Jean Toomer was bi-racial, sometimes being perceived as white and sometimes black. His race was a catalyst for his writings. Toomer wrote prose and poetry reflecting his ideas about race and gender, not wanting either to be an issue in the future. His writings depict people of all races facing struggles, some gender struggles and some racial struggles. In “Becky” and in “Blood Burning Moon,” Toomer centers around two females. During the time period of his writings and what is still somewhat evident today, gender decides the role a person plays in society. As a female, one was always inferior to the male, no matter what the race. Therefore, these two works show how being a female affects a woman’s treatment in life; she loses some control of her destiny, which is ultimately decided by a male or a group of males.
“Becky” centers on a white female who has two black sons. She is forced to leave the town and live on the outskirts because interracial relationships are not acceptable to the other citizens. As a female, Becky is unable to deny maternity to the two boys, but the man who impregnated her has no ties to the children and could have denied paternity of the two boys. Becky avoids the criticism from the townspeople by living in her house “ground islandized between the road and the railroad track.” No one ever sees her. She has no contact with the townspeople, but those who care for her well-being bring her food and leave it outside of her house, anonymously.
Louisa, in “Blood Burning Moon,” is a black female who is loved by two men, one white man and one black man. She works for a white family, the youngest son being Bob Stone. He is in love with Louisa because of her beauty and charisma. He believes that be...
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...male characters powerless in a society of males. Louisa is forced to live with two males who love her and is unable to choose between either. Becky is obligated to raise two sons with neither support from the community nor help from their father. The two women are treated as simple objects or at least not characterized as real people with feelings and desires in their lives.
Gender inequality is a common theme for Toomer. He wishes gender to be unimportant in daily situations; everyone should be treated equally and no one should be forced to live a life separate from others because of his or her gender. Louisa and Becky are both forced to live a life with no opportunity for equality and no chance to for happiness with another person, because they are females.
Works Cited
Toomer, Jean. “Bood-Burning Moon.” Cane. New York: Livericht, 2010. 39-49. Print.
Racial inequality was a big thing back in the day, as the blacks were oppressed, discriminated and killed. The blacks did not get fair treatment as the whites, they were always been looked down, mocked, and terrified. But Moody knew there’s still an opportunity to change the institution through Civil Rights Movement. As she matured Anne Moody come to a conclusion that race was created as something to separate people, and there were a lot of common between a white person and a black person. Moody knew sexual orientation was very important back in the 1950s, there was little what women can do or allowed to do in the society. For example, when Moody was ridiculed by her activist fellas in Civil Rights Movement. Women indeed played an important role in Moody’s life, because they helped forming her personality development and growth. The first most important woman in Moody’s life would be her mother, Toosweet Davis. Toosweet represent the older rural African American women generation, whom was too terrified to stand up for their rights. She was portrayed as a good mother to Moody. She struggled to make ends meet, yet she did everything she could to provide shelter and food to her children. Toosweet has encouraged Moody to pursue education. However, she did not want Moody to go to college because of the fear of her daughter joining the Civil Rights Movement and getting killed. The second important woman to Moody would be Mrs. Burke, She is the white woman Moody worked for. Mrs. Burke is a fine example of racist white people, arguably the most racist, destructive, and disgusting individual. In the story, Mrs. Burke hold grudge and hatred against all African American. Although she got some respects for Moody, State by the Narrator: “You see, Essie, I wouldn’t mind Wayne going to school with you. But all Negroes aren’t like you and your
James Braddock took his father’s lessons to heart when he practiced fighting in the old schoolyard before he reached his teenage years. He practiced for several years to be an amateur fighter. When Braddock first started boxing he avoided professional competitions for two years. Instead, they froze the title, which means Braddock earned money touring the country giving public appearances and boxing exhibitions. In 1926, he entered the professional boxing circuit in the light heavyweight division. Braddock started out well, knocking out opponent after opponent in the first few rounds.
Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extreme fairly quickly. This demand is more commonly attributed by the men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where Stella is constantly being pushed around and being abused by her drunken husband Stanley, and also in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”, where the female narrator is claimed unfit by her husband as she suffers from a sort of depression, and is generally looked down on for other reasons.
The primary character in this story is the Grandmother whose epiphany at the end of the story gives the religious and moral push that is underlying the actual text. O'Conner leaves the Grandmother's character unnamed; by doing this and infusing cantankerous dialogue, O'Connor manages to provide the story with wit and sketch a both sad and funny portrait of the Grandmother. The Grandmother's character is one that is both frustrating to the reader and familiar at the same time--a character that the reader can feel superior, especially at the beginning of the story. The Grandmother is self-centered, demanding, and haughty--it is indeed her domineering demeanor that ultimately causes the death of her family.
