Preview

Gloria Naylor's Mommy What Does Nigger Mean

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1836 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gloria Naylor's Mommy What Does Nigger Mean
“Mommy, What Does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” In a time where everyone seems to be tiptoeing around each other’s feelings, not wanting to offend anyone, racism continues to remain a significant problem that affects almost every person of color. In spite of the fact that many people have not dealt with racism and therefore do not comprehend the impact it has on the mind, everyone understands that words can pack an injurious punch. Whether it was a bully who pointed out your flaws, or a friend that unintentionally said something hurtful, no one has avoided the afflictive sting of a well-placed word or two. But are the words themselves hurtful, or is it the connotation they have? Gloria Naylor expresses that the power of consensus is what gives a word power, instead of …show more content…
Throughout “Mommy What Does Nigger Mean?” Gloria explains the words’ many meanings and uses in her Harlem, New York (African American) household. First, she states “In the singular, the word was always applied to a man who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive”(Naylor 421). Secondly, she explains “When used with a possessive adjective by a woman–"my nigger"–it became a term of endearment for her husband or boyfriend”(Naylor 421). Thirdly, she explains how “…it could be more than just a term applied to a man. In their mouths it became the pure essence of manhood–a disembodied force that channeled their past history of struggle and present survival against the odds into a victorious statement of being”(Naylor 421). Last, Gloria says, “In the plural, it became a description of some group within the community that had overstepped the bounds of decency as my family defined it”(Naylor 421). The word always had a specific dynamic, offering an outlet, or providing a descriptive word that held no more power than any

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nigga Please Summary

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the article, "Nigga? Please", written by Talib Kweli Greene, I relatively agree with his point of view on how different spellings of the N-word will not be affected nor change the meaning, but just only the context of it will make the whole new aspect. His contrary with Piers Morgan is the main reason why I switched from being Pier Morgan's advocate to become his supporter. The example from his story of Ted Joans, how people described him as a "nice, colored man." gives me a brief summary of the connection in context. From our class discussion, I understand that the quote "a nice, colored man" is likely to refer that Black people aren't nice at all. In fact, I will definitely feel offended in a similar situation if I was an African-American. Before reading this article, I have learned that the N-word is originated from Negro, a Spanish…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The term “nigger” is an alteration of the earlier term neger, from Middle French negre, from Spanish or Portuguese negro, from negro black and from Latin niger. The first known use of the term in the U.S. was in 1619 when John Rolfe, a British colonist, wrote a diary entry using the term to describe a boatful of newly arrived African slaves. The way Rolfe spelled “nigger”, “negar” was due to the “general lack of uniform literacy standards in the 17th century” (“The N-Word”). During this time, “nigger” solely meant a black person and was only used as a name for black people. As more time passed, the meaning developed into something else entirely.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In America, the racial divide between whites and blacks is quickly growing. To fully understand racism, it is necessary to look at how power in the hands of white people has consequently led to oppression and racism towards people of color. Many people, particularly whites, believe that racism stemmed from physical differences between whites and people of color; however, if one truly examines racial differences they will see that these so called “differences” are more social than physical. For centuries, white people have held specific biases and prejudices against people of color, claiming that they were inferior to whites. This notion of subordination began because the white men held the highest form of power one can hold; the power of…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leslie Savan’s Essay

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Leslie Savan’s essay, “What’s Black, Then White, and Said All Over?,” Savan talks about the “hidden costs”(381) and benefits of the black language in America. When observing this economic and psychological boundary its clear that African American people went through lots of pain and suffering when creating trendy words and sayings. This is important to African Americans because most people do not understand that these words have now been adopted by white people “who reap the profits without paying [their] dues”(Savan 382).…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, the lack of knowledge or the denial of the more subtle forms of racism can be extremely detrimental to both majority and minority group members. Racism can have a significant impact on an individual’s self-esteem and self-confidence. It can also affect their sense of connection and belonging to the broader community. Racism threatens personal and cultural identity and it can be related to psychological distress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and anger, and in some extreme cases, attempted suicide. Furthermore, racism can have an impact on education, employment and…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black Like Me

    • 1292 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The word “nigger” not only was used to degrade the blacks but also revealed how ignorant the person who used it was.…

    • 1292 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word “nigger” should not be used by anyone regardless of the circumstances. Nigger comes from the Latin word niger meaning black. Nigger was used derogatory term used to refer to black slaves during colonial times. It represents generations of endured racism and oppression. The word was used to make a mockery of black people. “Whether [nigger is] used as a noun, verb, or adjective, it strengthened the stereotype of the lazy, stupid, dirty, worthless nobody,” (Nigger, a brief history). The use of the word “nigger” strips away the individuality of a person. Nigger is evident in hip hop music, the civil rights movement, pop culture, and is now used as a term of endearment.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The Word Nigger

