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Folklore in African-American Literature, 2005.
A look at folklore and its role in African-American literature.
1,191 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how the presence and interpretation of folklore is critical to understanding African-American writing. It looks at how one can better understand the desires and inner thoughts of African-Americans during slavery and how conjure, heroism and tales of animalism are all reoccurring themes within African-American folklore.
From the Paper
"The absence of interpretation and references to folklore are due to the idea that folklore is a lesser form of literature. The word "folk" itself implies a lesser academic standing to many in the literary world. African American writers and critics may feel torn between academic standards and cultural obligations. Since education is held at such a high standard, acknowledging a folk reference can be detrimental to the way in which a writer is viewed. In the analysis of post-emancipation African American literature, references to folklore are often overlooked or ignored. However, folklore plays a large and important role within African American literature. African American folklore gives insight into African American culture and represents basis and structure for a great deal of African American literature (Prahlad 566)."
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African-American Literature, 2002.
An analysis of the importance of African-American literature.
7,166 words (approx. 28.7 pages), 0 sources, MLA, $ 159.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of African-American literature, in order to come to a true understanding of how influential and important this particular literature is. The paper claims that this literature has made an impact in many ways, including social, economic, environmental, cultural and historical.
Contents:
Introduction
The importance of African American Literature
The Implications of African American Literature
Social
Economic
Environmental
Cultural
Historical
How African-American Literature Has Changed -- Across the Genres
Slave Narratives and Biographies
Novels
Conclusion
Works Cited
From the Paper
"The changes in African-American literature are also very important. At least two genres will be discussed, one being slaved narratives and biographies and the other being novels, in order to understand how African-American literature has changed. It has not stayed the same over the course of time, and often it has evolved as history has evolved, changing and reshaping itself in order to fit the times that it finds itself in. Occasionally, however, a particular work of African-American literature will simply break away from what society considers as the norm for that time period, and the author will go off on his or her own to write something that he or she feels is vitally important."
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Wole Soyinka's "Myth, Literature and the African World", 1994.
This paper reviews Wole Soyinka's "Myth, Literature and the African World" on the importance of stories emphasizing African identity based on African experience without comparison to European experience.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 1 source, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"The central theme of Wole Soyinka's "Myth, Literature and the African World" is that the most important myths and literature in Africa are those which allow Africans to understand and appreciate their lives and history without comparing it in some way to the European experience. Soyinka writes that his book is concerned with eliciting from history, mythology and literature, for the benefit of both genuine aliens and alienated Africans, a continuing process of self-apprehension whose temporary dislocation appears to have persuaded many of its non-existence or its irrelevance . . . in contemporary world reality.
In other words, Africans have let the European world convince them that their culture was somehow inferior to that of ... "
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Victims in Contemporary African-American Literature, 2005.
Analyzes the evolution of victimization in 20th century African-American literature.
2,250 words (approx. 9.0 pages), 7 sources, $ 89.95
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Abstract
In this paper, the differing aspects of economic, religious, education and gender roles have been sequentially analyzed in African-American literature. Through the works of 20th century authors, there have been steady stages of evaluations of the victim roles imparted on African- American from outside of their race, as well as those brought about by self-induced aspects of interior issues of African-Americans. The paper shows that in this manner, victimization is an evolutionary process that Ellison, Walker, Baldwin, and Wright infer within their plots, characters and racial issues in these texts.
From the Paper
"This literary study will analyze the evolution of African American literature throughout that 20^th century. By understanding the nature of economics of racism that began with Richard Wright's Native Son; the aspects religious victimization also developed in Baldwin's latter tale: Go Tell It on the Mountain. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man "I could fly a plane if I had chance," Bigger said. "If you wasn't black and if you had some money and if they'd let you go to aviation school, you could fly a plane," Gus said "It's funny how the white folks treat us, aint it?" Bigger said. "It better be funny," Gus said (Wright 17). Gus and Bigger are two friends that relay the sense of economic disenfranchisement that a white hegemonic community has imparted upon them."
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African American Literature, 2002.
Discussion and analysis of African American literature by Jean Toomer and Langston Hughes.
2,400 words (approx. 9.6 pages), 2 sources, $ 89.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses "Cane" by Jean Toomer and analyzes the poetry of Langston Hughes.
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African-American Literature, 2005.
This paper discusses the use of the English language in African-American literature by Ralph Ellison's novel "Invisible Man" ("The Battle Royal" scene) and Harryette Mullen's poem "Sleeping with the Dictionary".
