Clementine Rivers (“Tish”) and her fiancé Alonzo Hunt (“Fonny”) are planning to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of raping a Puerto Rican woman. While Fonny is in jail, Tish informs him that she is pregnant with his child. Tish’s family then goes on a quest to find evidence that will set Fonny free, showing how much they cared about him and the child. The love poured out from the Rivers’ dedication to freeing Fonny is evident of how one family will give and do everything to help their future son-in-law, even when his family will not. They stick together through thick and thin, giving nothing but their best for Fonny. This novel by Baldwin is not as popular as some of his other works, receiving only about 4,000 ratings on Goodreads.com,
averaging 4.15 stars out of 5.
A conversation between Lily and Zach continued, saying, “‘That’s fine with me,’ I said, a little annoyed. ‘I’ve just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that’s all. You’ve got to hear of these things before you can imagine them,’” (Kidd 121). Zachary Taylor represents an age old social challenge: racism. It is clear that author Sue Monk Kidd dissaproves racism, believing that the barriers of society are to be broken soon; acceptance will be distributed evenly among races. Through Lily’s doubt, Sue Monk Kidd paints a picture of what life was life for many African Americans, or even just Americans at that. Over the entirety of each of their journies, Lily and Zach were doubted, hatred and difficult situations plaguing their everyday lives. Zach’s presence in the story also reveals some of the other battles that are being waged within the writing. Both Lily and Zach have faced injustices while in the process of discovering who they truly are. Through the infamous fish necklace and the notebook given to Lily by Zach, Zach’s dreams of being an overly dominate and “ass-kicking” lawyer, and the knowledgeable bees that Lily helps August to look after, symbolism, hyperboles, and personification can be found in exceedingly high numbers. Additionally,
The beginning of Janie’s marriage to Joe shows promise and adventure, something that young Janie is quickly attracted to. She longs to get out of her loveless marriage to Logan Killicks and Joe’s big dreams captivate Janie. Once again she hopes to find the true love she’s always dreamed of. Joe and Janie’s life is first blissful. He gives her whatever she wants and after he becomes the mayor of a small African American town called Eatonville, they are the most respected couple in town. Joe uses his newfound power to control Janie. When she is asked to make a speech at a town event, she can’t even get out a word before Joe denies her the privilege. He starts making her work in the store he opens and punishes her for any mistakes she makes. He enjoys the power and respect her gets when o...
Her domineering nature is what is needed to assert not only herself as a lead woman of the house, but also in view of the community. Allowing a black child like Frado into her home and giving her housing in turn for work can be considered a “fair trade.” Frado is awarded a dog as a companion and an education, something most blacks during the time only dreamed of receiving. The beatings Mrs. Bellmont gives out, are simple disciplinary measures used to correct Frado’s inability to follow her direction. A woman as elite as Mrs. Bellmont must uphold the standard of having a perfect family that follows societal norms. This means keeping Frado in check in conjunction with her family. It does nothing to help the standard of eliteness if it is tainted by association with people of a lower class. This is seen with Mrs. Bellmont and her “invalid” daughter Jane and son Jack, who wish to marry for love and not money. To keep this standard of living, Mrs. Bellmonts’ action are justified. Her interference with her children’s lives and the treatment of Frado are all enforced to keep the facade of normalcy to the outside
Unfortunately, however, after years of a happy marriage, Janie accidentally kills her husband during an argument. Her town forces her not only to deal with the grief, but to prove her innocence to a jury. Enduring and overcoming her three husbands and forty years of life experiences, Janie looks within herself to find and use her long hidden, but courageous voice.
James Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son" demonstrates his complex and unique relationship with his father. Baldwin's relationship with his father is very similar to most father-son relationships but the effect of racial discrimination on the lives of both, (the father and the son) makes it distinctive. At the outset, Baldwin accepts the fact that his father was only trying to look out for him, but deep down, he cannot help but feel that his father was imposing his thoughts and experiences on him. Baldwin's depiction of his relationship with his father while he was alive is full of loathing and detest for him and his ideologies, but as he matures, he discovers his father in himself. His father's hatred in relation to the white American society had filled him with hatred towards his father. He realizes that the hatred inside both of them has disrupted their lives.
