Chontel Fils
Professor Chenier
English 235Ch
14 December 2016
Response 13
In I, too by Langston Hughes he tells his story of the trouble with being mulatto. He sees that whenever company is brought in for a meal he is forced out of the dining room and into the kitchen. He is shunned for being black, because it is inconvenient and this is why they send him away. Instead of becoming angered by these actions he laughs and eats well, and grows strong. He knows that he will need his strength later on, and when he is stronger they will be unable to send him to eat in the kitchen.
This is empowering because even though he is being put away and hidden he uses this to his advantage. He's growing strong while they pay him no mind at all, and when he's strong no one can stop him. Only then will his true beauty be seen and they will want him to sit with them.
Mother to Son relates in the way that in both pieces of literature they face a hardship. Instead of the mother being forced to eat in the kitchen she is forced to take a difficult stair. The normal and easy stair is a crystal one but the mothers is wooden with tacks, splinters and missing pieces. Even though the stair is rough she never decided to turn back and climb down, she pushed through even through the hardships and she even encourages her son to do the same. She knows too well that life isn't easy and that this wooden stair will teach him more about life than a crystal one would.
What's striking to me is that bother Hughes and the mother accept what they are given in order to create change and survive. Many would see this as weakness but it is really a strength because they are not content, they are surviving against all obstacles and odds. From this one can conclude that hardships help to mold you into a stronger version of yourself.
Chontel Fils
Professor Chenier
English 235
14 December 2016
Response 12
W.E.B DuBois decided that his main role be developing the talented tenth which was steering African Americans into immediate equality. No more did he believe that a trade should be learned, he believed that people needed to broaden their horizons in the realms of education. By doing this he believed that African Americans would gain equality and respect, but only by pushing for these rights now. Alain Locke was known as the figurehead for the New Negro. This was based upon new refinement of African Americans and was even seen as a more of a polished elitism and arrogance. Hughes during the Harlem Renaissance focused on literature and uplifting African Americans through his works, while also showing their beauty.
Apparent themes in these texts are a new outlook on being an African American, during this time blackness began to be embraced and revered as beautiful. Another recurring theme is dreams, at this point people are beginning to live out their dreams and go against what the past has told them.
Striking to me was the change in the writing, people were really beginning to embrace this idea and it is refreshing. The views of people began to change and I see this time period as a turning point in African American culture.
Chontel Fils
Professor Chenier
English 235
14 December 2016
Response 15
There is a sense of tragedy for Clare not only because of the abuse she faced from her father at a young age but also because the life she is living. She unlike Irene is passing for white entirely and all of the time. Even her husband does not know that she is African American and he does not think very highly of African Americans. So, her biggest sense of tragedy is that in the facade that she is forced into. She can never truly be herself because she is putting on a front and cannot afford to let it down.