1,100 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 38.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that Ralph Ellison's and Harryette Mullen's respective use of language represent descriptive language usage within two entirely different literary genres (fiction vs. poetry) and contexts (a public speech vs. a private bedroom). The author points out that Ellison's use of language is vividly descriptive, harsh at times, non-playful and non-alliterative; whereas, Mullen's use of language to playfully describe a solitary bedroom setting is relaxed, playful, metaphorical and alliterative. The paper relates that these differences are due to social context: Ellison's black speaker (the powerless) is publicly addressing a group of whites (the powerful); whereas, Mullen's speaker is relaxing at home with a much-loved though inanimate object.
From the Paper
"Not only is the dictionary used as metaphor for an erotic lover; within lines 16-18 Mullen's speaker even metaphorically describes the sex act, using doubly-denotative words and phrases like: "Aroused"; "perverse positions"; "nightly act"; "penetration." Later, in the final line, yet another playfully metaphorical phrase appears, describing nighttime decoding of the dictionary's messages as similar to deciphering "the secret acrostic of a lover's name" (line 23). Like an illicit love relationship, then, relationship of speaker to the dictionary ("taking the big dictionary to bed" (line 8)) is secretive, stimulating, and filled with new and exciting discoveries. "
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Decolonizing the Mind-Politics of Language in African Literature, 2000.
A look at how Nguii wa Thiong's ?Decolonizing the Mind? illustrates the politics of language in African Literature.
710 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, $ 25.95
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From the Paper
"Thiong?o goes into great detail in describing his oversimplified view of the correlation between language and culture. He claims that language is a carrier of culture, and uses the example that in Sweden and Denmark, English is only used to communicate with those who cannot speak their language. However, in Britain, the English language is not only a means of communication, but also a carrier of its culture and history. For Africans, there is no relationship between their acquired language?English, and their African culture. Thiong?o defines culture as a product and a reflection of human beings communicating with one another in the very struggle to create wealth and control it?a product of the history which it in turn reflects. "
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African-American Literature, 2007.
This paper discusses the importance of African-American women writers.
1,518 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 50.95
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Abstract
The paper examines African-American literature across the genres and mentions specifically the famous author, Toni Morrison. The paper discusses slave narratives, biographies and novels. The paper discusses how African-American literature has changed; the lives, beliefs and experiences of African-American writers today are different than the experiences of the first black authors. The paper shows how African-Americans have had a significant impact on the literature produced in the United States.
From the Paper
"Literature is very important. Many people love to read, and still others love to write. Together, they make a winning combination. Literature is often studied, but one aspect of it has been getting very little attention (Morgan, 1996). African-American literature has often times been ignored, or been only selectively visible, and this is especially true where women writers are concerned. However, this literature has become more important and significant in recent years, and this helps to show the important of African-American women writers."
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African-American Literature, 2007.
A discussion of the African-American experience as reflected in literature.
2,079 words (approx. 8.3 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 65.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the African-American experience as it is expressed in the work of several notable writers. The author states that the works of black writers reflect aspects of American life and the development of American society over time. Several works are discussed that highlight various themes in African-American life, such as slavery and discrimination. The paper concludes by stating that the black experience is as American as any other and complements the experience of the majority society in many respects even as it extends it to new areas.
From the Paper
"Ralph Ellison is a black man and approaches the world from that perspective, finding a way to express how society treats the black man through the character of the Invisible Man, a persona that enables him to hide even when in a crowd. For Ellison, blackness has been made by society into the defining characteristic of his existence. In a sense, he adopts the point of view of the white by making himself invisible. He is treated as if he were invisible, and he finds the benefit in that stat and uses it to his advantage in commenting on whit society. The main character in The Invisible Man is invisible only in a metaphorical sense, so that he seems invisible both to himself and to others. The hero of this novel is a black man who is invisible in white society because he is black. He is invisible in black society because of the way he takes on various roles expected of him by white society, though he recognizes how demeaning and false many of those roles are. He is invisible to himself because he has adopted certain roles and so cannot allow himself to exist as a real person with his own point of view. The existence of such a character is a devastating indictment of the dehumanization process in American society based on racial discrimination."
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African-America Literature, 2002.
An overview of African American litearture taught in the classroom.
2,650 words (approx. 10.6 pages), 12 sources, $ 97.95
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Abstract
A paper on African-American literature in the high school English class. The paper explores the different types of literature available and how different teachers use what is available.
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African-American Literature, 2008.
A discussion of the literature of black American writers in the 20th and 21st century.