It all took place in the quiet Alabama town of Maycomb, which was also during the Great Depression. Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus. Atticus is an honest lawyer, so they are doing quite well compared to everyone else during those tough times. Jem and Scout befriended a boy named Dill one summer who came to live in the neighborhood close to them. Later on, Dill become curious about a weird yet spooky house in their street called the Radley place. Mr. Nathan Radley is the owner of the house, whose brother, Arthur (nicknamed Boo), has lived there for years without adventuring outside. That fall, Scout goes to school for the first time and ended up loathing it. In the knothole of a tree on the Radley property, Scout and her brother find gifts. That summer, Dill is back and the three of them try to figure out Boo Radleys story. But their father puts a stop to it, trying to explain to them to try to see life from another person’s perspective before judging or thinking anything bad about them. The three sneak onto t...
This book shows the struggles that the main character, Precious Jones, has to go through after she was raped by her father twice. Not only is she raped, but her mother does nothing about it and just wants her to live with what ha...
The year was 1960 when Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published. It was an immediate success even winning the Pulitzer Prize. The novel was the first published piece for Lee who was not widely known. The story itself was set in the American South during the Great Depression, which Lee was from and lived during that time. The story examined the angst of childhood, morals of society, racism, and the concept of perception.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an emblem of racial jurisdiction. All throughout the book it shows how the law applies to blacks as opposed to whites. Lee shows how unjust the treatment of blacks is and the disregard for their human rights. Though through the actions of the characters in the book; it can be said that their actions show a glimmer of hope for this very prejudiced society.
Prejudice is defined as an opinion formed without taking the time and care to judge fairly. In the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, there are several themes presented like bravery, prejudice, and growing up. The main theme in this novel though is prejudice. In the book, it is not just a case of black and white but the entire novel is about prejudice in many forms including class gender and racial prejudice. Throughout the story, we see all these events in a young girl’s eyes named Scout.
Korb, Rena. "Critical Essay on 'Désirée's Baby'." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is an exquisite example of the impact of prejudice and discrimination on a small Southern town post-Depression. On Harper Lee's novel, Telgen states, "Comprising the main portion of the book's examination of racism and its effects are the underlying themes of prejudice vs. tolerance: how people feel about and respond to differences in others" (292). The motif of discrimination in this story is strongly supported by numerous examples, events, and seemingly unimportant anecdotes described throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird expounds upon the ideas, thoughts, and interpretations of Jean Louise Finch (also known as Scout) and her older brother Jeremy "Jem" Finch. As the siblings live out many adventures and mature, both in years and in experience, they start to learn and recognize the prejudices occurring in their town. While they were brought up by Atticus Finch, their father- a man who strongly believes in the equality of all- others in the town of Maycomb do not have these same views. These differences lead to many problems throughout Scout's narration. This best-seller greatly expresses the repercussions of discrimination and prejudice of gender, race, and class.
In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sethe’s experiences illuminate the theme of motherhood and its impact. Sethe escapes Sweet Home because of the determination she has to reach her children. However within the novel slavery disturbs the strength of motherhood. Sethe struggles as a mother because slavery does not allow for motherhood. Slavery separates the relationship between a mother and a child. Therefore the stability of Sethe, Beloved, and Denver’s connection is identified throughout the book.
Two hundred and twenty two years ago, a democracy was born and its citizen has been guaranteed “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Is this pledge fully adopted? The high almighty, arbitrary, rich, wealthy people surely have an advantage over the meager, poor lower class. The rich has money, and money can be a powerful source to silence evil deeds in which a pauper cannot do, but must suffer the consequences. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she portrays the weak, the vulnerable, and the innocent as mockingbirds. Setting the novel in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s plays a crucial role in illustrating the mockingbirds of the society. The prejudiced South carried people like Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell who have never had any intentions of harm, and only brought joy, but suffered greatly because of their position in a rigid, prejudiced society.
The novel explores the idea that domestic violence is a trait that is passed on from generation to generation but can be unlearned. Domestic Violence was one of the most important and most critical topics that were explained in The Color Purple. The book begins as Celie describes her initial family. Her father beats her mother and proceeds to rape Celie after her mother becomes too ill to satisfy her father’s sexual needs. She lives in constant fear of “him” and makes it her underlining goal to protect her sister Nettie from him at all costs. In the story her father states to Celie “You better never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” (Walker 1) making it clear that she is forced to comply with all his needs. Celie’s father impregnates her and when she is to give birth her father takes the infant away from her, and makes it seem like he has killed the baby in t...