...riveting story about a group of Bajan immigrants in 1939 who make Brooklyn, New York their home. The narrator employs a range of narrative techniques to highlight this important issue, however there is a heavy dependency on setting, language and characterisation which simultaneously bring to the forefront the several forms of isolation encoded in the novel. The narrator details the isolation and plight of the Bajan community who have come to New York. Set against the backdrop of the effects of World War ІІ and the Great Depression, the narrator pays great attention to the Bajan community by observing the inter-relationship of the Boyce family members and the friendship of the Bajan women. The narrator uses setting as a narrative technique in highlighting the important theme of isolation in the novel. She has placed the Boyce family in Brooklyn where they lease a brownstone house. Both the Boyce family and Bajan community altogether live and share close relationships with one another but it seems that the immigrants are secluded from the wider city. The narrator’s description of their community depicts a sense of segregation between them and the locals. The narrator expresses how the white families left the area leaving behind many of their fine possessions, and illustrates the arrival of the Bajan community “... like a dark sea nudging its way onto a white beach and staining the sand...they came.” This statement clearly illuminates to the reader the level of inferiority, social...
Words: 1431 - Pages: 6
...Women’s Empowerment in Beloved and “The Yellow Wallpaper” Women today are still facing the same types of oppression that they did in the nineteenth century. However, the oppression that women faced two centuries ago was by far worse than it is currently. “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the late nineteenth century speaks to women because of the oppression and unequal treatment the heroines received. The story also shows that women no matter race were oppressed. Beloved, written by Toni Morrison in the late twentieth century, is a neo slave narrative that discusses a woman who ran away from slavery. The novel’s present takes place soon after the thirteenth amendment was passed. As a piece of historical fiction, Beloved shares several themes such as women’s empowerment with “The Yellow Wallpaper” and displays the white male’s dominance over women and its detrimental impact on their mental state. Jane, the protagonist in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” conveys to readers her oppression due to being a female. Since her husband will not let her express her ideas openly, writing in her diary is Jane’s only...
Words: 1654 - Pages: 7
...Africa through Theatre This paper sets out to explore how processes of theatre making employed by The Mothertongue project, provide spaces for women to remap their personal narratives. Mothertongue works from the premise that the development and subsequent performance of stories in theatrical processes affords women the opportunity to re-write and remap their personal narratives and in so doing insert their voices into the landscape of South African Theatre. In an attempt to redress the gender imbalances and androcentricism prevalent in post-apartheid theatre, this paper speaks to the relationship between theatre, liminality and communitas. I am interested in unpacking how collaborative processes of theatre-making provide spaces for women to remap their personal narratives. Remapping in this instance refers to processes of transforming lived experience through story. I address how, through engaging in ritual activities that are central to the stories performed, actors, audiences and the owners of the source stories are invited to physically participate in remapping and transforming lived experience. Linked to this is the choice of form(s) and how this affects or impacts on the performed stories as well as on the construction of performed rituals and ultimately on the processes of remapping personal narratives. I focus specifically on Mothertongue’s 2004 production, Uhambo: pieces of a dream. The production was an integration of theatre and visual art in the form of performances...
Words: 7672 - Pages: 31
...I know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiographical account of Maya Angelou that demonstrates how love for literature and having a strong character can play a significant role in overcoming racism and distress. In the course of the story, it is evident that Maya changes from being a casualty of racism to become a young woman with self-dignity and identity that helps her to overcome prejudice. The context of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings focuses on the problems associated with racism that was prevalent in the southern states. Racist oppression is a common theme in the book that is portrayed by all the major characters; in fact, all the other themes in the book are closely related to racism, identity and segregation. In addition, the style and genre, and the structure of this literary work make significant contributions towards its thematic development, which focus on resistance to racism, the significance of the family, self-identity and definition and independence. Walker (95) argues that I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is characterized by thematic unity, which is achieved using the structure adopted in the text that takes more of a thematic form rather than a chronological form. In addition, Angelou managed to emphasize on the universal ideas in her literary work irrespective of its periodic quality. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou used the major characters of the book to facilitate its thematic development identity, racism and literacy throughout the text...