1,484 words (approx. 5.9 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 49.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the literature of various black American writers and poets. The paper explains that numerous black writers found new ways to express the feelings of their people and created a rich canon of thought and expression leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. The paper looks at how some of these writings show an underlying demand for change. The paper also points out that many of the early literary figures, like W.E.B. DuBois, wrote against slavery. In addition, the paper looks at how, in the latter part of the 20th century black, nationalism was influenced by Darwinian science and by Victorian conceptions of virtue. The paper cites "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody, as an example of the nature of the threat to black Americans.
From the Paper
"DuBois also celebrates aspects of black culture, from the songs of the slaves to and the music they and their descendants make to their religious belief and the special religious observance they developed in the black church in America. He sees the black community then standing at the dawn of freedom, a freedom not yet fully achieved but set out as a potential for all.
"The nature of the threat to black Americans is evident in Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. She becomes very aware of why as she grows to adulthood and sees more and more racism all around her."
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Equality in African-American Literature, 2007.
An examinarion of works by Booker T. Washington, Zora Neale Hurston and Ralph Ellison that describe African-Americans' needs for equality and freedom.
1,042 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 36.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how African-Americans' repeated struggles to obtain freedom from Southern slavery as well as their quest for social, economic and educational equality with whites, have been starkly and vividly described by a number of African-American authors. It points out that among these are the black educational leader Booker T. Washington; the novelist, short story writer and essayist Zora Neale Hurston and the novelist Ralph Ellison. The paper analyzes Washington's "The Atlanta Exposition", Hurston's "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" and Ellison's "Battle Royal" in terms of depictions of the African-American struggle toward equality, freedom and self-actualization.
From the Paper
"The "gradualism" argued for by Washington, in what is known now as his "Atlanta Compromise Speech", as a way of blacks' slowly gaining equality with whites through vocational education, pleased Washington's, mostly Southern white, audience at the 1894 Atlanta Exposition. Southern whites, worried about losing economic ground to former slaves, were happy to accept Washington's views of gradual progress for blacks through vocational education, although in hindsight this was not the best way for blacks to achieve equality with whites."
"Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It feels to be Colored Me" (1928), is written from the perspective of a 20th century African American woman, who feels, more than 60 years after the abolition of slavery, sanguine about being black in America."
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African American Literature, 2003.
A literary review of pieces written by Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall and Malcolm X.
690 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 23.95
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Abstract
This paper examines three short pieces, written by Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall and Malcolm X, each a great contributor to the African American cause in post-Civil War America.
From the Paper
"In each section of "Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance Reform and Renewal", editors Manning Marable and Leith Mullings present a collection of African American writing that cuts to the heart of some of the many issues plaguing African Americans ..."
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Power and Violence in African-American Literature, 2002.
A look at the novels "The Marrow of Tradition", "Their Eyes Were Watching God", "Native Son, Middle Passage", "Beloved", and "Code of the Street".
2,400 words (approx. 9.6 pages), 7 sources, $ 89.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the roles of power and violence in "The Marrow of Tradition", "Their Eyes Were Watching God", "Native Son, Middle Passage", Beloved, and Code of the Street. The paper also analyzes who violence and power affects, and how the power of violence enables or disables its perpetrators.
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Thematic Study in African-American Literature, 2000.
A look at Zora Neale Hurston's writing, including a personal response.
1,225 words (approx. 4.9 pages), 3 sources, $ 41.95
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Abstract
This paper explores the biography, literary style, and life's work of Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. It includes quotation from her work and sociological commentary. Much of the paper is a personal response to Hurston's work, which talks of her in glowing terms.
From the Paper
"Such was the case last month as I lay amidst a rustling pile of pages, perusing the leaves of American memory and writing in study for another exam. Although a few gems presented themselves and leant their sparkle to what sometimes became a tedious pursuit, (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is more effective than warm milk or melatonin, by the way), it was during this endeavor that the spirit of Zora Neale Hurston delighted me. She spoke of passion, of strength and of the simple delight of being human. She brushed aside the convention and regret, suspicion and pettiness that shackle human souls of all colors as if she were shooing away a fly. Although chance characteristics of race and gender affect her experience, Zora?s passion and dignity transcend the pigeonholes of ?colored? or ?female?. Her wonder in the essay How It Feels to Be Colored Me became my delight, as I reveled in sharing her dance and her enjoyment of herself. It is her humanity and her strength that make this piece so remarkable, flavored by her physical being, but not ruled by it, she uses this delightful dignity as well as potent imagery to reveal what is best in her, and in us."
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