Sunday, December 22, 2019

W.E.B. Dubois His Vision For Freedom Essay - 882 Words

African Americans during the 1900s lived lives full of uncertainty. They were no longer slaves, but still looked upon by many as inferior to the white race. However in this period of tension, there were men who sought to bring their race to new heights. One of these men was W.E.B Du Bois. Few have influenced the lives of African Americans in such a way as W.E.B Du Bois. The vision he had for African Americans was one that many found great hope in. He sought for the day that his race for finally have civil equality in every aspect of life. In the time of Du Bois, African Americans may have been considered free but still lacked many civil liberties, that the whites were easily granted. One of the biggest civil liberties they lacked was†¦show more content†¦If they spoke out long enough then the whites wold eventually have to change their beliefs and let the African American people have their voice in politics. Including the right to vote, Du Bois also hoped that his people wou ld one day be able to achieve equality in education. To Du Bois â€Å"education [was] the development of power and ideal† (Niagara Movement 2). If African Americans could not reach this they would never be seen in the eyes of the whites as equal. He wanted his people to been seen as bright and capable. He refused the idea that little black boys and girls should be trained as nothing more than servants. African Americans deserved to get a real education yes, â€Å"[they were] workers, but work [was] not necessarily education† (Niagara Movement 2). To Du Bois education meant more than having the skill to work as a laborer it meant his race would have a brighter future ahead of them. They could take what they had learned in school and with it would be able to gain jobs, and a relatively satisfying living, they would be seen as more alike to the whites, they after all had the â€Å"right to know, to think, to aspire† (Niagara Movement 2). Without an education black s were merely playing into the stereotype they had been cast. An education could change this they would no longer be seen as criminals. As Du Bois points out that out ofShow MoreRelatedThe Negro And Signs Of Civilization1188 Words   |  5 Pageswar era. W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington are considered by historians, two of the prominent leaders of the black community in the late 19th and early 20th century who sought inclusion and equality through social and economic progress. While their end goals were the same, the means in which they utilized their platforms and their philosophy on how best to accomplish this varied. Among other accomplishments, DuBois’ efforts in the civil rights agenda to the founding of the NAACP. DuBois advocatedRead MoreW. E. Duboiss Niagara Movement1193 Words   |  5 PagesW.E.B DuBois, a well known civil liberties advocate, in his speech, Niagara Movement, illuminates the need for racial equality in America. DuBois’ purpose is to cal l white Americans to action, as well as highlight the effects of the African American’s white superiors excluding them from simple, constitutionally given, liberties. He adopts an authoritative tone in order to establish a feeling of guilt for the white people who determine the rights given to African-Americans. W.E.B DuBois convincesRead MoreGreatness-Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois2413 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"Great people often receive violent opposition from violent minds† Albert Einstein This quote typifies the conditions in which both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois were challenged with. Not only were they two exemplary examples of African American greatness, but they proved themselves to be two of the greatest leaders of the early twentieth century regardless of race. However, as Aristotle once said â€Å"people fear what they don’t understand, and hate what they can’t conquer† thus steps wereRead MoreKarl Marx s The Soul Of Black Folks 947 Words   |  4 Pagesclass struggle. His main focuses were capitalism, exploitation, and alienation. On the other hand, W.E. B. Du Bois did not stratify race, class and nation as a personal characteristic but as social hierarchies that formed Blacks access to position, poverty, and authority. W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University, and he focused on history, civil rights, and sociology. In 1909, Dubois was a founderRead MoreEssay on William E.B. Dubois1164 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam E.B. Dubois William Edward Burghardt DuBois was born in 1868, two years after slavery was abolished, in Great Barrington, MA. Born a free man in the North, during the dawn of the twentieth century, W.E.B. DuBois was able to receive an extensive education. Throughout his life he grew more and more cognizant of the politics, education, religion, and economics that shaped the American system and separated the peoples that lived there. Although he was granted the fortune of education andRead MoreHow The Veil And Double Consciousness Theory1590 Words   |  7 PagesHow does the contributions of W.E.B Dubois fit into the world today? In order to dive into this topic we can follow the works of social theorist W.E.B. Dubois and the effect they may have on black athletes. Dubois introduced the world to sociological theories such as the veil and double consciousness. In this analysis, I will provide examples of how the Veil and Double Consciousness theories contribute to today’s society by observi ng professional black athletes. Dubois understood what it meant to beRead MoreWilliam Edward Burghardt. B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey And Malcolm X2370 Words   |  10 Pagesand the process of dehumanization was being reversed. W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X were a few of the candidates that advocated for the Pan-African movement. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Dubois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1868. As a child, he did not have much experience with racism. He completed high school at the young age of 16 and went on to attend Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee where Dubois experienced racism and segregation for the first time.Read MoreRhetorical Analysis of Dubois1642 Words   |  7 PagesInspiring the Population Through his work, â€Å"Of Our Spiritual Strivings,† W.E.B. Dubois takes the reader on a journey through the typical black man’s eyes. He creates a new meaning of the African American man as he shares personal experiences and stories of the past alike. He plays upon the heart strings of every reader, no matter the race, with his literary knowledge of words, use of pathos, and stories of his past experience to pull in emotional ties to his work. The application of dualism allowsRead MorePan Africanism1731 Words   |  7 Pagesduring his undergraduate studies in Britain with coining the phrase Pan-Africanism   W.E.B. Du Bois One of the most celebrated and popular advocates for Pan Africanism in the United Sates was W.E.B. Du Bois, whom played a pivotal role in the Pan-African Conference of 1900.   Du Bois a very articulate and renowned prolific writer had the vision of educating blacks about the hopeless conditions of the black world and to protest against white exploitation of the black people.  DuBois objectedRead MoreThe Black Man and Langston Hughes1601 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica. Color which is inherent in the concept of self, manifest in race consciousness. This is extremely significant because an African American establishes his identity with other individuals, known or unknown, on the basis of a similarity of color and features, that allowing the individual to be included in groups membership, â€Å"the subject of his self identity.† After the African Americans began to search for their identity looking through heritage, tradition, and folk traditions. Langston Hughes

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Harlem Renaissance is a convenient metaphor Free Essays

The Harlem Renaissance is a convenient metaphor for the artistic and intellectual explosion that took place during the sass and sass. Discuss. By Tanya Monkish-Benefit Kerr The Harlem Renaissance remains one of the most momentous creative movements in American history, exceeding its original importance to one specific interest group and hence cannot be looked upon simply as a convenient metaphor. We will write a custom essay sample on The Harlem Renaissance is a convenient metaphor or any similar topic only for you Order Now This essay will show that in addition to the eruption of creativity, the Harlem Renaissance should be acknowledged for its significant contribution to changing the self-perception of the Negro in America in such a positive and significant way that eventually transformed the Harlem Renaissance into the Civil Rights Movement of the sass’s and changed the identity of America forever. The renaissance served to create a perception of distinctiveness among African Americans, at the same time, compelling white America to acknowledge the significance of an ethnic group far too long seen as inferior. The Harlem Renaissance may be defined as an eruption of creativity overflowing from the gifted minds of African-Americans between the sass and sass; though in truth, it was the center of focus for the ratification and plasticization of a marginalia populace as much as it was an artistic movement. Even though mostly considered an African-American literary movement, the Harlem Renaissance stretched far beyond books and poetry to embrace art, dance, and music. The creative minds of blacks behind the Harlem Renaissance used creative expression to make an important impact on all aspects of society, while at the same time providing African-Americans with their first sense of distinctiveness not defined by slavery. Embracing creative arts, individuals sought to re-conceptualize â€Å"the Negro’ apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their culture and to one another. They also sought to break free of Victorian ethical values and conformist shame about aspects of their lives that might strengthen racist opinions by whites. Never controlled by a specific school of thought but rather characterized by powerful debates, this movement laid the foundation for all later African American literature and had a huge influence on succeeding black literature and consciousness internationally. While the Harlem Renaissance was certainly not restricted to New York City, Harlem enticed a significant concentration of intellect and talent; therefore, it served as the symbolic capital of cultural development. During the 20th century, approximately six million African-Americans escaped the remunerative hardships and harsh segregationist laws of the South and migrated northward to metropolises in an effort to obtain Jobs and economic stability as well as searching for a more racially