Words: 2539 - Pages: 11
...some common themes that reoccur in many of the stories and poems. Of course slavery was a very common topic but there were others such as inequality between the races and sexes, injustice and resentment, the black identity, and a strong faith and religion. Even though the words can be separated in the end they all come back together. There were many narratives written by fugitive slaves before the Civil War and by former slaves in the postbellum era. These narratives document slave life from the perspective of first-hand experience. The stories they tell are dark and ugly. The authors like Douglas and Jacobs reveal the struggles, sorrows, aspirations, and triumphs of slaves in absorbingly personal story-telling. Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was the first autobiography by a formerly enslaved African American woman. In it she describes her experience of the sexual exploitation that made slavery especially oppressive for black women. She also recounts her life in slavery in the context of family relationships with her escape and her struggle to free her children. Fredrick Douglas who wrote Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, an American Slave, Written by Himself depicts the grim life of slavery as well. He vividly describes the brutality that slaves endured, the meager rations they are allowed for nourishment, and even the murder of a slave. He also hits on the common practice of slave owners raping the enslaved women. Douglas also writes...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
...Paul DeWitt Comp. II N92 19 November 2013 Dr. Bates “. . . the damnedest bunch of coons they’d ever seen. All testimony to the results of a little so-called freedom imposed on people who needed every care and guidance in the world to keep them from the cannibal life they preferred.” —Toni Morrison The Beloved White Outlook of Slavery Toni Morrison's highly critically acclaimed novel, Beloved, intensely scrutinizes the uttermost excruciating moment of the African American heritage, slavery. By way of what Morrison has called “rememory”, the act of deliberately reconstructing what has been forgotten; in this case slavery is the forgotten memory of the African American culture (Gillespie 23). The novel takes place after the Civil War and emancipation, during the period of national history known as Reconstruction. Throughout the novel Morrison gives a strong sense of white dominance with the purpose of exploiting the roots of the Africa American culture to the reader. As well as exploring the effects of slavery on individual characters, individual black families, and the black community as a whole. Beloved documents both slavery's horrifying destruction and survival of the African American people and their culture (Kubitschek 116-7). In Beloved, Morrison develops the story line behind one of the main characters Sethe; a run away slave, a proud and independent woman, and a extremely devoted mother to her children. Though Sethe herself never truly...
Words: 2025 - Pages: 9
...“A reality check for America” Mary C. Terrell was a powerful pioneer in civil rights and a powerful leader who faced many struggles of prejudices because she was a colored woman. Because she had lived a difficult life in the capital of the US, she decided it was time the world knew of her the many trajectories she continued to face along with many other African Americans. On October 10, 1906, Terrell gave a speech titled, “ What it Mean to be Colored in the Capitol of the U.S.,” to the members of the United Woman’s club in Washington, D.C. This speech was very influential and significant speech that served as a voice for other African Americans who had no voice. This speech also was a time for Terrell to explain the unnecessary hassles she and other blacks had to take on when trying to live as a citizen in the capital. Through this speech we can see an abundance of prejudice that taint the lives of African Americans in the U.S.. In the following paragraphs, I will establish the notability of this speech, analyze the historical context that sparked the discourse into existence and explore other rhetorical features that will establish my analysis’s significance. Mary Church Terrell embodies feminine style rhetoric in her argument to address the social, economic and political struggles placed against African Americans with the undertone of constitutive rhetoric, topical structure, pathos and logos to validate her point. History: Mary Church Terrell...
Words: 2386 - Pages: 10
...‘Untitled ‘Beneath the Roses’’ by Gregory Crewdson depicts the narrative of an instant between the past and the future - an uncertain yet familiar moment . The everyday narrative tells a partial story through surreal atmosphere of large-scale scenes and statue-like people, vivid colours, and the intricate details within the image surroundings. The mnemic traces within this image are hidden in plane sight, giving emphasis to a moment that has already passed or may be yet to come. This ambiguity of nature and tone of the image allows the viewer to explore the image that is presented to the viewer through their own perceptions. In order to further the understanding of Gregory Crewdson and his relation to the real, it is necessary to discuss the...
Words: 1786 - Pages: 8
...Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Camille Hall English 121 Instructor James Welch March 17, 2013 Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Descriptive essays are much more detailed and expressive than narrative essays and are more apt to hold the reader’s attention by ejecting more emotion. The narrative essay uses detail to advance the story, while the descriptive uses to detail to describe an unfamiliar subject. The ability to describe something convincingly is always important to both the writer and their audience. Both descriptive and narrative essays use detail but for different purposes. In this essay I will compare and contrast two essays; “I Want A Wife” and “Caged Bird” in order to give insight into each type of essay. The aim of a narrative essay is to describe a course of events from a subjective point, is usually told in chronological order, and is usually written in first person. Narrative essays are used to tell a story in a way so that the reader learns a lesson or gains insight, much of this is done through lots of detail about the subject that is being written about. The best narrative essays are those inducing images in the reader’s minds about what's happening by using concrete, specific verbs and nouns rather than a lot of adverbs and adjectives. To write a narrative essay you will need to tell a story (usually about something that has happened to you) or it could be fiction. The purpose is for your reader to learn a lesson or gain insight of...
Words: 1587 - Pages: 7
...Throughout his personal narrative, Frederick Douglass writes about the different things he experienced throughout his time as a slave for multiple different masters. All the stories Douglass recounts in his narrative show different aspects of slavery and different ways that slavery as a whole is dangerous. One of the reasons why slavery was dangerous was that it dehumanizes slaves. In his second chapter, Douglass tells a story about how slaves were chosen to go to The Great Farm House. These slaves would sing as a chorus, “I am going away to the Great Farm House! O, yea! O, yea!” (Narrative of the Life, 47). Douglass explains in his book that to some these words are simply a meaningless phrase, but to those who really understand, these words would serve as evidence for how horrible slavery was. Douglass recounts that when he was younger, he didn’t really understand what the songs meant. Later in life, however, he learned that this song was sang in tones of woe—they were a song crying out to God for deliverance. Slave songs weren’t sung out of excitement or contentment....
