Birdie Quotes And Analysis

115 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racism in literature

Since Birdie deeply cares about what her crush, Nicholas, thinks of her, she is easily swayed by his opinions. As the novel progresses, the pair gradually grows out of their platonic relationship into a romantic one. When Birdie really starts to fall for him, she is taken back by one of his racist remarks. “Shit, maybe you could be colored in the right light. Better stay out of the sun”(204). This was one of the first instances Birdie realizes that her black identity is something she is ashamed of, therefore sending her deeper into her “Jesse Goldman.” One of Birdie’s best friends, Mona, also pushes her farther down the path of hiding her true identity.

Show More
Related

  • Character Development in Chapter Two of Their Eyes Were Watching God

    2058 Words  | 5 Pages

    "And, Janie, maybe it wasn't much, but Ah done de best Ah kin by you. Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn't have to stay in de white folks' yard and tuck yo' head befo' other chillun at school. Dat was all right when you was little. But when you got big enough to understand things, Ah wanted you to look upon yo'self. Ah don't want yo' feathers always crumpled by folks throwin' up things in yo' face. And ah can't die easy thinkin' maybe de menfolks white or black is makin' a spit cup outa you: Have some sympathy fuh me. Put down easy, Janie, Ah'm a cracked plate."  Last Paragraph in Chapter 2

    Read More

  • Allusions In The House Of Mirth

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fancy wardrobes, extravagant parties, and endless gossip makes up much of their lives. Even though she doesn’t have an abundance of money, Lily manages to keep pace with her friends. When Bertha lies about her and spreads the untrue news that she had had an affair with George, Lily’s life changes dramatically. She finds it hard to get a job, and she begins running out of money. One of her old friends, Mrs. Fisher, eventually apologizes for being so rude after the cruise and agrees to help her to find a way to make a living. Lily works with one of Mrs. Fisher’s friends for a while, but then Bertha befriends Lily’s employer and causes Lily to quit her job. Lily makes one final attempt at getting job with a woman named Mrs. Hatch. That arrangement goes well until Lily unknowingly gets involved in a scandal of sorts and is forced to quit that job, too. Lily’s last option is to join the working class of New York. She begins working as a hat maker but is unable to keep her job due to her lack of

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Wizard Of Oz And The Great Gatsby

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    “ Its attitude is one of disillusionment and detachment; Fitzgerald is still able to evoke the glitter of the 1920s but he is no longer dazzled by it; he sees its underlying emptiness and impoverishment” (Trendell 23)The story is narrated from the point of view of Nick, one of Gatsby’s friends. The problematic and hopeless romantic, Gatsby, sets out to fulfill his dream in acquiring Daisy, his lifelong love, through his many tactics and ideas. Gatsby is introduced extending his arms mysteriously toward a green light in the direction of the water. Later, Gatsby is shown to be the host of many parties for the rich and Nick is invited to one of these parties where Gatsby and Nick meet. When Gatsby later confesses his love for Daisy he explains she was a loved one who was separated from him and hopes to get her again explained when he says, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 56). There are several obstacles that Gatsby must overcome and the biggest one that is Daisy’s current fiancé but that still does not get in the way of him trying to recover Daisy’s old feelings. His attempts are made through money and wealth because he tries to buy her love back instead of letting it happen naturally.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Analysis

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Janie’s character undergoes a major change after Joe’s death. She has freedom. While the town goes to watch a ball game Janie meets Tea Cake. Tea Cake teaches Janie how to play checkers, hunt, and fish. That made Janie happy. “Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play. That was even nice. She looked him over and got little thrills from every one of his good points” (Hurston 96). Tea Cake gave her the comfort of feeling wanted. Janie realizes Tea Cake’s difference from her prior relationships because he wants her to become happy and cares about what she likes to do. Janie tells Pheoby about moving away with Tea Cake and Pheoby tells her that people disapprove of the way she behaves right after the death of her husband. Janie says she controls her life and it has become time for her to live it her way. “Dis ain’t no business proposition, and no race after property and titles. Dis is uh love game. Ah done lived Grandma’s way, now Ah means tuh live mine” (Hurston 114). Janie becomes stronger as she dates Tea Cake because she no longer does for everyone else. Janie and Tea Cake decided to move to the Everglades, the muck. One afternoon, a hurricane came. The hurricane symbolizes disaster and another change in Janie’s life. “Capricious but impersonal, it is a concrete example of the destructive power found in nature. Janie, Tea Cake, and their friends can only look on in terror as the hurricane destroys the

    Read More

  • Janie's Self-Discovery

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Janie’s first discovery about herself comes when she is a child. She is around the age of six when she realizes that she is colored. Janie’s confusion about her race is based on the reasoning that all her peers and the kids she grows up with are white. Janie and her Nanny live in the backyard of the white people that her Nanny works for. When Janie does not recognize herself on the picture that is taken by a photographer, the others find it funny and laughs, leaving Janie feeling humiliated. This racial discovery is not “social prejudice or personal meanness but affection” (Cooke 140). Janie is often teased at school because she lives with the white people and dresses better than the other colored kids. Even though the kids that tease her were all colored, this begins Janie’s experience to racial discrimination.

    Read More

  • Danzy Senna's Caucasia

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Caucasia, by Danzy Senna, Birdie spends time in several different racial contexts and, in each one, adjusts the racial definition of herself. Through this process, she discovers much about the conception of race in contemporary American society and achieves the nuanced understanding that race, while merely a construction, is still (operationally) real. This is contrasted by the more dangerous, oversimplified understanding of race – that races are biological rivals, inherently different and unable to coexist without some sort of power structure – embodied by the character of Redbone, who is also a symbol of inauthenticity. This latter aspect of Redbone shows the emptiness inherent in the views he holds about race, an important reason for his inclusion in the novel.

