LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Final Exam Submissions 2013

Nicole Bippen

May 2, 2013

The Struggle for Identity in a Predominantly White Culture

Essay 1:

            Throughout this semester, I have learned about a lot about minority literature.  As I have stated in the past several times, I get sick and tired of the “dead white guys” literature that always ends up in the canon.  I have struggled for years to find works from other cultures and have been desperate to hear their voices.  This class has definitely provided me with this, giving me material that I have longed for.  From the African American slave texts of Frederick Douglass to the Native American trickster stories of Blue Star Woman, I have been inspired and feel like I have a better understanding of the cultures that so often do not get their voices heard. 

            To say that the slave texts of Frederick Douglass are inspirational would be an understatement.  His use of common devices of human language and other literary devices is awe inspiring.  His work allows the reader to form a truly intimate connection with him and feel the same emotions he is feeling through his rich use of language.  “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant” (Douglass).  By using symbols and drawing comparisons between slaves and animals, Douglass has given his readers an intimate peek into what is like to be a slave.  He makes us understand that slaves were literally nothing more than animals and through devices like these, we are able to understand his story and we are also able to understand why all men should be created equal, given a voice, and rights.  It thus becomes of the utmost importance that slave narratives be studied so that not only can we see and understand their hardships, but so that we can relate to them and insure that these atrocities never happen again. 

            In my midterm, I discuss the use of color symbolism in order to get a point across.  “’Dream Variations’ is probably the stronger case for an end to prejudice and segregation and also the most obvious.  Hughes uses dark colors to symbolize his skin tone and then twists it to depict that darkness is not evil.  Most people associate darkness with evil and lightness with good; Hughes flips this on its head.  He actually makes light look less good through the clever use of images like “the white day” (Hughes).  He showcases the daylight as tiring and nerve wracking and night as being relaxing.  Hughes states that the “night comes on gently,/ Dark like me” to draw a parallel between the dark skin of African Americans and night, all the while making night/blacks look better in comparison to whites (Hughes).  In this poem, the daylight/whites are the “evil” or “less good” ones while night/blacks are good and gentle” (Bippen).  By using symbolism and other techniques, these writers are able to make an intimate connection with the audience and are able to reel us in.  We can understand and relate to what they have gone through by using these clever techniques.

            I have always loved and been inspired by the trickster character and because of this love, Native American stories have always held a special place in my heart.  In my research paper, I discussed the trickster archetype and how important this character is not only to Native Americans, but to the white people as well.  He serves as not only some semblance of comic relief, but he also serves a lesson.  The trickster teaches people how to survive and overcome adversary.  In Blue-Star Woman, the trickster characters use manipulation and deceit to get their way (as is common with this archetype) and tell her when she is hesitant, “wouldn’t you rather have half a crust of bread than none at all” (Blue-Star Woman).  Despite the fact that they do succeed in tricking her, she still learns a valuable lesson and overcomes the hardships in the end.  As far as modern society goes, we can still learn from this archetype and learn to be careful.  Texts like this should not be ignored.  Tricksters appeal to “younger students [who] may relish the idea of (nonconformity) [and] can also teach older learners and teachers the potential value of people who don’t fit in and won’t submit quietly” (White).  In other words, we can learn how to accept people, just as the Native Americans did, by studying and appreciating the trickster archetype.

            In my essay, I also discussed how this archetype is timeless and mentioned that Wile E. Coyote is a very popular cartoon character who is beloved by kids and adults.  Although he fails, we continue to cheer for him and secretly hope that he catches the Roadrunner.  Despite his failures, Wile never gives up and we can learn from this; we should never give up on our hopes and dreams.  The Native Americans knew this and through their trickster stories, we can understand Native American values and see similarities in theirs and ours.  Perhaps all the cultures are not as different as we thought.

            I can apply this learning to life by remembering that just because the canon may be filled with dead white guys, that there are others out there with equally important and interesting stories to tell that showcase their cultures and values.  I may have to dig a little deeper to find them, but through reading these, I can draw parallels between their literature and what would be closest called mine.  The Native American stories parallel the Biblical Genesis stories.  “It was all darkness and always had been. /There was nothing there forever. / Creation was a tiny seed awaiting a dream” is closely related to the Biblical creation story in which it is written that “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (The Cry, Genesis).  Both discuss how in the beginning there was nothing until creation or a creator came along.  Texts like these are important because they not only provide us with a way of understanding the values and cultures of the Native Americans, but they also help draw links between us and them, thus unifying us through literature if nothing else. 

            Also when discussing the creation stories, you can also look at the “Virgin of Guadalupe”.  “It may be read as Mexico’s creation story because it fuses European-Catholic and Indian-traditional elements much as the mestizo identity mixes European and Indian genealogies”.  (White).  In the story, a woman referred to as the Virgin of Guadalupe appears several times and offers help in the way that Coyote the good trickster or Jesus would.  Coyote the trickster oftentimes fools others in order to help out for the greater good; Jesus helped heal and lead people.  The Virgin helps a guy’s uncle, and says to the kid “be assured now that he [your uncle] is cured. (And then his uncle was cured, as it is later learned)” (Virgin of Guadalupe).  We see miraculous healings like this in the Bible and magical stories in the Native American texts too.  By noting these similarities, we are again, able to find a unifying theme between us and other cultures who we may not have identified with previously. 

            In conclusion, we can get so caught up in our own little world and see other people as “outsiders” that we have little to nothing in common with.  Texts that draw parallels between our culture and theirs with recurring or similar themes helps us establish an intimate connection and see ourselves as a unified whole as opposed to “them” and “us”.  We can often label others as not important, especially where literature is concerned and we can even assume that their texts are nowhere near as “sophisticated” or “important” as ours when in reality, that is the furthest thing from the truth.  Classes like this, again, are incredibly important.  We need a break from the dead white guy cannon and we need a chance to see other cultures and appreciate their texts.  Often times it is hard to find these texts on our own and even harder to understand them or relate to them; classes that specialize in minority texts bring these to the surface and help us to understand them.  They create intimate connections and a worldly view of other cultures that in the end, are not so different from ours.