More handpicked essays just for you.
Research in african american literature
Essay on african american literature
Research in african american literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
When a family endure hard times, they typically come together to support one another and overcome whatever obstacles it is they are facing. The stories “In The American Society” and “The Gilded Six Bits” entail two families who each face tough times in their lives. In the first story, the Chang family experiences humiliation at a pool party because they are considered different. In the second story, Missie May and her husband Joe are faced with the fact that Missie had an affair with a rich man in order to get money from him. Both these families overcome their problems in different ways, but in the end, they both must come together to move forward. At the outset of the story “In The American Society,” the members of the Chang family are attempting …show more content…
to adjust to life in American society. Although Ralph and his wife have experienced financial success due to their business investments, Mrs. Chang develops an interest in getting a membership at their local country club in an attempt to better immerse her family in American culture. Even though Mrs. Chang is set on assimilating, Ralph is resistant and is not invested in becoming more American. When the family is invited to a pool party by members of the country club, Ralph decides to go shopping for a jacket to wear to the party. After he finds the perfect jacket to buy, Ralph decides to keep the price tag. He claims that this is because he would “like to asking the tailor about the size,” but Mona quickly realizes that he actually was keeping the tag in order to be able to return the jacket (Jen). This decision shows Ralph’s resistance to assimilation—although he could afford the jacket financially, he did not want to spend his money the way many Americans do. He only wants the jacket to pretend to be part of the American society for the length of the pool party but then return the jacket and return to who he really is, a Chinese American. The pool party starts off great, but the fact that the family is so different and unaccustomed to American whiteness eventually makes everything uncomfortable for the Chang family.
Because of their lack of familiarity with American parties, the family comes to the party overdressed compared to the other attendees. Things get even worse when Mrs. Lardner, the party hostess, sees Callie and asks her to serve the hors d’oeuvres at the party. Callie is not the only member of the Chang family to get mistaken for wait staff at the party as shortly thereafter, Jeremy, Mrs. Lardner’s husband, calls out to Ralph to assist him in opening a bottle of wine. When Jeremy realizes that Ralph is not his server, he continues harassing him, eventually accusing him of crashing the party because he did not think an Asian man would otherwise be in attendance. Embarrassment grows for the Changs when Jeremy notices how overdressed Ralph is, he tries to take off his jacket and offer him the shirt he is wearing. Jeremy sees the price tag on the jacket and says to him: “‘Miltons, one hundred twelve dollars reduced to one hundred twelve fifty what a bargain, what a bargain!’” (Jen). At this point Ralph’s embarrassment and anger boils over and tells Jeremy that he does not take orders like a servant, flinging Jeremy’s polo into the pool along with his own jacket. After this outburst, Ralph and his family leave the party feeling humiliated. Outside, the rest of the Chang family congratulates Ralph on …show more content…
having the courage to stand up to Jeremy. It is at this point that the family comforts each other until they realize that the keys to their car are in the jacket Ralph tossed in the pool. Ralph mentions how his daughters could get them because of how good his girls are at swimming—a big deal for the family as Ralph had never previously complimented his daughters on anything. The circumstances they faced and the problems that arose at the party had caused the family deep embarrassment, but they found comfort and strength in each other. They stuck together as a family and were able to overcome the disrespect shown to them due to their race. Much like the Chang’s, Missie May and her Joe go through their own problems in “The Gilded Six-Bits.” Missie May and her husband Joe are faced with the conflict of money and not being satisfied with what you have. In the beginning of the story, the narrator makes it very clear the love that Missie May and Joe have for one another. One night, after dinner, the couple goes out for ice cream after dinner at a parlor owned by a rich man in their town named Otis Slemmons. When Joe finds Missie May in bed with Otis later in the story she apologizes and pleads with Joe telling him “he said he waz gointer give me dat gold money and he jes’ kept on after me” (Hurston). The conflict of not being satisfied with what you have is the reason for Missie May sleeping with Otis. The day after he found them together, Joe went about his normal routine as if nothing had happened. But he was not, in fact, the same and he carries around the golden coin that Otis gave Missie May in order to symbolize the affair she had. After more time passes, Joe and Missie May end up sleeping together after having not been together for long period of time. A while after the couple sleeps together, Missie May finds out that she is pregnant. This fact adds even more problems to their relationship because the child could possibly be Otis’ instead of Joe’s. Joe then leaves behind the golden coin for Missie May to see in an attempt to torture her emotionally.
