Unit 7 - Diversity & Unity Notes

Essential Questions:

1. What has caused the divide between various groups in the United States over time?
2. What has been the experience of minority groups in the United States over time?
3. Are minority groups more accepted in the United States today?
4. Is there unity within the United States today?

Minority Groups: African Americans, women, subversives, individuals with disabilities

Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

• Regionalism; writing based off of the geographical setting of the story
• Chp 2 Summary: Huck and Tom sneak off from Widow Douglas' house, and a noise alerts Miss Watson's slave, Jim. Jim tells a story of witches, leading to his becoming an authority on witches. Huck and Tom meet town boys in a cave, where Tom declares a band called "Tom Sawyer's Gang" and demands an oath from all members. The boys promise to cut off a member's throat and kill their family if they reveal the gang's secrets. Huck offers Miss Watson as his family, and Tom describes the gang's future as robbery and murder
• Chp 4 Summary: Huck discovers a footprint resembling Pap Finn's boot, leading him to suspect his return. To protect the reward money, Huck seeks help from Judge Thatcher. Rumored to have magic abilities, Huck asks Jim to predict Pap's actions. Jim reveals that Pap has two angels hovering over him, and Huck also has angels to help him decide the right path. Huck finds Pap waiting for him
• Chp 8 Summary: Huck wakes up on Jackson's Island to hear a cannon firing, realizing they are searching for him. He finds a loaf of quicksilver bread and wonders if prayer works. He explores the island, discovering Miss Watson's slave, Jim. After convincing Jim he's not a ghost, he learns he's run away to sell to New Orleans. Jim impresses Huck with his superstition skills
• Chp 15 Summary: Jim and Huck plan to reach Cairo, Illinois in three nights, then take a steamboat up the Ohio River to the free states. However, a dense fog separates them, and Huck wakes up crying. Jim is confused, but Huck lies, and he apologizes to Jim, revealing that only "trash" would treat a friend like that
• Chp 31 Summary: Huck and Jim are far from home due to the duke and king's schemes, which barely generate enough money for liquor. They plot a scam, and Huck discovers that the duke and king have turned in Jim for a $40 reward. Huck feels guilty for helping Jim, but he writes a letter to Miss Watson detailing his whereabouts, feeling relieved. However, he reminisces about their trip down the river, realizing he must decide between heaven and hell. He tears the letter and decides to betray society for Jim, plotting to steal him back out of slavery
• Chp 34 Summary: Tom and Huck find Jim in a farm cabin and discuss plans to free him. Huck suggests stealing keys, unlocking Jim, and leaving on a raft. Tom disagrees, and they decide to dig Jim out. When a slave brings food, they whisper to Jim about setting him free
• Chp 40 Summary: Tom plans a grand escape after three weeks, but a desperate gang of cutthroats threatens to steal Jim from the cabin. Huck discovers the Phelps have 15 men to fight them. Jim and the boys escape, but Tom is shot in the calf, and Jim refuses to leave until a doctor examines him
• Chp 42 Summary: Tom and Huck orchestrate Jim's escape, but Tom demands his release due to Miss Watson's death. Aunt Polly arrives, forcing Tom and Huck to reveal their true identities

Questions about reading:

• What does Huck think about the king in chapter 31? - He doesn’t like him, he calls him names and it shows Huck growing as he realizes the men are lying to him
• What kind of person is Huck, what do you think of him? - For an abused child, he has a good heart and can think surprisingly critically
• What role do lies play in the story? - a big part, they aid in building character and they allow the story to actually happen
• How are black American portrayed in these chapters? - when Huck talks with others they’re displayed as property but when Huck talks with Jim he is treated as a friend/human
• Do these examples confirm your previous understanding of Twain's portrayal of black people - yes, you can see Twain's opinions through Huck. Satire because of these people are so civilized then why do they own other people

Reviewing Literary Movements

Realism (1860 - 1914)

• Style: portrayed “real life” as ordinary people lived it by showing characters in an honest, objective, factual way; used sensory description (sight, sound, touch, taste, smel) to recreate the reality of scenes for readers
• subgeners:
  • Regionalism
    • Purpose: sought to express the realistic portrayal of the group of people from a particular area in the country
    • Style: used dialect, customs, and character types

Reconstruction

• The time after the civil war when the south was trying to put themselves back together
• Crash course video:

discusses the period of Reconstruction in the United States after the Civil War, which lasted from 1865 to 1877. The Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) and the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau provided legal protections for Black Americans, including the right to vote for Black men. However, the rights of Black individuals were often ignored or violently suppressed. The military provided more opportunities and respectability for Black people, including Black women insisting on an intersectional analysis of race and gender in politics. The formation of the Ku Klux Klan following Black education and political power flourished also led to white supremacist violence, which resulted in Black freedom being abandoned post-1877 as a result of the Compromise of 1877. The devastating consequences set the foundation for future Black oppression and racism rather than a positive chance to account for the generations of exploitation Black people endured

