LITR 5731:
Seminar in American Minority Literature
University of
Houston-Clear Lake, Fall 2001
Sample Student Midterm
Jennifer Thurik
October 2, 2001
Dr. Craig White
Mid-term LITR 5731
A Dream
Revised
America
was founded on the belief that "all men are created equal." However, a
question must be posed which asks who constitutes "men" and what is
"equal"? Where do women fit into the picture? What about minorities?
The Declaration of Independence serves as the framework for rules that govern
the people who fall beneath it, but who were the architects of the infamous
work? They were white, upper class, men. They looked at slavery as a grievous
sin, yet they allowed it to occur for decades. Immigrants from all parts of the
country came to America to be free from persecution and terror; unfortunately,
people were not free in America’s own backyard. Why did hundreds of thousands
of people leave their homes to start fresh in a new world? The answer is simple;
they wanted a glimpse of the American Dream, but that look into a prosperous
future was not for all people. The founding fathers left an enormous hole in the
document that established the first set of rules that would govern this new
country. They did not include minorities in their representation of men being
equal. The only ones who were considered equal were immigrants who came on their
own, who left their past behind them, and who kept their social structures in
tact. For everyone else, they learned soon enough that they must abandon that
dream for one that favors setbacks, the need to rise again, and a quest for
group dignity.
From
the time that Africans were taken from their country and enslaved in a new
world, they have fought to retain dignity and grace in circumstances that were
deplorable. Even slaves who were well taken care of were not able to realize the
dream they once had of being free again. Africans are different from other
immigrants because they did not leave their homes voluntarily. They were
captured and brought to their new homes in chains. America came to the Africans;
the Africans did not come to America. In many pieces of African-American
literature, the "voiceless and choiceless" mentality can be seen. In Incidents
in a Life of a Slave Girl, Linda Brent recounts a time when her voice and
choice were not heard. She was fifteen and her master, Dr. Flint, whispered
impure and unclean statements in her ears that never left young Linda’s mind.
I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. I
was compelled to live under the same roof with him.... there is no
shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even
from death; all these are inflicted by fiends who bear the shape of
men. (361)
Linda is embarrassed, angry, and ashamed to be
subjected to this level of comment from a middle-aged man with a wife and
children. Yet, she is unable to escape those words, even after she has escaped
from his grasp. A slave has no choice in the path his or her life takes. They
did not choose to come to America; they did not choose whose home they served;
they had no voluntary actions to speak of. They were involuntary participants in
a society that needed them. The South would not have been as prosperous and
fertile had it not been for the free labor that slaves provided. Blacks were
forced to work and labor for little or no pay and they reaped little or no
benefits from that backbreaking work.
The
lack of choice in a slave’s future is explored in another narrative about
Elaudah Equiano. He recounts his story of him and his sister being kidnapped
from home, bound, gagged, and taken far away from their people. They were sold
into slavery and brought to America. He states that his mind was full of
thoughts about being free. Frederick Douglass also examines a similar aspect in
his narrative as he watches the ships enter the harbor and he realizes he can
never be that free again. The ships only remind him of a life that he will never
be able to control. Like Linda, Douglass escapes slavery for a life in the North
where he is free; however, the Dream is still out of reach. Neither escaped
slave will have a prosperous life like they believed when they were forced into
slavery. Their dream is never realized because they do not meet the unstated
criteria set forth in the founding document or our country.
Decades
later, Toni Morrison relates a story of Milkman and the fact that his voice is
not listened to even though he is not a slave. Song of Solomon tells of
his journey through life and the fact that as a child, his name came from a
shameful act that he wanted no part of.
When he came into the little room she unbuttoned her blouse and
smiled. He was too young to be dazzled by her nipples, but he was
old enough to be bored by the flat taste of mother’s milk, so he
came reluctantly, as to a chore, and lay as he had at least once
each day of his life in his mother’s arms, and tried to pull the thin,
faintly sweet mild from
her flesh without hurting her with his teeth.
