Start of African American Lit. Posts

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

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Free Will in The Plague

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  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. ...
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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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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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