• Not a pretty time, not straightforward
• “Convict leasing”
  • Worse than slavery was originally
• “Peonage”

Harlem Renaissance

• product of the great migration, thousands of black families fled from the south and sought safety in Harlem
• 1920 - 1935
• A small New York City neighborhood where many black artists were recognized for their cultural donations. Reclaimed their identity, racial pride, and differences from whites
  • Music, poems, literary magazines, etc. we’re being recognized
• Icons of the Harlem Renaissance
  • Louis Armstrong
  • Josephine Baker
  • Langston Hughes
• Housing Discrimination: the Jim Crow of the North
  • Restrictive Covenants
  • Redlining
  • White Flight
• Persistence Turns into Progress
  • 1964: Civil Rights Act
  • 1965: Voting Rights Act
  • 1968: Fair Housing Act

Dust Tracks on a Road - Zora Neale Hurston

Themes:

• Hope: Zora Neale Hurston’s autobiography highlights the importance of determination and continued hope for the future.
• Racial hypocrisy: Zora describes discrimination within the black community and shares her belief that all humans are the same, regardless of race.
• Religion and God: Though she does not adhere to an organized religion, Zora considers religion often and has faith in meaning after death.

Poems

The Negro Speaks of Rivers - Langston Hughes

• talking about his heritage, and the very beginning of civilization

Ardella - Langston Hughes

• love poem
• comparing her skin to a night without stars, he thinks her black skin is beautiful
• her eyes are the stars because they are so bright

Dream Variations - Langston Hughes

• dark, tenderness of the night is compared to black people

Refugee in America - Langston Hughes

• differentiating between freedom and liberty
• he wants both, he has freedom but he’s still craving liberty

The Tropics in New York - Claude McKay

From the Dark Tower - Counter Cullen

• sharecropping reference, some people are getting things and others are just doing work
• the heart that bleeds is raining on the seeds that won’t grow, providing their own nurturing and water

A Black Man Talks of Reaping - Arna Bontemps

• sharecropping/ exploiting of labor
• trying to be prepared and smart
• sharecropping is vastly unprofitable, he worked hard and had the right materials but didn’t receive what he should’ve

Storm Ending - Jean Toomer

• racism isn’t natural, people aren’t born with it. The clouds rumbling in represent the teachings of racism. It’s untouchable and inescapable

Roots - Alex Haley

• discovery of what is an American

Postmodernism

• 1945-present
• Style: uses fragmentation, multiple voices, or asymmetry
• Purpose: questions the possibility of making sense of life through globalization and technologization
• Content: includes cultural elements and speaks to personal beliefs and values

Often complicates simplicity. Be aware of the potential for fragmentation and unreliable narration

Everyday Use - Alice Walker

• Example of postmodernism
• Who is the narrator of this story? Are they reliable?

The narrator is the mother. Not really, she idolizes Dee in a way

• Who are the characters in this story? What do we know about each of them?
  • Dee is confident and successful, maybe a little shallow
    • Narrators daughter
    • Wants the butter churn, quilt
    • Read stories to her mother and sister
  • Maggie is timid and envious of her sister
    • Has burns
    • Will marry an unimpressive man
    • Walks like a “lame animal”
  • The mother is hardworking and tough
• What are the different cultural artifacts involved in this story? How does each character perceive them differently?

The quilts. Dee sees them as something to be displayed, the narrator doesn’t see the meaning that Dee is referring to

• What is the difference between cultural heritage and family heritage? How are these differences relevant for our narrator? Why are these differences postmodern concerns?

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts (cultural property) and intangible attributes of a group or society inherited from the past. Cultural Heritage is a concept which offers a bridge between the past and the future with the application of particular approaches in the present. Family heritage is the history of a family. Where a family came from and all of the traditions, customs and more that have been passed down from generation to generation make up a family's heritage. Both are used to respect and acknowledge your history.

Summary: Mama waits for her daughter Dee's arrival, reminiscing about reunion scenes on television. Dee arrives with her boyfriend, Hakim-a-barber, and shares her name as a protest against oppression. Dee eats heartily and finds two quilts made by her family. Mama promises Maggie the quilts, but Dee insists on hand-stitched ones. Maggie offers the quilts, and Mama feels a strange spirit. Dee informs Mama she doesn't understand her heritage and encourages her to improve herself.

Affirmative Action

an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women

Kate Chopin

• contextualized

“The Story of an Hour” - Kate Chopin

Woman is told the news of the passing of her husband, she hides in her room to process her emotions. Originally she is upset but then quickly begins to celebrate her freedom. She is now able to live solely to herself and she begins to feel excited about his death. When she comes downstairs, her husband walks through the door and the woman dies on the spot. When doctors arrive, they claim she died of happiness.

