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

1250 total results

An Analysis of the Mother-Daughter Relationship in Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid (1838 words, 5 pages)

The Bond is BrokenJamaica Kincaid accurately portrays how adolescence can strain mother- daughter relationships. The mother- daughter relationships are universal but it is not clear whywe avoid the topic(Gerd). The father- daughter relationships and the mother- sons relationships are the issues mostly talked about. In Jamaica Kincaids novel, Annie John, ... Read More

An Analysis of Naturalistic Ideology and Imagery in Native Son by Richard Wright (3559 words, 4 pages)

In Native Son, Wright employs Naturalistic ideology and imagery, creating the character of Bigger Thomas, who seems to be composed of a mass of disruptive emotions rather than a rational mind joined by a soul. This concept introduces the possibility that racism is not the only message of the novel, ... Read More

An Analysis of the Racism in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1950 words, 3 pages)

Racism in Angelous I Know Why The Caged Bird SingsMaya Angelou, the current poet laureate of the United States, has become for many people an exemplary role model. She read an original poem at the inauguration of President Clinton she has also appeared on the television show Touched by an ... Read More

Racism Affecting African-Americans and Its Depiction in Various Literary Works (1883 words, 4 pages)

"There were two cops. One said 'You niggers have to learn to respect police officers.' The other one said, 'If you yell or make any noise, I will kill you.' Then one held me and the other shoved the plunger up my behind. He pulled it out, shoved it in ... Read More

A Summary of The Story of The Invisible Man Ralph Ellison (1763 words, 10 pages)

Invisible Man Ralph EllisonRalph Waldo Ellison was born in Oklahoma on March 1,1914. From 1933 to 1936, Ellison attended TuskegeeInstitute, intent upon pursuing a career in music. Likethe protagonist in the novel, Ellison grew up in thesouth, then later moved to New York City. In New York hemet the leading ... Read More

The Search for Independence and Freedom in In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens by Alice Walker and Poets in the Kitchen by Paule Marshall (5120 words, 13 pages)

Alice Walker, through her essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens", and Paule Marshall, in "Poets In The Kitchen", both write about the African-American women of the past and how these women have had an impact on their writing. Walker and Marshall write about an identity they have found with ... Read More

An Argument Against Zora Neale Hurston’s Way of Representing Racial and Sexual Issues on Her Works (2251 words, 4 pages)

"Nothing that God ever made is the same thing to more than one person. That is natural. There is no single face in nature, because every eye that looks upon it, sees it from its own angle. So every man's spice-box seasons his own food."Zora Neale HurstonFrequently trammeled by both ... Read More

An Analysis of Mary by Maya Angelou (1294 words, 2 pages)

Analysis of Angelou and BarnlundThe separation of two different worlds often results in the lack of ability to communicate between one another. In Maya Angelous excerpt Mary, Angelou depicts the story of a girl named Marguerite who is employed as a slave in Mrs. Cullinans home. Angelou deliberately creates this ... Read More

The Struggle of Change in the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1358 words, 3 pages)

In everyones life, there are growing experiences. People evolve not only physically as they get older but also ideologically. Perhaps they might become wiser or shrug off the trendy doctrines that may have tried to shape their destiny long ago.Ralph Ellison illustrates this struggle of change in Invisible Man. The ... Read More

The Symbolic Analysis of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” (1719 words, 2 pages)

Symbolic Analysis of Alice Walkers Everyday UseAlice Walkers Everyday Uses (For Your Grandmother) is a story about a womans struggle with the past and her inability and unwillingness to accept the future. The three main characters in the story are Dee, her younger sister Maggie, and their mother. The story ... Read More

A Comparison of the House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1619 words, 3 pages)

The role of the female in male dominated societies is a prevalent theme in American literature and has been explored by countless authors. Edith Wharton, in The House of Mirth, and Zora Neale Hurston, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, are just two of the many who examine this issue ... Read More

The Agony of Guilt in Toni Morrison’s Novel Beloved (1475 words, 5 pages)

BelovedToni Morrisons, Beloved, is a complex narrative about the love between mothersand daughters, and the agony of guilt. It is the ultimate gesture of a loving mother. It isthe outrageous claim of a slave. These are the words, of Toni Morrison, used to describethe actions of Sethe, the central character ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of the Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1448 words, 2 pages)

The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God contains beautiful imagery that conveys the thoughts of the author towards the antagonist of this story, Janie Crawford. Through her four distinct lives as Janie Crawford, Janie Killicks, Janie Starks, and Janie Woods she realizes that each day the sun rises a new ... Read More

An Analysis of the Distinctive Voice of Zora Neale Hurston (1226 words, 4 pages)

"It's thrilling to think- to know that for any act of mine, I shall get twice as much praise or twice as much blame"(Hurston 2). Zora Neale Hurston has a remarkably positive but realistic outlook on the duality of the African American female. She understands and therefore is aware that ... Read More

An Analysis of Themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zore Neale Hurston (1453 words, 7 pages)

