Final Post

"Why is studying the Harlem Renaissance still worthwhile in the 21st century?"

When I saw that Harlem Renaissance Literature was on my schedule for my first semester of college, I was pretty content with what I believe would be a class filled with information I'd already learned. Several of my English classes during high school had done units on this movement, and I figured that I knew the basics already. Now, after completing the course, I realize that, literally, ALL I knew was the basics. From the time I have spent learning about the art, literature, music, stories, culture, drama, and politics of this time period, my mind has been greatly expanded on all things regarding the Harlem Renaissance. Up until this course, I simply thought of the Harlem Renaissance as a time period where Langston Hughes wrote a lot of poetry and jazz music started to become popular. However, from immersing myself in the atmosphere of the Harlem Renaissance, I've learned that this movement was a time when the African-American culture struggled to find identity, and also a time for all kinds of Americans to read the thoughts of African-Americans, deriving their expressions, personalities, styles, and personal stories.

Much of the Harlem Renaissance was centered around struggles for artists and writers: struggling to overcome challenges and be accepted by blacks and whites alike and struggling to escape the painful memories of slavery. I imagine that some individuals would argue that the Harlem Renaissance, because of its ties to slavery -- like the Holocaust -- has so much struggle and pain associated with it that it isn't worth studying and rehashing over and over. However, I truly believe that the only way to avoid having history repeat itself is to continue to study it, and learn from our mistakes. The Harlem Renaissance was the first emergence of African-American culture in American society, and the recognition that was eventually gained by the artists, poets, and performers of the Harlem Renaissance helped countless culturally-minded thinkers of all races make advancements in the future.

From this class, I've drawn a strong conclusion that the Harlem Renaissance was an invaluable part of American history, setting the spark for African-American artistic expression. Halting the study of the Harlem Renaissance would be like trying to deny a chunk of America's heritage.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pt. 3

Since the beginning of this novel, I've been wondering about the meaning of the novel's title. Until a direct mention on page 160, where Hurston writes, "The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God," (160).

In my opinion, there are two particularly striking words in the title, one of which is, "Their." In a novel focusing primarily on the life process of an individual, Janie. However, the novel is also about the influences of community and unity, and how the presence and opinions of others affects Janie as she progresses through her life. At the particular part of the novel where the title is referenced, Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat are working together in an attempt to overcome the "triple fury" of the hurricane attacking the Everglades. For one of the first and only times in the novel, Janie's very existence is crucial to her ability to utilize the community around her. And while, because of their togetherness, all three survive the hurricane, Hurston's use of the word "their" seems fragile and short-lived when Janie is forced to kill her husband.

The second word that jumped out at me was "God." Throughout the course of this novel, Hurston doesn't portray the protagonist, Janie, as a religious individual. Really, the only definition of God comes when the reader is introduced to the character of Ms. Turner, a very conservative and racially driven individual who equates God with suffering. Other than that, God and religion aren't mentioned much at all in the novel; perhaps because Janie is on a voyage of self-discovery, not religious discovery. However, Janie's life has been full of suffering, arguably allowing her to achieve a connection with Ms. Turner's version of God.

I guess that I still cannot pinpoint the direct meaning of the novel's title. However, much of Hurston's writing is ambigious, and therefore, the title is probably up for open interpretation.

Any other ideas?

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pt. 2

I'll just start off by saying that the more I read in this novel, the easier it is for me to read the dialect fluently. When we first started reading Hurston's novel, each page took me approximately three times longer to read than a normal page of text. However, now when I read, I find that I'm sort of in the mindset of the southern, black dialect and I understand almost everything that the characters are saying.

Secondly, I'm experiencing VERY mixed feelings about the presence of Tea Cake in Janie's life. I think that I've become fairly attached to Janie, and this surprises me because she isn't necessarily the kind of character I connect to in novels -- sometimes when I don't agree with the decisions characters make, it is hard for me to empathize with them, but I feel a special bond with Janie. Anyway, as I read, I feel like I AM Phoeby, and that Janie is telling her story to me, which is why I have so much apprehension about her new marriage to Tea Cake. By the time Janie meets him, she is already in the process of defining herself as an individual, separate from the controlling natures of her last two husbands. Janie had progressed to the point where she could make decisions about when to close and open the store, and was regaining the sense of freedom and individuality that she possessed when she was younger. It really seemed like she didn't need another man in her life, but, naturally, the young, handsome Tea Cake comes along and charms his way into her life. I guess at this point in their relationship, I sort of have a pro/con list about Tea Cake, so that, if Janie asked me, I would be able to tell her my thoughts:

Pro
-Tea Cake is pretty open-minded and progressive...he believes that women should be able to do all the same activities as men. In fact, he goes so far as to teach Janie how to play checkers and says, "you gointuh be uh good player too, after a while" (96).
-Tea Cake encourages Janie to express her feminine side whenever she wants to. Jody made her tie up her beautiful, long hair, but Tea Cake does not appear to be intimidated by her beauty.
-Generally, Tea Cake seems to have a true love for Janie, proclaiming that her age doesn't matter and that he would never cheat.

