every day.
Smelcer, my high school history teacher. My teacher dedicated a whole month of class on the topic of “Black Lives Matter.” She loved to read books on opinions on black society. I think this book would fascinate her if she has not already read it. She always taught us about the struggles of African Americans, but never about the privilege that some of them had. Some African Americans were better off than most whites at the time. They were doctors and lawyers, most of the black elite were making salaries close to middle class Caucasians. The book shows how not only how whites look down on the African American racial background, but so did people of their own race. I think this simple fact would be intriguing to my teacher and maybe challenge her views on black society. It could also contribute to her lessons in class, teaching high schoolers about this exclusive society. Lastly, I would recommend this book to Mrs. Smelcer because it proves that while the members of the black elite had “privilege and plenty” they were still racial discriminated against by whites, even through they should have been
The article “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppression” by Audre Lorde explains that fact that there are no factors or boundaries that stop oppression. Lorde mentions that she as people in order to tackle a problem we go by one issue first then the next. However, she explains that every issue is interconnected with each other for example, in her situation she is black and a lesbian but both come in to play in all the groups she pertains in. Therefore, in both the communities they see her as vice versa. Lorde tries to emphasize that neither of the aspects that make up her identity are less or more important but equally accepted. In conclusion, Lorde wants society to stop treating just one particular oppression as more important than another because that will not us to come together and fight oppression. Instead, we should treat all oppressions as one in order to achieve change.
There is one book that can, and does affect everyone that reads is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck is a very interesting person, and one that did not even graduate from college. New York seems to be the city of new beginnings and for Steinbeck it was just what he needed. He got a big reality check when he tried to become a free lance writer and that did not work out the way he had hoped it would. He then went back to California and published both short stories and novels. Steinbeck got heavily critiqued on his first novels and considers his best work The Grapes of Wrath by far. Since this was such a successful novel and one that needed to be shared with more people they made a movie based on the book, but left out some key parts at the end of the novel. They left out these last chapters because of some key reasons and when you read the book you begin to understand why they could not have put these words into a picture. John Steinbeck creates a picture and feeling at the end of the novel that is almost unbearable to read and leaves you with a feeling of dread but, that is what The Grapes of Wrath is all about.
The writings of the two authors, Langston Hughes and John Steinbeck address examples of how literature reflects society. Furthermore, the main idea is how the stated essential question related to modern day writers and how it reflected upon tragic events such as the great depression & racism toward Africans. For example in “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes. He mentions how Africans had to go through hardships and were looked down upon, relating back to how literature was shaped. In the story, there is an African girl named Cora lived in an amoral time period where poverty was commonly encountered countless hardships. Near the end, Cora becomes pregnant and is looked down upon due to the fact she was uneducated and black when it is quoted
In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer supposed to retain knowledge on a factual basis but to observe the problems and challenge my own thoughts, values, and beliefs. Challenging these aspects lights the fire that creates the ability to use working sociological terms in my analyses. Through my analyses of the authors in the course I developed questions about the particular readings that we were assigned. The questions I present from these authors are on the basis of learning and seeing the macro picture from micro events. The authors that we read from were: Allan G. Johnson, James W. Loewen, Jonathan Kozol, David Nibert, Arnold Arluke, Clinton R. Sanders, and Elie Wiesel. From each one of these authors we are able to relate a theme of sociology to what is happening in their books, which results in the discussion questions.
The poem that gave me the greatest emotional reaction was “Dusting”. The poem is very touching to me. The poet described a girl in the poem who is writing her scribbling everywhere and her mother keeps erasing her scribblings. “Each morning I wrote my name/on the dusty cabinets, then crossed/the dining table in script…” (Alvarez, 2006, 1-3). This poem is showing how the girl is trapped in her mother’s shadow. She wants more in life and doesn’t want to be like her mother. The poet is showing that the girl wants to be better than her mom, “But I refused with every mark/to be like her, anonymous.” (Alvarez, 2006, 17-18). In some cultural you see this a lot; parents trying to guide their child down the same career path they are in. Most of the
The first reason I believe this book should be read in every classroom is because it teaches readers the importance of accepting people of all backgrounds. The black maid and stand-in mother at the
In this paper, I plan to explore and gain some insight on Audre Lorde’s personal background and what motivated her to compose a number of empowering and highly respected literary works such as “Poetry is Not a Luxury”. In “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde not only gives voice to people especially women who are underrepresented, but also strongly encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and utilize writing or poetry to express and free oneself of repressed emotions. I am greatly interested in broadening my knowledge and understanding of the themes that are most prominent in Lorde’s works such as feminism, sexism and racism. It is my hope that after knowing more about her that I would also be inspired to translate my thoughts and feelings
THE WAYS OF MEETING OPPRESSION IS AN ESSAY WRITTEN BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., ADDRESSING SEGREGATION THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TOWARD THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE. King’s primary audience is the African Americans, but also he has secondary audiences that he addresses, which are a combination of Christians or those who know of, or believe in the Christian views, as well as people in the legal system. He gives examples through his text that will demonstrate how he addresses mostly the African Americans, but also the various other audiences he is trying to reach to through his memorable speech. In his writing, he tells of three ways that they deal with oppression, and based on these he sends out a message to all who have read or heard his words. This message states what has been done in the past, as well as what should be done based on these past experiences. King chooses to speak to certain people through certain contexts and key phrases. In choosing certain phrases and also on how he states his words, he is successful in influencing all his audiences that he intended to persuade. The words that he carefully chose will tell how and why he wanted to focus on the primary and secondary audiences of his choice.
Oppression signifies an authority of a dominant group over a monitory group, disengaging the minority group from society. “ The term oppression encapsulates the fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life in our society” (Bell, 2007). In one way or another every individuals experience some form of oppression, whether it be through, sex, gender, religion, age, economic status and/or sexual orientation. In some instances, an “individual may experience multiple oppression and they can be experienced simultaneously or singularly depending on the context” ( Vernon). For, an example as an African American who also
I found “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be the most compelling, because after everything that we have done to this race, and yet we still treated them like this.
“Oppression, to divide and conquer is your goal. Oppression, I swear hatred is your home. Oppression, you mean only harm.” -Ben Harper
In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.
Throughout the course of my major, we focused on environmental responsibility and justice in the global community, and essentially, focusing on studying the relationships between oppression, power, society, education and social change. With that being said, throughout Seminar 102, I found several of our readings to be very comprehensible and applicable to what I was learning in my major classes. For example, Theme for English B by Langston Hughes, The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, Maus by Spiegelman and of course, Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. Since my disciplinary lens for my major focuses on the injustices from our past, current and future society, I always unintentionally take a social justice approach to every text that I