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

1250 total results

The Importance of Women Empowerment in The Color Purple, a Novel by Alice Walker (1466 words, 5 pages)

The Importance of Females Empowering One Another It was once said by a well-known female artist named Beyonc that we women need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women together and take the lead (Beyonce). The Color Purple was written ... Read More

The Enlightened Relationships of the Females and Its Importance in The Color Purple, a Novel by Alice Walker (1466 words, 5 pages)

The Importance of Females Empowering One Another It was once said by a well-known female artist named Beyonc that we women need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women together and take the lead (Beyonce). The Color Purple was written ... Read More

The Meaning of Heritage in Everyday Use, a Short Story by Alice Walker (565 words, 2 pages)

The Definition of Heritage in Everyday UseIn Alice Walkers Everyday Use, a mother narrates her oldest daughters visit back home. After being away for what we can assume was a very long time, the daughter, Wangero (once known as Dee, but changed her name) is now rich and successful, wearing ... Read More

Facing and Winning Over Adversities in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a Book by Maya Angelou (887 words, 3 pages)

Facing Adversity in I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsBigotry, human suffering, and doubt these adversities, in all forms, can trap even the most strong-willed of birds into a suffocating cage. It was mostly here where Maya Angelou experiences her life, gazing at the world within the restricting bars of ... Read More

Realizing Reality in How It Feels to Be Coloured Me by Zora Neal Hurston (874 words, 4 pages)

Realizing RealityAt what moment in our childhood do we realize the real from the fantasy? Now a day the differences arent as harsh as they were in the earlier times but they are still evident. For a simple example, once a child turns about 5 they realize that Santa Claus ... Read More

The Theme of Opression in How It Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston, and Underground (1685 words, 6 pages)

Oppression Then, and NowOppression is prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control over someone. It is something that has been a constant movement throughout generations. Some examples of oppression in todays society would include lower education and job opportunities. My two pieces of work, How it Feels to be Colored ... Read More

The Importance of Family in A Raisin in the Sun, a Play by Lorraine Hansberry (387 words, 2 pages)

A Raisin in the SunLorraine Hansberry wrote the playwright, A Raisin in the Sun in 1959. It was influenced by Harlem by Langston Hughes. It was set in an apartment in Chicago, Illinois. The genre of this playwright is a realist drama. The costumes were very old-fashioned. The women wore ... Read More

The Characterization of Delia and Sykes and Sykes’ Ironic Death as Plot Drivers in “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (666 words, 3 pages)

Sweat EssayIn Sweat, Zora Neale Hurston uses characterization of Delia and Sykes, the symbolism of the house, and Sykes ironic death to tell the story of Delia and Sykes and advance the plot.In the story, Delia is immediately characterized as a hard-working woman by showing her doing laundry though, Any ... Read More

Americans Oppressing Americans in the Literary Works of Phillis Wheatley (1663 words, 6 pages)

Phillis Wheatley Subverting American OppressionPhillis Wheatley was certainly an anomaly of her time. Having shown a keen intelligence when she was bought into the Wheatley family, Phillis, despite her slave status, was granted the right to an education, which fostered in her a love of writing and, especially, of poetry. ... Read More

The Idea of Beauty Being Based on One’s Perception in Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self by Alice Walker (596 words, 2 pages)

In Alice Walkers Beauty When the Other Dancer is the Self Walker drives home the point that the idea of beauty is based on ones perception. Walkers perception of beauty is developed through her life-long journey to ultimately accept her appearance after a tragic accident as a young child leaves ... Read More

The Changes in the Character of Jane in Their Eyes Were Watching God, a Novel by Zora Neale Hurston (1328 words, 5 pages)

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janieundergoes many changes as time flows on, such as maturity, location, andmarital status. Many different metaphors are used throughout the story torepresent various subtle or obvious changes in anything throughout thebook, including ones involving Janie or the other characters. ... Read More

A Literary Analysis of a Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr (414 words, 2 pages)

Martin Luther KingIn Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail he references many famous people who have often fought for the freedom of others. This gives evidence to the arguments that he makes and provides a common ground of understanding for the reader and everyone else. His assertions were bold ... Read More

Sexual Oppression and Exploitation in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a Narrative by Harriet Jacobs (771 words, 2 pages)

Over the course of the early history of slavery and of the women enslaved there has been a narrative of sexual oppression and exploitation from white male masters and their female slaves. There has also been an oppressing and abandoning narrative of enslaved mothers. The events that occurred during slavery ... Read More

The Expressions of the Eye in Beloved, a Book by Toni Morrison (907 words, 3 pages)

It is embedded within human nature to keep secrets, lock away memories, and hold truths only fully known to oneself. Yet, the human body is not impermeable to fully concealing these truths. The eyes have always been known to be the windows to the soul, yet, in the book Beloved, ... Read More

The Social, Class, and Gender Inequalities During the Victorian Era in The Turn of the Screw, a Novella by Henry James (626 words, 3 pages)

Inequalities in the Victorian EraTo understand the uncles and the governesss motivations in Henry James Novella, The Turn of the Screw, the reader must recognize the social, class, and gender inequalities between men and women during the Victorian era. During the time the Victorian era, women and men were not ... Read More

