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

1250 total results

A Literary Analysis of Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (531 words, 1 pages)

Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and, in my opinion, she succeeds even though it takes her over thirty years to do it. Each one of her husbands has a different effect on ... Read More

Lessons on a Person’s Search for Identity in the Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (980 words, 2 pages)

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, there are many lessons on a person's search for identity. Janie's search for identity throughout this book is very visible. It has to do with her search for a name, and freedom for herself. As she goes through ... Read More

A Journey of Self Discovery in the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (376 words, 1 pages)

In Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man, the main character goes through many situations trying to discover himself. The main character, the narrator, thinks that he is a very important person. He thinks that his ideas will put an end to all the racial stereotypes in the world. The narrator does ... Read More

The Life of Bigger’s Life in Richard Wright’s “Native Son” (889 words, 2 pages)

Who can forget the fires blazing over local buildings during the Los Angeles Riots? Unfortunately the whole event does not seem as if it was too far off in the past. Although today we live in a nation, which has abolished slavery, the gap between the whites and the blacks ... Read More

Opinions Matter in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (704 words, 4 pages)

In life to discover our self-identity a person must show others what one thinks or feels and speak his or her mind. Sometimes their opinions may be silenced or even ignored. In thenovel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie would sometimes speak her ideas and they would ... Read More

Janie’s Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (796 words, 2 pages)

An Epic SearchIn the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows how the lives of American women changed in the early 20th century. Zora Neale Hurston creates a character in her own likeness in her masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. By presenting Janie's search for identity, ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of A Raisin in the Sun (681 words, 3 pages)

Tommy GiordanoPer. 3Essay 13The story of A RAISIN IN THE SUN about a black family stugglingthrough family and economic hardships. The story ended as the head of thefamily Walter took control, became a family man, and rejected an offer from awhite businessman to stay out of a white neighborhood and ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of A Lesson Before Dying (980 words, 4 pages)

SAE Coming of AgeOctober 10, 1996A Lesson Before DyingIn A Lesson Before Dying, Mr. Grant Wiggins' life crises were the center of the story.Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he himself became more of one as a result. Not to say that Jefferson was not in ... Read More

An Analysis of Capitalism and Communism in “Native Son” by Richard Wright (575 words, 3 pages)

Wright's "Native Son" Capitalist or Communism? Was Richard Wright's Native Son a story about his views towardsCapitalism and Communism ? Did Richard Wright want to show the good and badpoints towards Capitalism and Communism ? Or was this novel just about how ayoung man went through life and how society ... Read More

An Analysis of the Economic Hardships in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (688 words, 3 pages)

Summary of "A Raisin in the Sun"Tommy GiordanoThe story of A RAISIN IN THE SUN about a black family stuggling throughfamily and economic hardships. The story ended as the head of the family Waltertook control, became a family man, and rejected an offer from a whitebusinessman to stay out of ... Read More

An Analysis of the Instant Bestseller Novel Native Son by Richard Wright (801 words, 4 pages)

Native Son ReviewsNative Son, by Richard Wright, was hailed by reviewers as an instantclassic upon its release in 1940. The novel was an instant bestseller, havingbeen included in the book-of-the-month-club. Due to its proto revolutionarythemes it was the subject of many reviews. Two such reviewers are CliftonFadiman and Malcolm Cowley.Clifton ... Read More

Characterization in Zora Neale Hurston’s Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (801 words, 3 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God An Epic SearchIn the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows howthe lives of American women changed in the early 20th century. Zora NealeHurston creates a character in her own likeness in her masterpiece, Their EyesWere Watching God. By presenting Janie's search ... Read More

Character Analysis of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (713 words, 3 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Speaks Her Ideas In life to discover our self-identity a person must show others whatone thinks or feels and speak his or her mind. Sometimes their opinions may besilenced or even ignored. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the maincharacter Janie would ... Read More

An Analysis of the Novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (831 words, 4 pages)

An Analysis of Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"Julie GibsonMaya Angelou's I Know Why Caged Bird Sings illustrates how an innocentand naive girl growing up in the midst of the Great Depression overcomes life'smany obstacles and becomes the powerful and influential woman she is today.Maya is a ... Read More

An Analysis of the Development of the Character of Wiggins in A Lesson Before Dying (975 words, 4 pages)

A Lesson Before Dying Mr. WigginsIn A Lesson Before Dying, Mr. Grant Wiggins' life crises were the centerof the story. Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he himselfbecame more of one as a result. Not to say that Jefferson was not in any waytransformed from the ... Read More

The Logan Family’s Hardships in Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry by Mildred Taylor (296 words, 2 pages)

Mildred Taylor's "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" Hardships of The Logan Family In Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry the Logans family isfaced with many different hardships, some more serious than other . The maincharacter Cassie lives with her Mom, Dad, Grandmother and three brothers. Thebook ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of Lost Heritage in Everyday Use by Alice Walker (857 words, 4 pages)