(13)
This act embarrassed Ruth and Macon Jr. because
he was never able to shake the nickname and it did not improve either one’s
relationship with his father. Milkman could not control the whims of his mother
though he suspected the act was wrong. Macon did not respect his son’s voice
as seen when Milkman strikes his father for striking his mother. Milkman does
not want to hear Macon’s explanations for his behavior and is appalled that
Macon insists on describing the indiscriminant nature of Ruth’s attachment to
her father as the excuse for Milkman’s father’s treatment of his mother. As
confusion quickly turns to anger, Milkman reflects on his thoughts at the time
and the fact that his words were ignored by Macon. Instead of letting the
situation be and making apologies, "He comes to me with some way-out tale
of how come and why" (76). Milkman did not want to participate in this
discussion, but he had no choice.
Sapphire
tells the tale of Precious Jones and the injustices this young woman suffers
because her voice is ignored until she feels she does not even exist. Precious
was forced to participate in events before she even had a voice to listen to.
When she was still in diapers, sexual abuse started at the hands of her father
and was allowed to continue at the bequest of her mother (135). Her mother even
participates in the abuse.
I feel Mama’s hand between my legs, moving up my thigh. Her
hand stop, she getting ready to pinch me if I move. I just lay still
still, keep my eyes close. I can tell Mama’s other hand between her
legs now ‘cause the smell fill the room.... God Please! Thank you
god I say as I fall asleep. (21)
Here, God hears her cries and lets her go to
sleep as her mother is molesting her; however, this is an uncommon occurrence.
Upon thinking about an incident of incest, she "... wait for him to get off
me. Lay there stare at wall till wall is a movie..." (111). Then she
thinks, "How is something a memory if you never forgit" (112)? Not
only must Precious contend with these horrible memories of events that she could
not control or stop, she must also accept the fact that she cannot control the
information that is contained in her file. However, as she gains confidence at
being able to read and write, she exerts control by taking her file and reading
what is inside it. We first notice the file when the principal summons Precious
into her office upon realizing she is pregnant again (7). When she goes to the
alternative school, her file is already waiting on her (27). This worries
Precious because she believes she is getting a new start and she begins to
wonder what is in that file that follows her around like a lost puppy because if
someone wants to mess with her, they have everything they need (28). When no one
will tell her what’s in her file, she steals it (118). This file represents
Precious’ life, not having access to it or being able to control who does have
it represents a common thread that ties African-Americans together- their lack
of control over their own situation. How can any of these wonderful characters
hold on to the American Dream they so desperately want when the architects of
the Dream didn’t write it for them?
The
American Dream is sustained in the belief that we are equal and that working
hard, following rules, and being a good person will result in the obtaining of
that dream; however, immigrants who came to America on their own could leave
their past behind and start creating a new future, Africans do not have that
luxury. Their past follows them. It is like an open wound that cannot heal. They
are drawn to reconnect with their past and their roots. Until they do so, their
dream remains unrealized. Douglass experiences a desire to discover his true
age. He has no idea when his birthday is. A practice and celebration from the
first day of your life eludes Douglass. He longs to discover his past, and once
he escapes from slavery, one would think the chance to be free and independent
would be obtainable; unfortunately, that is not the case of a slave. Although he
is no longer tied to the side of a man, he must face prejudice and upheaval that
follows him wherever he sets down. Until he can reconnect with his history and
past, he cannot be free to follow that dream.
Milkman
goes on a different journey that Douglass does. He was never a slave. His family
has money and education; however, Milkman is not satisfied in Song of Solomon.
He longs to be connected to his past. He leaves everything behind to discover
his roots, and his journey, though it leads to his death, is accomplished for he
is free. His dream has been reached, but he cannot reap its benefits. Milkman
cannot enjoy the success he shares with his family until he finds his people
from the South. He retraces the history that he gathered from his family and
recounts it to his people in Georgia where he discovers more truth and more
myths. This revisiting of his roots is a characteristic of Africans, even if
they are not direct descendants of Africa. Their dream cannot be accomplished
until they are sure where their people belonged centuries before the recent
generations existed.
In Push,
the same desire to retrace roots is shown in the journal of Precious. Her life
is one of poverty, abuse, sadness, and hopelessness. It is not until she learns
to read and write that she is confident enough to examine, write, and talk about
the horrible events that happened to her. At this point, Precious is able to
confront and stand up to her mother, raise her young child, and begin to build a
life separate from the one filled with turmoil and hurt. Through the journal,
Precious is able to tell her story to her teacher, her therapist, herself, and
her mother. She is given control in a world where she had limited choices
because she is able to read, write, and express her feelings. Her strength lies
in the fact that learning language helps Precious come to terms with her history
and gives her permission to revisit the abuse and incest suffered upon her so
that she can learn to deal with it, use it to gain strength, and set her sights
on accomplishing the dream that eludes many African-Americans.
