There were many aspects in which African Americans were treated with great discord in the United States, pre-civil rights. One of the most common being derogatory names that were used. The writings “What’s in a name?” by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and “Finishing School” by Maya Angelou show how impactful the usage of one’s name or lack thereof is. Similarly, the stories themes are built around the treatment and names used to berate African Americans however; the settings and characters show some striking similarities and differences. The way that African Americans were treated in both stories is similar to any story you read or hear from that era in the United States history. Segregation was common throughout most of the U.S. at this time, not …show more content…
If you were a white girl at this time in Stamps you were basically treated to a privileged education (finishing school) for your future sophisticated lifestyle (Kirszner and Mandell 107). Black girls were expected to learn skills that allow them to get jobs mainly working on farms (Kirszner and Mandell 107). The way names were used to depreciate social standing and importance in stamps was similar to that of Piedmont. Maya Angelou’s birth name was Marguerita Johnson (Kirszner and Mandell 107). She was called Margaret in the house in which she worked, throughout the story. One particular passage shows the complete lack of respect shown to a black person’s name. One of the house guests asks Mrs. Cullinan (owner of the house) her name. After hearing her name, she responds “… the names too long. I’d never bother myself. I’d call her Mary if I was you (Angelou …show more content…
Gates was a young man at the time of his story. In his adult life he has written a wide array of literary works and is also a professor at a major university. In “What’s in a Name?”, he has a comprehensive recollection of this memory from his childhood; especially details about the main character, Mr. Wilson. Gates describes his demeanor as, “… a very quiet man whose stony, brooding silent manner seemed designed to scare off any overtures of friendship… (6)” As you read further Gates’s disdain for Mr. Wilson is evident in the last line when he states, “I never again looked Mr. Wilson in the eye
African Americans who came to America to live the golden dream have been plagued with racism, discrimination and segregation throughout a long and complicated history of events that took place in the United States dating back to slavery to the civil rights movements. Today, African American history is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February which is designated Black History Month. This paper will look back into history beginning in the late 1800’s through modern day America and describe specific events where African Americans have endured discrimination, segregation, racism and have progressively gained rights and freedoms by pushing civil rights movement across America.
Reading these poems is an incredible learning experience because it allows readers to view segregation through the eyes of someone most affected by it. In the U.S. History course I took I didn’t take away the details and specific examples I did from reading and researching Brooks’ work. For example, the history textbook only mentioned one specific person who was affected by segregation, that person was Rosa Parks. The example of Rosa Parks demonstrated just one isolated incident of how black people were punished if they disobeyed the laws of segregation. In contrast, Brooks’ work demonstrates the everyday lives of black people living with segregation, which provides a much different perspective than what people are used to. An example, of this would be in Brooks’ poem “Bronzeville Woman in a Red Hat”. The speaker of this poem hired a black maid and referred to her as “it”(103). By not using the maid’s name or using the pronoun her, the speaker is dehumanizing the maid. This poem expresses to readers that white people thought that black people weren’t like them, that they weren’t even
In Maya Angelou's Essay `Graduation' the use of language as a navigational tool is very evident, as it leads from emotion to emotion on the occasion of the author's graduation from eighth grade. Over the course of the work, Angelou displays 3 major emotions simply based from the language she uses; excitement, disappointment and finally, redemption
In an expressive voice, Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five years ago. She describes the children as trembling "visibly with anticipation" and the teachers being "respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors." Although it is autobiographical, an omniscient voice in the first six paragraphs describes how "they" - the black children in Stamps - felt and acted before the omniscient voice changes to a limited omniscient narration in the seventh paragraph. Her eloquent voice skillfully builds the tension as she demonstrates bigotry destroying innocence.
African Americans often correlate language, experiences, and perspectives of life to identity. The history of slavery illustrates the creativity and dexterity African American utilized to suppress the adversaries against them. The use or misuse of language was used in a similar context. Throughout the years of slavery, racists did not view Africans as having a communicative pattern or practice identifiable amongst the assembly (George, 2004). The thought process for racists were that: the prevention of African American communication would guarantee that a social identity could never be formed and that rebellion or riots would never exist (George,
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored man by James Weldon Johnson is a story about a bi-racial man’s life growing up in the post-Civil War era in the United States. The story is told from a male narrator that remains unnamed throughout the story. Johnson takes the reader on a journey with this character of whom deals with many internal struggles when trying to find his place in American society. The narrator’s struggles are not the typical struggles of an African American man during that time period nor the struggles that were faced by white men. Although racial differences in art, culture, and social classes were very real in the narrator’s life, the primary struggle he faced with his own identity is what plagued him the most and continued to plaque him throughout his lifetime.