open-minded society. Winter estimated that 175,000 of these African-Americans settled in New York City. To attach an unambiguous commencement to the Harlem Renaissance by singling out one precise text can only serve to spark debates since black authors had been published since the 19th century; however, the difference that makes the Harlem Renaissance effortlessly definable as a defining moment was the range of issues that black writers covered as its onset. The true origin of this Renaissance is not in any single work that sparked a revolution, but in the various and multiple congregations of mutual interests by those yearning to showcase the remarkable surge of creativeness via the publication of literary magazines and books. Crucial to the movement were Gaines such as the Crisis, published by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Opportunity, published by the National Urban League; and The Messenger, a socialist Journal eventually connected with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a black labor union. These groups attracted many Negro intellectuals who were particularly upset with the rise in violence against blacks in the United States; therefore, theses organization became the driving force for changing the status quo of the Negro. This mutual need to help one another was a primeval component in changing the movement from a purely literary dominant into one that incorporated all fine arts; it also played an important role in turning the Harlem Renaissance into a search for a new identity for an ethnic group previously defined by centuries of oppression. Although the artists created vivacious and lasting works of literature, art and music, the Harlem Renaissance quickly became Just as important for the way in which it gave African-Americans a real culture and a pride in acknowledging and embracing that culture. Prior to this era, the representations of African-Americans in American literature were that of the illiterate and inferior peasant who made his or her living in the dirt of the cotton fields. The intellects contributed to the importance of the Harlem Renaissance by understanding and contributing to its purpose in creating positive role models for the Negro everywhere. One of the most important traits of the Harlem Renaissance is that teamwork was considered a better way to help individual works rather than to compete. An intuitive sense that any single artistic effort was going to define all others created an effort by everyone involved to create a cultural tapestry that served not Just other artists, but audiences as well. In reality, this cultural movement essentially created the idea of the black intellectual for both Americans and Europeans. Furthermore, the creation of the â€Å"New Negro† in Harlem represented the liberation of the last relics of chattel slavery, those of low esteem and even uncertainty and self-revulsion. Appraisers, however, query whether the Renaissance actually accomplished its goals of creating a new identity for the Negro separated from the history of slavery. One of the denunciations is that by trying to create a distinct culture detached from the past cruelties and even the influence of Anglo- European customs it succeeded only in alienation. A more powerful denunciation is that the Harlem Renaissance duplicated only the specific identity of the middle class, intelligent elites of an ethnic group trying to sway its background and views on a population still dominated by lower-class and illiterate people. Yet, another criticism is that the very goal of forging an identity for an entire ethnic group and socially enlightening them was utterly impractical because the vast numbers of African Americans were mostly oblivious of it or knew it only as history. The foundation of all eroticism of the Harlem Renaissance is that it encloses an inevitable element of two- fixedness in that it tried to produce a distinct identity that was centered primarily on the conformist beliefs indoctrinated by its intellectual and artistic leaders from a white society and educational system. In fact, the central theme that can be concluded from all of the criticism is that it tried to accomplish little more than a black representation of the white middle class establishment. What is not up for argument is the actual value of the artistic contributions of the era. James Weldon Johnson is an iconic figure in the initiation of the Harlem Renaissance both as writer and editor. He had written the contentious Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man and had also edited the book of American Negro Poetry. This collection showcased quite a few of the Renaissances most artistic poets, including Longboats Hughes, a man who became legendary in the literary world, Hughes possessed a passion for music and functioned as a medium by showcasing the importance of traditional black folk music. Zorn Neal Hurst published a literary magazine that collapsed almost immediately because of funding issues, but was influential nevertheless. Hurst later achieved immortality with her book Their Eyes were Watching God. Literature was not the only art that defined the Harlem Renaissance. In fact, the music of the era may have been more significant in defining the uniqueness of the common Negro than the literary accomplishments. The music became a channel of communication, while providing inspiration to the literary achievements of writers and dramatists. Jazz surged into the arena of respectability and became symbolic as