Her work Klimasmith begins
Her work Klimasmith begins
Louisa May Alcott grew up during a time when many Northerners were beginning to stand up for the abolition of slavery and the rights of African Americans to be free from fear of a cruel master. She worked as a nurse during the Civil War, braving the “unsanitary and poorly run Union Hotel Hospital” in her efforts to aid wounded and dying men (“Louisa May Alcott” 1734). Even before her saintly deeds in the Civil War effort, it was clear that Alcott was a sympathetic, well-educated woman who supported the abolitionist cause and was willing to do everything within her power to strengthen the movement. She shows this abolitionist attitude in several of her stories, “My Contraband” being just one of them.…
The Plantation Mistress by Catherine Clinton is a historical non-fiction book which details the lives and the daily struggles of the white women of the planter class as it existed during the antebellum era in the southern United States. Through the use of historical records and diary entries of the women themselves, Ms. Clinton clearly documents that the lives of the Plantation Mistresses were remarkably different and significantly more difficult than what is that of Scarlett O’Hara and her family. Furthermore, the expectations of the white females of the time were not that of the pampered southern bell who was indulged and spoiled by her husband and whose every need was tended to by slaves. In fact, the women of the time were in only a…
3. How does the McGee’s relationship support the idea that literature reflected some women’s feelings of being trapped and oppressed by their husbands?…
The theme of disconnection is extremely prevalent in Jean Toomer’s “Cane”, especially that of women and the society around them. It was a strange time for African American women, because they had not really made their place in society yet. They were just looked at as sexual objects and housewives.…
Both Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) and Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne share some common themes. In Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses the suffering that emerges from sin, especially the sin of adultery that leads to isolation of sinners. The plot revolves around two female characters Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl. Through the two women, Hawthorne reflects the women’s hardships in the 17th century. On the other hand, Invisible Man is a novel that not only critiques racism but one that makes women invisible. Ellison fails to develop the female characters in an equal manner to the male character to reinforce the idea of gender inequality. This essay seeks to evaluate the representation of gender in American literature in Invisible Man and Scarlett Letter.…
“Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, we are just two people. Not that much separates us (p. 530).” Descriptions of historical events of the early activities of the civil rights movement are sprinkled throughout the novel, as are relations between the maids and their white employers. The novel is filled with details from the early-1960s culture in the United States like Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous march on Washington…
Black women`s struggles for voice, acceptance, equality and fulfilment has become an interesting field for discussion for numerous African American writers. The main objective for them was to present their day-to-day life in the context of the legacy left behind and history which should never be forgotten. In the following chapters of this thesis, the analysis of three chosen books will be presented. There is no coincidence in this choice because of the fact that the authors share their legacy and heritage. Apart from that, Alice Walker admits openly that she has chosen Zora Hurston as her precursor in whose footsteps she wants to follow (Sadoff, 1985). When she was asked which book she would take on a desert island with herself, she without…
Louisa May Alcott is an American Novelist best known as the author of the novel “Little Women”. Louisa was born in November 1982, grew up in Germantown- Washington D.C and was known to be an abolitionist, feminist and also a naturalist. Being a naturalist meant that she believed that nothing existed beyond the natural earth i.e. no such thing as spirituality or the supernatural. Her family suffered from financial difficulties and so Alcott had to work to support her family in an early age. She penned the story “My Contraband” (1869) which was formerly known as “The Brothers” (1863). Contraband was a black slave who escaped to or was brought within union lines (Alcott 759). In “My Contraband”, Louisa May Alcott utilizes the concept of naturalism to condemn racism in the African American community.…
Kathryn Lee Seidel takes a gender studies critical approach to Hurston`s short story “Sweat” that undermines Sykes`s perspective of his malicious actions towards Delia. Seidel`s attitude towards Sykes and Delia may seem feminist because “Feminist critics believe that culture has been so completely dominated by men that literature is full of unexamined “male produced assumption. They see their criticism correcting this imbalance by analyzing and combating partiarchial attitudes”(895). Seidel imitates this feminist literary critic persona when she writes “Indeed, Sykes is the slaveholder here; he does not work, he is sustained by the harsh physical labor of a black woman, he relies on the work of another person to obtain his own pleasure (in…
