Mayahuel's Discussion of African American Literature 2019

I noticed there was a lot of discussion surrounding Morrison's choice to use supernatural elements in her book. in many class discussions, the theme of how"nothing ever dies" frequently came up and led me to think about the meaning behind the Ghost of Beloved. As I read the book, there were several moments where Morrison illustrated how nothing ever died. In Sethe's "rememories", nothing ever went away. All the trauma Paul D locks up his heart (his tin can) never really goes away as well and later on both Sethe and Paul D have to face their traumas that resurface. In this way, I think it's interesting to think about slavery in that context. Although many people like to dismiss the effects of slavery as an "event of the past" that "happened 400 years ago" and people need to "get over" the effects have tremendous impacts on people that we are still dealing with. The fact that Morrison forces her readers to have this view of sl...

As we discussed Wright's criticism of "their eyes were watching god", I couldn't help but think about his comment on Hurston's writing as a form of entertainment for white people, similar to minstrel shows. The comment kept popping back in my head the longer I thought about her writing and what I'd gotten from it. In a way, I understood what Wright was saying, but I also wondered if there could've been a deliberate purpose for her portrayal of such "minstrel like" displays of the black community in the Muck. In reading wrights criticism of Hurston's novel, I could see the points he made on the sort of overemphasized idealized nature of the Muck although the people there were working on a white plantation every day. This idea of them being so happy to work there seemed odd to me but I didn't take it as a form of comedic play on Black culture in the sense Wright took it, pointing out the centuries of history behind whites taking Black cul...

While reading about Tea Cake I couldn't help but fall for him a bit, as I believe Hurston intended. Tea Cake, despite his random arrivals and departures, is an incredibly sweet guy. from the beginning he has cared about Janie and her needs and wants more than any other guy in her life. Though Janie had other partners that were smooth, and who could see how pretty she was they never seemed to value Janie for Janie. Though I realize it's early in the book and we don't know quite that much about Tea Cake, besides the fact that he and Janie don't work out, I can't help but swoon a bit when hearing about their relationship. How many people, in or out of High School can say their partners take them on spontaneous fishing trips at night? How many people, regardless of how much we want it, have had someone who has truly enjoyed playing with their hair endlessly, just for the pure fact that it will make the person whose hair is being played with feel good? Tea Cake not on...

Recently as we read Invisible Man I came across the moment where Brother Jack's glass eye falls into his glass of water, shocking the narrator. This then prompted me to a variety of thoughts regarding the symbolism and irony of Brother Jacks glass eye. I wondered if the idea that Brother Jack only had 1 eye meant he could not see the world clearly, and that thought seemed to be supported by the narrators joking with Jack. Though Jack clearly misses his joke, the narrator asks him to recommend him to his oculist so "then I may not see myself as others see me not". I found it incredibly ironic, and funny, that Brother Jack, who acts as if he is the all seeing leader of this brotherhood, cant even see that well, literally and figuratively. Furthermore, I thought about how Brother Jacks humble bragging about his "sacrifice"of an eye was similar to the Gandhi phrase "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Though somewhat of a stretch, I began...

As we continue to read Invisible Man, I have noticed some stark contrasts between the narrator and Bigger Thomas. Regardless, I have also begun to notice some similarities between situations both characters have been in, as well as factors that have affected them. In Native Son, Bigger has to kill the rat in his apartment, illustrating his shabby living situations. Similarly, when the narrator is living with Mary he sees cockroaches in the house, illustrating a similar sort of poor living space. Moreover, each character's personality is significantly impacted by peoples perceptions of them. In Native Son, Bigger uses the negative stereotype of Black men to try to get away with his murder, while in Invisible Man, the narrator is trying to break these stereotypes to   create a new more positive image of the Black man.  These instances are interesting to me because it seems as if Ellison, in response to Native Son, has included environmental similarities to show how d...

Throughout Native Son, I found myself hating Bigger Thomas and the decisions he made. I am aware this is what Wright intended, but it led me to question Bigger's choices more thoroughly. While it is clear he killed Mary, can we really blame Bigger? Aside from his appalling actions with Bessie and his overall awfulness as a person, how much of his actions were really his fault? Are we supposed to hate Bigger himself, or hate his environment that contributed to the way he is? Richard Wright specifically portrays Bigger Thomas as a terrible person. Even before Bigger killed anyone, Wright makes it obvious he's awful. From the opening as he taunts his sister with a dead rat and makes her uncomfortable watching her change, we are meant to hate him. This "a-hole" demeanor is only strengthened when we see him start a fight with Gus, and threaten to kill him. As the book progresses, Bigger's actions become more and more severe. While I am aware the actual killing of Mar...