the essence of the urban way of life. The first Jazz performers were Bessie Smith, Duke Elongating, Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. Added to this, Longboats Hughes specifically set out to bridge the gap between music and literature by adding the rhythms of Jazz into his poetry while Claude McKay used the ambiance of Jazz in his novel, Home to Harlem. Harlem Renaissance, therefore, epitomizes an attempt to combine artistic channels to construct an identity of artistic expression which is often views as the apex of human creation. It is from this view point that the Renaissance can be propelled to being much more than a metaphor which speaks to comparison, but ether this makes the Renaissance an exemplary worthy of imitation. The visual arts were also a vital component in stimulating the notion of a universality of individuality among blacks during the Harlem Renaissance. Aaron Douglas was head of the Department of Art at Fish University, where he exercised substantial influence over up and coming artists. He truly embraced the status of being the most important visual artist during the glory days of Harlem Renaissance, focusing on large murals that brought to the fore the accomplishments of African-Americans all through history. Douglas showed one of the undercurrents that drove the Harlem Renaissance, which was calling attention to value and contributions of blacks to the advancement of America. Implicit in that goal was the even greater goal of spurring future generations to even greater accomplishments and pride in their culture. Surely, the most long-lasting effect of the Harlem Renaissance may have been the one which entrenched upon the education of African Americans. The innovative endeavor of Negroes proved that stereotype of black inferiority was null and void. The enlightening legacy of the Harlem Renaissance was not simply one in which more lacks saw the significance of education but it was one which saw an intensification in the importance and availability of high education. After the renaissance, more African Americans than ever, enrolled in colleges and universities. However, it was not Just the pursuit of education that the movement inspired; it was the type of education that African Americans obtained. Since the socio-political actualities of racism divided America either indirectly or openly in nearly every work of literature produced during this period, the Harlem Renaissance is acknowledged for generating militancy borne by that pursuit of knowledge. Anytime a people, who is exposed to an education system at a level they have been deprived of, it is only expected that certain quarters to identify the radical aspects of the denial of that education. Hence, there was a beginning of consciousness among African Americans across America that agreements made had not been kept from Reconstruction through World War I. The Renaissance essentially had the effect of deepening the sense of unfair discrimination by displaying how it could be achieved through much more indirect methods than chattel slavery or the Jim Crow Laws. A significant amount of the intellects of the movement urged that discrimination of this type be challenged and overcome. It could only be through education that the real issues African Americans met in a racially divided world could be dealt with, and as such the literature and art of this period forced black audiences to become to embrace education so that they could understand what they were reading or looking at. During the period of the Harlem Renaissance, African-Americans for the first time had an honest reason to experience pride and rejoice in their identity. Out of Harlem came works of literary, casual and fine arts that spoke of the contribution of their race and forced white supremacist groups to accept their contributions. In that moment in time, the entire world looked at Harlem as the future of artistic expression. The artistic works were grasped by scholars as a meaner of showcasing the idea that African-Americans no longer needed to classify themselves with a history of suppression and subsidiaries. The Harlem Renaissance produced novelists, poets, artists and musicians who are today considered some of the finest that America ever produced, regardless of the lour of one’s skin. That, in fact, may be the ultimate achievement of the Harlem Renaissance. After the tremendous flood of artistic accomplishments that crossed every medium available, these Negro men and women and the works they created could no longer be treated with the grudging respect of great African-American art. Today the finest books, poems, music and artwork are universally recognized as simply great American art. Thus, in addition to the burst of creativity in the artistic and intellectual explosion, the Harlem Renaissance should be recognized for its nutrition to changing the self-image of the Negro; a rise in self-esteem that would eventually transform into the Civil Rights Movement of the sass and changed the identity of America forever. Indeed it was not a convenient metaphor but a celebration of African American heritage and cultural expression that continues to have positive effects on the social, intellectual and economic stature of African Americans and the Diaspora. Bibliography 1. Bio True Story, Aaron Douglas Biography. 2. Houston Koala, Harlem. 3. Huggins Nathan, Harlem Renaissance (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971) . Kramer Victor and Robert Russ, Harlem Renaissance Re-Examined (New York: Whitish Publishing Company, 1997) 5. Rhodes Henry, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. The Social Contribution of the Harlem Renaissance. 6. Achiest Duncan, Twelve Lives in Jazz. Http://www. Pit. Du/?defeater/Jazz/articles/ACHIEST. HTML 7. Sexton Timothy, The Harlem Renaissance: A Research Paper. 8. The Great Migration. Black History -History. Com. http://www. history. com/topics/black-history/great-migration 9. Thomas Terry, Afar-Cobra: A Black Revolutionary Arts Movement and Arts for People’s Sake. How to cite The Harlem Renaissance is a convenient metaphor, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

