Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat openly reveals the journey of Sophie Caco as she uncovers her Haitian roots. A major theme of the novel is female sexuality, which is exposed in Sophie’s character. Sophie is the daughter of rape, a past that will constantly haunt her as well as her mother. This sets the tone for the novel as Sophie seeks to understand and forgive.
At the age of twelve, Sophie moves from Haiti to New York City to meet her mother for the first time. Until this point, Sophie has only known her mother as a picture in the frame next to Taunte Atie’s bed. When arriving in New York is become evident that her mother is not the picture in the frame or the woman Sophie had imagined. It does not take long for the secrets to begin spilling out, and once revealed they cannot be forgotten. Sophie had often wondered how she was a child with only a mother; Taunte Atie had never told Sophie the real story. Martine, Sophie’s mother, soon reveals the secrets of virginity testing and the rape: “’The details are too much,’ she said. ‘But it happened like this. A man grabbed me from the side of the road, pulled me into a cane field, and put you in my body. I was still a young girl then, barely older than you… Now when I look at your face I think it is true what they say. A child out of wedlock always looks like its father’” (Danticat 61). Sophie now feels that her body is not hers and not her mothers.
The novel skips ahead to show Sophie at age eighteen. The novel appears to organize itself around the most important sexuality moments for Sophie. First the story of her mother’s rape and then the testing begins. After Sophie stays out late one night, her mother becomes furious and initiates the Caco tradition of testing. Unlike her mother and Taunte Atie who had undergone the testing before, Sophie begins to feel alone, lost and cannot withstand the testing. Sophie takes control of the situation: “My flesh ripped apart as I pressed the pestle into it. I could see the blood dripping down onto the bedsheet. It was gone, the veil that always held my mother’s finger back every time she tested me… Finally I failed the test” (88). With this act, Sophie takes her sexuality. She feels as though she is freeing herself; however, she has only started to understand her body.
These two events will shape Sophie’s perception of her body and sexuality. When Sophie marries Joesph, she is unable to be intimate with him due to the pain she inflicted on herself and because she sees her mother’s rape each time. Also she develops an eating disorder after the birth of her daughter. Sophie struggles to feel comfortable in her own skin and accept her body. She seeks therapy in hopes that she can accept her body and accept the past. Sophie realizes that: “’My mother line was always with me, I [Sophie speaking to therapist] said. ‘No matter what happens. Blood made us one’” (207).
Sophie’s body serves as the canvas for the novel. As secrets are revealed about her past, her body shows the scars. Rape and sexuality dominate her view of her body, which can never be changed. Sophie must learn to accept her past and her body.
Works Cited
Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Character Evolution of Celie in The Color Purple
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a novel representative of the struggles of African American women in the first half of the twentieth century as it chronicles the trials and triumphs of Black women in southern Georgia. The main character of the novel is Celie, first introduced as a young teen, is a Black woman of the South with no freedom over her life in any way. However, by the end of the novel we see that Celie has evolved into a respected woman with more freedom than she ever imagined having. In her letters, the reader sees Celie go through three stages that bring her to final character: Celie as a victim, Celie and love, and Celie fighting back.
The novel opens with Celie’s first letter to God which is shocking in its illustration of her life and the abuse received from her stepfather: “You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. First he put his thing up against my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to chock me, saying You better shut up and git used to it” (Walker, 1). Celie’s letter designates herself as a victim of abuse, typical of the South for Black women. “Celie has been deprived of basic human rights; she possesses no freedom, no will of self-determination, and has even been deprived ownership of her own body”( Gleason).More freedom is taken from Celie when she is given to Mr. _ for marriage, although more an exchange of goods than an exchange of vows. Her marriage to Mr. _ forces her sister Nettie to run away, leaving Celie to bare the burden alone while she finds freedom. In this scene Celie’s strength is seen as she says goodbye to Nettie and there is hope that Celie will escape too: “ I sure hate to leave you here with these rotten children, she [Nettie] say. Not to mention with Mr. _. But I just say, Never mine, never mine, long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along” (18).
The second stage in Celie’s character evolution begins with the arrival of Shug Avery to the household. It is evident that Celie admires Shug from the beginning but when she moves into the house, the possibility of sexuality in the relationship is revealed: “First time I got the full sight of Shug Avery long black body with it black plum nipples, look like her mouth, I thought I had turned into a man [Celie said]” (51). The bond between the women strengthens when Shug discovers Mr. _ beats Celie and Shug takes a stand against it. The bond between the women emotionally leads to a sexually awakening for Celie. As they begin to talk about sex, Shug tells Celie that she is still a virgin even though she has been molested by her stepfather and Mr._ because she has never enjoyed the act. Shug forces Celie to look at herself in the mirror which causes Celie to feel differently about herself as she notices: “then inside look like a wet rose”(82). Shug leaves Mr._’s house and returns much later, now married but still connected to Celie. Her return is the opportunity for Celie to tell the real story of her sexuality to Shug, which results in Celie’s losing her virginity: “I kiss her back, say, um, too. Us kiss and kiss till us can’t hardly kiss no more. Then we touch each other” (118).
