Literature Professor Sarah MacDonald As a black woman I can relate to the stories and struggles that were depicted in both read material. African American literature started in the early eighteenth century. The writings of the African American literature have focused on racism‚ ethnicity‚ and struggles of life for the African American people and the chase of freedom along with the search of equality in the society. Nadine Gordimer and Patricia Smith are famous contributors in the field of African
Premium African American Race Black people
form of “What it’s like to be a Black Girl (for those of you who aren’t)” by Patricia Smith‚ is just that‚ an explanation. From the first three syllables “First of all‚” the author gives a sense of a story being told. She uses jagged sentence structure and strong forceful language to also show the reader the seriousness of her topic. Smiths poem gives the audience an insider’s view into a young black girl’s transition into black woman-hood at a time where both being a black girl and a black woman was
Premium White people Eye Race
The two poems‚ ‘What it’s like to be a black girl’ and ‘Child of the Americans’ are of great inspiration to the readers. The two poems relate especially with the African Americans‚ who face many life challenges‚ together with these being discussed in the two poems. This caught my interest as the subjects and events talked about in both poems are real and happen in the society each passing day. In the poem what it’s like to be a black girl‚ the choice made by the girl is desirable. She is determined
Premium Race Black people Poetry
What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith Compared to Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer. Carolynn Hanson ENG125: Introduction to Literature (ABG1239A) Instructor: Corey King October 15‚ 2012 When comparing and contrasting the poem What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith with the short story Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer. The poem and the short story are both great examples of the difficulty of life between different ethnic backgrounds. The Poem What It’s
Premium Black people Race African American
taken straight from random thoughts of the poet and jotted down on paper‚ a napkin‚ or any kind of canvas available to that poet. Although they don’t have much planning and are difficult to decipher‚ it is possible. When Patricia Smith wrote “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (for Those of You Who Aren’t)” (854) she was simply telling us about her experiences in life as she grew up. She may not spell out everything she is saying‚ but expects the reader to pick up on it. This tendency is also carried
Premium Poetry Literature Linguistics
Racial And Ethical Dilemma in “Country Lovers” and “What it’s like to be a Black Girl” In the short story about the “Country Lovers” and the Poem “What it’s like to be a Black Girl”‚ the actions of a racial background and ethical dilemmas are both represented and distinguished by the representation of a black female. Which is the main dynamic character seeded in both literary works. Both of these female static characters deal with to some suppressed amount of discrimination from society‚ because
Premium Black people African American White people
of “What it’s like to be a black girl” and Country Lovers African American Literature dates back to the 18th century. These writings tend to focus on issues of racism‚ inner struggles‚ slavery‚ prejudice‚ and the pursuit of freedom as well as equality. Two renowned contributors to this field of literature are Nadine Gordimer and Patricia Smith. Throughout this paper‚ details of the short story Country Lovers‚ by Nadine Gordimer and the poem‚ “What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl‚” by Patricia Smith
Premium African American Black people
selected was “What it’s like to be a Black Girl (For those who don’t know)”. This is a poem written by Patricia Smith. The three elements of the poem that I found to be engaging were the tone‚ the content‚ and the language that the author uses. This poem struck some feelings in me. Therefore I am taking a descriptive approach to my response. As a black woman I felt somewhat belittled by the tone that this author uses in this poem. She speaks about the idea of being a black girl as being someone
Premium White people Black people Race
and plight that faces the black women in the minority society as they are treated and regarded as inferior by the white people as well as black men. The story “The Welcome Table” written by Walker and the poem “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl” by Patricia Smith are two literary works that illustrate both racism and discrimination towards black women in the American society in the past‚ present and even the future. The “Welcome Table” story reveals how an old black woman is expelled from a church
Premium Black people White people Race
4/08/2013 Everything has right and wrong Everyone has an opinion of whether something is right or wrong. While one might think that something is wrong the other might think that it’s right. Lenn E. Goodman argued that certain things like slavery‚ polygamy‚ incest and rape are just plain wrong. “What I want to do here is single out a few areas where I think human deserts are irrefragable-not because these deserts are never questioned or breached in practice‚ but because they never should
Premium Ten Commandments Slavery Human trafficking