“In The Future, All Women Will Be Amazon”

Article written about future women in 2000. The article details how much the women will grow, their shoulders will become broader, their foot sizes larger, their heights taller. She details how almost all women will be taller than their male significant others, and will be included in all male sports as equals.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The story is about an unnamed narrator who visits a house with her husband due to her "nervous depression." She keeps a secret journal about the nursery's yellow wallpaper, which becomes increasingly disturbing. As her obsession grows, the wallpaper becomes clearer, resembling a woman trying to escape. John worries about her fixation, but she sleeps less and believes she can smell the paper. Suspecting John and Jennie, she destroys the paper and goes into a frenzy to free the trapped woman. By the end, she is hopelessly insane, believing she has come out of the wallpaper.

• women of the time period were often treated as mentally insane when they displayed any questionable behavior, story represents rejecting societal norms and inspires public change

“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Socially awkward Bernice is convinced by her cousin Marjorie to fix herself so that more men will like her. To fix herself, Bernice begins starting her conversations with questioning if she should bob her hair, and it works, as more and more men begin to like her. When even Marjorie’s man starts to like Bernice, Marjorie corners Bernice in front of a group of men, and Bernice is peer pressured into bobbing her hair, which has poor results and the men no longer think she’s beautiful. In revenge, Bernice cuts Marjorie’s hair while she sleeps, and throws the cut pigtails onto her man’s front porch.

• Through social class and the display of women, the author displays that women are only liked if they are pretty, men are only around for money, and money buys happiness

“Winter Dreams” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dexter Green, a grocery store owner, dreams of beating golf club members and quits his job to become obsessed with Judy Jones. After attending university, he buys a laundry business and becomes wealthy. At 23, he falls in love with Judy and becomes more sophisticated. However, he loses his love for her after she leaves with another man. Dexter transfers management of his business to a partner during World War I and becomes more successful in New York. 7 years later, a business associate informs Dexter that Judy has married a cheating friend, causing him to mourn the past.

• Judy’s only personality trait is that she follows men, additionally, men talk about women the same way they talk about cars; they depreciate over time

Red Scare (Communism in the 1950s)

After WWII, Americans were very fearful of communism. Citizens within the country were quickly suspicious of each other and many government figures were accused of being communists. Additionally, Americans were afraid that communist spies were selling American information to Russia, resulting in Russia having their own atomic bombs. This hurt diversity in America, because when people were different they were quickly accused of being communist. These accusations hurt their reputations and lives permanently

Hollywood 10 & HUAC (Communism in the 1950s)

The Hollywood Ten was a group of 10 film industry members that refused to testify to an anti-communist committee hearing during the Second Red Scare era. The Second Red Scare was a time period marked by the fear of a communist takeover during the initial phases of the Cold War Era. HUAC was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of private citizens, public employees and organizations suspected of having Communist ties.

1. React to the idea that people would gladly trade the right to freedom of speech for the necessities of life-food, clothing, and shelter.

It sad that people's basic necessities are taken away from them in return for their basic constitutional rights, they should both be allowed at the same time

1. How should individuals like Lawson and Trumbo be remembered? How should individuals like Disney and Moffitt be remembered?

We should learn from them, it was brave of them to stand up and advocate for their rights.

1. Could the “witch hunt” of the 1940s and 1950s happen today?

Probably through terrorism

No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement

1. How does your assigned chapter reflect the experience of Americans with

disabilities?

It wasn’t the disability that held them back, it was the people around them. They were presumed pity in place of respect.

2. Find and mark the 2 most powerful sections of the chapter. Why did they have

such an impact on you as readers?

“Disability becomes a tragedy when she and her husband… cannot get into a restaurant or are kicked out of a movie theater because the manager decides their scooter and wheelchair make them a fire hazard.” I would think that the actual disability is the worst part but hearing this makes total sense. It’s apart of them and when they are denied “living privileges” just because they are disabled is awful

3. Shapiro's book has been described as "A sensitive look at the social and political

barriers that deny disabled people their most basic civil rights." How did your

assigned chapter fit this description?

• Breaks down common misconceptions
• Acknowledging that people's disabilities are a part of who they are
• A lot of what people thought was helping actually doesn’t
  • Provides disabled people with a voice to share their feelings and opinions about issues concerning them

No Pity - "varied group" discussion directions

1. Explain your chapter by sharing your responses from your last discussion group.

2. Answer the essential questions in relation to Americans with disabilities considering the new perspectives you have gained from Shapiro's book:

● What has caused the divide between Americans with disabilities and others in the United States over time?

Compared disabilities to segregation, provoked through physical separation as well as internal stereotypes (pity). Didn’t want disabled people around due to sickness that caused disability, felt disabled people were unclean. Separated through different opportunities

● What has been the experience of Americans with disabilities in the United States over time?

Improved through self-reflection and acceptance, the language we used has changed a lot over the years.

● Are Americans with disabilities more accepted in the United States today?

● Particularly considering Americans with disabilities, is there unity within the United States today?

Witness - Karen Hesse