Starting from the late 1700’s until the mid 1900’s was a difficult time for the African American community. People were dying for no specific reason, there were no jobs’ and the life conditions were very harsh. The Analyzing of two different poems A Black Man Talks of Reaping by Arna Bontemps and A Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes helps us better understand the difficulties in Harlem during the 19th century. The comparison of the similarities and differences between both creates a solid and experienced idea for the reader to understand. The fact that in one poem the author ‘speaks’ and the other one the author ‘talks’ can prove different experiences that these authors have lived trough. Both poems use specific examples and comparisons to give a global image of Harlem in the 1900’s.…
When I say, “Billionaire,” who is the first person that comes to mind? Is it Bill Gates, or maybe…. Donald Trump? How about Reginald Lewis? Who is he, you ask? Reginald Lewis is the first black billionaire, born in 1942.…
Rhyme is words that sound alike; it’s a communication of two or more words with similar-sounding ending syllables placed so as to echo one another. In the poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley, a rhyming scheme is being used at the end of each sentence. Also along the same lines of this poem, the words at the conclusion of a line that rhyme with words at the completion of additional lines to show harmony. For an example Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain, /May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train (lines 8-9). The same vowel-consonant combination has used the words; Cain and train continue to produce an appealing sound. Therefore, the first four lines of this poem are about the journey of a woman from…
At the age of eight a young women by the name of Phillis Wheatley, who would eventually become one of America’s most controversial African-American poets, was brought to America from Africa. She was born in Senegal sometime in 1753 and once she was finally brought to Boston, Massachusetts, on a slave ship, she was bought by a white family. The father of that white family, John Wheatley, bought Philis so she could serve as a personal servant to his wife. Luckily for her, this white family educated her and soon afterwards she was fluent in both Latin and Greek, and was moving on to writing advanced poetry, which was due to the support from her white owners. Wheatley did not write about cruel experiences or create racial poetry based on black culture, but instead wrote about being against slavery, faith, and tolerance, which people enjoyed. By this time, having spent most of her lifetime in America and white society, she had learned to accept their…
One of the major differences between the New Negro and the African American is the viewpoint on the culture. The aspects of the culture that is being focused on is the literary, and the fine arts. “In Harlem Renaissance literature,…
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Guatavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (1789)…
In the poem, Upon Being Brought from Africa to America, Phyllis Wheatley expresses her gratitude for being uprooted from native land Africa to America. The poem suggestes that America, introduced Phyllis to God and helped her develop a belief system to get through troubled times. Phyllis goes on to explain that some people view the african race as inferior or with a hateful and devilish perception. However, what must be noted, especially of those who follow the christian race, is that blacks…
“The real names of our people were destroyed during slavery. The last name of my forefathers was taken from them when they were brought to America and made slaves, and then the name of the slave master was given,”- Malcolm X. He is saying that slavery took away who you were, and all of your basic rights, and political writing was one of the ways of getting it back. In African-American history, literature has been used in many different ways, one of the most common ways was political writing. Different writers have used their writing in many ways, some talking about their better than average experience, and some about their average and terrible experience. All of them had some things in common, but still very distinctive experiences. In this…
In the poems, “Let America Be America Again” and “Negro” by Langston Hughes, the voice of the narrator appear to be bold and pitiful. The tones of both poems are anger and bitterness from the minority groups in America towards the majority group. The themes of each poem vary in ways but they are also similar pertaining to the way that African Americans do not have equal opportunities in America just like the other minority groups living in America. In “Let America Be America Again”, Langston Hughes illustrates that America is not the land of the free like it is advertised. In “Negro”, Hughes also castigate America but from the point of the view of an African American.…
Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success? Use specific examples to illustrate how you succeeded.…
The history of the slaves and the Middle Passage played a role in shaping the Americas and influencing trade. However, it lead to a negative impact on the survival and lifestyle of the slaves while the people involved in the trade benefited. In the book, “The Coming,’’author Daniel Black utilized a unique narrative style in his writing and supported his claim by presenting ways to explain the traumatic experience Africans slaves faced starting from their homeland and their journey through the Transatlantic Passage to the Americas. Black provided in-depth stories of atrocities committed to slaves during the slave trade and the impact of the slave trade in West Africa and the New World. The title “The Coming’’ played an integral role in describing…
In the early 1900’s, many black artist be flood the streets of New York City. In our generation now, there aren’t many kids who see art as poetry or music, but as a piece of painting that we can make using pencils, paint, and markers. Out of those few kids, there are a great number of them who see art in poetry more than a composition framed in a museum. Now out of those few, there would be a wide range of African American artist to become big-time artist. Who would have given us an opening to get such a great opportunity to become known in the world that use to be segregated years ago? In the 1920’s, many talented African Americans came to New York City and began showing their talents. Out of all of those talents, a few was selected. One of those talents were poetry. Artist like Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston became big-time artist. They were liked by all races which made them a great African American poets. They talked about the American dream and ways lives could have been, which I’m sure many African Americans could relate to and what others wanted to know. They talked about their feelings which and everyday life. As time went on, they passed away, but their poetry remained for many years. In the 1950’s, there was a play named: Fences by August Wilson. The play was about growing up being an African American. The play talks about how Negros couldn’t drive garbage trucks and how one man can make an opening for other African Americans. The poetry written during the Harlem Renaissance plays a huge role in the 1950’s because of what the play is about. It is about how life then and how it begins to change. The renaissance opened door for future generations. The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance opened doors and deeply influenced the generations of African American writers (Poets). Without the renaissance we wouldn’t have as many opportunities to express our talents. August Wilson shows in his play: Fences that…
From an early age there have been three classes, which I could not wait to go to. These three classes are also the subjects in which I excel in which are English, History, and Mathematics. The reasons why I excel in these classes are because of my Grandma, utilizing my resources, and self motivation.…
This book not only goes into details about the labor that the slaves partook in on a daily basis that kept America up and running, but also about the cultural aspect of bring slaves into the country. Bringing African’s over to America brought a whole new culture to America. Although white men enslaved African’s they continued to embrace their culture. They brought a new religion, language, music, and several skills that have uniquely blended the American culture that it is today.…
At the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Bill Gates serves as co-chair. He is a business person who wants to transform the well-being of the third world via vaccinations. Bill Gates strategy is that of a utilitarian create, maximize and weigh the positive choices that will affect large numbers of populations. The standards that go into the moral decision making vary. Due to the scale of the operation the criterion used by him to weigh the cost and benefits that deal with such a vast amount of human lives would fall under act utilitarian. For example, Bill Gates states, “I’ll start with polio. Cases are down more than 99 percent since 1988. Earlier this year, we celebrated a fantastic achievement: India was declared polio-free.”(Bill Gates, 2014, para. 4) The decision to continue vaccination usage depends heavily on the data showing success in the large scale benefits vs adverse reactions. Example, anti-vaccination groups claim, “Gates is at fault for 47,500 paralysis cases after polio vaccine in India. However, the CDC has reported that there have been no cases of polio in India since 2011.” (“Bill Gates vaccinations,”…