Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge Comparison Essay
Pedro Rodriguez
Exam #1
The Great Migration reshape of American History Rudolph Fisher in the story Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge does a great job by exploiting the different characters of the Great Migration. For example, for immigrants that has just arrived to Harlem Fisher highlights Miss Cynthie and Gillis. For immigrants that are established in Harlem Fisher highlights two characters headed in two different directions; one is David an established artist, second is Uggam a person involved in illegal activities. All of these serve the purpose of reporters for the reader to get a deeper knowledge of the life during the Great Migration. When Miss Cynthie arrives to the city of New York she is flabbergasted at the decorum that she is shown. We see this when the red cap gentleman calls Miss Cynthie madam something that she have never heard in Waxhaw. In the book Miss Cynthie tells the red cap gentleman “you liked to took my breath back yonder, boy, callin’ me madam. Back home everybody call me Miss Cynthie”…Well, you see, we call everybody madam”(page 36-37) Miss Cynthie is astound that in New York people show so much respect to others; her perspective of the city has already changed. At first she expected that the way that she was going to be greeted was similar to how she is greeted in Waxhaw; as Miss Cynthie not as madam.
You can further read of Miss Cynthie dubious perspective towards the city during her conversation between her and the young man. The young man tells Miss Cynthie “There aren’t any snakes in the city”. “There’s snakes everywhere, chile”. (page 35) This paradoxical exchange between Miss Cynthie and the gentleman exposes how oblivious both are to each other’s background. The gentleman is talking about actual snakes and Miss Cynthie is referring to burglars. There are major discrepancies between the lexicon of people in Waxhaw and New York. Miss Cynthie meanwhile, already has a pre-determined assumption that the city like her town of
Exam #1
The Great Migration reshape of American History Rudolph Fisher in the story Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge does a great job by exploiting the different characters of the Great Migration. For example, for immigrants that has just arrived to Harlem Fisher highlights Miss Cynthie and Gillis. For immigrants that are established in Harlem Fisher highlights two characters headed in two different directions; one is David an established artist, second is Uggam a person involved in illegal activities. All of these serve the purpose of reporters for the reader to get a deeper knowledge of the life during the Great Migration. When Miss Cynthie arrives to the city of New York she is flabbergasted at the decorum that she is shown. We see this when the red cap gentleman calls Miss Cynthie madam something that she have never heard in Waxhaw. In the book Miss Cynthie tells the red cap gentleman “you liked to took my breath back yonder, boy, callin’ me madam. Back home everybody call me Miss Cynthie”…Well, you see, we call everybody madam”(page 36-37) Miss Cynthie is astound that in New York people show so much respect to others; her perspective of the city has already changed. At first she expected that the way that she was going to be greeted was similar to how she is greeted in Waxhaw; as Miss Cynthie not as madam.
You can further read of Miss Cynthie dubious perspective towards the city during her conversation between her and the young man. The young man tells Miss Cynthie “There aren’t any snakes in the city”. “There’s snakes everywhere, chile”. (page 35) This paradoxical exchange between Miss Cynthie and the gentleman exposes how oblivious both are to each other’s background. The gentleman is talking about actual snakes and Miss Cynthie is referring to burglars. There are major discrepancies between the lexicon of people in Waxhaw and New York. Miss Cynthie meanwhile, already has a pre-determined assumption that the city like her town of