Nancy's Myth Interruption Essay
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last,” are not only the words spoken by a legend deemed one of the most effective leaders in the history of civil rights , but are the words that were spoken during an evil time in American history in an attempt to bring to attention the consequences of which the nation suffered (King 34) It was at this time in history that world renowned activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historical “I Have a Dream” speech detailing the idea that our society was being driven by the mindset “us” vs “them” establishing the “communities and enemies” concept that is continuously discussed today. Before Gloria Naylor wrote The Women of Brewster Place or Jean-Luc Nancy even began to compose
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a volume on “communities and enemies,” Dr. King’s dream spoke of a society that was inevitably facing the exact dilemma in which their novels would soon come to discuss. In response to this, I decided to take the initiative of examining the famous “I Have a Dream” speech in order to showcase how reality serves as the foundation of concepts such as “communities and enemies” that would eventually connect to specific concepts of literature. To begin, on August 28, 1963 more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Organized by a number of civil rights and religious groups, the event was designed to shed light on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country. The March on Washington featured speeches and performances from John Lewis, Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan telling of a community suffering from the consequences of segregation. The march, which became a key moment in the growing struggle for civil rights in the United States, culminated in Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call for racial justice and equality. (King 18) It is through Dr. King’s speech that the concept “communities and enemies” is introduced and later featured in some of the most outstanding literatures of all time. His concept of a “community” is initially developed when he speaks of “a nation that he dreams to rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal" (King 30) With this line, he informs us of a time when a community such as the nation of America was not created equal for all men under its citizenship. Furthermore, he informs us through his “dream that his four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” that during those times the typical community of America used characteristics to segregate its citizens, mostly by the color of their skin. (King 31)
Thereafter, the speech reveals to us what it is to be “considered” a friend during that time in which many modern literatures strive to accomplish as well when using the concept “communities and enemies.” Another line that states “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only”, allows us to view the concept of this particular era in time when you had to be white to be considered a “friend.” (King 29) Furthermore, upon inspection of this line that states “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on the promissory note as her citizens of color are concerned, that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, it is noted that black men are not being given the same promises as others who are in turn classifying them as an actual “them” or “enemy” of the entire community. (King 27) It was thereafter twenty some years later when we would become aware of Jean- Luc Nancy’s Myth Interrupted and begin to view the connection and support system of Dr.
Kings speech on the concept of how a community is formed. Within the text, Nancy proposes the question “What defines a community” by asking “What is myth?” She then proceeds to answer “Homer’s muthos, meaning speech or spoken expression, “becomes ‘myth’ when it takes on a whole series of values that amplify, fill and ennoble a speech, giving it the dimensions of a narrative of origins and an explanation of destinies.” (Nancy 48) This statement alone explains the concept of myth defining a community, being that it tells the origins and destinies of a culture. In addition to the previous concept, because Dr. King Homer muthos or speech tells of origins and destinies of a culture, it is only right to assume that a community is created and set up in the standards of which Nancy wrote about. In the same manner, Carl Schmitt’s The Concept of the Political written prior to Dr. King’s speech, supports and connects to the same classification of enemies as Dr. King describes. Schmitt states that “in the private sphere only does it make sense to love one’s enemy, or one’s adversary” (Schmitt 29) in which correlates with Dr. King’s decision to continuously show love for whites in particular as he states “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners …show more content…
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” (King 31) Subsequently, Gloria Naylor the author of The Women of Brewster Place also develops a platform and connection to Dr.
King’s concept of “communities and enemies.” Within her story she describes a “group of homosexuals who are classified as enemies that are often given the bad end of the stick in every situation.” (Naylor 130) In correlation, Dr. King speaks of “African Americans who are the enemies of America’s community at the time receiving insufficient funds and pushed to believe that the court of justice to all had ran bankrupt.” (King 27) He goes further in depth to connect with Gloria Taylor’s enemies of her novel by stating how the enemies of his speech “refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt and that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity.”(King 27) In the same manner, the homosexuals from Gloria Naylor’s novel also refuse to settle for the bad end of the stick when one of them states explicitly “that they are not moving anymore whether the community in which they live accepts them or not.” (Naylor
135) In closing, it can be noted that reality is the foundation of many concepts that have the potential to connect to many literatures. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech revolved around the idea of “communities and enemies”, a concept in which philosophers Jean-Luc Nancy, Carl Schmitt and the wonderful Gloria Naylor volumes all shared a common connection with. “Communities,” “friends,” and “enemies” are some of the most traditional contextual pieces that reality as well as writings hold a true valuable relationship with. Furthermore, in the end these contextual pieces almost always led to consequences. When looking back on the numerous ethical issues presented in Dr. King’s speech, I leave you with the question, is it beneficial to develop “communities” if these communities could possibly lead to “friends” and “enemies” in our nation?