The Landlady Research free essay sample

Suspense in the landlady The landlady is a story, fenced in walls of suspense, uncertainty, and stereotypical innocence of an elderly woman, luring, lusting, over a young man, giving the story a seductive twist. Suspense is first ignited by Billy’s attraction to a sign printed on a bed and breakfast. Initially the style, in which the author writes , is suspicious, reading that, the words don’t role of your tongue, printed letters are usually associated with a warning. If this had been a romantic short story, he probably wouldn’t have done this; he would have done something more along the lines of ‘bed and breakfast’. Billy doesn’t recognise this with a great deal of significance. The reader however, is already very suspicious of the lady, therefore finds this much more significant, and then the landlady makes a remark, which caries some kind of seductive lure, ‘We have it all to ourselves’ She says; this I believe to is the trigger quote of seductiveness a string of lusting comments to come; this does not make the story sexy, it makes it sleazy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Landlady Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The way the ‘all’ is enthused adds a chill to the line. And the way the line sounds so possessive reflects her desire for Billy. This desire makes the reader feel very uneasy. An old woman, and a young man, in the era the story was written particularly, this was considered to be taboo. No one talked about it, its just something that sociologically didn’t belong, and is against modern ideological views. The reader now as fresh fears for Billy, and fresh suspicions of the landlady, we get the impression she is perverted. Usually, a young man could fend of such an peculiar obstacle, and such a situation could actually become comical, but this woman has already proven that she can get him unwillingly into her house, where else will this force lead him. With all these suspicions, and suspense the old lady has trailed, the reader has developed an overwhelming interest in the story at this stage. And becomes detective. The landlady has proven she embeds, despite her pleasant apparel, a sour twist of crude seductiveness. In the Landlady, the setting was Bath, England. Deal with fear and suspense by using various techniques to keep the reader in suspense. When the first paragraph of The Landlady begins, the ‘audience’ is made aware of the surroundings. Roald Dahl starts to create fright/anticipation by providing an in depth account into the background of the story. The account set, describes to the audience the atmosphere and gives us an insight into the kind of weather conditions within the scene. The audience is told â€Å"the air is deadly cold, and the wind as flat as a blade of ice cutting against his cheek†. This descriptive opening to the story suggests that Billy is in a hostile environment. By doing this the author is generating apprehension and expectancy. Billy Weaver is seventeen-years-old. He was wearing a new navy-blue overcoat, a new brown trilby hat, and a new brown suit. He walks briskly, as he has decided that â€Å"‘Briskness’ was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen†. Billy is trying hard to become a businessman, because he knows that businessmen are successful. We also learn that he is gullible, weary, uncertain, and cautious and that he takes people at face value. We notice that Billy takes the landlady at face value when he says: â€Å"The old girl is slightly dotty, but at five and sixpence a night, who gives a damn about that? † We notice during the story that the landlady is quite peculiar. From the first sentence we notice that something isn’t quite right with her. When she opens the door, it seems as if she is expecting Billy to arrive. We know this through a number of different quotes: â€Å"But I’m always ready day and night in the house just on the off chance that an acceptable young gentleman will come along, and it is such a pleasure, my dear, such a very great pleasure when now and again I open the door and see someone standing there who is exactly right†, this is further enhanced by â€Å"I noticed that the bed covers were put back ready for someone to get into the bed†. These all suggest that the landlady is expecting Billy to arrive at the Bed nd Breakfast. These quotes also create anticipation because we wonder why she is so eager for him to stay. In the Landlady the conspiracy was to lure Billy into the house and to poison him with a preserving chemical, as we believe that she wants to preserve his body when he has died. Billy is described to be in a hostile environment. For Billy the hostile environment was a à ¢â‚¬ËœDeadly cold’ small town called Bath in England. Lured to their fate by a surreal sense of security, with Billy it was that he was staying in a Bed and Breakfast with the landlady.