When one encounters obstacle after obstacle after obstacle, one might feel that they need to give up. It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are shrouded darkness. Zala experiences this first-hand in Toni Cade Bambara’s These Bones Are Not My Child. Her search for her lost son, proves to be one of the most difficult journey’s she has undertaken. She goes through unimaginable efforts to find him and is foiled at all corners. Regardless, she is able to maintain her courage and push on. This valiant effort is clearly exhibited in Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”. Instead of being pushed to a corner and giving up, one should fight to their dying breath for whatever they believe in. Amid a situation that seems to have no
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Earlier in the novel, Zala denounces God because of her seemingly hopeless situation. She cannot believe that He would put her and her family through such pain and suffering. After much reflection and developing her hope, she regains her faith. She believes that she will be able to bring her to Sonny through prayer and action. The same is applicable to Spence. Spence prayed to God and left the situation up to Him. He realizes that God has played a fundamental role in his life and the life of those he knows and recognizes the basis of his relationship with God: “…[They wanted] to remind God that they’d had their share of sorrows and to lighten up if you please. And, merciful, God would take pity” (Bambara, 514). Spence acknowledges that suffering is a part of life but more importantly realizes that in times of despair, God’s merciful nature proves helpful. To leave the situation in the hand of God is very difficult as faith can easily be shaken. Nonetheless, Spence and Zala continue to believe blindly because God is ultimately the only ally they have in a society that undervalues them and the people they …show more content…
It is never taken seriously and appears to be unrealistic. This, however, is not the case at all. Zala and Spence clearly demonstrate that hope can push people to lengths that no other emotion could. It gives people the power to choose their own destiny and move beyond the limits imposed upon them. Hope is the one thing we can always rely on when everything else in the world is against us and that is why Zala and Spence hold on to it so dearly as they drive
Earlier in the novel, Zala denounces God because of her seemingly hopeless situation. She cannot believe that He would put her and her family through such pain and suffering. After much reflection and developing her hope, she regains her faith. She believes that she will be able to bring her to Sonny through prayer and action. The same is applicable to Spence. Spence prayed to God and left the situation up to Him. He realizes that God has played a fundamental role in his life and the life of those he knows and recognizes the basis of his relationship with God: “…[They wanted] to remind God that they’d had their share of sorrows and to lighten up if you please. And, merciful, God would take pity” (Bambara, 514). Spence acknowledges that suffering is a part of life but more importantly realizes that in times of despair, God’s merciful nature proves helpful. To leave the situation in the hand of God is very difficult as faith can easily be shaken. Nonetheless, Spence and Zala continue to believe blindly because God is ultimately the only ally they have in a society that undervalues them and the people they …show more content…
It is never taken seriously and appears to be unrealistic. This, however, is not the case at all. Zala and Spence clearly demonstrate that hope can push people to lengths that no other emotion could. It gives people the power to choose their own destiny and move beyond the limits imposed upon them. Hope is the one thing we can always rely on when everything else in the world is against us and that is why Zala and Spence hold on to it so dearly as they drive