The final and most significant stage of Celie’s transformation is Celie learning to fight back. With help of Shug, Celie discovers that Nettie has been writing since she left only to have Mr._ hide the letters. This is push Celie needs to walk away from him and begin her own life; as she leaves she tells Mr. _: ”until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble” (213). From this pint on Celie is able to leave her former life and make something of herself, opening the tailoring business. When Nettie returns to Celie it appears that her life is now complete. Celie endured great hardship but in the end she won the battle.
Celie of The Color Purple as a Black woman of the South stuggles her entire life to please those around her while being put down. Through the novel she becomes a new woman, a woman that is not afraid and takes charge of her life; Celie escapes her oppression. Gleason encapsulates Walker’s novel by saying: “[Celie] lives a horrid existence of racism and sexism, but she maintains her own dignity. With the help of Shug Avery, she is given a second chance for success, for life, and for love”.
Works Cited
Gleason , Jessica. "Walker's The Color Purple." suite101.com. 07 07 2008. American Fiction , Web. 3 Mar 2010.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books, 1982. Print.
The novel opens with Celie’s first letter to God which is shocking in its illustration of her life and the abuse received from her stepfather: “You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. First he put his thing up against my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to chock me, saying You better shut up and git used to it” (Walker, 1). Celie’s letter designates herself as a victim of abuse, typical of the South for Black women. “Celie has been deprived of basic human rights; she possesses no freedom, no will of self-determination, and has even been deprived ownership of her own body”( Gleason).More freedom is taken from Celie when she is given to Mr. _ for marriage, although more an exchange of goods than an exchange of vows. Her marriage to Mr. _ forces her sister Nettie to run away, leaving Celie to bare the burden alone while she finds freedom. In this scene Celie’s strength is seen as she says goodbye to Nettie and there is hope that Celie will escape too: “ I sure hate to leave you here with these rotten children, she [Nettie] say. Not to mention with Mr. _. But I just say, Never mine, never mine, long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along” (18).
The second stage in Celie’s character evolution begins with the arrival of Shug Avery to the household. It is evident that Celie admires Shug from the beginning but when she moves into the house, the possibility of sexuality in the relationship is revealed: “First time I got the full sight of Shug Avery long black body with it black plum nipples, look like her mouth, I thought I had turned into a man [Celie said]” (51). The bond between the women strengthens when Shug discovers Mr. _ beats Celie and Shug takes a stand against it. The bond between the women emotionally leads to a sexually awakening for Celie. As they begin to talk about sex, Shug tells Celie that she is still a virgin even though she has been molested by her stepfather and Mr._ because she has never enjoyed the act. Shug forces Celie to look at herself in the mirror which causes Celie to feel differently about herself as she notices: “then inside look like a wet rose”(82). Shug leaves Mr._’s house and returns much later, now married but still connected to Celie. Her return is the opportunity for Celie to tell the real story of her sexuality to Shug, which results in Celie’s losing her virginity: “I kiss her back, say, um, too. Us kiss and kiss till us can’t hardly kiss no more. Then we touch each other” (118).
The final and most significant stage of Celie’s transformation is Celie learning to fight back. With help of Shug, Celie discovers that Nettie has been writing since she left only to have Mr._ hide the letters. This is push Celie needs to walk away from him and begin her own life; as she leaves she tells Mr. _: ”until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble” (213). From this pint on Celie is able to leave her former life and make something of herself, opening the tailoring business. When Nettie returns to Celie it appears that her life is now complete. Celie endured great hardship but in the end she won the battle.
Celie of The Color Purple as a Black woman of the South stuggles her entire life to please those around her while being put down. Through the novel she becomes a new woman, a woman that is not afraid and takes charge of her life; Celie escapes her oppression. Gleason encapsulates Walker’s novel by saying: “[Celie] lives a horrid existence of racism and sexism, but she maintains her own dignity. With the help of Shug Avery, she is given a second chance for success, for life, and for love”.
Works Cited
Gleason , Jessica. "Walker's The Color Purple." suite101.com. 07 07 2008. American Fiction , Web. 3 Mar 2010.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books, 1982. Print.
The Influence of Walt Whitman on Allen Ginsberg
Walt Whitman as a Transcendentalist and Allen Ginsberg as a member of the Beat Movement are thought of as two of American’s greatest poets. Ginsberg as a modern poet looked to Whitman out of admiration, finding great influence in his works. The writing styles of Whitman and Ginsberg share similar characteristics, including: structure, language, and expressing the America of their respective time period.
Ginsberg’s A Supermarket in California: “is perhaps the most obvious Whitman influence upon Ginsburg’s poetry. Ginsberg directly references Whitman throughout the poem, imagining a relationship between them developing among vegetables and shoppers, and spreading out into the streets, rueing a Lost America” (Bisser). Ginsberg describes Whitman as a father figure, ”Ah dear father, graybeard, lonely old courageteacher” (Ginsberg, 30), to whom Ginsberg questions for answers to his doubts of consumerism. Here we see the generational time difference in the poets’ writings; Whitman wrote before the Civil War and Ginsberg did not write until after WWII. Ginsberg describes this commonplace scene with disgust for the overly commercialized America of the 1950s: “What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!” (Ginsberg, 29). In the following lines it can be seen how Ginsberg searches for answers from Whitman in the supermarket as Ginsberg portrays Whitman seeking the truth: “I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?” (Ginsberg, 29).
Ginsberg and Whitman share a common theme among their poetry as they each write of the America of their time. Whitman is more of a naturalist, but Ginsberg is also unhappy with his surroundings and the American way of life in the 1950s and 1960s. “[Whitman’s] Song of Myself, created a tradition of opening up and embodying America using lists to build imagery representative of as much of the country and people as possible” (Bisser). The influence from Song of Myself can be seen in Ginsberg’s Howl. These two poems show the structural similarities between the poets; Whitman and Ginsberg write in streams of thoughts with punctuation governed by breathing. Song of Myself depicts America before the dawn of consumerism seen from Ginsberg’s poetry as: “A Yankee bound my own way ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth and the sternest joints on earth, /A Kentuckian walking the vale of the Elkhorn in my deer-skin leggings, a Louisianian or Georgian” (Whitman, 16). Here we see that Whitman’s style of poetry focuses on the more natural aspect of American when compared to Ginsberg, however Ginsberg draws influence from his use of commonplace language and imagery. Howl shows this influence when Ginsberg depicts modern America: “Moloch! Solutide! Filth! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!” (Ginsberg, 21).
In Howl and Song of Myself each poet gives a description of himself, which give insight into the lives they lead. It is interesting to see the great similarities in the description given my Whitman and Ginsberg. Song of Myself describes Whitman as: “Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,/ No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart them,/ No more modest than immodest.” (Whitman, 24). His word show the same obscene lifestyle of Ginsberg, and is perhaps one of the reasons Ginsberg found such influence in Whitman. Ginsberg could relate to the former poet as his generation: “starving hysterical naked… wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go… lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup”(Ginsberg, 9-12).
Walt Whitman’s life and works served as a notable influence on modern poet Allen Ginsberg. Similar lifestyles brought about works that share structure, language, and views of America from different time periods in history. Ginsberg admired and learned from Whitman which is reflected in many of his works.
Works Cited
Bisser, Kirsty, and David Wills. "Whitman and the Beats." Beatdom 2007: n. pag. Web. 2 Mar 2010..
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and other poems. San Franscio: CITY LIGHTS BOOKS, 1995. Print.
Whitman, Walt. “Song of Myself”. Princeton University, Web. 2 March 2010.
Ginsberg’s A Supermarket in California: “is perhaps the most obvious Whitman influence upon Ginsburg’s poetry. Ginsberg directly references Whitman throughout the poem, imagining a relationship between them developing among vegetables and shoppers, and spreading out into the streets, rueing a Lost America” (Bisser). Ginsberg describes Whitman as a father figure, ”Ah dear father, graybeard, lonely old courageteacher” (Ginsberg, 30), to whom Ginsberg questions for answers to his doubts of consumerism. Here we see the generational time difference in the poets’ writings; Whitman wrote before the Civil War and Ginsberg did not write until after WWII. Ginsberg describes this commonplace scene with disgust for the overly commercialized America of the 1950s: “What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!” (Ginsberg, 29). In the following lines it can be seen how Ginsberg searches for answers from Whitman in the supermarket as Ginsberg portrays Whitman seeking the truth: “I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?” (Ginsberg, 29).