The coin is used throughout the story as a symbol to make Missie May remember what she did to Joe. When she examines the coin, however, she realizes that it is only a gilded half dollar painted to look like a golden coin. This makes the coin even more symbolic as the mistake that Missie May made, she not only fell for a crook, but she fell for the fake money that led her to sleep with Otis. This symbol also supports the idea of being satisfied with what you have. If Missie May was okay with what she had she wouldn’t have wanted that gold coin which turned out to be fake. Hurston writes, “She took it into her hands with trembling and saw first thing that it was no gold piece” (Hurston). She then started to realize why Otis would never let anyone touch his
money. After realizing the money she had received was fake, Missie May and Joe begin to act like husband and wife again. Slowly but surely, Joe starts to come back home more often. Missie May then gives birth to their son—the one that Joe had previously doubted was his because of the affair Missie May and Otis had. Missie May’s mother helped with the delivery of the child and after her mother said that the baby looks like no one else but Joe, he was convinced that it was his. The baby in a way helped Joe to move past the affair and heal from the hurt it has caused him. He was forced to become closer with Missie May because of the newborn and see that family was important. The fact that they found out Otis was a crook and not as rich as he had pretended to be also helped comfort Joe. Both the Chang family and Missie May and Joe suffered through hurt at the hands of those around them. But, in each story, when they come together and become closer because of their trying circumstances, they are able to through them together just like a family is supposed to do. A family in crisis is something not uncommon but most problems can be resolved when the family comes together to support one another and fight for a better future together.
After the Civil War, business and corporations have expanded significantly throughout the United States. During this time period, known as the Gilded Age, many aspects of the United States were influenced by these large corporations. The Gilded Age was given that name after Mark Twain referenced it in one of his works. In the post Civil War period, big businesses governed by corrupt acts and held power of both the political system and the economy.
Taylor and Lou Ann demonstrate a symbiotic relationship between the roles and characteristics in a family. Edna Poppy and Virgie Mae replaces the missing physical and emotional traits in a stable household. The examples tie into the fact that not all families in this book match “the norms” and expectations, but are equally valued, blood or
It’s not easy to build an ideal family. In the article “The American Family” by Stephanie Coontz, she argued that during this century families succeed more when they discuss problems openly, and when social institutions are flexible in meeting families’ needs. When women have more choices to make their own decisions. She also argued that to have an ideal family women can expect a lot from men especially when it comes to his involvement in the house. Raymond Carver, the author of “Where He Was: Memories of My Father”, argued how his upbringing and lack of social institutions prevented him from building an ideal family. He showed the readers that his mother hide all the problems instead of solving them. She also didn’t have any choice but to stay with his drunk father, who was barely involved in the house. Carvers’ memoir is relevant to Coontz argument about what is needed to have an ideal family.
With the perception of a bright and new beginning they willingly forced themselves to forget about the “colors of the Beijing sky” and “what they no longer could bear hope for” (Chang 33, 29). Sacrificing their past life, they wanted to give their son Charles a life of fulfillment and opportunity in the land of dreams, America. Their Chinese culture and traditions were neglected in the corner of their basement and the American lifestyle was rapidly immersing the Hwangs family. With the pressure to learn and comprehend this new American culture, the relationship between father and son slowly became disconnected. Ming’s demand to forget his past and the pressure to absorb new cultural ways, took a toll on the relationship between him and his son causing it to drift and become almost non-
In the late nineteenth century known as the Gilded Age (or the Reconstruction period) and the early twentieth century known as the Progressive era, the nation went through great economic growth and social change. Beginning from the 1870s, there was rapid growth in innovations and big businesses. This could be because there was population growth and when there is population growth, there is a high demand of products and other necessities in order to strive in society. Many immigrants from Europe, mostly from the eastern and southern Europe, and Asia moved to American cities. Additionally, farmers from rural America desired to increase economically in society and since corporations ruled and political problems occurred, they decided to move into the cities. Afterwards, the 1900s started with the dominance of progressivism which many Americans tried to improve and solve the problems that were caused or had arisen because of the industrialization of the Gilded Age. It was basically the time when progressives fought for legislations like regulation of big businesses, end of the political corruption, and protection of the rights of the people: the poor, immigrants, workers, and consumers. Thus, between the periods 1870 to 1920, big businesses had arisen and taken control of the political and economic systems through corruption and innovations. In response, American citizens reacted negatively and formed labor unions and political systems to diminish the power that large corporations had in America.
As the story goes we start with a family who appears as a typical family where the desires of the parents are for their children to be smart and successful in life and the desires of the children are those of any typical child. However, as the story unfolds we are given the insight of the true nature of the family that follows most laws of nature that there is greed and deception even among loved ones. That every family has its secrets and that every secret comes with a cost no matter how small.
In analyzing these two stories, it is first notable to mention how differing their experiences truly are. Sammy is a late adolescent store clerk who, in his first job, is discontent with the normal workings of society and the bureaucratic nature of the store at which he works. He feels oppressed by the very fabric and nature of aging, out-of date rules, and, at the end of this story, climaxes with exposing his true feelings and quits his jobs in a display of nonconformity and rebellion. Jing-Mei, on the other hand, is a younger Asian American whose life and every waking moment is guided by the pressures of her mother, whose idealistic word-view aids in trying to mold her into something decent by both the double standards Asian society and their newly acquired American culture. In contrasting these two perspectives, we see that while ...