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The word nigga comes from the Latin word niger which simply means black. The word niger was then changed to negro and integrated into two other languages, Spanish which kept the pure meaning of the word as “black”, and English which perverted the meaning into “black person”. However, by about the 1800s most white Americans had adopted the word as a derogatory racial slur to describe black African American slaves and yet again changed it into a new form of the word. They transformed the word negro into the much more racially insulting word nigger. Most people believe that this transformation was made through the inability for the white southern slave owners to properly pronounce the word negro and thus, the word nigger was born. The New Oxford…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Countless individuals who pursue racial equality “consider themselves enlightened, who intellectually believe in racial equality, who deplore discrimination, yet who harbor unconscious attitudes that result in discriminatory policies and behavior” (Kristof, 1). Those who declare they support racial equality wholeheartedly occasionally do not uphold their beliefs, deeming them hypocrites. In a realistic situation, an ‘enlightened’ person may judge a tall, black man sporting a biker jacket, baggy jeans, a gold chain necklace, and tattoos scaling up his arms, labeling him as a “thug” or “gangster”. Because these ‘enlightened’ people are absent-mindedly being racist, others are most likely doing precisely the same thing, which continues the use of racism. Because they are examples in society, these ‘enlightened’ individuals should be wary of their gestures and dialogue they express towards others to curtail the racism found in…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analyzing White America

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After viewing "Analyzing White America" by Paul Mooney, I was initially taken aback by the content. I never expected the rawness that Mooney brought to the stage and he hit the ground running with such a tone without looking back. A lot of the material made me laugh or at the very least smile because i found it to be identifiable with my own life and some of the surroundings that I was brought up in. The part that I found most amusing was Mooney's suggestion that white people were happier before slavery was abolished. I believe racism is very much present in today's world. When I was growing up, I can recall plenty of neighborhoods in my hometown that were considered "white" or even "black" for that matter. In these neighborhoods, if you were not from that part of town, you were not considered welcomed there. Any parts of the film that I did not laugh at, there was no particular reason other than I simply was not amused by the material because there were not any parts that I found personally offensive. I feel as though the word "nigger" is so controversial solely because of it's history and the origin of it's meaning. This word was meant to degrade and disparage African Americans when it was originated.Today, people use the term in a different context. The new meaning is one of affection but with it's use comes this unwritten rule that white people are prohibited from saying it. I never could wrap my mind fully around the idea that I can say the word "nigga" in reference to a friend of mine but a white kid was not allowed to use it, in the same context, all because we are of different races. In my opinion, it's not right for either myself or a white person to use the word in any context. In today's society, everything is just as much about race as it was in the days of slavery. The only difference between now and then is that openly addressing the issues that we, as a culture, all have with race is socially unacceptable. Mooney's antics on stage were…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racism is a global problem that has existed throughout the history of mankind. Despite the different kinds of measures taken against racism including African-American Civil Rights movement, Anti-Apartheid Movement, Hate Crime Laws, or bans on any racism manifestations, it continues to be a constant concern. For some people, it is a vague concept, because it reveals itself in different forms. For others, it is simply based on unreasonable believes and hate. So racism, after all, became a label that is used for humiliation, based on hatred of the individual or even entire ethnic groups. I will try to address the problem of racism from several points of view taking into account the areas in which racism exists and manifest itself; to prove that…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    caucasia notes

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “I stood many nights in front of the bathroom mirror, practicing how to say ‘nigger’ the way the kids in school did, dropping the ‘er’ so that it became not a slur, but a term of endearment, ‘nigga’”(63).…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The N-Word Argument

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Every black person who lives in the United States at some point or another comes to accept one thing: the “N-word” is not going away. Whether you use it or not, whether you are OK with it or deeply offended by it, it’s a word weighted down with so much history and so much pain that is impossible to avoid” (Blay 1). The negative connotation around the “N-word” has been plaguing the country since its founding. One of the key principles that America is founded on is that “All Men Are Created Equal” (Jefferson Declaration of Independence), but let me continue it; All Men Are Created Equal except women, homosexuals and lastly niggers. The word “nigger” had so much power because it was used to belittle Africans and make it so that they were not…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In an article written by, Texas A&M University Sociology Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva called, The Linguistics of Color Blind Racism: How to Talk Nasty about Blacks without Sounding Racist, Bonilla-Silva carefully explains and analyzes the different tactics employed by whites to make comments with racist undertones without outwardly sounding racist that aid in maintaining the racial ideology known as color blind racism. The basis of Bonilla-Silva’s research was supplied from an array of different people, some being university students from the state of Michigan, and the others being residents of the Detroit metropolitan area, who each then participated in different interviews conducted by various groups. Based on the responses of the interviewees,…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Bullying Papers

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My original six words, which are shown above, still stand true for me because they are based of off a personal experience where I was bullied for being a “stuck up white girl”. In my paper, I came to the conclusion that I was happy to have such hate expressed towards me due to the actions I took to address the issues of bullying, which lead me to join an anti-bullying campaign at my high school. Now that I have learned some of the causes of racial discrimination and have researched the historical context in which racism stems from I am able to identify that this conflict had many more underlying factors that lead to bully based on racial identity and privilege.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays