Saturday, May 23, 2020

You Can t Write An Honest Novel About Race - 1492 Words

Chimamanda Adichie writes in her 2013 novel Americanah: â€Å"You can’t write an honest novel about race in this country. If you write about how people are really affected by race, it’ll be too obvious† (335). Americanah, however, is a novel full of social commentary on race and how it affects the lives of black immigrants, especially female immigrants. Adichie is aware of how race and gender work alongside each other and shape someone’s experience. The main protagonist of the story, Ifemelu constantly points this out. Since Americanah is a relatively new novel, hardly any academic articles have been written about it. The article â€Å"Fictional Representations of Contemporary Diasporas: The Case of the Invisible Diasporic Women of Chimamanda†¦show more content†¦Erika Swarts Gray gives another definition to African American literature: â€Å"literature that is written by African American writers or includes African American characters that are culturally specific†. She further argues in her article that one of the most important characteristics of African American literature is that it makes black characters visible and allows black readers to connect to the main characters. She writes that students feel that literature that is read in the classroom features too few African American characters, or that it presents the history of slavery â€Å"without including any ‘nonslavery’ or modern representations† (476). Chimamanda Adichie also noticed the lack of black characters in modern literature when she was little. She wrote stories based on the novels that she was reading, and she says: â€Å"All my characters were white and had blue eyes and played in the snow and ate apples and had dogs called Socks† (â€Å"African ‘Authenticity’ and the Biafran Experience† 42). When she read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, she first encountered black characters, characters with whom she could identify: â€Å"Here were characters who had Igbo names and ate yams and inhabited a world similar to mine. Okonkwo and Ezinma and Ikemefuna taught me that my world was worthy of literature, that books could also have people like me in them†Show MoreRelatedthe book of negroes1581 Words   |  7 PagesBook Reflection : The Book Of Negroes It s 1802 and Aminata Diallo, now an old woman, sits down to write her life story at the request of the Abolitionists in London. Abducted from her village in West Africa at the age of eleven and marched in a coffle (a string of slaves) for three months before reaching the coast, Aminata survives the voyage to America and ends up sold to an indigo plantation owner in South Carolina. She describes herself as lucky, because compared to the tragic circumstancesRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath And The Catcher Of The Rye1515 Words   |  7 Pagesthree major parts- their personality, the cultures that mold their personality, and their dreams. These three components are analyzed within the novels, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. These themes contribute to the evolution and demolition of characters, leading to events that create thrill within the two. In the novel, The Bell Jar, the prime character, Esther Greenwood, struggles to handle life in her own skin. She feels trapped in a glass bell jar with noRead MoreUncle Tom s Cabin, By Harriet Beecher Stowe1354 Words   |  6 Pagesstill one of the most discussed, criticized, and analyzed novels of its time. 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I didn t want anything I said or did that night to be associated with me and my real name and coming from Boston† (Plath 11)Read MoreUnderstanding Steinbeck, His Work, And The Criticism. Many1693 Words   |  7 Pagestalking about. He made it possible for the reader to sink deeply into the story and feel as though they are walking right alongside the characters. His description of setting and appropriate relation to the period in time and those living it aided in the way his writing was perceived. Steinbeck is especially talented with this element of writing in that he lived and worked with working class Americans during the great depression. He lived and breathed similar hardships as those that he writes aboutRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1508 W ords   |  7 Pagesproduced† ( Telgen 1.) In the novel the central character, Huck, realizes the wrongs of racisms, even though he was brought up with strong racists’ values. He meets a fellow slave named, Jim, who opened his eyes and change his views on racism. As Huck and Jim journey together, the portrayal of Jim changes because Huck matures and grows. Jim becomes the friend, guide, and father-figure that Huck has lacked. Mark Twain’s focus on slavery in the Antebellum period of his novel while living in a post-CivilRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2631 Words   |  11 Pages Edward Fawcett Professor Hood English 101 31 May 2016 The Great Gatsby Memorial The Great Gatsby is considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time. The majority of high school students read The Great Gatsby during their junior or senior years, and some schools even have the students watch the movie in class. The novel is overall very useful for critical analysis and reflection assignments. A four word summary of the book could describe it as a huge love circle, but that’s really a poorRead MoreThe Importance Of Inequality, And The Way We View Others2576 Words   |  11 Pagesare to be equal, when at the time all men were not created equal? This is only one example of the many times throughout history where people showed a lack of fairness or justice. Such is the case in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. In this iconic novel, Lee symbolizes the importance of inequality, and the way we view others. The book takes place in Maycomb County, a sleepy town in southern Alabama during the 1930s when poverty and unemployment were widespread due to the Great Depression. Harper Lee’sRead MoreFoster - Twentieth Century Hero Essay2782 Words   |  12 Pages Samuel Selvons second novel An Island Is a World (1955) introduces the readers to the middle-class protagonist, Foster. As the narrative unfolds, Foster is exposed as an introspective cogitating protagonist whose actions do not positively correlate with his thought processes. He can be seen as, a character whose attractiveness or interest consists of the inability to perform deeds of bravery, courage or generosity. Consequently, it can be said that Foster possesses traits of the common unheroicRead MoreQuestions On English Language Learner5180 Words   |  21 Pagesnot know how to critically think or even write properly using academic language. The problem that arises is there are students that are already behind, what happens to them now that we are integrating these higher level standards? Research Question Purpose for the Study Many children already have trouble reading and writing at their appropriate grade level standards. English Language Learners are already at a disadvantage when learning to read and write. In fourth grade, according to the CCSS,

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