LITR 5731 UHCL fall 2007 Web Highlight

LITR 5731: Seminar in American Multicultural Literature

Web Highlight, fall 2007

Describe and analyze one or more literary and/or cultural aspects of the minority experience as represented by our readings in African American Literature. However, as with an exam your topic should also be related to the course’s main themes, and your development of your insights should acknowledge relevant contents from lecture or discussion. In past offerings of this course, the best midterms "controlled" the essay and made it interesting by focusing on a specific element the texts have in common.

Introduction: After reading through the midterms submitted from previous years, I realized that some of the same conclusions brought up in class this semester were also discussed before. I also saw some similarities in each midterm that I read. These similarities lead me to discover a common theme that could be found in African American Literature.

In her 2003 Midterm essay, Rosalyn Mack writes, “The names found in Song may seem randomly chosen or arbitrarily bestowed but each carries it’s own meaning, telling something about the bearer.”

Mack continues, “But sometimes a family name carries too much weight and then becomes burdensome and resented, especially by those who follow after.”

Mack concludes, “Song of Solomon … illustrate(s) that the young must travel their own path to discover who they are and where they belong. Along the way they create a name for themselves and establish the rituals and meanings they will pass on to their children.

Mack seems to be saying, although having a name is very important to the African American community; there are still some struggles with young African Americans' accepting the name their parents gave them. However, African Americans still manage to find ways to rise above it.

In her 2006 Midterm essay, Anuruddha Ellakkala writes, “In contrast to the literate Corinthians, her grandfather Macon Dead is a totally illiterate person.”

Ellakkala continues, “According to the words of his own son, Macon Dead lost his fortunes because he was unable to read what he signing. Furthermore, his son says that, eventually, Macon Dead lost his life because of illiteracy.”

Ellakkala concludes, “Corinthians is a highly literate woman and she can even work with the great white masters of literature. However, she cannot take the equal position of the white women because of her skin color. Yet, she can work for them as a maid.”

Ellakkala seems to be saying that African Americans can’t win. When you learn to read and become educated, you still are not equal. When you don’t learn to read, you get money or land taken away from you. However, I would like to interject that although African Americans had to live through these obstacles, they again rose above what their slaveholders wanted and succeeded in instilling in their children the value of an education.

In her 2006 Midterm Essay, Roxane Richter writes, “Although many African Americans have reached some degree of cultural assimilation, many remain “excluded from significant participation in the dominant institutional structure” and seek to separate (either culturally, geographically, politically, or otherwise) themselves from the dominant group (Marger, 56-59).

Richter continues, “Without hesitation, Guitar can easily be deemed the “poster child” of African American militant resistance within the framework….”

Richter concludes, “In the end, Guitar completely dismisses any attempts to assimilate into society…He goes so far as to reject his last name; the name white people gave his ancestors, saying, “Guitar is my name. Bains is the slave master’s name…Slave names don’t bother me but slave status does” (pg.160).

Richter seems to be saying that African Americans are faced with a dilemma when deciding whether or not they want to assimilate within the dominant culture. Like Guitar, many are born with a name but then disown it, in favor of a name the streets gave them. However, I think another way to look at it is that as a whole African Americans are the most assimilated within in the dominant culture. Guitar represents a low percentage of the African American culture.

Conclusion: The passages I highlighted all have one theme in common. Whether or not you are literate or illiterate, nameless or were given a name, or wanted to assimilate or fought against it, the answer for African Americans wanting any of these things would be the same: No. Even if African Americans wanted to assimilate and become part of society they were not allowed. The Midterms I quoted from tell a story about the hypocrisy of it all. Overall, I was fascinated and surprised by the wealth of details and truths in the essays.