Black America and the American Nightmare :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Black America and the American NightmareThe Myth of Sisyphus parallels the lack of an American Dream in black America. In The Myth Of Sisyphus, Albert Camus describes the tragedy of Sisyphus, forever punished by the gods to push a rock up a mountain, watch the rock roll down the mountain, and thence push it up the mountain again. In the words of Camus, there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor. The American Dream is understood alive for white Americans. They still dream of large houses, big paychecks, and hard work leading to a comfortable retirement. However, like an animal battling to fight extinction, the American Dream is on its last breath in black America . . . Uh, you know that stuff we told you about apple pie and equal opportunity, spacious skies and rags to riches and devising more money than your parents did? Well, uh, we forgot to tell you something. That was only supposed to apply to white people. Does the American Dream really exist in the black community or do blacks labor under the false impression that our lives will be better in the future? Am I wasting my time paid for a degree from college in a country where I have to put my skin color on every form I menage my name to? Sisyphus intrigues Camus because he questions Sisyphus thoughts about his fate. At that subtle moment when man glances backward over his life, Sisyphus returning toward his rock, in the sight pivoting he contemplates that series of orthogonal actions which becomes his fate, created by him, combined under his memorys eye and soon sealed by his death. As Sisyphus returns to his rock, does he question his fate? Unlike blacks in America, Sisyphus created his own fate. Sisyphus is awake that he will labor in futility until the end of time. He is not under any false impressions that the gods will call his punishment off because of close behavior. He knows his fate and has accepted it. Do blacks also labor in futility, hoping that someone will g o back and change history? Sisyphus accepts the rock as his future. This absurd form of acceptance is the only thing that keeps Sisyphus from going crazy. He is superior to his fate because he survives despite it. Do blacks in America also accept their fate?

Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essays

Gender Roles in The icteric Wallpaper In Charlotte Perkins Gilmans short accounting The Yellow Wallpaper, the indorser is treated to an intimate portrait of developing insanity. At the same time, the storys first person narrator provides insight into the social attitudes of the storys late Victorian time period. The story sets up a sense of gradually increasing distrust between the narrator and her husband, John, a doctor, which suggests that gender roles were strictly defined however, as the story is near one representation of the time period, the examination of other sources is necessary to better understand the nature of American attitudes in the late 1800s. Specifically, this essay will give out the representation of womens roles in The Yellow Wallpaper alongside two other texts produced during this time period, in the effort to discover whether Gilmans depiction of women accurately reflects the society that produced it. The Yellow Wallpaper features an unnamed female na rrator who serves to exemplify the expectations placed upon women of the time period. As we are told early on, she is suffering from a nervous condition (Gilman 1). age we are not told the specific nature of this condition, we do discover that the cure prescribed by John, the narrators husband and doctor, entails taking phosphates or phosphites--whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise while reason work is absolutely forbidden until she is well again (Gilman 1). This poses a particular problem for the narrator, due to her desire to write, which she continues to do in spite of them, and causes her to hide her report to avoid facing heavy opposition (Gilman 1). The treatment to which t... ...Mitchell, seems all the more plausible. After all, her socially-defined role as the dutiful wife and mother was being agonistic by her inability to withstand the treatment foisted upon her by a man trained to disregard his patients feelings. As a woman, she had no soc ially sanctioned federal agency to respond to the problems she faced. Rather than wonder, as John does throughout the story, why his wife is becoming increasingly deranged, readers of this story should only wonder why, given the mores of the time period, there werent far more stories like it. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. English hundred and one Homepage. August 1999 . Mitchell, S. Weir. The Evolution of the Rest Treatment. English 101 Course Packet. Chico Mr Kopy, 1999. Power, Susan. The Ugly-Girl Papers. English 101 Course Packet. Chico Mr Kopy, 1999.

Malcom X/Nation of Islam Essay -- discrimination

The Nation of Islam was founded during the Great Depression in Detroit, Michigan by a silk merchant named Wallace D. Fard. He began preaching to the black community that they didnt deserve to live in poverty, and that the white people exploited the people so much that Fard believed that this community unavoidable their own state. Fard accumulated more than 8,000 followers who believed that Fard was actually god, in the form of man. Elijah Poole, later known as Elijah Muhammad, took over the Nation of Islam subsequently Fards disappearing in 1934.One Nation of Islam follower widely known for his work was Malcolm X. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 under the name Malcolm Little, the fourth shaver of Rev. Earl and Louise Little. Malcolms father was of Baptist opinion that preached on Sundays, and supported Universal Negro Improvement Association and Marcus Garvey, a stirring orator who advocated black pride and a black exodus from the United States to Africa. Rev. Little spread G arveys message, and this, according to legend, is what got him killed by white supremacists in 1931. (Gale 1997) At age 6, Malcolms widowed obtain Louise suffered a mental breakdown and was declared insane. Through all this, Malcolm managed to keep his spirits up by getting good grades, debating, playing basketball, and hoping someday to develop a lawyer, only to have his dreams crushed at the age of 14, by a critical white teacher. Thats no realistic goal for a nigger, his teacher told him, and that he should aim at doing some sort of work with his hands. (Frost 2001) Malcolms dreams were crushed, and at the age of 16 he moved up to new-fashioned York with his sister. There he worked on the streets of New York dealing drugs and hustling. By the time he was 20 years old, he was the leader of a burglar ring, and was caught with stolen goods. He was sentenced to 8-10 years in prison, which turned out to change Malcolms life around. A man named Bimbi, who Malcolm admired, inspired h im to straighten up. Malcolm began hitting the books, sometimes spending half(a) the days in the prison library it seemed he was searching for something to get him out of the rut hes been in since he was 14. (Frost 2001)Malcolm began receiving letters from his brother, Reginald, who told him in his writings about the Nation of Islam, the teachings of an uncle... ... into orthodox Islam. African-Americans interest in their Islamic roots has flourished since Malcolms expiry. (Haley)The memory and image of Malcolm X has changed as much after his death as his own philosophies changed during his lifetime. Malcolm was first thought to be a violent militant, but now he is understood as an advocate of self-help, self-defense, and education. He succeeded in putting together history, religion, and mythology as a skeleton for his eventual belief in world brotherhood and human justice. In his eyes, Malcolm thought faith was a prelude to action, and that ideas were useless without policy. Mal colm Xs autobiography is read in schools throughout the United States. It has inspired some African-Americans to get involved in their Islamic roots. In 1992, Spike Lee made a movie based on the autobiography that sparked an interest in the meaning of life and death of Malcolm X.XRuss LaheyBibliographyFrost, Bob The Complex Journey of Malcolm X. Biography Feb. 2001, Vol. 5, p64Gale, Thomas Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) The African American Almanac, 1997, 7th ed.Haley, Alex and X, Malcolm The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Oct 1992