Con
-He DOES cheat, sort of. I'm not exactly sure what happened with Nunkie out in the fields in chapter 15 -- it wasn't really cheating, but it definitely was suspicious.
-Tea Cake steals from Janie! He justified stealing with a big story, and Janie didn't seem upset. This really surprised me and made me wonder if, in a way, Tea Cake is breaking her down without Janie realizing it.
-I'm still curious about his true intentions with Janie -- even if Tea Cake says he doesn't care about her age, I think he might still be after her money.

Of course, Janie isn't going to ask ME for advice about this, but I wish that Phoeby had stepped in and tried to be more convincing than she was in the novel. I just get a bad feeling about Tea Cake because Janie seems to have a life pattern of unhealthy, viral relationships. We will see as we read on...

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pt. 1

First of all, I'll just start off by saying that, so far, this novel is unlike anything else I've ever read. During my junior year of high school, my English class read and analyzed Toni Morrison's Beloved, and her novel, Sula, was one of the texts that I used for my AP Lit test last year. I thought those were difficult to approach, but Hurston's novel is on an entirely different level of complication. The essential plot line thus far is not confusing, but the surrounding narrative and -- especially -- the black vernacular lead the reader astray from what could be a simplistic plot line.

Some of Hurston's word choices and the imagery she paints reminds me of scenes directly out of Toomer's Cane. Just like Toomer, Hurston paints beautiful images of the lazy, lush Southern landscape, and, in a very dichotic nature, pairs these images with anecdotes of trauma and pain. The events in chapter two pose a perfect example of this. As the chapter opens, Janie is pondering questions of love and marriage while relaxing under a pear tree. Hurston describes the beauty of the tree and of the outdoor nature in detail, writing, "she was...soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her" (11). Hurston goes on to use phrases like, "love embrace and...ecstatic shiver of the tree," and describes the setting as "a revelation" (11). For the next page, Janie simply basks in the beauty of rural Florida, and the reader feels a very positive, warm vibe from the narrator's diction.

However, suddenly, the tone and message of the novel take a sharp twist as Nanny scolds Janie for kissing Johnny Taylor on the street. Nanny launches into the story of Janie's mother's downfall in life, and a dark shadow seems to pass over the chapter. Nanny shares anecdotes of abuse and rape, and how these hardships penetrate generations, continuing to cause pain.

Hurston's ability to show such a contrast in a small portion of the novel really stood out to me. At times, her writing style models that of Toomer (especially when she describes the beauty of the South), and at other times, her darker topics remind me some of McKay/Cullen's more serious topics. Although every single page of this novel takes me a little longer to read because of the black dialect, I'm fascinated by Hurston's writing style. I'm interested to see where the novel goes next.

Quick prediction: The tree that Hurston describes seems to be a developing theme related to Janie's life and development emotionally and sexually. I wonder if the tree motif will continue to appear as the novel progresses?

Langston Hughes

While reading Hughes' poetry, I found myself stumbling upon an abundance of connections to other pieces of literature. One particularly interesting connection came to me while I was re-reading "Mother to Son" on page 30.

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

In this poem, an older mother discusses the difficult life she's had, describing her life-long struggles as a winding, twisty staircase, but not a crystal one. Rather, the staircase "had tacks in it,/And splinters,/And boards torn up,/And places with no carpet on the floor -/Bare." Speaking in a "Negro dialect," she encourages her son not to give up or "turn back," and not allow the hardships that he may go through to changes his hopes and dreams.

The poem reminded me a lot of "The Heritage" from The Brownies' Book, because this poem shared the same kind of message, and possessed a similar tone and diction. Both the mother in this story and Mother Mason from The Brownies' Book send young adults the same advice: stay focused and motivated and take advantage of all the opportunities in their lives, which their parents and grandparents didn't necessarily have access to. I think that both this poem and the "The Heritage" are more than simple reminders to African American children to stay in school or keep dreams in sight. I actually view both of the mothers as a collective voice -- the voices of many mother, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers -- representing numerous generations who's slave lives were "no crystal stair." Both this poem and the story from The Brownies' Book are definite motivators for youth.

This is one of Hughes' earlier poems, and I wonder how much time he had spent, at this point in his life, pondering over what kind of a poet he was going to be? Even some of Countee Cullen's poems are centered around his confusion over race representation, and therefore often addressed him questioning himself as a man, as a poet, as a black, male, poet. However, Hughes' poems, so far, seem much lighter than that. Often, they do not even specifically focus on "the race question." I'm wondering if these subjects will change at all as we read further into his anthology of poetry.