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
...each box to help you plan. The notes on the right are not complete. They provide some examples for you to see how to present your argument. The words in bold are linking words. |Introduction |A sense of belonging can emerge from relationships with people and places. When | |Mention aspect(s) of belonging |people experience a strong cultural connection to a place, their sense of | |Make a statement about how this aspect is |belonging is strengthened. This can change over time. The novel The China Coin | |represented in the set text and one other |and poem ‘We are going’ both have strong cultural images and personal statements.| | |These are revealed through the composers’ use of flashback, narrative voice and | | |descriptive language. | |Examples: |Notes: | |• The China Coin–point and elaboration |Leah arrives in China, feeling she does not belong, does not want to. Negative | |• Other text–point and elaboration |encounter....
Words: 1549 - Pages: 7
...The Narrative Art of The Great Gatsby Introduction The Great Gatsby was written in 1925. The author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the most outstanding writers in America. As a member of the “lost generation”, Fitzgerald made the short life of Gatsby epitome of the rise, boom and decline of the “American Dream” in “Jazz Age”. This novel shows us unusually rich literary and aesthetic connotation is has by its unique narrative perspective, the ups and downs of plot, superb accurate language, various rhetorical devices and vivid character images. To some extent, the reason why The Great Gatsby can become a famous classic work is that the author uses extraordinary narrative techniques in it. All the techniques are employed skillfully by Fitzgerald. The study of narrative art in this work has been highlighted in the research area in these years. Zhang Jinfeng(2001) analyzes the role of Nick in the novel from the its structure, themes and other aspects. Cheng Xilin(2009) uses the spatial narrative theory to discussed the space narrative art in The Great Gatsby from three aspects: the geography space, social space and the text space. Xiao Dongbo(2009) starts with the analysis on author and characters and expound the connotation of "American dream" and profoundly reveals the historical process of the formation, development and burst of the "American dream". Shang Guanghui(2011) analyzes The Great Gatsby from the narrators of the role and argues that the communication...
Words: 5017 - Pages: 21
...The Woman in White – Chosen extract Elyssia Leeman 6.2 20th November 2014 In this particular section Collins uses the theme of crime and criminals and this is associated with the sensational genre and the theme of criminality. Throughout this extract there is a specific word choice based around crime and the theme of gothic horror. The theme of secrets also fits in well with this section as the by being the reader we can question the language used by Collins in Walters perspective. Collins in this extract shows Walters devout love for Laura from his perspective. Collins shows how much Walter is hurting and missing Laura. ‘My heart turns faint’ which enhances the theme of romance however this theme suddenly changes to a gothic horror theme ‘My mind sinks in darkness and confusion’ the choice of language here shows different meanings of the chosen words, ‘sinks’ becoming death and the death of Laura, and his ‘confusion’ of where she is. Walter knows Laura is alive and he is confused to how he is going to catch out Fosco and Glyde. ‘Darkness’ has an effect of gothic horror and a negative sense to it and it is used to make us feel the dark place where Walter is and Collins wants the reader to feel Walter’s heart break and how his dark place is taking him in. Collins uses the theme of secrets when in the first opening line in Walters narrative ‘I advance my narrative by one week’ this makes us question where Walter...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...after the deaths of her father and Piquette, she realizes that the loons are no longer there. The loons become associated with death and loss, and while symbolic of Piquette, they are also an allegory of Canadian history. 4. What does Vanessa mean by the last sentence of the story? When Vanessa encounters Piquette as a young woman, she recognizes in Piquette what she hears in the loons' cries—“self-pity” (192) and “terrifying hope” (193); when Vanessa learns of Piquette's death soon after, she responds with silence. Vanessa's personal loss—of her father and of Piquette—is connected through the symbol of the loons with the Metis' loss of their land and their culture. Vanessa's realization at the end of the story, that only Piquette “had heard the crying of the loons” (194), signals the loss of her political innocence. Vanessa faces the reality of Canadian history at a direct personal level. 5. How does Laurence connect the personal with the political in “The Loons”? 6. How does Laurence...
Words: 4556 - Pages: 19
...because these factors contribute and influence an author’s point of view as well as each author’s unique voice and message depending on the time period. Harriet A. Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is a slave narrative. The literary conventions of the slave narrative define the work. Slave narratives echo biblical stories that often reflect persecuted groups attempting to escape to freedom. Jacobs’s piece details her struggle to escape her master from sexual abuse. Vivanco (2003), “The process from sin to rebirth in spiritual autobiographies is paralleled by the process from slavery to freedom in slave narratives. Slaves experience a change from chattel, enduring suffering, to man or woman living in the Promised Land, the North,” (para. 5). Further distinction of the slave narrative is how authors shape the story, often chronologically. Slave narratives illustrate an author’s personal experience though many share common themes of extreme violence/abuse and racial prejudice. Slave narratives are essentially autobiography, which offer an author’s own experience for readers to find meaning. Jacobs’s female voice sheds light on issues affecting slave women; sexual abuse and losing children to death or slave trade particularly. Jacobs’s narrative is a prime example of how different slave women were treated as opposed to men. Both...
Words: 1974 - Pages: 8
