May 24, 2011 Response

  The early 1900’s was a time renowned for overcoming the racist undertone that seemed to linger even after the end of the civil war. Writers McKay, Hurston, Hughes, and Cullen convey the struggles of overcoming racism in America.

     I found all of these works to be similar in the sense that each author portrayed a sense of pride and self-worth despite the oppression they faced in being considered “colored.” They were also all firm in their convictions that every man and woman is technically the same inside, and that the segregation in America would eventually be eliminated once people came to the realization of equality. However, the points of view from each work were much different. Although all authors were African-American, they had very different places in life, which was evident in their poetry and stories.

     McKay depicts the idea that his death, as an African American, is both closely approaching and inevitable because of the oppression from whites. Having said that, he declares that they might as well “go down” fighting rather than allow discrimination to be accepted. He utilizes intense punctuation and a metaphor to prove his point, exclaiming, “even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!” alluding that the whites will be forced to acknowledge McKay’s pride. McKay’s biggest fear is dying a futile death, and he ends the poem exclaiming that he will face the “cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!” No matter what horrific scene is to come, McKay will show no fear and instead emit an intense sense of pride.

     Hurston, on the other hand, describes the transition from never acknowledging color difference to being seen as “colored” when she moves to a new town. Although the point of view seems to be from a young, innocent girl opposed to the rather gruesome point of view from McKay’s poem, Hurston still shows that similar sense of pride. She writes there was “no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes,” indicating that she was not brought down by her skin color and instead proud of it. My favorite line of hers was when she wrote, “the game of keeping what one has is never so exciting as the game of getting,” indicating that she is happy that she has to work towards equality. She also discusses that being “colored” completely depends on the context, and that whites can be “colored” when in an environment of mainly African Americans. Lastly, Hurston ends referencing the “Great Stuffer of Bags,” which in my opinion is God.  Hurston is saying that God made everyone the same inside, and that a “bit of colored glass more or less wouldn’t matter,” meaning that everyone should be treated as God intended: equally. I think that Hurston’s writing is most similar to the authors we looked at yesterday because of her innocent, observational tone. It especially reminded me of de Crevecoeur’s “What is an American?” Just as de Crevecoeur observationally marveled at the equality in America (opposed to Europe), Hurston innocently acknowledged the differences she noticed in regards to racism. Every observation sounds innocent and honest from both authors, without any graphic language and exaggerated punctuation, which appears to pop up in some of the other works.

     Hughes also emphasizes the notion that everyone is the same inside, similar to Hurston’s “Great Stuffer of Bags” allusion. According to Hughes, everyone is the same and enjoys participating in the same activities despite looks or race. For example, in Theme for English B, he states, “I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.” He also acknowledges the American dream and goal of equality, by stating, “You are white – yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American.” In Mother to Son, Hughes references his mom talking about never walking up the “crystal stair,” indicating that life as African American during this time was never easy, as the stairs had “tacks in it” and “splinters.” However, his mom emphasized that he must keep climbing and never stop. Again, the sense of pride is passed on through this poem. What else do you feel his mother intended for Hughes to get out of this message?

     Lastly, Cullen utilizes a formal structure and expressive, poetical language to depict racism in America. According to Cullen, although there is a God, he wonders why a God would allow such racism in America, stating, “Inscrutable His ways are, and immune to catechism by a mind too shrewn.” He is confused as to why this discrimination is evident in a world intended for equality according to its creator. Cullen’s next poem, Incident, utilizes a rhyme scheme to convey innocence, and did so in an effective manner. This poem affected me as strongly as Hurston’s story because you don’t expect such young, innocent children to encounter such terrible moments of segregation. The most disturbing line was, “And so I smiled, but he poked out His tongue, and called me, ‘Nigger’” and “That’s all I remember.” The rhyme scheme creates a childish tone, where you expect to read a happy-go-lucky poem. Instead, you read a disturbing poem about a boy who does not understand why he is called names by another boy. The innocence makes it hard to read.

     These stories reminded me of the first week at orientation. I remember taking the Clemson 101 class and doing an ice breaker activity regarding diversity. The teacher asked us a scenario where, if you walked into a room where white people were on the right, African Americans were on the left, Asians were in the back, and a guy with a wheel chair was alone and had no one to sit with, where would you sit and why? Having never experienced racism, I was both shocked and extremely disturbed when a girl said that she would sit right over with the “white people” because it was a safety net for her. I didn’t understand that at all, and honestly the scenario itself didn’t even make sense to me…I always grew up where everyone was mixed together and no one thought about that.