Abstract This paper analyzes the title character Sula, whose multiple identities and outspoken sexuality, the writer suggests, are a result of her lack of father figure and the presence of strong independent eccentric women in Sula's life. The paper discusses Sula's place in Morrison's thematic search for self.
From the Paper "One critic, Patricia McKee, takes what seems to me to be a particularly perceptive view of Sula's character. She describes Sula in terms of her "spacing and placing" of experience. In essence, Sula's ways of "closing down or opening up distances between things and persons" is what makes her so different. We see how she creates her own identity and understand some of what makes her an imperfect model for others. In Sula we watch things that are missing and connections that failed or never took place. Sula misses what never was, "things denied or negated" (McKee 1-3). Sula ?disconnects elements of meaning that other people connect.? (McKee 13) Sula creates her own identity through "distancing. . .like an artist with no art form"(Morrison 121) she doesn?t ?use form to control experience: but rather "realizes the capacity of absence" to "provide definition" McKee (12-13). She destroys what has meaning for others and she does not truly create meaning for herself. "I don"t want to make somebody else (babies) I want to make myself ? (Morrison 92). Sula is an ?experimenter with life. . . an active destructive artist who, in the absence of "paints, or clay" or a knowledge of "dance, or strings" (Morrison 121) makes human beings her adventure in life. Sula is her own art form, but she is destructive to herself and others. In the dream she has just before she dies, Sula sees herself as The Clabber Girl Baking Powder lady disintegrating into powder. This, in the end, is how she sees her life, as a fine uncatchable dust."
Abstract A paper focusing on the book "Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood" by Jay MacLeod and how it pertains to the ideology of the American Dream. The paper shows how MacLeod's book questions the validity of the American Dream and discusses how this theory is seen by social thinkers such as political scientist and author Jennifer L. Hochschild.
From the Paper "Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood is an ethnological study focusing on two sets of teenage boys living in housing projects in Clarendon Heights. Through observation and interviews, author and sociologist Jay MacLeod attempted to determine why the socioeconomic status of these young men remained stagnant, despite the mobility inherent to the ideology known as the "American Dream." Struck by the seemingly low level of aspirations expressed by the young adolescent boys, MacLeod researched the hopes and dreams of these young men, focusing on two groups: the "Hallway Hangers" and the ?Brothers.?"
Abstract An examination of Randolph Campbell's book, "An Empire for Slavery". The paper discusses the book which looks at the history of slavery in Texas. The author gives an overview of the main points in the book and illustrates how Campbell commands an impressive amount of data to prove his thesis. Campbell's cultural and statistical contributions to this issue are mentioned.
From the Paper "Randolph Campbell's book An Empire for Slavery, details the specific nature of the history of slavery in the state of Texas, the youngest slaveholding state in the Southern part of the Union. It is common to view ?the peculiar institution,? as its practitioners, according to Campbell, often called it, as simply uniquely Southern institution. However, Campbell makes it clear that slavery was not simply a Southern institution, but a specific series of practices that existed within a unique cultural context in every state where it was practiced. Texas is a particularly interesting case, Campbell suggests, because in Texas, there were threatened and ineffectual attempts by both Spanish and later the state government of Texas prohibit the practice of slavery on a mass level. Texas had existed as an independent country and thus had its own history apart from the rest of the more genteel South, supposedly. Texans clearly identified themselves as frontier dwellers, rather than inhabitants of an agricultural, aristocratic elite. However, because of the richness of the Texas soil, the use of slaves proved too tempting to be ignored. Slavery spread rapidly, although contemporary Texans would often wish to forget this."
Abstract This paper looks at the relationship between poverty and race in the U.S. and how a black person is more likely than a white person to be poor, to have a lower family income, a lower paying job and fewer resources to get out of poverty. Through a literature review, it examines how experts have suggested a number of reasons for this situation, from different cultural expectations to greater historical barriers. It also argues that racism plays a significant role in perpetuating black poverty as well as contending that racism can be used as an excuse for self-perpetuation, obscuring other causes of poverty and preventing many blacks from making full use of what resources they do have to secure the kinds of lives for which they long.