a volume on “communities and enemies,” Dr. King’s dream spoke of a society that was inevitably facing the exact dilemma in which their novels would soon come to discuss. In response to this, I decided to take the initiative of examining the famous “I Have a Dream” speech in order to showcase how reality serves as the foundation of concepts such as “communities and enemies” that would eventually connect to specific concepts of literature. To begin, on August 28, 1963 more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Organized by a number of civil rights and religious groups, the event was designed to shed light on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country. The March on Washington featured speeches and performances from John Lewis, Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan telling of a community suffering from the consequences of segregation. The march, which became a key moment in the growing struggle for civil rights in the United States, culminated in Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call for racial justice and equality. (King 18) It is through Dr. King’s speech that the concept “communities and enemies” is introduced and later featured in some of the most outstanding literatures of all time. His concept of a “community” is initially developed when he speaks of “a nation that he dreams to rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal" (King 30) With this line, he informs us of a time when a community such as the nation of America was not created equal for all men under its citizenship. Furthermore, he informs us through his “dream that his four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” that during those times the typical community of America used characteristics to segregate its citizens, mostly by the color of their skin. (King 31)
Thereafter, the speech reveals to us what it is to be “considered” a friend during that time in which many modern literatures strive to accomplish as well when using the concept “communities and enemies.” Another line that states “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only”, allows us to view the concept of this particular era in time when you had to be white to be considered a “friend.” (King 29) Furthermore, upon inspection of this line that states “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on the promissory note as her citizens of color are concerned, that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, it is noted that black men are not being given the same promises as others who are in turn classifying them as an actual “them” or “enemy” of the entire community. (King 27) It was thereafter twenty some years later when we would become aware of Jean- Luc Nancy’s Myth Interrupted and begin to view the connection and support system of Dr.
Kings speech on the concept of how a community is formed. Within the text, Nancy proposes the question “What defines a community” by asking “What is myth?” She then proceeds to answer “Homer’s muthos, meaning speech or spoken expression, “becomes ‘myth’ when it takes on a whole series of values that amplify, fill and ennoble a speech, giving it the dimensions of a narrative of origins and an explanation of destinies.” (Nancy 48) This statement alone explains the concept of myth defining a community, being that it tells the origins and destinies of a culture. In addition to the previous concept, because Dr. King Homer muthos or speech tells of origins and destinies of a culture, it is only right to assume that a community is created and set up in the standards of which Nancy wrote about. In the same manner, Carl Schmitt’s The Concept of the Political written prior to Dr. King’s speech, supports and connects to the same classification of enemies as Dr. King describes. Schmitt states that “in the private sphere only does it make sense to love one’s enemy, or one’s adversary” (Schmitt 29) in which correlates with Dr. King’s decision to continuously show love for whites in particular as he states “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners …show more content…
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” (King 31) Subsequently, Gloria Naylor the author of The Women of Brewster Place also develops a platform and connection to Dr.
King’s concept of “communities and enemies.” Within her story she describes a “group of homosexuals who are classified as enemies that are often given the bad end of the stick in every situation.” (Naylor 130) In correlation, Dr. King speaks of “African Americans who are the enemies of America’s community at the time receiving insufficient funds and pushed to believe that the court of justice to all had ran bankrupt.” (King 27) He goes further in depth to connect with Gloria Taylor’s enemies of her novel by stating how the enemies of his speech “refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt and that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity.”(King 27) In the same manner, the homosexuals from Gloria Naylor’s novel also refuse to settle for the bad end of the stick when one of them states explicitly “that they are not moving anymore whether the community in which they live accepts them or not.” (Naylor
135) In closing, it can be noted that reality is the foundation of many concepts that have the potential to connect to many literatures. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech revolved around the idea of “communities and enemies”, a concept in which philosophers Jean-Luc Nancy, Carl Schmitt and the wonderful Gloria Naylor volumes all shared a common connection with. “Communities,” “friends,” and “enemies” are some of the most traditional contextual pieces that reality as well as writings hold a true valuable relationship with. Furthermore, in the end these contextual pieces almost always led to consequences. When looking back on the numerous ethical issues presented in Dr. King’s speech, I leave you with the question, is it beneficial to develop “communities” if these communities could possibly lead to “friends” and “enemies” in our nation?