I wanted to also talk about slavery in African American literature as haunting. I think that all of the books we have read exhibit this feature. There is something completely eerie about the fact that this nation used to enslave an entire group of people. And eerier still, as depicted in Kindred, we are not too far removed from our oppressive past.
It is haunting to read Going to Meet the Man, and to be completely disturbed and troubled by the stories and know that they are all too real. If anything, all of these stories, novels, and novellas have simply reminded us that the ghost of our horrific past still haunt us today. We cannot too easily put behind us our awful past.
Another haunting book is The Known World. I believe the thing that was so haunting about this book is the spirituality that is brought into it. For some reason, whenever something is deeply spiritual, it feels like it never goes away. Like those that have been enslaved still exist. They may only exist in the spiritual world, but they are still here.
If anything, books like Kindred and The Known World, make one realize that our past as a slave nation still haunts each and everyone of us—black or white. More frightening still, as a modern nation we are still trying to find equality. We are still learning how to rise above oppression. And those that suppress others, are now learning how to put that part of themselves aside. Either way, are nation is the way it is because of slavery and the books that we have read this semester make that fact very, horrifically real.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Real Space Traders
Not to be rude, but there was a student in class today who tried to argue that Bell’s story was not only bad literature, but was implausible. To be perfectly honest, I think that was rather ignorant of him to say so and it is that type of ignorance that does put our country in jeopardy of just that kind of attack. And although I don’t really believe that aliens are going to land on Earth anytime soon, we are selling out other races everyday for our profit.
To be honest, I see this happening most predominately with the Hispanic population. Everyday, thousands of immigrants (both legal and illegal), wake up in disgusting shacks, and go out to work the land for minimal (at best pay). Yes, many chose to work on the land, but we should also have the option of treating them better. This country is also constantly outsourcing to third world countries, in order to make their profit margins larger.
And then with other colored populations (mainly black, Hispanic, and Native American)—they are being exploited through a lack of education. For an example, I went to school in Phoenix, not exactly an inner-city school, but a school with a 90% Hispanic population. And low-and-behold, most the teachers there were indeed white, except for the principal who was Hispanic. Within my first week of school, my mother met with the principal to complain about the lack of respect my second grade teacher was showing both to the students and to the parents. My mother had gone to the parent-teacher night, and was appalled at the way the parents were treated by the teacher. The teacher showed up in sweats and only talked with the parents for about five minutes before dismissing them. My mother said that when she tried to talk with the teacher after the short meeting, my teacher responded rudely and said that she did not have time to my mother. The principal responded frankly to this story: she said that most teachers do not have time for Hispanic students. The principal said that she would talk to the teacher, but nothing really ever improved. The teacher continued to be disrespectful to the students and teachers. She said the only thing that she was really going to teach us was how to behave, because it is all we really needed to know. So why wasn’t this teacher fired… because there was no one else readily willing to take her place. Furthermore, this was also a school where most students where about 25% of students were apart of a gang by the sixth grade.
This is obviously just one experience. But one experience too many. Every child should have a right to an education. My second grade teacher believed all we needed to know was how to behave, after all what was a Hispanic kid going to do with math? Now that I am older, I realize that the problem with my second grade teacher was simple: she was a flat out racist. She believed that children of color did not deserve the same education as white students. To wrap up, we are selling out colored people right now. And we are doing that by not giving them the same chance to learn as we are white students. And people need to realize this before we really do sell off a whole population for the gain of white people.
To be honest, I see this happening most predominately with the Hispanic population. Everyday, thousands of immigrants (both legal and illegal), wake up in disgusting shacks, and go out to work the land for minimal (at best pay). Yes, many chose to work on the land, but we should also have the option of treating them better. This country is also constantly outsourcing to third world countries, in order to make their profit margins larger.
And then with other colored populations (mainly black, Hispanic, and Native American)—they are being exploited through a lack of education. For an example, I went to school in Phoenix, not exactly an inner-city school, but a school with a 90% Hispanic population. And low-and-behold, most the teachers there were indeed white, except for the principal who was Hispanic. Within my first week of school, my mother met with the principal to complain about the lack of respect my second grade teacher was showing both to the students and to the parents. My mother had gone to the parent-teacher night, and was appalled at the way the parents were treated by the teacher. The teacher showed up in sweats and only talked with the parents for about five minutes before dismissing them. My mother said that when she tried to talk with the teacher after the short meeting, my teacher responded rudely and said that she did not have time to my mother. The principal responded frankly to this story: she said that most teachers do not have time for Hispanic students. The principal said that she would talk to the teacher, but nothing really ever improved. The teacher continued to be disrespectful to the students and teachers. She said the only thing that she was really going to teach us was how to behave, because it is all we really needed to know. So why wasn’t this teacher fired… because there was no one else readily willing to take her place. Furthermore, this was also a school where most students where about 25% of students were apart of a gang by the sixth grade.