Lost Heritage in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" By contrasting the family characters in "Everyday Use," Walker illustratesthe mistake by some of placing the significance of heritage solely in materialobjects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an examplethat heritage in both knowledge and form passes from one generation ... Read More

An Overview of the Life of Mr. Grant Wiggins in the Novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (977 words, 4 pages)

A Lesson Before Dying Mr. WigginsRyan StrassburgerIn A Lesson Before Dying, Mr. Grant Wiggins' life crises were the centerof the story. Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he himselfbecame more of one as a result. Not to say that Jefferson was not in any waytransformed from ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of the Souls of Black Folk by William E. B. Du Bois (1020 words, 5 pages)

W.E.B Du Bois"One ever feels his two-ness. An American, a Negro two souls, twothoughts, two warring ideals in one dark body whose dogged strength alone keepsit from being torn asunder." This was how William E. B. Du Bois described howit felt to be a Negro in the beginning of the ... Read More

The Use of Clothing in the Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1229 words, 5 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God The Use of Clothing by Zora Neale HurstonIn the novel Their Eyes were watching God Zora Neale Hurston portrays a womannamed Janie's search for love and freedom. Janie, throughout the novel, bouncesthrough three different marriages, with a brief stint at being a widow inbetween. Throughout ... Read More

An Analysis of The Reality that Everybody Has to Find Out About Living for Themselves in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston (2779 words, 10 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God Everybody Has To Find Out About Living ForThemselves Janie Crawford evolving selfhood through three marriages. Fair-skinned,long haired, dreamy as a child, Janie grows up expecting better treatment thanshe gets. Living life as one man's mules or another man's adornment. Janie isone black woman who does ... Read More

The Search for Identity and Freedom for Herself in the Novel Their Eyes Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (989 words, 4 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's Great Identity SearchIn the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, thereare many lessons on a person's search for identity. Janie's search for identitythroughout this book is very visible. It has to do with her search for a name,and freedom for ... Read More

A Character Anal sis of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (538 words, 2 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Crawford Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes WereWatching God, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and, in myopinion, she succeeds even though it takes her over thirty years to do it. Eachone of her husbands has ... Read More

A Review of the African Literature “In The Cutting of A Drink and The Return (1283 words, 5 pages)

African Literature In The Cutting of A Drink and The ReturnTrent Hughes Eng 109 Paper 2 The two short stories "In the Cutting of a Drink" and "The Return" bringdifferent responses from me. "In the Cutting of a Drink" makes me think aboutwhat it would be like to go into ... Read More

A Summary of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (987 words, 4 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary Doug Wink P-7 22297A caterpillar crawls along a desolate branch. His many appendages gripthe gray bark as he undulates his body along the path in the shade. Creepingsteadily forward he is looking for the proper place suitable enough for him tochange his identity. Upon ... Read More

An Analysis of the Writing Style of Gwendolyn Brooks (1151 words, 5 pages)

Gwendolyn BrooksWriting with uncommon strength, Gwendolyn Brooks creates haunting imagesof black America, and their struggle in escaping the scathing hatred of manywhite Americans. Her stories, such as in the "Ballad of Rudolph Reed", portraycourage and perseverance. In those like "The Boy Died in My Alley" Brooksportrays both the weakness of ... Read More

The Three Marriages and Three Lessons in Hurston’s Book “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (794 words, 3 pages)

Their Eyes Were Watching GodThree Marriages, Three LessonsIn the beginning of Zora Neale Hurstons book, Their Eye Were Watching God,Janie had an adolescent view on love until she learns many lessons through herthree marriages. She learned from her marriage to Logan Killicks that she couldnot learn to love someone. After ... Read More

A Biography of the Life and Times of Zora Neale Hurston (1141 words, 3 pages)

Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston was a phenomenal woman. At the height of her success she was known as the Queen of the Harlem Renaissance. She came to overcome obstacles that were placed in front of her. Hurston rose from poverty to fame and lost it all at the time ... Read More

An Introduction to the Life of Alice Walker an African American Novelist and Poet (604 words, 3 pages)

Alice WalkerAlice Walker is an African-American novelist and poet born in Eatonton, Ga.Her parents, Minnie Lou Grant and Willie Lee Walker, were both sharecroppers.She was raised in a shack minutes from Flannery O'Conner's house,"Andalusia". Blinded in one eye from an accidental gunshot wound atthe young age of eight, Walker fell ... Read More

An Introduction to the Life and Literature of Maya Angelou (838 words, 1 pages)

Maya Angelos, I know why the caged bird sing is an interesting and inspirational story. Although it had many unfortunate situation for Maya it seemed she always overcame her difficulties. As I read the book I stopped and put myself in her place. I felt her pain as she was ... Read More

African American Literature Essay Examples