From the Paper "The reasons for this disparity are not clear-cut. Civil War and civil rights have gone a long way toward equalizing circumstances between blacks and whites in America. Yet this equalization has not been economic, and one of the most significant explanations is that racism continues to be a powerful force in American life. Legislation eliminated the most blatant forms of institutionalized racism, but it could not stamp out the subtler ways in which dominant forces continue to try to suppress and discriminate against those who are different. As Jacqueline Jones points out, "From the time of slavery onward, white farmers and nonagricultural workers maintained historic advantages over black people, no matter how outwardly similar the situations of the two races" (6). Social reforms could not prevent the ruling classes from trying to hold onto whatever advantages they had already managed to secure."
Abstract This paper examines the concept of racial profiling, using race to profile criminals and how African-Americans and other minority groups have been unfairly targeted by law enforcement officials. It looks at how racial profiling taps into one of the irreconcilable conflicts of American society, liberty versus security, although with racial profiling, it has been shown that crime has been significantly reduced in major cities, such as New York City. It shows how ultimately, racial profiling has created a gulf between law enforcement and the minority communities it purports to protect and how all too frequently, innocent people are persecuted. In other situations, people from the minority community refuse to testify on behalf of law enforcement in trials against criminals because of the minority people's distrust of law enforcement.
From the Paper "Against incriminating statistics that police unfairly target minorities is the reality that most of the criminals come from minority neighborhoods and communities. One of the statistics cited by the liberals is the 1998 statistic stating that 83 percent of the 27,000 "stop and frisk" incidents by a special police unit concerned minorities. However, according to New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, this statistic does not translate into the fact that policemen are deliberately harassing individuals from minority neighborhoods. Instead, these statistics reflect the reality that many suspects, whose ethnicities are described by their victims, come from minority communities (Getlin). According to national figures, blacks comprise 13 percent of the American population, but over 40 percent of the arrests for rape and car theft (Puddington 5)."
Tags: law, enforcement, african-americans, minority, groups
Abstract This paper contains a self-designed case study on racial discrimination in the workplace. It also takes into account the various laws that deal with such situations and how the employee is compensated for maltreatment.
From the Paper "The Federal Law states that it is illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of their race. In the United States, it is prohibited to discriminate and harass employees. This implies that the employer cannot treat an employee or applicant prejudicially because of one's race or color or sex or even ethnic background in all forms of the employment relationship, including: help-wanted ads, interviews, pre-employment testing, hiring, job assignments, shift assignments, promotions, compensation, benefits, job training, layoffs or termination."
Abstract Langston Hughes was one of the world's most important interpreters of the African-American experience in the United States during the decade prior to World War II and the subsequent civil rights movement. Hughes published a variety of famous works, including the thought-provoking poem, "Let America Be America Again.? The paper shows that in this poem, Hughes presents a strong awareness of the American dream, yet talks about it as if it were a thing of the past, even to those who had once believed in it and even profited from it. It shows how Hughes cleverly uses a method of physical disconnection to demonstrate how Negroes, at the time, never experienced the American Dream. The paper also shows how Hughes? writing style is influenced by his race and culture, showing hints if jazz and blues in the poem.
From the Paper "Many critics say that Hughes? poem is written in the tone of a black sermon, as if he were preaching to his audience (Wagner, p. 311). Others say that the poem is written in a conversational style, in which Hughes enables the speaker and audience to interact with one another. Still, the rhythm and rhymes contribute to the overall effectiveness of the poem, in which Hughes conveys his thoughts, emotions and beliefs about America in the 1930?s."
Abstract This paper presents a review of "Honor and Violence is the Old South", which is actually an abridged version of Bertram Wyatt-Brown's "Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South". The book presents an objective and highly well-researched account of life for women and slaves in the South who were considered devices with which to maintain family honor. The subject of honor is studied from a historical and anthropological perspective. The author seeks to explain why white masters treated slaves in an inhumane manner and similarly how women were expected to behave in patriarchal societies of the South.
From the Paper "The author explains that there were two extremely important driving forces behind South's obsession with preservation of honor. For one, it was believed that since Northerners were the enemy, they must never be allowed to ridicule South's men of honor. It was essentially a defensive tactic that helped South keep its head high against a more sophisticated, civilized and successful enemy. In the antebellum period, South was mainly an agrarian society while North had become a major industrial force. It was clear that South's economy was waning with most immigrants settling in Northern region and contributing to the development of industries there. Cotton plantations were one of the main sources of income for the rich South and with decrease in its production, South was losing to North on the economic front."
Abstract This paper depicts the representation of race in the novel "Passing" by Nella Larsen and describes the role it plays in the lives of the characters involved.
