African American Literature Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

1250 total results

Woman’s Journey of Self-Realization and Empowerment in Zora Neale Hurston’s Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1267 words, 4 pages)

A Womans VoiceFemale Empowerment in Their Eyes Were Watching GodPheoby, you got tuh go there tuh know there. Yo papa and mama and nobody else cant tell yuh and show yuh. Two things everybodys got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find ... Read More

Alienation and Isolation in the Novel Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee (1006 words, 3 pages)

Nobody wants to be alienated or isolated, not even Michael K. Michael K, the main protagonist in Life Times of Michael K, a novel that tells the story of a man named Michael K who wants to take his mother back to Prince Albert, her original birth town. However, set ... Read More

An Analysis of the Poetry of Saul Williams and the Impacts of Hip-Hop on It (896 words, 3 pages)

Saul In the poem CURRENTLY, Saul Williams plays around with words anduses poetic devices including rhyme, enjambment, and hyperbole to givemeaning, emphasis, and tension to gain the reader's attention. He says"CURRENTLY MOON MARKED AND SUN SPARKED" (1-4). Williams exaggerateswhat he's been through. He also uses rhyme to possibly refer hip-hop'snecessity ... Read More

An Analysis of the Politically Charging Poems Amistad and 41 Breaths for Amadou Diallo by Abdu Ali, an African-American Poet (607 words, 3 pages)

Abdu Ali is an African-American poet from Baltimore. He currently teaches at Towson University. He is an African-American and therefore can relate to many experiences shown in the news and media. In a recent interview in NPR, Ali said the following quote which relates to his work greatly, Youre politically ... Read More

An Analysis of Quotes from Their Eyes Were Watching God, a Novel by Zora Neale Hurston (871 words, 2 pages)

Tea Cups or Fine China an Analysis of Their Eyes Were Watching God Quotes This business the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store (Hurston 55). Janie is forced to work in the store where men ogle ... Read More

The Refutation Against the Conventional Conception of the African American and as a Censure of the African American’s View of Himself in Richard Wright’s Memoir Black Boy (808 words, 4 pages)

Richard Wright recapitulates his emergence from a mettlesome adolescent who is struggling to conform to social mores into a well-cultured pensive adult in his memoir, Black Boy. Throughout the text, the author discloses his plight as a black boy, which comprised of living on the precipice of destitution, ubiquitous inequity, ... Read More

The Life and Literary Career of Maya Angelou (827 words, 4 pages)

Mrs. MayaSome people would say that an athlete, singer, or musician inspires them. An author inspires me. Maya Angelou is my inspiration. She is an amazing author, womens rights activist, and her life story is very inspirational. Maya Angelou overcame a lot of things in her life in order for ... Read More

The Racial Discrimination Faced by African Americans During the Jim Crow Era in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Sympathy (489 words, 2 pages)

Through the eyes of the DiscriminatedSympathy written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, describes the racial discrimination that he and many other African Americans had to face during the time of the Jim Crow Era. Throughout the poem, Dunbar implies through the first stanza of the poem, the freedom that the whites ... Read More

The Morality Issues in Toni Morrison’s Beloved (495 words, 2 pages)

Beloved MoralityThe bond between a mother and her child as well as a family to its community is one of the most important in all the world. As with all relationships, decisions must be made by one party about the well-being of others. Toni Morrissons Beloved shows how the morality ... Read More

The Failure as a Brother of the Narrator in the Short Story, Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin (813 words, 3 pages)

Sonnys Brothers BluesWith an unexpected turn of events in the end of the short story, Sonnys Blues, Sonny overcomes the tension in his life and leaves readers to see him where he is happy and sound. This ending emphasizes musics importance in clarifying and defining the struggle between Sonny and ... Read More

The Influence of Women Empowerment in the Transformation of Celie in the Novel, The Color Purple by Alice Walker (787 words, 2 pages)

Standing UpIn The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Celies past haunts her well into her adult life. Celies past, wrought with abuse, formed the fear and self-deprecation that envelops years of her adult life. However, her subsequent attraction to the confident and independent becomes her liberation, as the novel materializes ... Read More

The Life and Struggles of Melba Pattillo Beal in Warriors Don’t Cry (1367 words, 5 pages)

Warriors Dont Cry retells the heart-wrenching first hand account of Melba Pattillo Beals. An African-American woman growing up in segregated 1950s Little Rock, Arkansas. When first introduced to Melba, we see this young ignorant girl whose only question is addressed to God When will we get our turn to be ... Read More

Capitalism and Masculinity in Toni Morrison’s Novel, A Mercy (953 words, 4 pages)

Compositions of capitalism and masculinity appear prevalent in the creation of dominion that molds the process of subjectivity. In A Mercy, Toni Morrison consistently depicts these structures as sovereign, with the ability to shape the ontological perspectives of the different characters. Ranging from the powerful, plantation-owning, position of Jacob Vaark, ... Read More

The Failed American Dream in Let America Be America Again, a Poem by Langston Hughes (1129 words, 4 pages)

The poem Let America Be America Again is written by African American poet Langston Hughes and reflects his background. The poem fully opens the theme of failed American dream. Authors both realistic and optimistic view is observed in two different parts of the poem, respectively. The paper describes the poem ... Read More

