Start of African American Lit. Posts

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Free Will in The Plague

Image
  The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo (c. 1508-1512) There have been many different responses to the plague. Some townspeople have chosen to essentially ignore it and wait for it to pass, some have decided to help fight the plague, and some have set their houses on fire. The way different characters have reacted reveal a lot about their worldviews. In Paneloux’s case, he has decided to give sermons about the plague, stating that the plague is part of God’s unwavering plan. Meanwhile Tarrou has set out to help the health committees control the spread of the plague, showing that he believes human efforts can save lives. I find Paneloux’s and Tarrou’s viewpoints particularly interesting, as they seem polarizing, and get into the question of whether the people on The Plague have free will. As Paneloux says in his sermons, he firmly believes that the plague is God’s will and that God’s will must be accepted in its entirety or fought in its entirety—there cannot be any middle ground. ...
Read more

Representation of Black Women in Native Son

Image
Portrait of a Young Woman - artist unknown, late 18th century                The blind spot in Native Son most discussed in class was that of the book’s representation of Bessie and black women as a whole, and whether this representation is effective in its depiction of the experiences of black women. To make a blanket statement, none of the women in Native Son are developed enough as characters to be depicted as full, well-rounded people. However, Bessie gets the brunt of this flat representation as she is objectified, dehumanized, and devalued by Bigger throughout the book, and then is literally treated as an object as her body is brought out as evidence in court for the murder of a white woman. I think it can be argued that there are reasons for this lacking depiction of Bessie, but I do not think that this novel is at all an effective representation of what it is like to be a black woman.        ...
Read more

Clarissa's Opinion on Mental Health Professionals

Image
    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...
Read more