Countee Cullen

First of all, I'd like to open with this thought: the poems of Countee Cullen are, as we discussed in class, a bit more rigid and traditional in form. However, in my opinion, they are some of the most emotionally loaded poems that we've addressed so far, because Cullen seems to have so much saddness and anger that comes across in the stories he tells. Out of all the poems we read in this packet, "Incident" stood out most. In fact, I found myself coming back to the poem's story over and over again because it was just so tragically beautiful. I will post it here, just in case anyone doesn't remember the poem.

Incident

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.

This poem addresses a problem on two different levels, and I would like to examine both of them briefly. First of all, the very obvious problem this touches on is the effect that racism has on young children affected by it. I view this poem as a sort of testimony to the long-lasting effects of racism. Cullen points out that racist names and jokes were thrown around, and that it was not uncommon to hear "nigger" ringing through the streets. The poem is not adorned with poetric elements -- rather it is fairly straight-forward, and I believe that Cullen follows a traditional structural form intentionally. The straight-foward nature of the poem makes the little boy's story both blunt and poignent at the same time. I know that their stories are not EXACLTY the same, but the little boy in "Incident" reminds me of Ruby Bridges and all of the rude, blatantly racist comments made to her when she tried to do something very common: walk from her home to her first day of elementary school. I imagine that the comments made to Ruby stuck with her more than anything she ever learned in school.

Secondly, on a bit deeper level, I think Cullen's poem transcends racism, and communicates how any feelings of hatred last more than feelings of happiness. I feel like this is a poem that everyone, race aside, can connect to. Personally, I can recall the time when a girl who I thought was my best friend tell me that I was fat on the playground in approximately second grade. I don't remember anything else that happened in our friendship except that. I'm sure that many people can think of a similar situation where all that sticks out in their mind is the negative aspect.

I think that if I were in the position of the speaker, "nigger" would be the only thing I could remember, too.

The Brownies' Book

Before "The Brownies' Book" began circulating as a publication aimed towards black children, images like these were the only ones present in children's literature:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Golliwogg2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/LittleBlackSamboCover.jpg

and writing like this stereotyped and cast shame on black children:

"Ten Little Niggers"

Ten Little Nigger Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self, and then there were Nine.
Nine Little Nigger Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself, and then there were Eight.
Eight Little Nigger Boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there, and then there were Seven.
Seven Little Nigger Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves, and then there were Six.
Six Little Nigger Boys playing with a hive;
A Bumble-Bee stung one, and then there were Five.
Five Little Nigger Boys going in for Law;
One got in Chancery, and then there were Four.
Four Little Nigger Boys going out to Sea;
A Red Herring swallowed one, and then there were Three.
Three Little Nigger Boys walking in the Zoo;
The big Bear hugged one, and then there were Two;
Two Little Nigger Boys sitting in the Sun;
One got frizzled up, and then there was One.
One Little Nigger Boy living all alone;
He got married, and then there were None.

Obviously, the market for children's literature provided an extremely distorted, filled with prejudiced, stereotyped stories of "bad" or "naughty" black children. As we learned about in the first half of the semester (especially in the film "Ethnic Notions"), books and magazines were riddled with caricatures of Little Black Sambo, Pickaninnies, and Golliwoggs. So far, our readings have only focused on the negative portrayals of blacks and how these negative portrayals continued to haunt the race, being perpetuated in different mediums. I began to feel like we would never hear about positive portrayals of blacks and black children in literature, but "The Brownies' Book" changes this, showing black children as heroes and heroines, as confident individuals, and as educated individuals.

In my opinion, one of the most striking pieces in "The Brownies' Book," was "The Heritage," by Blanche Lynn Patterson. It tells the story of a young woman named Julia who is working long, difficult hours to put herself through school. The reader is never told the specific grade level, but I assumed that Julia was in college. She visits with an older mother figured named Mother Mason who reminds Julia that by getting an education she is fulfilling the hopes of two uneducated generations before her. In the conclusion of the short story, Julia says, "Oh, I am so glad you told me. I might have given up and been a failure and disappointment. Now I have something to work for, and I'll keep on, Mother Mason. I'll keep on!"

Now, on one hand, I see the obvious positive message being sent by this piece. "The Brownies' Book," does an excellent job encouraging students to stay in school and combat any societal norms holding them back from achieving their goals. However, I was shocked by the fact that, in a magazine calling itself positive and progressive, geared towards the advancement of the black race, the character of Mother Mason STILL played the part of a Mammy caricature. She speaks in a thick "negro" dialect, with phrases like, "ain't nothin'," "jest" instead of "just," and "Why, chile!" This is something I simply do not understand. By including an uneducated, struggling black figure, the magazine perpetuates negative black stereotypes that the magazine promised NOT to include. I think it is sad that the negative black caricatures were so deeply rooted in culture that even a magazine emphasizing the successes of blacks clings to these stereotypes.