The Bluest Eye: Migration
Morrison depicts a large part of African American culture when she places the characters in an urban area. The change of environment from the north to the south plays a key role in the loss of communal ties. African Americans are extremely affected given that they are displaced and are attempting to conform to northern cultural standards. The emphasis in the north is on material wealth and beauty, whereas the south is more family oriented.
The migration may have displaced many people, however it does provide job opportunities as well as economic gain. Pauline and Cholly were migrants from small rural towns. Upon getting married, Cholly suggested a move "`way up north. . .where steel mills were begging for workers" (92). The surge of industrial workers created a strong working class, allowing African Americans to purchase homes. The open job market made owning property attainable for many African Americans. New wages and job opportunities enhanced the quality of living for the new residents. Purchasing power took on significance in the African American home, and love is replaced with material items.
Love is replaced with gift giving, and the gifts must conform to white ideals. Claudia experiences this phenomenon at Christmas when she receives a "big blue eyed baby doll" (19). Claudia reflects on how she felt about the doll when stating, "I had only one desire: to dismember it. To see what it was made of to discover the dearness, to find the beauty" (20). In Susan Willis' critical essay "I Shop Therefore I Am" she discusses the reasoning behind Claudia's anger towards the doll. Upon receiving the doll, Claudia's main purpose is to discover the rootedness of white domination. The onl...
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...ass citizens in white America, given that they were brought over as slaves.
The enslavement of African Americans by whites severed any cultural ties and dehumanized the slaves. Masters convinced African Americans that they were incapable of culture in order to create a paternal relationship. The loss of identity forced the slaves to act as their masters deemed appropriate. African Americans' migration to the north parralled this concept-they must conform to the standards of white culture that they are trained to obey. Identifying with their own culture in a new environment is difficult, because conformity is essential to fit into white society. The migration from the south to the north changed African American values from community to commodity, destroying cultural ties.
Works Cited:
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1993.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Georgia. On this day, a legend arrived. Jackie was raised by his mother, and his mother alone. His father left before Jackie was born, and he didn’t remember one thing about him. Jackie had many siblings, brothers and sisters. Jackie had an older brother named Matthew, who was also very athletic. Jackie’s mother tried the best she could to raise these boys right, and teach them that no matter what the whites called them...they were special.
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I want to start with the history of slavery in America. For most African Americans, the journey America began with African ancestors that were kidnapped and forced into slavery. In America, this event was first recorded in 1619. The first documented African slaves that were brought to America were through Jamestown, Virginia. This is historically considered as the Colonial America. In Colonial America, African slaves were held as indentured servants. At this time, the African slaves were released from slavery after a certain number of years of being held in captivity. This period lasted until 1776, when history records the beginning of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage showed the increased of African slaves were bought into America. The increase demand for slaves was because of the increased production of cotton in the south. So, plantation owners demanded more African slaves for purchas...
Do you know who Babe Ruth is? Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players that ever lived. After doing some research on him, I learned lots about his baseball career, his life growing up, and much more.
should know Babe Ruth is for the most important reason, that being the way he
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