“You are a nothing little nigger” is one of the demeaning phrases African American human beings have heard over the years in an effort to keep them in a state of persecution. This paper will discuss the persecution of the African American. The following documents the struggles, gut wrenching pain, and heart ache of African American people have endured and are still suffering with today.
Names having great meaning in human civilization. They can have personal meaning and help create the foundation for a sense of self and identity. They're often rooted in a persons heritage and culture and therefore can serve to remind a person of where they come from. They help create a sense of recognition and familiarity between people and ultimately a sense of solidarity and community. Names can also be used as a form of respect and affection or as signs of disrespect. These various roles that names serve can be seen through out Lawrence Hills 'Book of Negroes'. In the novel Hill repeatedly makes reference to names and the meaning they carry for the novels heroine, Aminata Diallo and those around her. For Lawrence Hill and his characters naming and names themselves are powerful symbols of identity, family, culture, respect and their erasure is a potent symbol of power and domination.
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
During the early 1900’s, the time period in which the story took place, racism was rampant throughout the entire nation. While African Americans technically were equal by law, they were anything but, in action. Laws such as “separate but equal” were used to justify blatant discrimination, laws that were coined as “Jim Crow Laws.” (Wikipedia,
During the nineteen sixties, African Americans experienced an immense amount of changes such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Prior to these changes, African Americans faced racial segregation. Segregation was prevalent in housing, transportation, education, medical care and even in the United States Armed Forces. In the poem, History Lesson, the speaker recalls a memory on a beach in Mississippi regarding segregation with her grandmother in the 1930’s. A comparison of the speaker and her grandmother shows both the belief in segregation in the 1930’s compared to the desegregation in the 1970’s. By utilizing historical criticism, History Lesson by Natasha Trethewey can be analyzed from a historical point of view.
In her first autobiography, Maya Angelou tells about her childhood through her graduation through, “Graduation”, from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” when she is about to graduate. She starts as an excited graduate because she was finally going to receive her diploma, a reward for all her academic accomplishments. On the day of her graduation finally comes, that happiness turns into doubt about her future as she believes that black people will be nothing more than potential athletes or servants to white people. It wasn’t until Henry Reed started to sing the Negro National Anthem that she felt on top of the world again. Throughout her graduation she felt excited to disappointed, until Henry Reed sang and made her feel better.
The joy of the upcoming days getting close-up to a special event of her 8th graduation from Lafayette County Training School in Stamps, Arkansas was the main focus of Maya Angelou’s “Graduation.” A young African American flourishing scholar waiting with excitement and hope for her graduation moment, and to began a new journey in the real world. Angelou implies her overall excitement into the conflicts of issues that shows a reflection of societal problems that still occur in today’s society. It emphasizes how people have to be strong in everyday life as Maya Angelou did with all circumstances; referring to racism. All Maya’s dreams, hopes and expectations to her graduation day were suddenly shut by a white politician man known as Mr. Edward
In the excerpt “Mary”, Angelou recalls her poverty-stricken childhood and the struggles she went through while growing up in the racist south, post-slavery. Angelou remembers how she thought that white people were strange and had developed a negative attitude towards them. Though only ten years old, Angelou worked as a kitchen servant to a woman by the name of Mrs. Cullinan (Angelou 4). She remembers how her identity was taken away when Mrs. Cullinan and the white women that would visit Mrs. Cullinan. These women changed Angelou’s first name from Margaret to “Mary” without her consent because they felt that her name was too long to say (Angelou 5). Margaret and many other African Americans of her time felt that being called “called out of his or her name” in the south was considered to be as insulting as if they were being called “niggers, spooks, blackbirds, crows, or dinges”(Angelou 6). Maya had also encountered being calle...
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".