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

1250 total results

A Look at the Main Themes in Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou (483 words, 1 pages)

I have read Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou. I enjoyed this poem. I think that it has a positive message, and people can relate to it. This poem is really pretty. The rhythm flows beautifully throughout the entire piece. I think this is a good poem for people who are ... Read More

Langston Hughes Evokes the Spirit of Black America (2424 words, 5 pages)

Dino SubasicMrs. Forcier18 February, 1999Langston Hughes"Hughes' efforts to create a poetry that truly evoked the spirit of Black Americainvolved a resolution of conflicts centering around the problem of identity" (Smith 358). No African American poet, writer, and novelist has ever been appreciated by every ethnic society as much as Langston ... Read More

The Life and Times of Langston Hughes (1051 words, 5 pages)

History in Langston Hughes's "Negro"The topic of Langston Hughes's "Negro" deals with an extremelygeneral description of the history of African Americans or blacks from thepre-1922 era until 1922. Hughes lets the reader know about historicexperiences of blacks to show us the impact that blacks have had in pasteras. He touches ... Read More

An Examination of the Poem of Lawrence Cleveland (399 words, 3 pages)

Lawrence ClevelandDaniel Roche Thursday, April 29, 1999Workshop 5Original Poems of Lawrence ClevelandThe Moment That We SharedThe moment that we shared when our eyes first made contact,I knew that since that time, that our time would be more than that.You have proven to me that in this age one can truly ... Read More

A History of Langston Hughes an Outsider’s Voice of the People (1003 words, 2 pages)

Langston Hughes An Outsider's Voice of the PeopleLangston Hughes is often considered a voice of the African-American people and a prime example of the magnificence of the Harlem Renaissance. His writing does embody these titles, but the concept of Langston Hughes that portrays a black man's rise to poetic greatness ... Read More

An Analysis of a Certain Inequality of African Americans in I, Too by Langston Hughes (705 words, 2 pages)

"I, Too" by Langston Hughes, it creates a feeling of an individual vs. a large group enhancing the loneliness felt. The poem recognizes a certain inequality African Americans felt during a time period of racial discrimination. Hughes recognizes that although different in color, all people living in America were Americans ... Read More

An In-depth Analysis of Steedman’s “Exiles” (770 words, 2 pages)

First impressions of Steedman's "Exiles" left me feeling as if the woman had a lot of sour grapes to deal with. The overall flavor of the piece leans toward the negative, the cynical and sometimes even the sarcastic. She seems particularly critical of her parents, who probably did their best ... Read More

An Analysis of the Play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (881 words, 1 pages)

A Raisin In The Sun Everyone in America wants to achieve financial success in their life in one form or another. Sometimes living in a capitalistic society entices many to become too materialistic. This is most commonly referred to as the American Dream. For most Americans, this high status is ... Read More

A Comprehensive Analysis of a Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (673 words, 1 pages)

A Lesson Before Dying I thought that the book A Lesson Before Dying was all right overall. I think Ernest Gaines did a good job with the plot but the idea of the book was not to interesting to me. A book about a black man becoming a man on ... Read More

Inner and Outer Images in A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines (968 words, 2 pages)

Inner and Outer Images in A Gathering of Old Men In the novel A Gathering of Old Men, Ernest J. Gaines, portrays the Novel through the eyes of individual narrators involved on the events of the day. The novel focuses on a group of cowardly black men who finally stop ... Read More

Racism and Prejudice in the Books “The Garies and their Friends” and “The House Behind the Cedars” (975 words, 2 pages)

"Racism" vs. "Prejudice"Jennifer AraujoIntro to Arican American LiteratureProfessor KingMarch 22, 2000Racism and prejudice are themes that intertwine in the books The Garies and their Freinds and The House Behind the Cedars. While prejudice is an opinion without adequate basis, which usually comes from ignorance, racism is a belief of superiority ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of the ‘Battle Royal’ of Ralph Ellison in Casebook (10773 words, 18 pages)

Composition and rethorics IITheme In the CASEBOOK on Ralph Ellisons battle royal , racial issues are addressed both by the author and other influential contributors. What insights do such works offer about Black identity in America.Civilisation IIMr Rutherford. Introduction The Middle-Ages are a very intresting age that we study in ... Read More

An Analysis of Maya Angelou’s “Sister Flowers” (1069 words, 6 pages)

In Maya Angelous Sister Flowers a little girl findsencouragement from the woman she idolizes, Mrs. Flowers. Mrs.Flowers provides Marguerite with attention and with feelings thatare most essential for the development of a child - self-respect,confidence, and the feeling of being liked. A little girl growsup to become a great writer, ... Read More

An Analysis of Mistress-Servant Relationship in When In Rome by Marie Evans (682 words, 1 pages)

In the poem When In Rome, Marie Evans depicts a conversation between two people who, through use of dialect and implied images, share a mistress-servant relationship. As the poem opens, a direct statement of Mattie dear is expressed. This choice of wording, which relates an implied condescending tone, gives evidence ... Read More

