Start of African American Lit. Posts

 From this point on all blog posts are related to African American Lit.

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Sethe, Beloved, and Grief

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  Portrait of Two Women  by Lo ïs Mailou Jones (c. 1950) Throughout Beloved , important information is kept ambiguous to the reader until methodically revealed, gradually creating a full picture of each of the characters’ lives and experiences (at least ones important to the story)—that is, except for in the case of Beloved. Beloved’s reemergence into the world and her final departure are both largely left to the imagination of the reader. So is the meaning of Beloved’s reappearance in Sethe’s and Denver’s lives, which is the subject of this blog post. I certainly don’t think that there is a single definitive reason for Beloved’s return, but wondering about possible purposes of her character lead me to think about the relation between Beloved and Sethe’s grief for her.             Sethe acts completely unapologetic about killing Beloved in order to save her from going back to Sweet Home. Even when faced with her neighbor...
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Clarissa's Opinion on Mental Health Professionals

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    The Doctor's Visit by Jan Steen                  Throughout Mrs. Dalloway , the so-called mental health professionals of the time are portrayed in a very negative light. Septimus abhors Dr. Holmes, referring to him as “Human Nature” which Septimus views as inherently evil. Dr. Holmes, despite his assumption that he knows best, does nothing to help Septimus and instead further pushes him over the edge. Sir William Bradshaw, though more helpful than Holmes considering he actually believes Septimus is mentally ill, also ultimately makes matters worse by attempting to force Septimus to live away from Lucrezia. Woolf makes it explicit that the added stress of these looming doctors that ignore the feelings of their patient is part of what drives Septimus to commit suicide, suggesting a deep contempt of the doctors Woolf encountered in her own life.             After finishi...
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Fighting Invisibilty?

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Equestrian Portrait of the Count Duke Olivares  by Kehinde Wiley (2005) Having now finished Invisible Man , I find that there is an aspect of the novel that I am conflicted about and have been since the prologue: the narrator’s acceptance of his invisibility. In the prologue, when the narrator is first introducing the concept of invisibility, he says, “I am not complaining, not am I protesting either. It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearing on the nerves” (3). I find this passage interesting because the narrator is explicit about the hardships of being invisible (and then proceeds to write a whole book about them), but he also seems rather accepting of his invisibility. On one hand, I think it would be impossible for the narrator to be “visible.” His invisibility is completely out of his control and has entirely to do with the fact that he is a black man living in a racist society. Additionally, before discovering his invisibility, the ...
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