Tradition plays a key role in the lives of families and cultures across the world. In “Black Cake,” by Charmaine Wilkerson, the Bennett family demonstrates a strong tradition that comes from their heritage, that is rooted in growing up on the Islands and later as immigrants. Throughout time and across all cultures there is a constant struggle that each generation faces with respect to their families’ traditions and the encroachment of modern life because as times change people start to do things differently, risking the disappearance of a rich legacy. Throughout the novel, Benny seems to reject the path and values that her parents set out for her, in order to find her own way, causing tension between her and her family on several occasions. …show more content…
Other decisions that Benny made, from her choice of a job, to a girlfriend, to where she lived, seemed to continue to disappoint her family, where she was not even comfortable being seen at her own father’s funeral. Byron, being very upset with how she tore the family apart, thinks, “He needs to remember that this is not his baby sister anymore. This is a woman he hasn’t seen in eight years, who didn’t come to their own father’s funeral, who wasn’t there for their mother’s seventieth birthday, and with whom he’s exchanged only a handful of words all that time” (79). By referring to Benny as “not his baby sister” and “women” Byron demonstrates his frustration with Benny as he can't even allow himself to believe he is related to this person. Byron and Benny used to be very close, but when Benny’s life choices went against the traditional values of the Bennett family, the strain ended up causing a huge rift. Benny chose a more modern way of thinking, favoring entrepreneurship over education, more flexibility around who she dated, and demonstrating a more laid back and less rooted lifestyle that did not align with her parents values and …show more content…
As Byron and Benny finally reconnected at their mother’s funeral, Benny decided to go back to her childhood home where she proceeded to have many flashbacks. When she walked into the kitchen, “she leans her forehead against the upper door of the fridge. This is your heritage, her mother used to say when they were making black cake, and Benny thought she knew what her mother meant. But she sees now that she didn’t know the half of it” (139). In noting that she “doesn’t know the half of it” Benny is coming to understand the importance of her heritage. The act of baking a black cake is more than just the ingredients for the Bennett family, it is the cake that Pearl made for Elly when she was young and lived on the Islands. It is the traditional cake that her people ate so many years back and is intertwined with their shared culture and identity. Benny is beginning to realize she didn’t really know her heritage and knew herself fully. After realizing this, Benny looks for other ways to help her reconnect with her family’s traditions like when, “Marble, Byron, and Benny take what’s left of their mother’s last black cake, crumble it, and let it fall into the water”
Jeannette Walls has lived a life that many of us probably never will, the life of a migrant. The majority of her developmental years were spent moving to new places, sometimes just picking up and skipping town overnight. Frugality was simply a way of life for the Walls. Their homes were not always in perfect condition but they continued with their lives. With a brazen alcoholic and chain-smoker of a father and a mother who is narcissistic and wishes her children were not born so that she could have been a successful artist, Jeannette did a better job of raising herself semi-autonomously than her parents did if they had tried. One thing that did not change through all that time was the love she had for her mother, father, brother and sisters. The message that I received from reading this memoir is that family has a strong bond that will stay strong in the face of adversity.
Jennifer Egan’s use of structural classifications about Charlie’s role within her family displays the reason for Charlie’s
Historically, the job of women in society is to care for the husband, the home, and the children. As a homemaker, it has been up to the woman to support the husband and care for the house; as a mother, the role was to care for the children and pass along cultural traditions and values to the children. These roles are no different in the African-American community, except for the fact that they are magnified to even larger proportions. The image of the mother in African-American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; quite often the mother is the shaping and driving force of African-American children. This is reflected in the literature of the African-American as a special bond of love and loyalty to the mother figure. Just as the role of motherhood in African-American culture is magnified and elevated, so is the role of the wife. The literature reflects this by showing the African-American man struggling to make a living for himself and his family with his wife either being emotionally or physically submissive. Understanding the role of women in the African-American community starts by examining the roles of women in African-American literature. Because literature is a reflection of the community from which it comes, the portrayal of women in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) is consistent with the roles mentioned above.
Benny is a character who is constantly looking after his mentally ill sister, Joon. Benny was shown as a guy that lived a boring, uneventful life. He never did anything out of the ordinary or odd. Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance
Must race confine us and define us?’ The story The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, written by Heidi W. Durrow, revolves around the protagonist Rachel, who has bi-racial parents. After her mother and two siblings plunge to their deaths from a Chicago building, young Rachel Morse survives and is sent to Portland. Furthermore, part of her story is learning about how she conform into the world while dealing with her ethnicity. Additionally, when Rachel’s moves in with her grandmother, she is faced with racial expectations at home and at school.
