Lena Younger, also referred to as Mama portrays the traditional, holy, black woman during the period of the civil rights movement. As the eldest character, Mama has been around for a larger portion of history, including slavery, which helps her to understand the plight of the African American population and how much progress has been made. As the matriarch of the family, she is regarded with reverence and the head of household, even though she feels obligated to remain in traditional female roles as homemaker for her family. By the end of the play, she grants Walter the permission to take over as the head of the household, “like you supposed to be” (Hansberry 1827). This enforces her traditional views, wanting to stand behind men rather than beside them. Like Mama, Ruth is a generation younger, yet still clings to more traditional ideals for the majority of her lifestyle. She works as a domestic housekeeper, which was one of the only jobs available for African American women at this time. As part of the more traditional generation, she is still a subordinate to her husband who overrules any decision she makes. For example, Travis asks his mother for 50 cents which his mother refuses "'cause we don't have it" (Hansberry 1775). Overhearing the exchange between Ruth and Travis, Walter intercedes on her parenting decision and gives him a whole dollar to prove that Ruth does not have the final say in any aspect of their relationship. This is the reason that she does not inform her husband immediately after she learns of her pregnancy; Ruth is considering the option of abortion, which is a very new-age subject to talk about at this time. She knows that if Walter learns about the pregnancy, he will go against any decision she makes inste... ... middle of paper ... ...ded Six-Bits,” by Zora Neale Hurston, Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, and the poetry of Lucille Clifton. Conservative roles and traditions, such as belonging to one’s husband became less prominent throughout time and were replaced by ideas such as loving one’s own body, not needed marriage to be complete, and talking about taboo topics such as abortion. African American literature has clearly shown the changing of women’s traditions and their importance in society. Works Cited Clifton, Lucille. “homage to my hips.” “wishes for my sons.” “move.” Gates. 2033-2035. Print. Gates Jr, Henry Louis, and Nellie McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd edition. New York, NY: Norton & Company, 2004. Print. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Gates. 1771-1830. Print. Hurston, Zora Neale. “The Gilded Six-Bits.” Gates. 1033-1047. Print.
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.
Foster, Frances Smith (1993). Written By Herself: Literary Production by African American Women, 1796-1892. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indian University Press.
In Deborah E. McDowell’s essay Black Female Sexuality in Passing she writes about the sexual repression of women seen in Nella Larsen‘s writings during the Harlem Renaissance, where black women had difficulty expressing their sexuality. In her essay, she writes about topics affecting the sexuality of women such as, religion, marriage, and male dominated societies. In Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif” there are examples of women who struggle to express their sexuality. The people in society judge women based off their appearance, and society holds back women from expressing themselves due to society wanting them to dress/act a certain way.
This paper examines the drastic differences in literary themes and styles of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, two African--American writers from the early 1900's. The portrayals of African-American women by each author are contrasted based on specific examples from their two most prominent novels, Native Son by Wright, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. With the intent to explain this divergence, the autobiographies of both authors (Black Boy and Dust Tracks on a Road) are also analyzed. Particular examples from the lives of each author are cited to demonstrate the contrasting lifestyles and experiences that created these disparities, drawing parallels between the authors’ lives and creative endeavors. It becomes apparent that Wright's traumatic experiences involving females and Hurston's identity as a strong, independent and successful Black artist contributed significantly to the ways in which they chose to depict African-American women and what goals they adhered to in reaching and touching a specific audience with the messages contained in their writing.
Hughes, Langston. The Negro mother, and other dramatic recitations. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. Print.
There are two ways to approach searching the manuscripts collection. You can use the site specific google search on the Manuscripts Department website, or you can search the library catalog and limit the results to the Manuscripts Department. I chose to use the search engine on the Manuscripts Department webpage because it includes brief snippets from the results that allowed you to quickly look at some description and rule out the results that are totally irrelevant to your search without having to open each one individually. As you look at search results, you will notice that the results have names like papers and collections. This is because archival and manuscript materials are organized by provenance rather than subject. What this means is that materials are grouped together the way they were received. All of an organization’s, individual’s, or family’s papers will be grouped together and as much as possible they will be kept in the original order that the creator stored them in. This means that most collections have materials related to a wide range of subjects and gathering all the material on a particular topic or person requires looking at multiple collections.
1. Walter - His dreams of owning a licquor store conflict religiously with Mama's value system. The conflict between Mama and Walter is amplified by the fact that it is Mama's apartment in which the family lives and Walter is unable/unwilling to make decisions because Mama is so domineering. Ironically, it is the one decision that she eventually lets Walter make which nearly destroys the family.
The first problem Ruth faces is how to support her family. Accused of not paying enough attention to her son, Ruth snaps at Mama shouting, “I feed my son, Lena!” (1880). This encounter with Mama displays an uptight, stressed side of Ruth, who balances a job, a son, her husband, and keeping the expected baby a secret. With so much preoccupying her mind, Ruth still tries to make money while feeling ill telling Mama, “I have to go. We need the money,” (1881). Money becomes a topic of great interest in the Younger family causing everyone to worry entirely too much about it. Ruth puts her family before herself caring about their conditions and the money they make over her own health. The next struggle Ruth encounters is deciding what option is best for her family and possible new baby. After finding out about the pregnancy, Ruth assures her family “she”, the doctor, confirmed everything is fine (1888). The slip up reveals that Ruth is considering getting an abortion. Furthermore, pushing her own conflict aside, Ruth still supports her family’s dreams, encouraging Mama to “open it”, meaning the check, for Mama’s own benefit and use toward a better lifestyle (1893). Ruth solves her own conflict by deciding to keep the baby and motivate her family in whatever way possible in the new challenges to
Gates, Henry Louis Jr., and Nellie Y. McKay, eds. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. 164-167.
One conflict that divides the family from seeing the dream is the clash between mama her other family members. Walter feels that mama is blocking his dream of owning a liquor store because of her religious background. Her value system is so strong and the fact that it is her apartment, amplifies this conflict. Due to her domineering personality, Walter is not able to partake in the liquor store business. Mama also shows conflict with Beneatha when their view on religion differs. As a result, mama uses her domineering ways to keep Beneatha down by telling her that she can't speak against God as long as she lives in her house. Lastly, mama finds out from Ruth that she might get an abortion. This is unacceptable and is also against her religious beliefs. Since mama is the matriarch of the family, she is very much in control of her children's lives. She is driven by a strong sense of pride and a strong faith in God.
Leonard, K. D. (2009). African American women poets and the power of the word. The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature, 168-187.
Larsen, Nella. “Quicksand.” The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed .Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2004. 1085-1167. Print
Coleman, James W. Faithful Vision: Treatments of the Sacred, Spiritual, and Supernatural in Twentieth-century African American Fiction. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2006. Print.
African American literature has evolved a tremendous amount over the centuries. The core themes have continued to grow with the African Americans and their fight for equality. A core theme throughout the works of African Americans has been freedom, and I believe this theme has evolved from wanting freedom, to getting freedom (yet still being segregated), to fighting for their freedom, to finally acting free and coming into their own. This progression would also be used to describe the evolution of the theme of equality as well. The African Americans wanted their equality, they fought for it, and soon began to write of themselves as true equals. These themes of freedom and equality, whether it be of African Americans in general, or even African
Margolies, Edward. “History as Blues: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” Native Sons: A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century Negro American Authors. J.B. Lippincott Company, 1968. 127-148. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. Vol. 54. Detroit: Gale, 1989. 115-119. Print.