This is obviously just one experience. But one experience too many. Every child should have a right to an education. My second grade teacher believed all we needed to know was how to behave, after all what was a Hispanic kid going to do with math? Now that I am older, I realize that the problem with my second grade teacher was simple: she was a flat out racist. She believed that children of color did not deserve the same education as white students. To wrap up, we are selling out colored people right now. And we are doing that by not giving them the same chance to learn as we are white students. And people need to realize this before we really do sell off a whole population for the gain of white people.
The Significance of African American Lit. in the 21st century
It is my perfect hope, that African American literature will continue to have an impact on the masses in the 21st century. But, unfortunately, it is my experience (in the 20th century) that African American literature is not experienced enough by people to have a mass impact on the population.
Especially (although this is changing) when schools are still teaching the “classics”, most people do not have an opportunity to learn about African American literature. At least in my experience, most teachers donate a week or so to literature from different cultures. Or they donate one week fully (usually in February) to studying African American literature. It is in this week that I was briefly exposed to Hughes and Frederic Douglas. But that is the extent of my exposure to African American literature. After all, my teachers had to donate the chunk of their time to great novels such as The Scarlet Letter, in order to fully educate us (that is sarcasm).
Basically, it is my hope that African American literature has an even greater impact on the masses in the 21st century than it did on the 20th century. Anyone who reads African American literature is impacted by it. They are impacted by the honesty, the words, and the reality behind the story, regardless of whether it is fact or fiction… it all stems from truth. Thus, I believe that African American literature may have a huge impact on the 21st century, if it is taught in schools. And not just taught in a week, but is taught the same way any other classic would be taught. Students need to understand how our past as a slave nation, still greatly affects us today. And I believe the best way of teaching students about the impact of slavery is through literature. Thus, this type of lesson can don’t be accomplished through Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but can be done by studying the African American Classics.
Especially (although this is changing) when schools are still teaching the “classics”, most people do not have an opportunity to learn about African American literature. At least in my experience, most teachers donate a week or so to literature from different cultures. Or they donate one week fully (usually in February) to studying African American literature. It is in this week that I was briefly exposed to Hughes and Frederic Douglas. But that is the extent of my exposure to African American literature. After all, my teachers had to donate the chunk of their time to great novels such as The Scarlet Letter, in order to fully educate us (that is sarcasm).
Basically, it is my hope that African American literature has an even greater impact on the masses in the 21st century than it did on the 20th century. Anyone who reads African American literature is impacted by it. They are impacted by the honesty, the words, and the reality behind the story, regardless of whether it is fact or fiction… it all stems from truth. Thus, I believe that African American literature may have a huge impact on the 21st century, if it is taught in schools. And not just taught in a week, but is taught the same way any other classic would be taught. Students need to understand how our past as a slave nation, still greatly affects us today. And I believe the best way of teaching students about the impact of slavery is through literature. Thus, this type of lesson can don’t be accomplished through Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but can be done by studying the African American Classics.
Th Memory of Slavery
I believe that Kindred, best depicts the significance of slavery as memory. In today’s world, we all like to think that we are past slavery, that it is distant. But Kindred showed how slavery as memory is something that is still something that is in all of our minds. As much as we would like to put slavery behind us, we are living in a country that is covered with the blood and sweat of slaves. Dana, the main character in Kindred, fully recognizes this fact when she travels back in time.
Dana viewed herself as a strong independent woman who would not be held down by anyone. However, she soon found out that the memory of slavery is not too far-gone when she travels back in time to the Antebellum South. We talked a lot in class about the memory of African American history and how it is broken because there is the history is Africa and then the history in America. But another type of memory broken seems to also exist between slavery and emancipation. Kindred exploits the memory of slavery within the modern world. In the beginning of the novel, it almost seems as if Dana (and definitely Kevin) does not want to recognize the memory of slavery. This is obvious when they first go back and attempt to live their lives like they would in the modern world. But as much as they both try, they cannot erase the memory of slavery.
The grip that the memory of slavery has on both of them is even more evident, when Dana’s injuries carry over into the modern world. Especially when she loses her arm, the reader realizes that the memory, as much as she tries, will not go away. She will always be affected by the memory of slavery. And likewise, are entire modern civilization will always be affected by the memory of slavery.
