Journal #11: "They said what?!?!"

     None has done quite so well than McKay and Hopkins in portraying white people as evil.  Through Hopkins’ short story and McKay’s poem “If We Must Die”, it is obvious that these authors were not afraid of speaking up about the horrific, unjust time of our nation.  So, did McKay and Hopkins receive prolific persecution and criticism for speaking the explicit truth about their treatment as African Americans?

     In Hopkins’ story, Jones, an honest and good man, dies at the end to save a train full of white people.  Furthermore, the police find the real murderer and realize that it was never Jones, although they were in search of this man for quite some while, believing he was ruthless and evil.  The people at his funeral were repentful, knowing that they had made a mistake in judging him for something he never did.  Jones is portrayed almost as a Christ-like figure at the end of this story, dying for many guilty, racist and unclean people so they could live and be saved through this train wreck.  It is completely possible that there was harsh criticism towards this story, since a black man was portrayed to be like Christ.  Many people back then were not even keen on having black people know about Christ and especially not having a black person portrayed as Christ.  

     In McKay’s poem, he tells his fellow members of his race that “round [them] bark the mad and hungry dogs” (line 3) who are obviously the white persecutors.  He also calls them “the monsters” and “the common foe”, which I am sure stirred up anger among the white population.  Whites were so used to being in control and the dominating race.  It was uncommon to be called something so cruel when these were the words that whites thought of about blacks.  I can only imagine what was said to McKay for encouraging his race to stand up to these “monsters”.  

     Through these authors, it is obvious that they were not afraid to speak their mind or get criticized for doing so.  It is wonderful that they wrote these works, so that we may look back upon them today and realize just how cruel parts of society were to people who never deserved that behavior at all.

Journal 10: The Realization

 In Harper’s poem, “Learning to Read” and Chesnutt’s story, “The Wife of His Youth”, there is a sense of astonishment.  As one is narrated by a black woman and another by a black man, it is evident that this is their point of view, which made it so much more real to me.  In these two readings, it is evident of just how imprisoning slavery was toward women.  

     Harper’s poem speaks of a girl named Chloe, who is now an elderly woman speaking of her life in slavery.  Even though she was a slave, society was starting to open up to the idea of schools for African Americans.  Chloe spoke of how “the Rebs did hate it” (line 3).  Throughout the poem, I felt this sense of pity and despair for Chloe, since she was robbed of some of the simple joys in life, for example, reading her Bible.  She desired to so badly, but as she says in the poem, “But when I begun to learn it, Folks just shook their heads” (lines 31-32).  What a shame and discomforting thought it is that blacks were not even allowed to read their own Bibles!  Most slave holders called themselves “Christians”, so it is unfathomable to me how Christians would not want their brothers and sisters to know about the Lord.  Religion was not so much involved in the next story as was love.

     Chesnutt’s story, “The Wife of His Youth” was very predictable.  Once the little old black lady had left his porch and Mr. Ryder, “...stood for a long time before the mirror of his dressing-case, gazing thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face” (59), I knew that she had, unbeknownst to her, found her long lost husband.  I was disgusted at the fact that Mr. Ryder never once looked for her, or never appeared interested, and that he had never, “wish[ed] to change his condition to that of a married man” (56).  This woman was in deep agony over her lost lover, and Mr. Ryder never seemed to blink an eye.  

     Through these readings, I have seen how badly women were treated during slavery through the lack of promises and the revocation of the right to learn.  It makes me disgusted at the men of this time and I pity the many righteous, innocent women of this era.

Journal #9: America's History of a Lack of Motivation

   I never really thought that history could repeat itself, even though many people have always believed that it can.  However, after reading about literary life in the late 1800s, I now see a resemblance between life then and life now in our society when it comes to entertainment versus education.  As more inventions arose and thoughts grew wider, people forgot about books.  We can see this today in many children all across the United States who have been sucked into the zombie-like state each afternoon after school playing high-tech video games instead of doing schoolwork.  The resemblance between the 1800s and today’s society is that when given a choice between academics or entertainment, entertainment is always the more desired choice.

     Reading pages 1-29, I was surprised to learn that around 1895, “poetry assumed a diminishing role” (23).  Already, in a society that was still growing and learning about itself, people were putting down the books and focusing on the future of technology and entertainment.  William Cullen Bryant said it perfectly, that, “The taste for [poetry] is something old-fashioned; the march of the age is another direction; mankind are occupied with politics, railroads, and steamboats” (24).  Has our lack of attention on academics as a nation gone back this far in our country’s history?  It seems that we value entertainment too much.

     Today, 65% of United States households play video games (Statistics).  In the 12-17 age range, 22% of them are “established gamers”, meaning they have had more than two years of playing experience already (Statistics)!  It seems as if our society today places a greater strain on entertainment and just pleasing our children by giving them what they desire than actually inspiring them to love school and to read!  

     If we could get the excitement back into reading like it was in the 1800s when many up and coming authors made their debut, our education system would prosper and so would the minds of our children.  Instead of parents settling on mediocre children who value entertainment over education, parents should encourage reading and the persistence of knowledge.  

Journal #8: The Most Morbid Time in U.S. History

     The poems “Arlington Heights” by Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt and “The Death of Lincoln” by William Cullen Bryant effectively resonate the morbid atmosphere of slavery in the mid-1800s.  Not only were people saddened by slavery at this time, they also had to learn to cope with the assassination of a fantastic president, a hero in the eyes of many, Abraham Lincoln.  The two poems illustrate current events of the mid-1800s.  However, only one persuades readers more to pursue the antislavery movement, and that is “Arlington Heights”.  This is because in Bryant’s poem, he only speaks about the great president and not the effect slavery had on people. Through its imagery and diction, Piatt successfully persuades readers to have compassion for their darker brothers and sisters. 

     Imagery is so important in a poem because it transmits the message to the reader more vividly than just words.  Piatt illustrates the saddened people effected by slavery in lines 24-25 by expressing, “The mothers, sisters, wives with faded eyes That call still names among their broken talk.”  Since her poem is about the Arlington Memorial Cemetery, this explains to the reader that many families were effected by slavery and the war.  Their lives are forever changed because their loved ones will never come back.  They are gone forever.  And yet, still, they call out their names in desperation, in hope, in faith that they will reappear again.  Readers can feel this desperation through Piatt’s fantastic use of imagery.

     Secondly, Piatt exudes exquisite diction to provoke strong emotions in the reader about how somber this time was for many people.  In the same stanza as above, in lines 22-23, Piatt writes, “The dreadful phantoms of the living walk, And by low moons and darkness, with their cries”.  This poem would not have its success if it did not have this word choice.  Expressing the living members of these deceased as “phantoms” tells the reader that these slavery and war victims are suffering and in a severe state of depression and shock.  “The low moons and darkness” give an eerie feel to the picture, almost one of a horror story or a Halloween night, thus explaining the day after day morbid toll this war has had on slave and war families.

     Expressing imagery and diction as successfully as Piatt has explains to the reader exactly how people in the mid-1800s were feeling about the war and slavery and makes the reader feel engulfed in the scene.