Harriet Jacobs provides a firsthand narrative on the issue of slavery and the injustices associated with the actions made by the men and women who owned slaves. Within the first few pages of her retelling appropriately named “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” the reader is made aware of the long and troublesome plight that Jacobs is made to endure because of the color of her skin. The troubles brought to light by her writing address how being a female slave is particularly more taxing than being a man and how the slave holders respond to any type of resistance.…
When reflecting on history, it is evident that there has been much struggle for Black people, especially woman. The poem, “I am A Black Woman,” by Mari Evans, portrays a relationship between Black women of our history and today’s society. By the usage of vivid and inspiring words, Evans is able to capture the reader’s attention. It is clear that the speaker is a very strong black woman. She portrays this in a way that she describes moments where she has struggled and when other black women of history have struggled as well. She implies that those hard times have made her the person she is today, which is the main point of this poem.…
For my final project I chose to do a review of the book “A Slave No More” written by David W. Blight. In his book, Blight tells the story about two men, John M. Washington and Wallace Turnage and their escape from slavery during The Civil War. Blight provides us with copies of the narratives of both men. In my review I will break down Blights book regarding the stories of John M. Washington and Wallace Turnage. In my paper I will share a critique of the book and give my opinion of this book. This is an incredible story of the first person narratives of two men who escaped to freedom.…
Alcott and Brooks have successfully managed to adapt the same story and characters to their own unique perspectives on how women are represented in the 19th century. While Alcott stresses the importance of elegance and following the rules for females, Brooks transforms this expectation into one that women may periodically manipulate. Their differences in perspective are a result of the time in which each novel was published. Alcott, writing Little Women in the 1800’s, just after the Civil War, takes her stance that is more fitting for the period as women were still required to adhere to a strict set of social guidelines. In contrast, Brooks publishing March in the 2000’s is reflective of freedom of speech, regardless of man or woman, and modernists…
According to Dorothy Height, “Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.” Black women in history have always been overshadowed by “superior” male figures, and even by fellow black men. In her debut book Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy aptly states that women have absorbed the rhetoric of the male mentality and ideology as it relates to commoditized versions of the female identity, reducing half the world’s population to a state of being “lesser than.” However, the role of black women has been increasing tremendously, and today there are numerous African American female figures positioned high in the society. From key black female figures in the American civil rights movement, business, entertainment industry, and even in politics, black womens’ influence has been growing exponentially in many different areas in the society. The issue of feminism is also widely engraved in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, Raisin in the Sun. Throughout the play, the issue of feminism is presented through numerous symbols, characters, conflicts, and in the entire plot itself.…
When it comes to the notion of our importance as a people during the slave era, would it be a fact or opinion that we head a higher significance. The master-slave ideology takes many shapes. But in the essay I will start at the auction block. At the auction block is we’re conniving masters’ first meet the slave. Although some slaves were sold against their own will, many of them had a choice of the master. Slave owners would attend auctions and persuade slaves to become theirs by filling their heads with promises of a good plantation life. This is the first of bonds formed between the master and slave on the foundation of lies. Although we can conclude that these promises weren’t kept, we have to admit that the slave owner was quite smart indeed. If he was unable to form a bond with the slave in order to persuade accompaniment, his title as master [slave owner] would fail to exist. In order to be a parent you must first have a child. In order to a student you must first have a teacher. The same applies to the ongoing topic of master-slave relationships; in order to be a master, you must own a slave. In order to uphold a high standing position, there must be a descending staircase of social status. In the earlier days of slavery, the master-slave relationship was to some extent more relaxed than it would be years later. Many of the first black slaves were treated as indentured servants, with a limited period of servitude, before their masters would grant them their freedom and their own land. By 1660, a full system of black slavery was in operation and the master-slave relationship became worse. Many of the early colonial Southern masters treated blacks like they were less of a people then the whites. The segregated of blacks from whites was first established in the year of 1629 by the first American census. Slave masters often did not provide personal names for the slaves, instead treating them as objects. Only objects? Clearly we were more than that. Master to…