AA Lit Exam 1

tragicomedy

combination of tragic notions and comedy to make light of a situation

black realism

the reality and everyday; a parallel to naturalism - the difference is that it’s not inescapable, they still have control of the situation

an example is A Raisin in the Sun and What White Publishers Won’t Print

black naturalism

artistic approach that focuses on realism and their environment; protest tradition; environmental factors impacting characters and having no control over it; force/power is very important

An example would be Native Son, The Street, and Like a Winding Sheet

black modernism

sense of loss and disillusionment that comes from the experience of being Black in America; purposeful break from societal norms; experimental writing styles in terms of structure and form

examples would be Invisible Man and Sonny’s Blues

Great Migration

mass movement of AA from rural South to cities in North, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970; people expected this movement to come with more rights and a better life but “Chicago ain’t nothin but Mississippi with tall buildings“ - Sinners

Richard Wright

criticized the Harlem Renaissance and its works as it celebrated Black people for just writing and not writing things of substance (not all but that’s what he thought); Blk authors wrote to appeal to and beg Whites to see us as people

Wrote Native Son

Invisible Man and protest

the invisible man protests silently the system by stealing electricity from white company, but he also remains stagnant in his need for change due to his position of being invisible; he’s invisible bc he’s confined to the stereotypes of the world and he escapes this by living in hibernation
(stagnation) instead of facing the complex idea of freedom and what it looks like

Sonny’s Blues and humanity

James Baldwin in this piece emphasizes humanity

“Harlem“ and A Raisin in the Sun

the poem Harlem speaks to how a dream doesn’t disappear but only festers until it becomes unbearable (sometimes becomes explosions) - this bleeds into A Raisin in the Sun as this happens to Walter; he was chasing his dream for so long that it became a burden on his family. when he was finally able to achieve his dream, he ruined it because he was so tunnel visioned on what he expected to happen and not reality (an explosion)

richard wright and art

zora neale hurston and art

what white publishers wont print by zora neale hurston

• value of art/realism that’s violated bc wont print it

because white publishers only print what they believe about minorities and what the white world will accept about minorities, there is a lack of realism and art of who people are because it’s panting a false story

• what they will/wont print

white publishers will on what will make money; they have to sell a story so they can’t sell stories about Black reality because the white world doesn’t want to see that

• typical vs untypical - who white america will accept untypical representations o

the white world is willing to accept “untypical” or un-stereotypical portrayals of European-leaning populations because they are more similar to them (see them more as human)

• american museum of unnatural history

american museum of unnatural history is a metaphor for a collection of stereotypes the american people have access to and attribute to minorities and consider it the “typical“ or normative behaviors of these groups

native son by richard wright

representation of literary naturalism (alarm clock, rat)

the rat represents the inescapable conditions that they live in; the rat is running around the living room and being chased by the family to be killed but can’t find a way to escape

the alarm clock is a call that puts the reader into the position of the family; almost a suddenness of waking up as the family is waking up; there isn’t a moment of peace other than when they’re sleep because ?

• resignation of characters

Bigger is blamed by his family for them being poor and he’s relied on for financial support; he feels like their condition is suffocating and he can’t escape what’s going on

the street by ann petry

• representation of literary naturalism (the wind)

uses the wind as a metaphor for the hostile environment that they are exposed to that actively breaks them down and blocks them from escaping poverty

• lutie’s determination vs environment (tone suggests it wont work)

Lutie tries to build an independent life for herself but she constantly faces systemic barriers (racial discrimination, class limitations, sexual exploitation) that she just can’t escape from

like a winding sheet

Source of violence/ struggle – environmental impacts

Johnson, after a build up of being racial discriminated against at work and being racially attacked by his boss, takes his anger out on his loving wife by violently beating her as he felt he just “had to do it“; felt like it was unescapable because he was just trapped in his rage “like a winding sheet“

• Consequences of external violence (racism) becoming internal violence (within the home)

the external violence of racism is something that Johnson couldn’t combat, as it is something that’s inescapable. The build up of being exposed to this violence, he tried to find a way to manage his anger by redirecting it at his wife and beating her for no reason. the inescapable reality and environment has forced innocent parties into an inescapable position of exposure to violence as well

• Impact on innocent people/ those who did not contribute (women)

Women, because they don’t have rights, have to deal with men regardless of their position. Innocent people are attacked and retaliated on because there isn’t any other way for the man to take out his anger

the invisible man by ralph ellison

Invisibility – definition and representation, advantages and disadvantages/ consequences

his invisibility is a metaphor for being confined to your stereotypes; because the world only sees him as his stereotypes, he is deemed invisible; the advantages is that it allows him to protest silently behind closed doors; the disadvantages is that it leaves him in stagnation in his search for freedom (hibernation)

• Isolation - the principle of being invisible (casted so by society because of your race) forced him into a position of hibernation (preparation for action pg. 11)

• Light - a state of consciousness; to be aware of the world around you gives you shape and identity when invisible

• The dream - freedom is complex; can have feelings of both love and hate when relating to freedom; to live on either side can result in stagnation

• Hibernation - becoming prepared for action

sonny’s blues by james baldwin

Listening/ Understanding (vs. Hearing)

Sonny told his brother, the narrator, multiple times that he doesn’t know how he can cope with his environment outside of music; his brother is hearing him say that but not understanding that he needs to play music

• Exploration of humanity and family and challenges of not judging others by our own standard

by humanizing Sonny, instead of simply looking at him as a crackhead, they were able to find understanding of one another and have a relationship. in the beginning, the narrator views his brother as a statistic or rather a failure. he only started to understand his brother once he went through the loss of his daughter, now he sees his brother as a suffering human; Sonny explains to his brother that the use of the drug was to keep him from drowning

a raisin in the sun by lorraine hansberry

Gender expectations and dynamics (manhood, womanhood)

as a man, walter measures his point of success and how he can provide for his family based on what white populations deem success - money; as a woman, beneatha measures her point of success by going against what white women deem success - homemaking and housework; tries to get in touch with her African heritage to work against that

• Freedom/ differing ideas of freedom within the family (Shift in the end)

in the beginning, Walter thought his freedom was through money and Beneatha thought is was through her education and having a career and freedom; at the end, the freedom was through the connection of the family

• Identity and explorations of being Black in America (relationship in being African and

American)

• Generational differences/ perspectives

• Pride (shifts in pride – individual vs. Family)

brown girl, brownstones by paule marshall

Contradictions of identity that Selina experiences (focus on identity within her family/community vs. Societal views)

• Diversity of Blackness

• Ethnicity, Culture, and Race – crossroads of identity

for my people by margaret walker

recitatif by toni morrison

a play on ambiguity; not known whether or not the girls were Black or White (i kinda know);

the color fetish by toni morrison

using race to act as a plot and character point rather than actually developing the plot; is lazy and cheap; an obsession with blackness and using it as point of plot without actually developing the character

blueprint for negro writing by richard wright

calls for Black writers to address Black people; should write about Black people, specifically working class to get a better outlook on general blk attitudes

should do this so can mold lives and consciousness of Black working class to create progress, develop and continue folk tradition, and create communication

do this by engaging in folklore/folk traditions (blk expression and culture); complex simplicity