Abstract This paper discusses Claude Mckay's poem "America". The paper argues that this is one of his best protest poems and since he was one of the very first poets to start the Negro Renaissance of 1920s, his poems voice the feelings of African-Americans vehemently.
Abstract This paper explains how Toni Morrison uses jazz and histories to explain African American displacement. t also looks at how the characters use jazz and the image of Dorcas to bring their identities full-circle. It examines, in particular, Joe and Violet's deconstruction and reconstruction and how this relates to the larger story of African American history.
From the Paper "The story begins with the outcome of the character's displacement, a murder and an attempt at a dead girl's mutilation. Right away the reader sees the fracture which converges in acts of violence. How it came to this point is where the story lies, found in pieces hoping to be put together, Violet's crack and Joe's traces. Along with the history that could allow these individuals to come such a state; the brutalized body of slavery and post-Civil War oppression. Morrison tries to find a restructured identity in which lies the power to heal. Dorcas and jazz are instruments towards that healing (Jones 481)."
Abstract This paper examines how racial profiling has long been an issue of debate in America and has recently been given a shot in the arm due to due the terrorists? attacks on September 11th. Through a literature review, it attempts to show that, although many feel profiling is a warranted tool necessary to combat crime, a growing number of people have come to view it as not only unjust, but counterproductive to reducing crime.
From the Paper "Many who condone racial profiling assert that government policy affects not only resources, but, values and behavior as well. However, this is the same argument used concerning welfare policy (Foreman 2001). Policies makers argued that subsidizing unmarried and unemployed mothers created a culture of dependency and that citizens needed to take responsibility for their own lives or government would never be able to effectively combat poverty (Foreman 2001). If authorities believe that ?sending out welfare checks with no strings attached sends the wrong message,? they must understand that racial profiling does also (Foreman 2001). For if one is to believe that hard work and responsibility is the path to success, then one has to believe that with those equal responsibilities come equal rights."
Abstract It is the contention of this paper that the standardized SATs, intended as a tool to help predict a student's collegiate potential, fail to meet this objective. Instead, the exams often misrepresent or portray a potential student in a negative light because of the cultural bias of the test. The paper asserts that this is especially true for the African-American and Latino American population. Experts in the fields of education and social sciences are quoted, and data is presented that supports the author's contention. Other problems that are considered intrinsic to the SAT are also covered in this paper.
From the Paper "Today's educational system supports tests such as the SAT?s, which are often biased against minority students. The SAT's were developed by the Educational Testing Service as a means to predict successful collegiate performance. However, the tests in actuality seldom accurately predict the potential for a student's success. The SAT's have statistically in fact, been shown to have little value in predicting a student's future performance. They also negatively impact admissions representative's perceptions of a student's potential for academic success. The SAT's have also been shown to negatively impact minority groups, specifically African Americans, Hispanics and even low-income white students. The tests more accurately are a predictor of socioeconomic influences than a student's potential, and unwittingly favor middle and upper class students, who often have the opportunity to prepare and memorize for such tests, placing them at a disadvantage over their peers."
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of King's "I Have A Dream" speech, focusing on the speaker's effectiveness in evoking his message against black American oppression and encouraging his fellow men, black and white Americans, to support and champion the rights of the black Americans in the United States.
From the Paper "The "I Have A Dream" speech composed by King was delivered on August 28, 1963 at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King's speech was said to have become significant for the formulation and approval of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and has become one of King's greatest actions that made him achieve the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 (USC Online 2003). The speech primarily discussed the issue of pushing forth for a thorough and more detailed legislation that favors equality not only for white Americans, but for black Americans as well."
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of Sue Monk Kidd's book, "The Secret Life of Bees". Set in the early 1960's, at a time when civil rights were just becoming popular and significant in American culture, the paper shows how important the ideas in the novel are for this time period. The paper includes direct quotes from the book.
From the Paper "Because of where she lives, Lily could easily have slipped into a more regional speech pattern. But there is nothing here to indicated Lily lives in the Deep South. Perhaps her use of the word lack, instead of a phrase to indicate the condition of motherlessness, is a hint. It is certainly not the way most girls would say it. So it may be regional. Or it may be the author's way of pointing out that Lily was bright and thoughtful and could spare herself the pain of talking about or thinking about her dead mother by referring only to a lack, not a death."
Tags: literature, english, black, south, african, american