Dana viewed herself as a strong independent woman who would not be held down by anyone. However, she soon found out that the memory of slavery is not too far-gone when she travels back in time to the Antebellum South. We talked a lot in class about the memory of African American history and how it is broken because there is the history is Africa and then the history in America. But another type of memory broken seems to also exist between slavery and emancipation. Kindred exploits the memory of slavery within the modern world. In the beginning of the novel, it almost seems as if Dana (and definitely Kevin) does not want to recognize the memory of slavery. This is obvious when they first go back and attempt to live their lives like they would in the modern world. But as much as they both try, they cannot erase the memory of slavery.
The grip that the memory of slavery has on both of them is even more evident, when Dana’s injuries carry over into the modern world. Especially when she loses her arm, the reader realizes that the memory, as much as she tries, will not go away. She will always be affected by the memory of slavery. And likewise, are entire modern civilization will always be affected by the memory of slavery.
My Favorite Book
My favorite book of the course is Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin. My reason for liking this book is two-fold. First, I enjoyed the style in which it was written. This book read so quickly because the stories were engaging and easy to follow. I especially liked that if I wasn’t that into one story, I didn’t have to worry because it would soon be over.
Second, I really enjoyed the diversity in the stories. Baldwin covered all types: white and black, adults and children. By doing this, Baldwin really showed how we are all inner-connected. I especially loved Baldwin’s ability to connect so many different parts of this world to his stories. For an example, in “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin intertwined the theme of music in his story. Music was even reflected in his sentence structure. When he talks about Sonny playing, each sentence reflects the speed that Sonny is playing at. For an example, when Sonny is playing quickly, the sentences are short and also read quickly.
I also really liked how Baldwin told stories about white people. It was nice to see how he has “imagined us”. Furthermore, Baldwin was truly able to change the voice to fit different characters. So often, writers have a difficult time changing their voice when the story changes. But with Baldwin, each story had a different sound and a different feel.
Overall, Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin is my favorite book so far because it was easy to read and had a lot of diversity in the stories. Needless to say, Baldwin is one author I plan to pick up and read again and again.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Walter Ellis Mosely
Walter Ellis Mosley was born January 12, 1952 in Los Angeles. He is also an only child. He was born to a black father form Louisiana and a Polish Jewish mother. Mosley graduated from Hamilton High School in 1970. Shortly after graduated, he became part of bohemian life in Santa Cruz. He then went on to earn a degree in political science at the University of Vermont.
Mosely did not begin writing until the age of 39, after being greatly influenced by Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Mosley’s first published book was “Devil in a Blue Dress”, which became a movie in 1995 starring Denzil Washington. He is best known for his series of best-selling historical mysteries. The story centers around detective Easy Rawlins who is a black private investigator and a World War II veteran. President Bill Clinton has also names Mosely as one of his favorite authors.
Mosely’s most current passion is for the racism that has followed September 11. He has mentioned that he has been stopped and questioned every time he goes through security at an airport. “I guess I look vaguely Arabic,” he says, “but it gives you an even more heightened awareness of the suspicion that Muslims, even American Muslims, feel under at the moment. Many of these people consider themselves patriotic Americans and suddenly it’s, ‘Whoah! America doesn’t want us” (O’Hagan, 2003).
Mosely currently resides in New York City.
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was an influential Harlem Renaissance poet. He was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. Both of Hughes’ parents were bookkeepers. His parents separated when Hughes was young. After his parent’s separation, Hughes’ father moved to Mexico and Hughes’ grandmother helped raise him. When Hughes was 12, his mother moved him to Illinois. Shortly after their move to Illinois, Hughes’ mother moved their family to Ohio. It was here, that Hughes was said to gain an appreciation/interest in the human struggle.
Hughes began writing poetry in high school. However, Hughes did not gain recognition until he was working as a busboy at the Wardman Hotel in Washington, D.C. when he gave three poems to Vachel Lindsay, a famous critic.
As mentioned before, much of Hughes inspiration came from the human struggle. He used the term “low-down” folk to describe these people, and was said to be most inspired by their acceptance of their own beauty without question. More than anything, Hughes was inspired by the “low-down” folk’s music. This was apparent in his stories, “Songs Called the Blues”.
One year after Lindsay’s positive critique Hughes enrolled in Lincoln University. There he also joined Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the first black fraternal organization. Hughes received a B.A. degree form Lincoln University in 1929, after which he lived most of his life in Harlem.
Hughes died on May 22, 1967 after complication from an abdominal surgery. He was 65 years old. However, Hughes influence still lives on today. Not only was he a great poet, he still brings recognition to human struggles today.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
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