LITR 4332 American Minority Literature 2013 Student Midterm Samples midterm assignment #2. Long essay

Jennifer Longoria

Lessons and Thoughts from Literature

            In my previous essay I stated that my experience with African American literature was limited to the education I received in history lessons in class. Every February, our class devoted some of our time to African American studies and history. We all read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, we all became aware of the many inventions the African American culture created like Eli Whitney and the cotton gin (repeated to me so many times that it is one of the only inventions in history that I can remember the inventor’s name) and we all learned about the many travesties the slave had to endure in the South under their master’s rule. Unfortunately, as I am forced to think back on my junior high and high school education, I do not recall any slave narratives we read in class nor do I recall devoting any other amount of time to African American studies unless it was during Black History Month. In all honesty, I can’t say that I had any in depth knowledge regarding the African American culture. I know they protested for their freedom from slavery and then their right to vote. I know Harriet Tubman helped her African brothers and sisters on the Underground Railroad. I know Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. But other than a few other general facts, I cannot say I know much more detail.

            This class has provided me with a better understanding of the lives of the African American slave. Though I am fully aware that many of these slaves were treated cruelly and beaten, the intimate detail Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs provides gives me a better understanding of what these slaves had to endure, not only as an African man or woman, but as a mixed race child, or a slave parent. The fact that you had to fear having your own child as a slave is frightening. Creating life should be a joyous occasion. A slave who is pregnant can only worry for the life that her child is bound to have. They are not born free. They are born to carry the same burden their parents had to endure and if the child happens to have a white father, they are born to punishment harsher than their African brothers and sisters. I would like for this essay to bring to light the trials and issues I learned from each narrative and end with my thoughts regarding the African American culture today.

            Frederick Douglass’ narrative was an interesting read for me. There were a few concepts Douglass brought up that I don’t believe I fully comprehended before. The most interesting for me to understand was the following: First, Douglass unravels the fear slave masters have in regards to their slaves becoming educated. This concept is not new to me. The easiest way to keep a person down is to keep them ignorant. If they have no way to better themselves, they will never be able to rise up. Douglass states that their master’s fear was that the more educated a slave became, the more likely it was for this slave to revolt. The interesting part I found is when Douglass claims this is exactly what happened in his case as he states “As I read and contemplated the subject, behold! that very discontentment which Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read had already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish.” Douglass became fully aware what his role as a slave meant and as compared to the lives of the white people who owned him. By learning to read and write, he knew better than to be content with the life he was born into and could not become complacent. However, learning to read and write became his curse as well. He was given all the tools to better himself but he had no way to use them. He became stuck with the knowledge of his oppression with no means to change his situation. As the old adage goes, sometimes ignorance is bliss.

            The second concept I became aware of with Douglass was during his time spent in the north amongst free men. From what I experienced before, the whole goal for slaves in the south was to escape to find freedom in the north. The north was a whole different world where a slave can live his own life, earn his own money, buy his own house, and have his own family. What I was not aware of was the fact that there was also tension in the north amongst white men and freed slaves. I was under the impression that everything changed once you reached the north. I did not realize that even though there were free men working for their own money, the characteristics white men gave to slaves in the south were similar to the ones men in the north gave to the free men as well. Though they were able to work side by side, many colored men were still treated as a class beneath the white man. They did not want to own slaves, maybe some of them really thought slavery was unnecessary or uncalled for, but that did not make them see the African American man as an individual in any better light than those in the south. Granted, this is not the view of every man in the north, but prejudice seems to follow the colored man no matter where he seems to go.