Ginsberg and Whitman share a common theme among their poetry as they each write of the America of their time. Whitman is more of a naturalist, but Ginsberg is also unhappy with his surroundings and the American way of life in the 1950s and 1960s. “[Whitman’s] Song of Myself, created a tradition of opening up and embodying America using lists to build imagery representative of as much of the country and people as possible” (Bisser). The influence from Song of Myself can be seen in Ginsberg’s Howl. These two poems show the structural similarities between the poets; Whitman and Ginsberg write in streams of thoughts with punctuation governed by breathing. Song of Myself depicts America before the dawn of consumerism seen from Ginsberg’s poetry as: “A Yankee bound my own way ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth and the sternest joints on earth, /A Kentuckian walking the vale of the Elkhorn in my deer-skin leggings, a Louisianian or Georgian” (Whitman, 16). Here we see that Whitman’s style of poetry focuses on the more natural aspect of American when compared to Ginsberg, however Ginsberg draws influence from his use of commonplace language and imagery. Howl shows this influence when Ginsberg depicts modern America: “Moloch! Solutide! Filth! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!” (Ginsberg, 21).
In Howl and Song of Myself each poet gives a description of himself, which give insight into the lives they lead. It is interesting to see the great similarities in the description given my Whitman and Ginsberg. Song of Myself describes Whitman as: “Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,/ No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart them,/ No more modest than immodest.” (Whitman, 24). His word show the same obscene lifestyle of Ginsberg, and is perhaps one of the reasons Ginsberg found such influence in Whitman. Ginsberg could relate to the former poet as his generation: “starving hysterical naked… wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go… lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz or sex or soup”(Ginsberg, 9-12).
Walt Whitman’s life and works served as a notable influence on modern poet Allen Ginsberg. Similar lifestyles brought about works that share structure, language, and views of America from different time periods in history. Ginsberg admired and learned from Whitman which is reflected in many of his works.
Works Cited
Bisser, Kirsty, and David Wills. "Whitman and the Beats." Beatdom 2007: n. pag. Web. 2 Mar 2010.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and other poems. San Franscio: CITY LIGHTS BOOKS, 1995. Print.
Whitman, Walt. “Song of Myself”. Princeton University, Web. 2 March 2010.
The Pre-Civil Rights South and A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple
African Americans of the South were governed by strict racial caste system called the Jim Crow Laws for over a century before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The Jim Crow laws were based on the belief that “Whites were superior to Blacks in all important ways” (Pilgrim). Blacks were subject to follow harsh criticism while following strict rules on the manner in which Whites should be treated. Blacks in the pre-Civil Right South were subjected not only to segregation but forced to follow rules of behavior: “A Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male because it implied being socially equal. If a Black person rode in the car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat, or the back of the truck” (Pilgrim). Blacks were not allowed to show superior knowledge to a White person, assert that a White person is lying, or curse at a White person. A Lesson Before Dying by Gaines shows the superiority of the White male over a Black male in the trial of Jefferson. In his defense was lying, or curse a White person. In A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple, readers gain a first person insight into the conditions of the pre-Civil Rights South as experienced by a Black.
A Jefferson is described as less than a human being, as a hog: “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (Gaines,8). Although Jefferson is in fact innocent of the crime, he is a Black and therefore he is sentenced to execution; being that Jefferson is a Black he has no importance and taking is life is equitable to taking the life of a hog. Jefferson was not the only Black character to face prison time. Sofia of The Color Purple by Walker is sent to jail after refusing to become a maid for the mayor and publically hitting him. According to the Jim Crow Laws in the South: “The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and sleeping from negro convicts” (Pilgrim). Walker shows the horrifying conditions faced by Black in jails of the South: “Everything nasty here, she say, even the air. Food bad enough to kill you with it. Roaches here, mice, flies, lice, and even a snake or two. If you say anything they strip you, make you sleep on a cement floor without a light” (Walker, 93). These conditions are appalling for any crime, but especially for Sofia who simply made a comment and stood up for herself. This shows that Blacks, especially women had no power.
Education and employment were major areas of segregation among Blacks and Whites of the South before the Civil Rights Movement. During the Jim Crow South, “the schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately” (Pilgrim). In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant is a school teacher for a Black school. Grant chooses this occupation because it is one of the few careers he can hold as a Black man. Even though he has graduated from university and more educated than many White men of the town, Grant receives no respect, especially from the Sheriff. When Grant visits Sheriff Guidry to ask permission to see Jefferson we see the lack of respect between the White man and the Black man: “’You’re too smart,’ Guidry said. ‘Maybe you’re just a little too smart for your own good.’ I was quiet. I knew when to be quiet [Grant speaking]” (Gaines, 49). Walker with her novel The Color Purple shows another unusual career for a Black woman with Shug Avery as an entertainer. Although she is not educated like Grant, she gains the respect and attention of those of her race, something Grant has not received. Shug’s admiration can be seen through Celie’s diary entry: “Lord, I wants to go so bad. Not to dance. Not to drink. Not to play card. Not even to hear Shug Avery sing. I just be thankful to lay eyes on her” (Walker, 26). These examples are rare for the pre-Civil Right Movement South, however they give a glimpse of what Blacks strived to achieve even under such strong oppression.
