Pont du Gard

What does freedom mean for the Negro? Why does Sethe’s fatalistic narrative challenge prevailing conceptions of African-American resiliency in 1873? What is the power of recollection in shaping the historical memory of Reconstruction? In Beloved (1987), Toni Morrison explores the depth of the human experience with a hauntingly beautiful, yet physically gripping tale of trial and triumph. Morrison situates the narrative with the poignant story of Sethe. A woman attempting to reconcile the brutal…

It was rough being African American in a time like the 1940’s, especially in the United States. Langston Hughes, however, knew how to turn those hardships into poetry. Hughes was a strong believer of equality, and he expressed this in his poems. Because he grew up as an African American during the time of segregation in the United States and not only saw but experienced first hand the many acts of unkindness done to African Americans, Langston Hughes’s “I, Too” has a universal theme of racial…

Ernest J. Gaines is the author of the novel “A Lesson Before Dying.” The story highlights the tension in the lives of African-Americans during the 1940s. It demonstrates a world of racial segregation. The novel mainly talks about two men. One man's struggle to accept his unjust death with dignity. Another man struggles with his own identity and responsibility to his community. A Lesson Before Dying reveals the process of an oppressed black people's attempt to gain recognition of their human…

“Sympathy” was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African-American poet. Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio to Joshua and Matilda Dunbar (Potw.org) Due to his financial situation, he was not able to attend college, but he published his first collection of poetry called Oak and Ivy in 1893 which included “Sympathy” (Poets.org). He has also published other collections such as Majors and Minors, Lyrics of a Lowley Life, Folks from Dixie, which are only some of his literary works…

Many are determined to accomplish their dreams, but the desire of wanting to achieve it clouds one's mind. During 1959, many African Americans desperately hoped to find their individual opportunity to achieve the American dream. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry shows the theme of people struggle to achieve their dreams while they deal with oppressive conflict that comes with it through hyperbole, dialogue, and metaphor. After Mama receives her ten thousand dollar paycheck,…

“I would probably be a “sight”for the village”. James Baldwin in his story “Stranger in the villages” contrasts his experience as a black man in the village with his experience as a black man in United States. During his journey, he faces with odd reaction of villagers as a stranger. Plato, The Allegory of the cave illustrates some prisoners that are chained in the cave and they could just see the wall in front of them that people are walking there. They wouldn’t able to turn their head and look…

Lyric poetry presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as opposed to poetry that tells a story or presents a witty observation. Indeed, "We Wear the Mask" is a lyric poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar that explores how in the late nineteenth century, African Americans could not publicly reveal their true feelings about whites' maltreatment without the risk of dangerous retaliation. Through paradox, metaphor, and apostrophe, the speaker ponders how oppressed black Americans are forced to hide…

Booker T. Rebellion and the Du Bois Resistance “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed,” says Booker T. Washington, the man who had one of the biggest impacts on the south with his opinions on how to handle racism. W. E. B. Du Bois severely influenced racial rights as well and had a firm viewpoint regarding equality. Although Washington and Du Bois both fought for…

Devan Nelson Dr. Michele Ware English 3320, Section 01 28 November 2017 Men of Reason Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois are two very well-known men with very distinct ways of reasoning, whether it be education or seeking to improve the lives of African Americans. Booker T. Washington gave us a unique narrative, Up from Slavery, in which he discusses the background of his life, his stand on education, and the educated. W.E.B DuBois gave us the outspoken, The Souls of Black Folk, which…

During the 1920’s the Harlem Renaissance was happening. This was an explosion happened in New York. So many African Americans wanted to move up north because there were more job opportunities their than the South. They would be able to make money, have a job, and be free from all the bad stuff that was happening. This was after the civil war happened. Back then the still had the Jim Crow laws and dixie. In the Poem “One Way Ticket”, the author is telling us that he does not want to stay their…