            Though Douglass provided a great narrative that set up the many trials the African American slave endured, Harriet Jacobs’ narrative shed some light on the female slave perspective. Though one may assume that all slaves were treated fairly similar, Harriet informs the reader that they are not as “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.” The female slave has her own set of trials and obstacles to overcome separate from that of the men. What I found interesting about the narrative is that Harriet addresses her obstacles in order for the free colored women in the north to understand the differences between them and the slaves in the south.  The main passage that stands out is Harriet’s description of New Year’s Day. What many women in the north see as a joyous holiday is a time of year that many slave mothers dread most; that time of year when her children may be sold at auction and ripped from her arms. Harriet says that the women in the north should feel lucky because, “[her kids] are [her] own, and no hand but that of death can take them from [her].” As a slave mother, you come to realize that your children do not belong to you. They are merely another piece of property for the master to with as he pleases. This concept is forgotten by those colored women in the north. Though I am sure they have their own set of obstacles in their path, they do not comprehend the extent of how good their lives are compared to the slave in the south. Aside from that, many slave women, as they come of age, unwillingly lose their innocence at the hands of their master. Though Harriet dodges her master’s advances as best as she can, when she tells her mistress of her husband’s misdeeds, she seems to be punished for her part in her master’s lust rather than consoled for the terror her master has put upon her. There is no sympathy for the slave woman, even if the fault is not her own.

            Harriet Jacob’s narrative is an interesting perspective of the plights of African American women during the time of slavery; however, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye provides a perspective of the African American women close in time to our own. By no account are the African American women in this novel a slave, but these women who have come so far from their ancestors have to deal with a new set of obstacles when faced with their white counterparts. One of the terms for this semester is the Black Aesthetic; the concept that the color of skin black is beautiful. The children in The Bluest Eye are constantly threatened with the idea that because their skin is black, they will never be as beautiful or smart or clean as white children. While some of the girls are fairly comfortable in their own skin and race, the alternative of this concept that white is beautiful creates a sense of rage and aggression to all those with lighter skin. Rather than being content with acknowledging that her own dark skin is beautiful, Claudia lashes out at any of those children who are not just like her. She hates Shirley Temple. She dismembers her white Barbie doll. She constantly wants to physically destroy all the fair skinned things that society deems beautiful. Meanwhile, her sometimes friend Pecola falls under the false perception that she will never be beautiful unless she has blue eyes like the white children she sees. She knows this is the only thing that will make her beautiful and becomes obsessed with ways in trying to obtain her standard of beauty. It inevitably becomes her downfall into madness. I feel that the Black Aesthetic is a concept practiced more nowadays than at any other time. This concept that white is the supreme race and color dates back to before slavery. If you take a look at Carrie Mae Weems photo “Ain’t Joking” (1987) you can see that the Black Aesthetic is in conflict with the standard of beauty African American women have always been taught. As a black woman is avoiding looking into a mirror her caption says “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the finest, of them all” in which the white women staring her in the face on the other side says “Snow white, you black bitch, and don’t you forget it!” Even as little far back as the 80’s the Black Aesthetic has been threatened.

            Not only do I feel that the Black Aesthetic is not practiced enough in our society today, I feel that Black History Month has been minimalized in recent years. First off, the entirety of the African American culture and history cannot be suppressed into a 28 day month. It is part of our American History. It should be taught more in depth. The next generation has become too complacent. Yes, it is a good thing that we, as an American society, have become more accepting of all races, despite color or background, but prejudice still exists today. The many things African American ancestors had to endure and fight for should not be minimalized just because things are not as bad today as they were way back when. All races should be grateful for the fight the African American race put up in order to obtain their freedom and rights. When you really think about, extreme prejudice was still around some 30-40 years ago. That is not that long ago. My mother told me once that the first time she ever saw a black kid was when one ended up attending her high school her sophomore year. My mother is 54years old. Integration is not so new of a concept that it should be taken for granted. Also, upon inquiring about Black History month activities with my friend who is an elementary school teacher, she informed me that they read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and read maybe one or two books and that was the extent of the lessons taught for African American culture. I was appalled. However, she said due to their strict time frame regarding lessons, she had to focus more on the major subjects that are tested and gave as much extra time she had to Black History month as she could…which was not much. I hope that one day American society will be able to find a good balance between appreciating the fact that we are so far from slavery it is almost a lost concept on our children and providing in depth lessons of all of the hard work, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, the African American people shed in order to obtain their freedom to live their life not as a minority race in this land, but as Americans.