The pre-Civil Rights Movement South was a place of prejudice, discrimination, and a place with strict rules for Black men and women to follow; which is illustrated in A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple. These novels serve to show the injustice that has been overcome since the Civil Rights Movement, which African Americans deserve.
Works Cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York : Vintage Books, 1993. Print.
Pilgrim, David. “What Was Jim Crow?” Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University. Sept. 2000. 1 March 2010..
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books, 1982. Print.
A Jefferson is described as less than a human being, as a hog: “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (Gaines,8). Although Jefferson is in fact innocent of the crime, he is a Black and therefore he is sentenced to execution; being that Jefferson is a Black he has no importance and taking is life is equitable to taking the life of a hog. Jefferson was not the only Black character to face prison time. Sofia of The Color Purple by Walker is sent to jail after refusing to become a maid for the mayor and publically hitting him. According to the Jim Crow Laws in the South: “The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and sleeping from negro convicts” (Pilgrim). Walker shows the horrifying conditions faced by Black in jails of the South: “Everything nasty here, she say, even the air. Food bad enough to kill you with it. Roaches here, mice, flies, lice, and even a snake or two. If you say anything they strip you, make you sleep on a cement floor without a light” (Walker, 93). These conditions are appalling for any crime, but especially for Sofia who simply made a comment and stood up for herself. This shows that Blacks, especially women had no power.
Education and employment were major areas of segregation among Blacks and Whites of the South before the Civil Rights Movement. During the Jim Crow South, “the schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately” (Pilgrim). In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant is a school teacher for a Black school. Grant chooses this occupation because it is one of the few careers he can hold as a Black man. Even though he has graduated from university and more educated than many White men of the town, Grant receives no respect, especially from the Sheriff. When Grant visits Sheriff Guidry to ask permission to see Jefferson we see the lack of respect between the White man and the Black man: “’You’re too smart,’ Guidry said. ‘Maybe you’re just a little too smart for your own good.’ I was quiet. I knew when to be quiet [Grant speaking]” (Gaines, 49). Walker with her novel The Color Purple shows another unusual career for a Black woman with Shug Avery as an entertainer. Although she is not educated like Grant, she gains the respect and attention of those of her race, something Grant has not received. Shug’s admiration can be seen through Celie’s diary entry: “Lord, I wants to go so bad. Not to dance. Not to drink. Not to play card. Not even to hear Shug Avery sing. I just be thankful to lay eyes on her” (Walker, 26). These examples are rare for the pre-Civil Right Movement South, however they give a glimpse of what Blacks strived to achieve even under such strong oppression.
The pre-Civil Rights Movement South was a place of prejudice, discrimination, and a place with strict rules for Black men and women to follow; which is illustrated in A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple. These novels serve to show the injustice that has been overcome since the Civil Rights Movement, which African Americans deserve.
Works Cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York : Vintage Books, 1993. Print.
Pilgrim, David. “What Was Jim Crow?” Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University. Sept. 2000. 1 March 2010.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books, 1982. Print.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd surprised me as a reader. The novel begins as a young girl’s search to find her mother, but become so much more as the plot unfolds. A major theme in Kidd’s work is racism which is set against the Civil Rights Movement of 1964. The main character is Lily, a young teenage girl growing up in South Carolina. Although she is white, she is the voice of the novel as she confronts her own prejudices of blacks. As she grows, she realizes the truth about the racist South first hand.
The novel’s first encounter with racism occurs when Lily accompanies Rosaleen to town so Rosaleen, a black housekeeper, can register to vote for the first time. Rosaleen is confronted by a group of white men who harass her as she walked through town; her reaction is to pour tobacco spit on their shoes. Lily describes the scene by saying: “Rosaleen lay sprawled on the ground, pinned, twisting her fingers around clumps of grass. Blood ran from a cut beneath her eye”(Kidd 33). It is after this incident that Lily learns from T.Ray that her mother left her before the accident. This changes Lily’s character and she heads to free Rosaleen from jail.
Lily and Rosaleen escape to Tiburon, South Carolina where Lily hope to learn about her mother. They are taken in by the calendar sisters – August, June, and May- who are black women making a living as beekeepers. As the relationship between Lily and August strengthens, Lily learns the long lasting effects of racism. Here the reader learns of May’s twin April and how May gained her character. At the age of eleven April as a young black girl was shown the rules of prejudice in the South. August says the experience: “deflated her about life… she was having terrible depressions, and of course the whole time, whatever she was feeling, May was feeling. And then when April was fifteen, she killed herself… When April died, something in May died, too. She never was normal after that” (Kidd 97).