An Analysis of the Symbolism in the Case of Walter Younger in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (957 words, 3 pages)

Walter is the father figure in the Younger family in the book Raisin in the Sun. When looking at characters in a book, many times on needs to look at their traits in order to analyze them. Walter was a difficult character to analyze because his beliefs and seeming personality ... Read More

An Analysis of Heritage in Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison and Everyday Use by Alice Walker (889 words, 3 pages)

Heritage is an individuals special possession that is inherited by birth and in both Battle Royal and Everyday Use it holds the message. Everyday Use written by Alice Walker demonstrates a character who forgets what her heritage is actually about. In the story, Dee, who has renamed herself Wangero comes ... Read More

The Hardships of Slavery in Bluest Eyes, Sula and Beloved by Toni Morrison (2515 words, 7 pages)

Racism is a construct, a social construct.. But race can only can only be defines as a human being.-Toni MorrisonToni Morrison is an African-American author, who has won many awards. She has written many books but has three very popular books. All her books has the same theme and mostly ... Read More

The Composition and Writing Stile of W.E.B. Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folks (483 words, 3 pages)

In this Harlem Renaissance literature, "The Souls of Black Folks"William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, better known as W.E.B Du Bois, takes acollection of essays and compiles it into a prominent piece of African-American literature in the late 19th and early 20th century. "The Souls of Black Folks" is written in ... Read More

An Analysis of Lutie’s Perception of Men and Women in The Street by Ann Petry (1806 words, 5 pages)

The Street EssayTopic 4 Comparecontrast some of the male and female characters in the novel. How do their roles in the novel differ? Why? What seems to be Petrys themeidea?Whether men choose to be responsible or irresponsible, compassionate or sadistic, they always hold the power in society--leaving women the choice ... Read More

An Analysis of Slavery in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (775 words, 4 pages)

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries a unique form of literature formed in America, in which enslaved African Americans wrote of their harrowing experiences with slavery, known today as a slave narrative. Illustrating the harsh and unjust practice of slavery, many courageous men and women recounted their lives ... Read More

A History of The Black Arts Movement (1387 words, 7 pages)

During the middle part of the 20th century in America, social and political forces in the black community sought to change the way African Americans were defined and treated. The Black Power Movement stemmed from this ideology and therefore inspired an artistic branch of this movement known as The Black ... Read More

An Analysis of Racial Identity in How It Feels To Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston (639 words, 3 pages)

Zora Neale Hurstons autobiographical short story, How It Feels To Be Colored Me is a piece that uncovers the complexity of racial identity through the eyes of an African American woman in the 1920s. Hurston rejected the perceived idea that blacks were disadvantaged and refused to be part of the ... Read More

The Characteristics of True Literature in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1458 words, 5 pages)

The literal meaning of literature may be things made from letters, but that is not all that literature is. Literature is a means for a writer to live beyond his time, a method in which he can share a message to many future generations. True literature captures its writers heart, ... Read More

A Challenging and Exciting Adventure in Kenya, Africa (1023 words, 3 pages)

The place to be is Africa. They say its the cradle of mankind and evidently when you visit the place, you will realise the truth of this statement. It is filled with beautiful natural sceneries, a wild landscape and it is always summer for Africa. The warm climatic experience especially ... Read More

An Analysis of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs as a Primary Source of Information About Slavery (1129 words, 4 pages)

Due to the lack of major evidence from the perspective of slaves during slavery in the South, Jacobss autobiography is considered to be one of the go to primary sources for information on this time period. Historians look towards her story to understand the unimaginable hardships and difficulties women had ... Read More

An Analysis of the Memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody (1017 words, 4 pages)

Coming of Age in Mississippi is a memoir written by Anne Moody. The book spans from the story of her early life in the 1940s to her mid-life in the 1960s during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. This time period was synonymous with discriminative, racist, and bigoted ideals ... Read More

An Analysis of Jefferson’s Bravery in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (551 words, 2 pages)

I dont know what youre going to say when you go back in there. But tell them he was the bravest man in that room today. Im a witness, Grant Wiggins. Tell them so. One of the hardest things many have to do when someone dies is to find the ... Read More

The Impact of Mothers’ Lifestyles on Their Daughters’ Way of Life (809 words, 3 pages)

The main purpose of the story is to highlight how the two different girls lead different kinds of lives not due t their races but because of the varied styles of their mothers. Thus, the main purpose of the story is to use the authors ambiguous characters description to show ... Read More

Modernization and the Culture Shock of the Indigenous Cultures and Tribes of Africa in the Novel, Things They Carried by Chinua Achebe (2290 words, 8 pages)

Modernization is simply inevitable. Societies progress, cultures evolve, and people attempt to create a better world for themselves. Europe, a hub for innovation, commerce, and ideology, acted as a catalyst for the development of countries across the globe. Europeans used their technology and superior mindset to divide and conquer. All ... Read More

The Power of Perception Through the Transformation of Reul in the Novel, Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins (1685 words, 6 pages)

Pauline Hopkins constructed her novel, Of One Blood, as a juxtaposition of the first and latter halves. Her implications suggest to the reader that she sympathizes with the latter half. Hopkins utilizes this structure to depict a transformation of character. The main character Reul, though professionally successful and admired, lives ... Read More

African American Literature Essay Examples