Family dynamics present interesting revelations, especially regarding the relationship between parents and children. While most families undoubtedly encounter dysfunction at some point throughout life, immigrant families seemingly experience such stress continually. A handful of short stories, including “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, “Who’s irish” by Gish Jen, and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, demonstrate how strained relations erupt in immigrant families. Familial tension noticeably arises because of the immigrant parents’ inability to fully adjust to the American way of life. Further, immigrant parents adhere to strict expectations in an attempt to uphold the family’s conservative heritage. Finally, immigrant parents typically
Her protagonists, two biracial childhood friends, Irene Hadfield, and Clare Kendry, each produce contrasting experiences about what it means to be a Black woman who can “Pass” as white due to their light skin, and the experience of living in such a brutally racist and sexist society. In the short novel, "Passing," Nella Larsen depicts the intersection of race and gender in the 1900s, as African American women grapple with powerlessness while navigating gender roles, discrimination, and identity. In “Passing,” female characters are often portrayed as powerless when facing their racial identity and situation, serving as a strong reminder of the constant systemic problems that intersect with gender. One of our protagonists, Clare Kendry, is secretly hiding her African American heritage from her husband.
A main theme in this novel is the influence of family relationships in the quest for individual identity. Our family or lack thereof, as children, ultimately influences the way we feel as adults, about ourselves and about others. The effects on us mold our personalities and as a result influence our identities. This story shows us the efforts of struggling black families who transmit patterns and problems that have a negative impact on their family relationships. These patterns continue to go unresolved and are eventually inherited by their children who will also accept this way of life as this vicious circle continues.
As hundreds of years pass by, information gets distorted and misinterpreted. A famous quote supposedly said by Marie-Antoinette, a French princess, was, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” or ,“Let them eat cake.” Many historians believed that Marie-Antoinette uttered these words when she was informed that citizens had run out of bread to eat. No one had confirmed at the time that she had said this, so it might have just been a rumor. Marie-Antoinette was also known for being highly intelligent and informed about France’s economic standing; which notes another fault in the rumor. In my opinion, I believe that Marie-Antoinette hadn’t spoken these words, but it was just a hoax, or misinterpreted information originally stated by someone else.
underscores Merricat's imaginative and whimsical nature, highlighting her desire for escape and fantasy. The Significance of Differences (250 words): Despite their growing similarities, the remaining differences between Merricat and Constance serve as a poignant reminder of the complexity inherent in their relationship. Merricat's fierce protectiveness and propensity for isolation stand in contrast to Constance's longing for acceptance and normalcy. These differences not only highlight the individuality of each sister, but also underscore the tension that exists within their dynamic. Merricat's paranoia and distrust of outsiders often clash with Constance's desire for connection, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings.
Through the story in Brown Girl, Brownstones, Paule Marshall depicts the conflicting societal perceptions within a Barbadian and Barbadian-American community in a time of war, economic crisis and immigration issues. As the book revolves around the lives of the Boyce family, it is apparent that the family does not only have interpersonal discourse with the community but intrapersonal issues as they are at odds with one another. Paule Marshall successfully constructs a bildungsroman around the youngest daughter, Selina to showcase her transformation into womanhood, as these disparate experiences with her family and community shapes her mind and being. This paper argues that Selina has a liberation of body and mind as she matures and realizes
Princess Bride, a love story involving action and revenge, is a 1987 film, directed by Rob Reiner. A major theme that drives the story is true love. For example, Buttercup, the daughter of the owner of the farm, would order around Westley, a farm boy, because whenever she asked him to do something, he always replies, “As you wish,” which was his way for saying I love you. Soon enough, Buttercup realized that she loved Westly back. Unfortunately, they had no money together and couldn't get married, so one day Westley decided that he was going to go on a journey to America to get more money.
Thesis: In “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” Shirley Jackson portrays social discrimination between the Blackwood family and the Village, and this is a key source of tension. Through this tension, we can see that Jackson is suggesting a critique of small towns that harbor unfair toxic feelings towards people that go against societal norms. Shirley Jacksons’ “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” carefully crafts a story that has elements of horror, fantasy, and mystery all in one. The story explores various themes through different characters, and each one is unique.
What is gender criticism about? “Gender criticism is an extension of feminist literary criticism, focusing not just on women but on the construction of gender and sexuality, especially LGBTQ issues, which gives rise to queer theory,” (4.3 Gender Criticism and Queer Theory). In the novel The Princess Bride, the writer shows traditional and current views of what men and women should look like today. It can be argued that within the story there are challenges of gender stereotypes and how both men and women should act and behave in the traditional storytelling setting. It can make the audience question themselves and give them a different perspective on the novel and how the different character roles, both male and female, play in the story and today's
The way people look at life shapes their thoughts and actions. Men and women look at things extremely different than each other and that changes how they take upon a task. In the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the women in the play look at the small things and the men look at the bigger picture which leads them to different assumptions; however, each view has its positive and negative aspects. Women typically look at the less important things and try to add them up together. Women are able to notice all the little things in life and question what every little thing means.