Throughout the novel, the reader is given a first hand view of how the Boatwright family openly takes Lily and Rosaleen into their family. Lily is embraced by the black sisters and treated as a daughter, which greatly impacts her view of racism. Towards the end of the novel we see the final impact of the racist society on May as she takes her own life. Lily learns an important lesson from August as the mother-like figure tells her: “There is nothing perfect. There is only life” (Kidd 256). This quote is very representative of the novel as a whole. Lily has learned that nothing about life is perfect, especially racism in the South. However, it is a part of life which she must accept. As the voice of the novel, Lily sets strong opinions about racism and shows the reader that race is not a barrier between love and family and in the end we all must move on and face life.
The novel’s first encounter with racism occurs when Lily accompanies Rosaleen to town so Rosaleen, a black housekeeper, can register to vote for the first time. Rosaleen is confronted by a group of white men who harass her as she walked through town; her reaction is to pour tobacco spit on their shoes. Lily describes the scene by saying: “Rosaleen lay sprawled on the ground, pinned, twisting her fingers around clumps of grass. Blood ran from a cut beneath her eye”(Kidd 33). It is after this incident that Lily learns from T.Ray that her mother left her before the accident. This changes Lily’s character and she heads to free Rosaleen from jail.
Lily and Rosaleen escape to Tiburon, South Carolina where Lily hope to learn about her mother. They are taken in by the calendar sisters – August, June, and May- who are black women making a living as beekeepers. As the relationship between Lily and August strengthens, Lily learns the long lasting effects of racism. Here the reader learns of May’s twin April and how May gained her character. At the age of eleven April as a young black girl was shown the rules of prejudice in the South. August says the experience: “deflated her about life… she was having terrible depressions, and of course the whole time, whatever she was feeling, May was feeling. And then when April was fifteen, she killed herself… When April died, something in May died, too. She never was normal after that” (Kidd 97).
Throughout the novel, the reader is given a first hand view of how the Boatwright family openly takes Lily and Rosaleen into their family. Lily is embraced by the black sisters and treated as a daughter, which greatly impacts her view of racism. Towards the end of the novel we see the final impact of the racist society on May as she takes her own life. Lily learns an important lesson from August as the mother-like figure tells her: “There is nothing perfect. There is only life” (Kidd 256). This quote is very representative of the novel as a whole. Lily has learned that nothing about life is perfect, especially racism in the South. However, it is a part of life which she must accept. As the voice of the novel, Lily sets strong opinions about racism and shows the reader that race is not a barrier between love and family and in the end we all must move on and face life.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple are powerful African American novels, especially for women as the novels are stories of empowerment. In Black Feminist Criticism: Perspectives on Black Women Writers, Barbara Christian says that a major theme of both novels is their: “attempt to define and express our [black women] totality rather than being defined by others” (Bush). Hurston and Walker wrote great novels showing women overcoming oppression, both from whites and the men in their lives. When the novels were published, they were viewed as controversial because it was writing against what as widely accepted. However, the novels have gained widespread recognition and Hurston writing before Walker gave her great influence. Walker has said that Their Eyes Were Watching God: “speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done” (Bush).
The main character of Their Eyes Were Watching God is Janie, a strong woman who is determined to get what she wants and find happiness in life. This desire is most evident is her three husbands. Janie is not satisfied being a pack mule for Logan Killicks so she decides to run away with Joe Starks who wants to be the “big voice” for Eatonville, the all-black town. However, marrying a man of power does not make her any more powerful, which Janie soon comes to realize. After the death of Starks, Janie leaves her prominent life in Eatonville and runs away to Jacksonville with a younger man, Tea Cake, whom she has fallen for. “She finds happiness in her third marriage by rejecting the hierarchical, materialistic codes other have imposed on her”.
In The Color Purple, Walker takes a different approach with her protagonist Celie. In the novel Celie is oppressed and taken advantage of by the men in her life; however, once she develops an intensely deep relationship with Shug Avery, Celie gains the power be reborn into the woman she has longed to be. Although, Janie and Celie find happiness in the end, Hurston and Walker take different approaches. “Janie finds it [happiness] by being true to her own poetic, creative consciousness; in The Color Purple Walker’s characters discover it through the strength and wisdom available in the community of women”. This is further seen in the fact that Janie shares her life only with her husbands and then retells her life to a friend once her story is over, while Celie constantly has a female companion in the novel which she can share her experiences with and continue to write her life story.