...c plot" limits and ignores the non-traditional female experience which is just as important to analyze. The Nan Princes, Lena Lingards and Tiny Solderalls of the fictional world deserve and demand critical attention not for what they don't do (the dishes) but for what they are-- working women.
...hetypes of these primary characters, both of these novels make a parallel statement on feminism. The expectations of both themselves and society greatly determine the way that these women function in their families and in other relationships. Looking at the time periods in which these novels were written and take place, it is clear that these gender roles greatly influence whether a female character displays independence or dependence. From a contemporary viewpoint, readers can see how these women either fit or push the boundaries of these expected gender roles.
However, well beneath the surface of the plotline, the viewer can also find himself or herself looking at a struggle for survival that is greatly affected by the roles of genders. Collins asks many questions regarding this; such as “If young girls do not see themselves reflected in media, will this diminish their sense of importance and self-esteem? Will boys conclude that women and girls are unimportant, as well? Will girls lack role models? Will adult women feel disenfranchised? Does the under-representation of women constrict societal perspectives and information in important ways?” (Collins). If Becky had not followed the standard gender role that the frame of time presented itself, she may have seen herself surviving the endeavor, despite almost no chance of her doing so. It is one of those things that today’s society may be glad to have moved past, because there is no reason for anyone to lose their life because they rely so heavily on the opposite
Weigert, K. (1998). Academic Service Learning: Its meaning and relevance. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 73, 3-1
In the novel “Sula”, Toni Morrison presents a very different view on gender in the black community between 1919 and 1965. Written in 1973 after the Civil Rights movement and during the feminist movement, Morison breaks down the traditional gender barriers from as early as 1919, proving that black females were “women” much sooner than their white “lady” counterparts. Morrison depicts matriarchal homes where the women are the dominant figures who even go as far as to emasculate their male opposites. All the women are presented as being independent due to being either abandoned by their husbands or refusing to conform to the convention of marriage. The relationship between Nel and Sula goes far beyond the bounds of a normal relationship. They are doubles or ‘doppelgangers’ whose bonds are severed when Nel conforms to the expectations of the community and marries Jude. Both are able to express the desires or dreams of the other and Sula escapes from Medallion, just as Nel wished when she was a child.
important issues, gain new perspectives and provides learning experiences for volunteers as well as individuals from underserved groups. Because of the numerous benefits, college students should enroll in the Service Learning courses or service learning based programs. These programs allows students to move away from the dualism versus unity point of view and focus on reciprocity and provides the skills necessary to approach future service experiences with a service learning perspective.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “Sweat,” Hurston uses the characters Janie Crawford and Delia Jones to symbolize African-American women as the mules of the world and their only alternative were through their words, in order to illustrate the conditions women suffered and the actions they had to take to maintain or establish their self-esteem.
We can all agree, educators and future educators alike, that teaching students is so much more than just presenting information to them. There is more to learning than only speaking. We’ve all had those teachers who were brilliant in their subject area, but not brilliant in making the students know the information. These are not true teachers; they are only smart. They teach in one way only, and doesn’t believe in individualized instruction, even though we all know that “low-income students and students of color tend to feel less “connected” to their schools than affluent and Anglo students, and that older students feel less connected than younger ones” (Schaps). As a future educator, sometimes I fear that I will become like one of these teachers, and I want to make sure that each of my students enjoy coming in class to learn, and is able to apply what they’ve learned to their unique lives. So for this inquiry project, I’ve decided to focus on classroom community. I believe that every great teacher establishes this concept in his/her classroom; without this concept, learning cannot happen. In this paper, I will define classroom community, discuss different ways to implement it in every classroom, and show the results of making an effort to keep it in your classroom.
There are two real conflicts in Jean Toomer's "Blood-Burning Moon." The first is racial, which can be referenced in the very first sentence, and the second is a gender conflict, that subtly unfolds with the main characters' development. In this essay, I will show how Toomer uses vivid descriptions and comparisons of nature to establish these conflicts, and also to offer an explanation of their origin. He writes to argue that these roles, like the earth, are natural and therefore irrefutable. A close reading of the opening paragraph will reveal the sharp contrast between white and black, as it is described in a metaphor of wood and stone.
Women in the novel are accurately portrayed as they were in the 1920’s. Lewis presents two different scenarios in the novel, but both of these cases can follow the same mannerisms. First, Lewis depicts the loving housewife. Myra, Babbitt’s wife, continually comforts Babbitt throughout the whole novel. Myra even accepts the blame when Babbitt decides to cheat on her. Women are depicted throughout the novel as inferior when...
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