The Relationship Between the Slave Family and Their Owner Hiram Sweet in the Play The Drinking Gourd by Lorraine Hansberry (1511 words, 5 pages)

Throughout history, slavery has been one of the toughest topics to discuss. When one thinks about slavery, they immediately know that the main topic is the struggle between Blacks and Whites. One thinks of how heartless White people were towards Blacks. In the play The Drinking Gourd by Lorraine Hansberry, ... Read More

Intra-Racism in If He Hollers Let Him Go, a Novel by Chester Himes (1513 words, 5 pages)

The OtherMost commonly, racism can be seen between two ethnic groups that have conflict between themselves, but how often do we address racism within a single ethnic group? In 1940s America, racism takes on the characteristic of being discreetly placed in society, since outright oppression of ethnic groups is no ... Read More

Sexual Harassment in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a Book by Harriet Jacobs (1065 words, 3 pages)

The perception of an African American slave has always been that women and men are incompetent and weak, however in Harriet Jacobs book Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl we receive an in-depth view of what the slaves were forced to endure during the slave period. The sexual ... Read More

Parental Enmeshment in Song of Solomon, a Novel by Toni Morrison (527 words, 2 pages)

Response to Critical Essay Anaconda Love Parental Enmeshment in Toni Morrisons Song of SolomonThe critical essay by Gary Storhoff discusses the origins of the psychological issues of Macon, Pilate and Ruth which leads to the parental enmeshment towards their children. The essay is separated into three parts, each section focusing ... Read More

The Importance of Dreams to Walter and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun, a Play by Lorraine Hansberry (324 words, 2 pages)

Some people believe that money, family or any other importances are necessary to them. Others believe that dreams are necessary to them. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, both characters Walter and Beneatha have dreams that felt were importantnecessary to them as food and shelter. Walter Lee Younger, ... Read More

A Reflection on Alan Locke and His Views on Harlem and Zionism (959 words, 4 pages)

Alain Locke ReflectionsHarlem is not only the largest negro community in the world, but also the first concentration in history of so many diverse elements of negro life, (Locke). It was for this reason that Mr. Alain Locke believed that Harlem, as the cradle of a culture that it was, ... Read More

The African American Experience as the American Dream for the Black People in the Literature (1983 words, 7 pages)

Original Theory Paper The African American Experience By definition the American Dream is the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American, (dictionary.com). The American Dream is something that is real and something that has been written about in many novels, such as Death ... Read More

A Personal Response on Alice Walker’s Essay About Her Life (418 words, 2 pages)

Walker essay response In this essay Alice Walker takes us through her life, from a veryyoung age all the way up to when she has a kid of her own. She has donewell for herself and has a good, steady career, and a grateful husband.Alice suffered from a devastating eye ... Read More

A Personal Review of Song of Solomon, a Novel by Toni Morrison (631 words, 2 pages)

Appropriateness of the Song of SolomonComing from a Christian background, my first thought receiving Song of Solomon as one the summer assignment books was panic because I had forgotten all of my Biblical lore. Then I saw that the authors name was Tony Morrison, and I felt even more panicked. ... Read More

A Character Analysis of Macon in Song of Solomon, a Novel by Toni Morrison (706 words, 3 pages)

Song of the Past, Song of the PassedIt is no accident that we strive to have our names remembered. Whether it be the Native Americans, who named their children after those who had died so that each names history would not be forgotten, or the Western tradition of taking on ... Read More

The Typical Dilemma Experienced by Individuals Who Have Questioned Religion in Yet Do I Marvel, a Poem by Countee Cullen (620 words, 2 pages)

Countee Cullen penned Yet Do I Marvel during the bloom of African-American arts that took place in the Harlem Renaissance. It embodies a typical dilemma experienced in those who have questioned religion how can there be so much bad in this world if it is a good God above pulling ... Read More

Meditation, Activism, and Generativity in Walker’s Life in The Cushion in the Road by Alice Walker (776 words, 4 pages)

The Cushion in the Road Meditation, Activism, and Generativity in Walker's Life As Walker hints at in the title of the book, the cushion and the roadtogether represent 'meditation and wandering'. As she neared her sixtiethbirthday, some of her friends became calloused to the burdens and pain ofthe world, and ... Read More

Social Issues and Injustice in the Society in A Raisin in the Sun, a Play by Lorraine Hansberry (452 words, 2 pages)

AP Essay In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is many works of literature that have focused on society, in particular the injustice in the society. Written in the mid-1900s, it was written to show the social issues the African Americans were going through during the ... Read More

Self-Reflection and Maturity in the Transformation of Celie in The Color Purple, a Novel by Alice Walker (963 words, 3 pages)

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker tells a story of a young girl named Celie. The book is formatted as an journal so that daily experiences can be shared through the voice of Celie. In the beginning, readers learn that she lives in a life of recurring hardship, confusion, and ... Read More

The Price of Friendship: Sex and Dependence in Toni Morrison’s Sula (2073 words, 8 pages)

The Price of Friendship Sex and Dependence in Toni Morrisons SulaIn the dedication of Sula, Toni Morrison writes It is sheer good fortune to miss somebody long before they leave you. This statement resonates throughout the landscape of the novel, as Morrison utilizes two black female protagonists, Sula Peace and ... Read More

African American Literature Essay Examples