Although Walker writes after Hurston, it is said that: “The Color Purple takes up the project of women’s self-definition where Their Were Watching God ends it”. Walker saw the significance of Hurston’s novel and made it her point to show the effect a woman’s life can have on other women as her novel impacts many more women than Hurston did as Celie has the opportunity to share her story with other women and inspire them. A great achievement of both Hurston and Walker has been to “open that tradition to black women’s voices and to the transforming spiritual power of their vision”.
Works Cited
Bush, Trudy. "Transforming Vision: Alice Walker and Zora Neala Hurston." Christian Century 16 11 1988: 1027. Web. 3 Mar 2010..
The main character of Their Eyes Were Watching God is Janie, a strong woman who is determined to get what she wants and find happiness in life. This desire is most evident is her three husbands. Janie is not satisfied being a pack mule for Logan Killicks so she decides to run away with Joe Starks who wants to be the “big voice” for Eatonville, the all-black town. However, marrying a man of power does not make her any more powerful, which Janie soon comes to realize. After the death of Starks, Janie leaves her prominent life in Eatonville and runs away to Jacksonville with a younger man, Tea Cake, whom she has fallen for. “She finds happiness in her third marriage by rejecting the hierarchical, materialistic codes other have imposed on her”.
In The Color Purple, Walker takes a different approach with her protagonist Celie. In the novel Celie is oppressed and taken advantage of by the men in her life; however, once she develops an intensely deep relationship with Shug Avery, Celie gains the power be reborn into the woman she has longed to be. Although, Janie and Celie find happiness in the end, Hurston and Walker take different approaches. “Janie finds it [happiness] by being true to her own poetic, creative consciousness; in The Color Purple Walker’s characters discover it through the strength and wisdom available in the community of women”. This is further seen in the fact that Janie shares her life only with her husbands and then retells her life to a friend once her story is over, while Celie constantly has a female companion in the novel which she can share her experiences with and continue to write her life story.
Although Walker writes after Hurston, it is said that: “The Color Purple takes up the project of women’s self-definition where Their Were Watching God ends it”. Walker saw the significance of Hurston’s novel and made it her point to show the effect a woman’s life can have on other women as her novel impacts many more women than Hurston did as Celie has the opportunity to share her story with other women and inspire them. A great achievement of both Hurston and Walker has been to “open that tradition to black women’s voices and to the transforming spiritual power of their vision”.
Works Cited
Bush, Trudy. "Transforming Vision: Alice Walker and Zora Neala Hurston." Christian Century 16 11 1988: 1027. Web. 3 Mar 2010.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Grant Wiggins in the main character in A Lesson Before Dying by Gaines. He is an African American school teacher that has graduated from university and returned to his raciest hometown in Louisiana. Racism is a major theme in the novel since the story revolves around an innocent black man, Jefferson, sentenced to execution by all white men for a crime he didn’t commit. Grant becomes involved as he is sent to “teach” Jefferson that he is not a hog while he awaits his execution. Through the novel a change can be seen Grant as he visits Jefferson in jail.
Grant is resentful to live in his town as a school teacher as the town looks down upon blacks and treats them as inferior. His resentment is strongly shone as he wait to speak with the Sherriff about visiting Jefferson: “ ‘Been waiting long?’ [Sherriff] Sam Guidry asked me. ‘About two and a half hours, sir’. I said. I was supposed to say, ‘Not long,’ and I was supposed to grin; but I didn’t do either” (47). This is especially upsetting to Grant, a university graduate. He often contemplates running away with Vivian, Grant’s lover, but continually decides against it because she does not agree to accompany him. Here we start to see Grant as a self-centered character. His selfishness can also be seen in his initial bitterness about visiting Jefferson in jail, which Miss Emma desperately desires: “ ‘You’re saying I’m supposed to visit him alone? He’s no kin –‘ “(77) The first visits with Miss Emma and his aunt are extremely miserable and anger Grant. His anger is taken out on the young students which he teaches: “Every little thing was irritating me. I caught one of the students trying to figure out a simple multiplication problem on his fingers, and I slashed him hard across the butt with this Westcott ruler. He jerked around too fast and looked at me too angrily for my liking” (35). It appears that Grant wants to ensure that his students become something more than field workers and do not share the fate of Jefferson.
After the initial painful visits to the jail cell, Grant is told he will be visiting Jefferson alone now with the task to make him understand he is a human being and not a hog which the court accused him of. Grant and Jefferson’s first encounter shows that Grant has to find a way to get through to Jefferson. “ ‘I’m an old hog,’ he said, more to himself than to me. ‘Just a old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas. ‘You’re a human being, Jefferson. You’re a man.’ He kept his eyes on m as he got up from the bunk. ‘I’m go’n show you how a old hog eat,’ he said. He knelt down on the floor and put his head inside the bag and starting eating, without using his hands. He even sounded like a hog”(83). Although the visits are not successful Grant continues to go back and feels that something has to be done. Through these visits a change can be seen Grant as he become dedicated to his task. Jefferson also begins to see the reason for Grant’s dedication. The two men become connected as Jefferson writes his diary and it finally seen how he feels about his situation: “you say jus say whats on my mind so one day you can be save an you can save the chiren and i say i don’t kno what you mean and you say i do kno what you mean an you look so tied sometime mr wigin i just feel like tellin you i like you but i dont kno how to say this cause i aint never say it to nobody before an nobody aint never say it to me” (228).