Another
factor that keeps blacks from reaching the American Dream they so desire is the
fact that the family structure is different. From the times of slavery to modern
day society, Africans have not held traditional family structures like other
cultural groups. In many of the slave narratives such as those by Douglass,
Equiano, and Jacobs, countless stories are told about families being torn apart
because of slavery. Jacobs recounts a story of a woman who saw all ten of her
children sold and dispersed to parts unknown. When Linda’s mulatto son becomes
ill, she is torn between praying for him to die so he will not have to suffer
what she has and loving him so much she cannot let him go. Many slaves bear
children from their masters. When the mistress discovers that, she will send the
children away. Babies are pulled from the breast to prevent attachment to the
parent or to make the parent work harder for contact with their child. When
slaves are sold from plantation to plantation, new bonds must be formed with the
slaves that they must now live with. This is certainly not the way a traditional
family is reared which is one reason why Africans must settle for an alternate
dream.
In Song
of Solomon, Pilate is a prime example of not existing in a traditional
family setting. When their father died, Macon and Pilate were separated and sent
to live with relatives or, in Pilate’s case, live a nomadic life traveling
from place to place. They had no contact with each other because of a
disagreement that occurred a few days after their father was murdered. Pilate is
not married, doesn’t want to be married, and lives a life that is not full of
possessions such as her brother has. Her life is full of song, dance, and
happiness. Macon’s life is full of wealth, security, and material items, but
unlike Pilate, he longs for more of what she has. One evening he takes a
different route home and passes by his sister’s house. He is attracted to the
music and liveliness that is occurring inside the walls. He wants to be closer
to it and is drawn to it, yet, he will not admit his longing and goes about his
way. In a traditional family structure, Macon and Pilate would have stayed
together and helped each other through such a rough time; however, because they
did not stay together, neither one has achieved the dream that many strive for.
Although Macon is successful and wealthy, he is very unhappy and unsatisfied
with the turn his life has taken. His son leaves him to search for the family
truth that tore Macon’s family apart.
Precious
is yet another example of how African-Americans struggle to achieve the American
dream because of their lack of a stable, traditional family structure. Her
father has an incestual relationship with her that produces two children. One is
severely retarded, whereas the other is relatively healthy. However, the father
is in and out of his families’ life. The mother sends the baby girl to live
with a grandmother and lies to the social service department to get more money
in her welfare check. Precious is suffocating in that tiny apartment. It is not
until she goes to the Alternative School that she finds a family there to care
for her and her baby. They teach Precious to read and write. They provide her
with legal aid and they place her into a halfway house where the residents and
aides help Precious with her education, raising her child, and getting control
of her life. This is the first family that has given this young disturbed girl
any reflection of what a family is, yet at the same time, this is an alternative
family that cannot help Precious enough to utilize and realize the dream so many
people strive for everyday.
People
come to America in search of a new beginning to a life they have never been able
to achieve in their home country. They are looking to obtain the American Dream
of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, yet when they did not come
freely, when they cannot forget their history, and when they settle for
alternate social structures, achieving that ideal is not easily obtainable, so
they settle for a dream that favors setbacks, the desire and need to rise again,
and the emphasis on keeping the group dignified in the face of abuse, prejudice,
and injustice. African American literature expresses and demonstrates examples
of these dilemmas through the fabulous story telling of the authors. The
Classic Slave Narratives tell stories of a time in America when Africans
were considered property, not people who have dreams, families, and goals they
want to achieve. Song of Solomon recounts the regressive tale of a young
man’s journey from his present back to his past to the time his life ends, and
Push gives very intimate insight to a young abused girl who is fighting
to survive. All of these stories have characters who have hopes and dreams of
being successful, but fall short in some way because the Declaration of
Independence did not include them and the desire to reach the American Dream is
not an open invitation to Africans like it is to other immigrant groups. They
are not voluntary participants in American society; therefore, they must settle
for less than others have to. They must fight twice as hard to have half as much
as others.