The Gilded age and the Progressive Era are time periods that played an important role in the development of the American society. The Gilded Age is a period of American history between 1870 and 1900. This term was coined by Mark Twain in the late 1800s. By this, he meant that this period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath ("Learn About the Gilded Age"). The Gilded Age is well known for its political scandals and extravagant displays of wealth. At the same time, this was an era of major achievements in the industry and economy, which significantly changed life of American people. The Gilded Age was followed by the Progressive Era which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressive Era is well known for its economical, political, social reforms and technological inventions. In my opinion, The Gilded Age had a more significant impact upon the United States than the Progressive Era because it gave rise to new industries, created transportation and communication networks which provided the infrastructure for further development of technology in the Progressive Era.
Many people may view something differently than others, this is usually and interpretation. An interpretation is an action of explaining the meaning of something or it can be an explanation of a way to explain something. We have all made interpretations about something and we do it often. Eric Forner and Howard Zinn had different interpretations of the gilded age, which was a time period where the United States population and economy quickly grew with a lot of corruption. Their ways of explaining this era was different from one another.
The Gilded Age was the last three decades of the nineteenth century, when America’s industrial economy exploded generating opportunities for individuals but also left many workers struggling for survival. With the many immigrants, skilled and unskilled, coming to America the labor system is becoming flooded with new employees. During this period, the immigrants, including the Italians, were unskilled and the skilled workers were usually American-born. There was also a divide in the workers and the robber barons. Robber barons were American capitalist who acquired great fortunes in the last nineteenth century, usually ruthlessly. There was much turmoil throughout the business and labor community. Two major organizations, the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, helped represent the workers in this time of chaos. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, were representing both skilled and unskilled workers. They were quite popular with a large boost in membership becoming the biggest union in 1885. They sought for equal pay and equal work. All were welcomed to the Knights of Labor; there was no discrimination on race, gender, or sex. They called for an eight-hour day in order to reduce fatigue and for safety issues. The Knights of Labor Declaration of Principles states their purpose is to “make industrial and moral worth, not wealth” (Reading 9, p. 1). This means the moral worth is to what they could contribute to society rather than monetary gains. They were working towards this improvement of the common mans life to advance in civilization and create new ideas for society. They also called upon the employer to treat the employee with respect and fairness so they can contribute to not only their company but to Amer...
The life of an immigrant in the United States during the Gilded Age was a rough life. During this time period the U.S. went through a dramatic change in dealing with changing infrastructure and masses of people coming over from different countries for a chance at a better life. This time period was characterized by small wage jobs, poor working conditions and the struggle to survive. The Jungle embodies the themes of the Gilded Age with first hand experiences of an immigrant's hardships of life.
Expansive growth was the moniker which expressly defined the Gilded Age. Industry in all sectors, witnessed massive growth leading to the creation of an American economy. Due to the rapidly changing nature of industrialization important men of both the public and private sectors attempted to institute their own controls over it. However this transforming landscape integrated both economic and political changes, but also cultural and social interactions. In turn, those who controlled the flow of business would also steadily impact the American social scene by extension. Alan Trachtenberg, professor of American studies at Yale and author of The Incorporation of America, argues that the system of incorporation unhinged the idea of national identity that all American’s had previously shared. As a result incorporation became the catalyst for the great debate about what it meant to actually be American, and who was capable of labeling themselves as such. Throughout his work Trachtenberg consistently tackles the ideas of cultural identity and how those ideas struggled against one another to be the supreme definition of Americanism. This work not only brings to life the issue of identity but it attempts to synthesize various scholarly works into a cohesive work on the Gilded Age and demonstrates that concepts developed during the incorporation of the time period have formed the basis for the American cultural, economic, and political superstructure. The Incorporation of America sets a high standard for itself one in which it doesn’t necessarily meet; however the work is still expansive and masterful at describing the arguments of the Gilded Age.
From the period between the 1870’s through the 1890’s, it became an era known as the Gilded Age. The term was characterized by a famous American Literature author named Mark Twain. The writer tried to point out that the term means that while on the outside society may seem perfect and in order, underneath there is poverty, crime, corruption, and many other issues between American society’s rich and poor. This era’s gild is thicker than the cheaper material it’s covering. This can be shown through the countless numbers of achievements and advances America has made during the period of reconstruction and expansion, industrialization, and foreign affairs.
“The Gilded Six Bits,” by Zora Neale Hurston is about a happily married couple, Missy May and Joe Banks, who discovers that something is missing from their life when sly Slemmons comes to town. The story exhibits how capitalistic-patriarchy dominates and eventually distorts Joe and Missy May’s marriage.
The Gilded Age gets its name from a book by Mark Twain called The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today. It was written in 1873, and unfortunately was not that successful. While the Gilded Age conjures up visions of ostentatious displays of wealth and decorative parties, the over all topic was politics. The book gives an extremely negative assessment of the state of American democracy at that time. Which does not come as a huge surprise coming from Twain, who famously said "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” So when faced with sweeping changes in the American economy after the Civil War, the American political system both nationally and locally dealt with these problems in the best way possible, by inevitably and incredibly becoming corrupt.