Grant has developed a strong bond with Jefferson and decides against attending the execution, even though he knows going is the right thing to do. Jefferson is saddened by the decision and openly cries. It appears that Grant has made a difference in Jefferson his visits. Jefferson writes in his diary on the morning of his execution: “ sky blu blu mr wigin / good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man good by mr wigin im gon ax paul if he can bring you this / sincely jefferson” (234).
Jefferson’s trial and execution prove to Grant that change has to occur; the black community needs better treatment. In his eyes Jefferson is important to this change; he is the hero for the community. As the novel ends, it appears that Grant has a wider perspective than before on racism. Now he is more focused on helping the entire community rather than just himself. However, Grant continues to act selfishly as in individual. The change is seen in Grant’s relationship and dedication to Jefferson. Although still selfish, Grant realizes the need for change.
Works cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York : Vintage Books, 1993. 256. Print.
Grant is resentful to live in his town as a school teacher as the town looks down upon blacks and treats them as inferior. His resentment is strongly shone as he wait to speak with the Sherriff about visiting Jefferson: “ ‘Been waiting long?’ [Sherriff] Sam Guidry asked me. ‘About two and a half hours, sir’. I said. I was supposed to say, ‘Not long,’ and I was supposed to grin; but I didn’t do either” (47). This is especially upsetting to Grant, a university graduate. He often contemplates running away with Vivian, Grant’s lover, but continually decides against it because she does not agree to accompany him. Here we start to see Grant as a self-centered character. His selfishness can also be seen in his initial bitterness about visiting Jefferson in jail, which Miss Emma desperately desires: “ ‘You’re saying I’m supposed to visit him alone? He’s no kin –‘ “(77) The first visits with Miss Emma and his aunt are extremely miserable and anger Grant. His anger is taken out on the young students which he teaches: “Every little thing was irritating me. I caught one of the students trying to figure out a simple multiplication problem on his fingers, and I slashed him hard across the butt with this Westcott ruler. He jerked around too fast and looked at me too angrily for my liking” (35). It appears that Grant wants to ensure that his students become something more than field workers and do not share the fate of Jefferson.
After the initial painful visits to the jail cell, Grant is told he will be visiting Jefferson alone now with the task to make him understand he is a human being and not a hog which the court accused him of. Grant and Jefferson’s first encounter shows that Grant has to find a way to get through to Jefferson. “ ‘I’m an old hog,’ he said, more to himself than to me. ‘Just a old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas. ‘You’re a human being, Jefferson. You’re a man.’ He kept his eyes on m as he got up from the bunk. ‘I’m go’n show you how a old hog eat,’ he said. He knelt down on the floor and put his head inside the bag and starting eating, without using his hands. He even sounded like a hog”(83). Although the visits are not successful Grant continues to go back and feels that something has to be done. Through these visits a change can be seen Grant as he become dedicated to his task. Jefferson also begins to see the reason for Grant’s dedication. The two men become connected as Jefferson writes his diary and it finally seen how he feels about his situation: “you say jus say whats on my mind so one day you can be save an you can save the chiren and i say i don’t kno what you mean and you say i do kno what you mean an you look so tied sometime mr wigin i just feel like tellin you i like you but i dont kno how to say this cause i aint never say it to nobody before an nobody aint never say it to me” (228).
Grant has developed a strong bond with Jefferson and decides against attending the execution, even though he knows going is the right thing to do. Jefferson is saddened by the decision and openly cries. It appears that Grant has made a difference in Jefferson his visits. Jefferson writes in his diary on the morning of his execution: “ sky blu blu mr wigin / good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man good by mr wigin im gon ax paul if he can bring you this / sincely jefferson” (234).
Jefferson’s trial and execution prove to Grant that change has to occur; the black community needs better treatment. In his eyes Jefferson is important to this change; he is the hero for the community. As the novel ends, it appears that Grant has a wider perspective than before on racism. Now he is more focused on helping the entire community rather than just himself. However, Grant continues to act selfishly as in individual. The change is seen in Grant’s relationship and dedication to Jefferson. Although still selfish, Grant realizes the need for change.
Works cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York : Vintage Books, 1993. 256. Print.
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