An Analysis of the Contrast Between Men and Women in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (692 words, 1 pages)

Zora Neale Hurston, in keeping with themes dealing with personal relationships and the female search for self-awareness in Their Eyes Were Watching God , has created a heroine in Janie Crawford. In fact, the female perspective is introduced immediately. "Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, ... Read More

A Summary of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Heale Hurston (800 words, 1 pages)

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Heale Hurston a former slave named Nanny's ideal marriage is if the relationship provides both protection and security. Although people always have their own perspectives and standpoints of problems that are different from others, Nanny's own view of marriage is influenced by ... Read More

A Review of Harriet Jacob’s “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” (1694 words, 3 pages)

Harriet Jacobs in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl uses clear detail and straightforward language, except when talking about her sexual history, to fully describe what it is like to be a slave. Jacobs says that Northerners only think of slavery as perpetual bondage they don't know the ... Read More

The Real and the Alternative World in the Novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1168 words, 2 pages)

The main theme this essay will be focusing on is the distinction between the "real" outcome of economic achievement as described in The Color Purple by the lynching of Celie's father, and its "alternative" economic view presented at the end of the novel depicting Celie's happiness and entrepreneurial success. We ... Read More

Rape, Incest and Sex in the Color Purple by Alice Walker (1563 words, 2 pages)

Rape, incest, sex , forced labor, and a little reefer on the side. These are all of the components of a Novel by Alice Walker. All of these views are illustrated proficiently in Alice Walkers third novel, The Color Purple. Each one of these aspects had a lasting impression upon ... Read More

A Sad Struggle for Love in The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God (1334 words, 2 pages)

Love is an extremely important aspect5 of our society today. Just about everyone wants to fall in love, get married, and have a family. NO one wants to be alone. We all want someone to be there for us. Someone to care for us, and we want to care for ... Read More

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: A Story of the Struggles of a Young African American (536 words, 1 pages)

The reason I chose," THE INVISIBLE MAN, "is because the black man in this story symbolizes the black the black man in society which is set up to fail. He is used, humiliated, and discriminated against through the whole book. He feels that he is invisible to society because society ... Read More

An Overview of the Major Characters in the Novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker (552 words, 1 pages)

Kym Hough6th Hour11200The Color PurpleThe major characters in the Book The Color Purple by Alice Walker are Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Mister . Celie is the narrator of most of the diary formed book. She is a black woman living in the first have of the 20th century. Celie ... Read More

A Bout with Self-Hatred in the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1208 words, 2 pages)

bluest eye By dan Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s. This family consists of the mother Pauline, the father Cholly, the son Sammy, and the daughter Pecola. The novel's focal point is the ... Read More

An Analysis of the Novel Native Son by Richard Wright on the Topic of Characterization (2189 words, 4 pages)

Richard Wright's novel, Native Son, consisted of various main and supporting character to deliver an effective array of personalities and expression. Each character's actions defines their individual personalities and belief systems. The main character of Native Son, Bigger Thomas has personality traits spanning various aspect of human nature including actions ... Read More

An Analysis of the Themes in the Novel A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (474 words, 2 pages)

Theme in the A Raisin in the SunThere are many themes in A Raisin in the Sun. The this play waswritten by, an African American, Lorraine Hansberry. The three themesthat stood out when I read the play were family values, money isnteverything, life in poverty.The first and, I feel, most ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God (1401 words, 5 pages)

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie battles to find Individualism within herself. Janie, all her life, had been pushed around and told what to do and how to live her life. She searched and searched high and low to find a peace that makes her whole and makes her ... Read More

A Descriptive Analysis on the Characters of Their Eyes Were Watching God (514 words, 1 pages)

CharactersJanie May Crawford independent married three times naive and youthful resents her Grandmother (Nanny) attractive beautiful intelligent has internal strength individual never had children finds out she is black by a picture children in plantation call her "alphabet" because she has so many names Nanny tells her she will find ... Read More

An Analysis of Toni Cade Bambara’s The Lesson (989 words, 3 pages)

A social activist, writer, teacher, and graduate from Queens College, Toni Cade, who later changed legally to Toni Cade Bambara, is one of the representatives of the Afro- American writers and black socially political black activist in American history. She has made many contributions to the inner city especially in ... Read More

The Political Turmoil in Africa in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People (2240 words, 3 pages)

In Julys People, Nadine Gordimer gives a very detailed and knowledgeable explanation of the political turmoil within South Africa. By expressing the emotions of a family involved in the deteriorating situation and the misunderstandings between blacks and whites, she adds a very personal and emotional touch, which allows the reader ... Read More

Ideas on How to Improve the Status of the Black Man in a Segregated Nation in Invinsible Man (2245 words, 4 pages)

At the time that Ralph Ellison writes the novel The Invisible Man there were, as there are today, many ideas on how to improve the black mans status in a segregated nation. Marcus Garvey was a militant black nationalist leader who created a "Back to Africa" movement. On the other ... Read More

African American Literature Essay Examples