Theme AnalysisAlice Walker depicts Zora Neale Hurston's work as providing the African-American literary community with its prime symbol of "racialhealth - a sense of black people as complete, complex, undiminishedhuman beings" (190). Appropriately, Hurston's Their Eyes WereWatching God, published in 1937, provides an enlightening look atthe journey of one of ... Read More

The Concept of Isolation in Toni Morrison’s Novel Paradise (1259 words, 2 pages)

Paradise Lost, Paradise GainedNine patriarchs found a town. Four women flee a life. Only one paradise is attained. Toni Morrison's novel Paradise revolves around the concept of "paradise," and those who believe they have it and those who actually do. Morrison uses a town and a former convent, each with ... Read More

To Lead a Life of Fulfilment in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1375 words, 5 pages)

CRITICAL ESSAY THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GODIt all begins with parents. However, although genetics play a key role in what kindof person one becomes, environment is the other major factor that influences a personsdevelopment. The people a person meets and the experiences one has are very importantelements affecting development. With ... Read More

An Analysis of Women and the Character Mama in a Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (1019 words, 2 pages)

Mama Illustration of What Women Can BeIn the 1950s through the 1960s women were not respected in there everyday lives, in the job field or in general. They did not have the rights they deserved, so during this time the womens movement began. Women fought for their rights and fought ... Read More

An Analysis of the Characters Dr. Bledsoe and Mary Rambo in Invisible Man (1094 words, 2 pages)

In the novel Invisible Man, the main character undergoes several drastic changes, which greatly alter his view of life, and how he lives. Some of those changes were for the good, others for worse, but other people and their actions influenced him in different ways. Dr. Bledsoe and Mary Rambo ... Read More

An Analysis of Symbolism and Theme in the Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara (1001 words, 2 pages)

Symbolism and Theme in Bambaras The LessonToni Cade Bambara wrote the short story, The Lesson, in 1972. The Lesson is considered by the Literary Canon to be a wonderful work of fiction because of its use of language, humanistic theme, symbolism, and non-genre plot. Two essential elements that add to ... Read More

A Literary Analysis and a Book Review of the Color of Water (1052 words, 2 pages)

Phillip SouzekSusan VervaetEnglish 111 Section (06)September 27, 2000The Color of Water Book ReviewIn this memoir, the author chooses to have two narrators, himself as one, and his mother as the other. This style makes for quite an interesting story, skipping back and forth in time, from the childs life, to ... Read More

An Analysis of the Importance of Proper Addressing of a Person’s Name (984 words, 2 pages)

What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "Romeo and Juliet", Act 2 scene 2So goes the quote by William Shakespeare, and many people believe this is true. However, to many of African-American descent, both ... Read More

An Analysis of What Women Can Be Through Her Experiences and Dreams in “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry (1016 words, 2 pages)

Mama Illustration of What Women Can BeIn the 1950s through the 1960s women were not respected in there everyday lives, in the job field or in general. They did not have the rights they deserved, so during this time the womens movement began. Women fought for their rights and fought ... Read More

The Review of Langston Hughes Poetry (1069 words, 2 pages)

Langston Hughes Poetry to the PeopleI had been a writer who wrote mostly because, when I felt bad, writing kept me from feeling worse it out my inner emotions into exterior form, and gave me an outlet for words that never came in conversation.-Langston HughesDuring his lifetime as the "poet ... Read More

A Narrative of the Experiences of Slavery of Three Generations of Women in “Beloved” by Toni Morrison (1071 words, 2 pages)

Truth and MaturationToni Morrisons novel, Beloved, allows for one to experience slavery through three generations of women. The complex development of the horrors of black chattel slavery in the United States intertwined with a story a freedom helps the reader to understand the ongoing struggle of the Afro-American population after ... Read More

An Analysis of Everyday Use, a Story by Alice Walker (751 words, 1 pages)

Through contrasting family members and views in Everyday Use, Alice Walker illustrates the importance of understanding our present life in relation to the traditions of our own people and culture. Using careful descriptions and attitudes, Walker demonstrates which factors contribute to the values of ones heritage and culture she illustrates ... Read More

An Analysis of Relationship Between Characters in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1175 words, 2 pages)

In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie goes through several relationships before "she pulled in her horizon like a great fish net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder" (p. 184). In other words, not all the experiences that helped her to ... Read More

The Importance of Marriage in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (927 words, 2 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Finding the Woman in JaniePeople grow and develop at different rates. The factors that heavily influence a person's development seem like heredity and environment. Genetics can play a key role in what kind of person one becomes. Environment seems like the factor that most ... Read More

Analysis of Themes And Narration in Everyday Use by Alice Walker (988 words, 2 pages)

The Theme and Narration Technique of Everyday UseEveryday Use, by Alice Walker, was first published in 1973. The story opens as Maggie and her mother, a black farm woman, await a visit from Maggies older sister, Dee, and a man who may be her husband--her mother is not sure whether ... Read More

An Analysis of Family Values and Morals in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (970 words, 2 pages)

A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, illustrates the timeless struggle for the furtherance of family values and morals with extreme clarity. The play follows the life of a small black family's struggle to keep their dreams from tenants to owners alive. These dreams, and the struggles necessary to ... Read More

African American Literature Essay Examples