The Marginalization of African Americans - 825 Words

The Marginalization of African Americans (Essay Sample) Content: Firstname Lastname Instructor’s Name Course Number  DATE \@ "d MMMM yyyy" 13 October 2016 The Marginalization of African Americans: Insights from Baldwin and Lorde James Baldwin and Audre Lorde are both acclaimed African American writers and shared common experiences as blacks growing up in America. It is little wonder then that their literary works have common themes. In A Letter to My Nephew, James Baldwin writes a letter to his fifteen-year-old nephew, James. In the letter, he describes the harsh face of racism in the world that is unfolding around him. He tells young James and those of his generation to seek strength from the love imparted on them by other African Americans, and which they now must pass on to "[their] children and [their] children's children." Baldwin had many experiences to share, mostly words motivated by pain and anger. Baldwin wanted to show his nephew how cruel the society he has been born to is, and how he co uld survive in it (Baldwin). Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival is a short poem consisting of three long stanzas and a final three-line stanza. As the title suggests, it is a communal prayer of alternating speakers, a leader, and a flock of supplicants. The supplicants an oppressed and devalued group saying a prayer to emancipate the children from the marginalization that they suffer continually (Lorde). Both pieces of literature are resplendent with the themes of marginalization and survival. James Baldwin believes that American white society has inadvertently put "the Negro" in an untenable position. He tells young James that the society he is in has segregated him in the ghetto and did not expect him to excel, and demands that he ‘makes peace with mediocrity.’ His predicament is only because he is black. He does not think the malice of present white citizens created this, believing instead that it resulted from innocent oversight on their part; this has beco me so normal that many Americans whites are oblivious to the existence of African Americans. At the end of the letter, he tries to explain to his nephew what integration means (Baldwin). A Litany for Survival talks about marginalization. The title suggests a communal prayer of alternating speakers. The prayer asks whether anyone deserves to be devalued and discarded as the leader and the other supplicants have. The petitioners feel defenseless and insignificant compared to the powers that oppress them. They have come to always fear for the worst, afraid when they speak and afraid when they are silent. Both pieces of literature pray for a better future for the writers’ children, away from the marginalization, and the strength to endure the marginalization (Lorde). The second overriding theme in both pieces of literature is survival. Because of marginalization, the very existence of African Americans in James Baldwin’s world is threatened. He writes the letter to give h is nephew lessons on how to survive. He tells his nephew not to believe the white man and his words. This is because the white man only expects mediocrity from him. Young James must succeed in life but he will not find it easy. Baldwin tells him that he can only succeed if he knows where he came from. He tells young James and those of his generation to seek strength from the love imparted on them by other African Americans, and which they now must pass on to "[their] children and [their] children's children. (Baldwin)" In A Litany for Survival, ...

Its Not What You Say But The Way That You Say It Tips For Developing Voice

Step one: Think about your audience. Have you ever accidently texted the wrong person? Sent a text meant for your best friend to your dad or to your boss? I have; it’s horrifying. Horrifying because I was being a person that this other person didn’t know.I speak in different ways depending on I am talking to and the situation I am speaking to them in. This is why the advice to â€Å"develop your own voice† which is often given to writing students is so bewildering—no one is just one person. We talk about different things, using different words and sentence structures, employ different methods of argumentation and appeal to different emotions depending on who we are talking to and the context. This extends to writing as well. I’ve worked with students who have taken the advice to â€Å"develop your own voice† to mean that they should write essays in the same manner that they talk to their friends as well as students who adopt in their writing the voice of the well-worn academic that they aspire to be. Neither scenario gives rise to clear, effective, or context-appropriate writing. The key to writing in a way that is effective and clear is actually pretty straightforward: be aware of who your writing is either explicitly or implicitly addressing and write using the â€Å"voice† that you would use when you’re talking to that person."Voice" is something you already have, already know how to do; what's hard is translating that onto the page. Step one: Think about your audience. Before you write, think explicitly about who you’re addressing--a professor or TA, a hiring manager--and then ask yourself: How would you talk to them if you were in the same room? What words would you use and which would you instinctually avoid? What sorts of arguments would you make and which sorts of evidence would you employ? Having thought about who your audience and how you would talk to them will be helpful as you approach composition. Step two: Make it a Conversation. While you're writing, do everything possible to make the process of writing feel as much like having a conversation. Pretend you're writing an email. When I’m working on my own writing—be it a blog post like this, an application letter, an essay, or an article—I draft not in a word-processing program but literally rather in the mail program. This is where it feels normal to address a particular person, where I am accustomed to sounding â€Å"like myself† in a variety of ways. If you use a thesaurus while you write, don’t choose words because they sound fancy or academic. The thesaurus should be a tool to help you find the best word to use in context, not to help you put on a fancy, academic voice. Step three: Read it out loud. While you're revising, read your writing out loud. When I do this I imagine that I’m reading to the person who your paper is for and think about whether: I have written something that it would be awkward to say in front of that person? Written something that I can’t imagine actually saying? Written something that I don’t actually believe to be true? If so, I delete it and revise the phrase or sentence so that it is something that I could imagine actually saying in context. For more tips and tricks on expository writing, check out these other blog posts written by our writing tutors in New York and Boston: The Vital Importance of Writing Badly,Transitioning From One Paragraph to the Next, and How Do I Write a Good Thesis?Looking to work with an expository writing tutor on your essays? Feel free to get in touch! Cambridge Coaching offers private in-person tutoring in New York City and Boston, and online tutoring around the world. ;