Literature & Language Essay: Impact of Oppression of the Lives of Negroes
Read and review all three pieces:
1. Lorraine Hansberry's piece "A Raisin in the Sun"
2. Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson"
3. John Steinbeck's "The Pearl"
Assignment details: Oppression is a common theme in literature. It pervades our past and navigates our future in modern times. It establishes a common ground among people because each person has, at one time or another in his or her lifetime, felt the sharp claws of oppression dig deeply in one form or another. In the works you’ve read and fully analyzed by Bambara, Hansberry, and Steinbeck, they not only examine, but wallow in the theme of oppression; consider what oppression does to those on which it is imposed. These symptoms are revealed in our main characters. Using this as your preface, identify three symptoms the main characters share, provide a practical application to each character, without summarizing, and show the common thread between the three characters in this regard. There should be one “symptom” per paragraph; each work should be covered in each paragraph by and through one specific character per work.
A word of caution, you are writing for an audience who has read and fully understands the pieces, so DO NOT SUMMARIZE; rather allude to the pieces as needed for support. Do not recap what happened in the stories; your audience knows what happened.
The introduction should contain:
**A hook
** the authors and titles of the works
** your thesis (given above)
** your points of evidence that you’ll use to support your thesis
The body should contain:
** evidence and outside sources
** clearly delineated paragraphs with a purpose and specific function toward proving the thesis
The close:
** should start narrow and move toward the broad
** should recap how your supports have evidenced your thesis in brief
Outside Sources:
You will be required to have at least 3 but no more than 5 outside sources for your work, and they must come from the college databases; you must cite in MLA style; your paper must conform to MLA style; obviously, you must have a works cited and parenthetical citations.
Your grade will also be based on your ability to:
**present a clear and interesting thesis, which should be plainly stated in the introduction paragraph, along with the introduction of your Aammunition@;
**utilize support points which relate directly to the thesis;
**utilize secondary support points to develop and detail your primary support points (you can/should use either or both quotes from the text or your own observations or experience);
**demonstrate fluid sentence and paragraph structure, having each clearly grow out of the ones preceding them;
**use grammatically correct sentences of varying lengths and structures; and
**use proper punctuation, correct spelling, and appropriate diction throughout.
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Impact of Oppression of the Lives of Negroes
Oppression is the most dominant theme of the 18th century. It gives rise to the new form of expression, which is identified as the Black American Literature or African American Literature. This sub-genre of literature is mainly concerned with the redemption in the face of the black man and his culture from the negative to a more positive direction. This piece of writing contains three literary works that are influenced by the theme of oppression, including the play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, the story "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, and the novel "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck (Hansberry; Bambara; Steinbeck). All three writers shared the same theme about the hardships faced by African-Americans under the dominance of white Americans. The three symptoms found common in the main characters, include problems created by racism, social discrimination, class discrimination, and unequal distribution of wealth.
Racial Discrimination
Racism was the most prominent issue in the18th century (Wheeler 207). The writers of that particular age were highly influenced by racism, and it is revealed by their works and the main characters. We can witness that all stories revealed racism, and the main characters are the victim of it. In the play “A raisin in the sun,” the protagonist Walter and her family faced problems in the housing industry, employment, and living space because of racism (Hansberry). Also, the setting of houses in the context calls specific attention to the racism of Chicago’s segregated housing. Linder’s character reflects White Americans’ in a black character who make efforts to hamper Negros’ flourishing to provoke racism or violence in society. His efforts to convince the Youngers’ family not to move into a white neighborhood lead up to the idea of racism. As per Bambara’s story, The Lesson issue of racial discrimination and social injustice also shed light in this context by implementing institutionalized racism and intraracial racism in the form of economic inequality (Steinbeck). Price tags on the toys made Sylvia pensive and agitated. Moreover, her anger at Miss Morre’s step of bringing the kid in such an expensive shop symbolizes the aggression over racial discrimination, which resulted in the Black Power Movement period in American society (Joseph, 2006, p. 1). Sylvia's poverty symbolizes the disappointing position of Blacks in the society who cannot fulfill their desire because of imbalance in communities. Of the two stories, the novel “The Pearl” by Jhon Steinbeck comparatively revealed the common issue of racial discrimination with greater emphasis. The doctor's refusal to help the poor shows White Americans who were not in favor to pity Blacks. Kino’s possession of the pearl or to keep it with him after bearing so many hardships shows his unsuccessful efforts to change his life and to get free from the poverty and slavery of white Americans. The issue of racial discrimination was only highlighted in the news but also it had a great impact on writing. Charles Killingsworth considered that racial discrimination is the result of the failure of Negros (Killingsworth 45). On this issue of racial discrimination, the law was passed in 1975. This law officially declared racial discrimination unlawful and prohibited.
Dream of Economic Stability
Struggle for change and dream of economic stability are other common traits that are reflected in all the three main characters of the written pieces. Struggle for change is the result of oppression, which leads to violence. In the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” under the pressure of an unstable economic position, It can be witnessed Walter struggling to support his family. He makes plans to secure his family’s economic prosperity. He believes that by selling liquor, he could bring a change in their position. It can be analyzed that that the insurance amount represent the dream of economic stability of the Youngers’ family, which gives rise to Walter’s plan to upgrade their position, which unfortunately got failed. Mama’s decision to move from the ghetto to white American neighborhood Beneatha’s idea to persuade medical school also emphasizes the theme of economic stability. Although Toni Cade Bambara, in her story “The Lesson,” represents this idea of the dream of economic stability by depicting the narration of kid Sylvia. Sylvia statement “that poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie."(p 13) provoking the lower class people to break their silence around the violence. The idea of economic stability is also presented by the main character of the novel, “the pearl.” Being Negro, Kino also dreamed of changing his economic position in the state. The Discovery of a peal and Kino’s p...