    Read More

  • Gloria Naylor's Mama Day

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    In New York, however, Cocoa finds herself amongst a group of people who seem distant and interested in only themselves. Stemming from many different backgrounds, the people of New York are always in a rush and "moving, moving, moving ---and to where?" (19). No one knows for sure. Just like the subways, racism in New York moved underground, and Cocoa experiences it as she desperately searches for a job. After having lived in New York for seven years, Cocoa still has not found a suitable mate. Only when she meets George does she start believing again in the goodness and sincerity possessed by some. George is t...

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    This quote demonstrates the quick judgements that the gossiping ladies on the porch have for Janie. They are judging her for running off with a no-name man as well as they way she is dressed when she trudges into town. There are many judgements expressed in this book, but they are not always bad. For instance, Janie describes a jaunty fellow who is walking into town as “a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these pa...

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Reflection

    1815 Words  | 4 Pages

    She respectfully mourns the death of Jody, but after a period of time she finds herself wearing what she wants, and doing whatever she has ever wanted to do. She burns the hair rags she was forced to wear, and it gives her power to feel as if she can do anything she desires. Jody has left her the house, store, and his money. She starts living like she has always wanted to, and unexpectedly she meets someone who completely changes her mind about being alone. Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods is Janie’s true love. Tea Cake is a man who finds Janie intelligent, and allows her to join in on activities she was prohibited from with Jody.. “He set it (the checkers) up and began to show her and she found herself glowing inside. Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play. That was even nice. She looked him over and got little thrills from one of his good points. Those full, lazy eyes with the lashes curling sharply away like drawn scimitars,” (Hurston 95). Janie loves Tea Cake’s easygoing attitude and spontaneous lifestyle, but is still leery about him, and cannot decide if she wants to be with him due to an age gap between the two. Her relationship with Tea Cake was the most beneficial, because he saw her as his equal and never felt as if she was below him. Janie works in the Everglades with Tea Cake in the fields. She enjoys this labor for the fact

    Read More

  • Color Symbolism in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    2807 Words  | 6 Pages

    ... in" (8). Fitzgerald attempts to describe her in a perfect fashion in this scene which is the reason for Nick’s comment. Throughout the story Fitzgerald portrays Nick as a person that often judges other people, and by showing his instant praise towards Jordan he certainly proves that she could be an honest and innocent person, which is why Fitzgerald has her wearing white in this scene, even though the reader can later find out that that is not exactly the truth.

    Read More

  • Great Gatsbys Report

    3409 Words  | 7 Pages

    Tom tries to interest the others in a racist book called The Rise of the Colored Empires, by a man named Goddard. Daisy teases Tom about the book, but is interrupted when Tom leaves the room to take a phone call. Daisy follows him, and Jordan tells Nick that the call is from Tom's lover in New York.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching Janie

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Janie first sees Jody when she is in the yard of the home she shared with Logan. When she figures out that she can’t achieve love just because she married someone for financial protection as her nanny wished she tries to run away to a person who promises her a life of success and importance. She first notices how he was a, “stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts”(27). What type of clothes he wore and the promise to make a successful future of being important and having a voice in a new place attracted Janie to Jody. When Janie met Tea Cake she was single and looking for love rather than protection. After realizing that her nanny was wrong and that she didn’t want her future to be about just sitting and not working. He was not one who was seen as being able to protect her financially but rather she was attracted to his looks. She thought, “he looked too young for her. Must be around twenty-five and here she was around forty”(100). This was the first relationship with a younger guy but al...

    Read More

  • Marian Wright Edelman Quote Analysis

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Marian Wright Edelman quote can be used to explain my own ideals and views, as I believe that helping people and doing something with your life in which others benefit is very important. Tahoma encourages people to do community service during their time at the high school and makes it required for graduation, giving students many options of things they can do to complete their hours. Using my education and the classes I have been able to take have helped me decide what my future plans are and allowed me to make goals to help myself in the future both further myself and others.

    Read More

  • Racism Exposed in Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just like the caged bird, the narrator feels caged and trapped. The narrator is trapped within a certain social class and the way white society expects him to behave, and how he should behave to his fellow blacks. Trueblood receives money and kindness from white people after they hear his story of him raping his own daughter because of a dream. Though the black community ridiculed him, the whites were interested in the story and showed him some sort of praise. Wanting the blacks to behave more animalistic and ignorant rather than “rational” like themselves.

    Read More

  • Themes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main idea’s that Fitzgerald showed was the innocence of a character and their lose of innocence. We start to see the innocence in the character’s at the begin of the book and as the book goes on it starts to evolve into more experienced and corrupted characters. Daisy was one of the biggest changes in this way though out the book. As the book begins Daisy’s home is introduced with the colour white, for example on Daisy’s house even the windows are painted white. "The windows were ajar and gleaming white" (p. 7). Then as soon as Nick meet Daisy and Jordan the colour white is introduced again, "They were both in white" (p. 7). Daisy later describes her childhood as “white girlhood” this shows us that white represents the innocence because childhood is the most innocent time in someone’s life. Although by the end of the book Daisy has lost both her innocence and her pure white colour, she is now she “was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes. All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the Beale Street Blues while a hun...

    Read More

More about Birdie Quotes And Analysis

Open Document