The Ethics of Living Jim

In times today, it is not common to see people call someone sir in order to be formal. In Richard Wright’s time, it was the only way. Wright was an author known for his controversial writings about african american struggles of his time. He wrote The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch, which is an essay describing different points in time where Wright struggled with racism. It begins with him being a child in a “war” with the white kids from a different neighborhood. He is disadvantaged and gets hurt, so his mother tells him not to fight with white kids anymore. Once he grows older he tries to find a job. His two coworkers don’t like the fact Wright works with them. They accuse him of not addressing them with a proper Sir. He had to leave the job completely so he wouldn’t be beaten by them. He wrote all of these horrible memories down so people who did not experience what he did, will know what it was really like to be black in his times. He also wanted to explain the black people’s perspective on this. To explain, he quotes one of his friends, “Lawd, man! Ef it wuzn’t fer them polices ‘n’ them ol’ lynch-mobs, there wouldn’t be nothin’ but uproar down here!(170)” This quote explains they are in such a bad situation they are even thankful for abusive policemen and lynchings. If it weren’t for them, everyday white people would be abusing and murdering them publicly. The personal narrative perspective really affected the reader in this essay. Whenever Wright was scared it made the reader scared and feel what he felt. This essay is split into different little numbered stories. All of the stories are very different, in length, amount of dialogue, and plot. Because one story may be much longer than another, this shows how much even a little life event can affect someone entirely.

Thomas D. Rice shown in his black face costume, highly influential in Jim Crow issues

Source: Edward Williams Clay (1799-1852), published by E. Riley, New York

Living With Daughters

Straightening naturally curly hair is a long, painful, and difficult procedure. Even so, standards of beauty in pop culture have been trying to convince women to straighten their natural hair for a long time. Someone who knows this well is Gerald Early, an award winning author who is a professor of African American studies. He wrote Living with Daughters: Watching the Miss America Pageant to explain how black women felt when surrounded by mostly white women in pop culture. They were unable to find role models in the media which made it harder to find themselves. It was written for anyone who wanted to understand the oppression black women dealt with. To tap into the real feelings of a woman, Early went to his mother, wife, and daughters. Early would ask his daughters how they felt about their beauty, “I asked her if she would like to have her hair straightened.(539)” He would analyze his daughter’s answers to see how they were reacting to his parenting styles and how their peers treated them. He also references studies done to show that black children prefer a white doll as opposed to a black doll because it is “prettier.” From this he explains how this affects his life through personal narrative. Early’s wife does not buy their children white dolls. This is her defense system against the issues Early is writing about. It seems to work as their children are comfortable with who they are and find things like beauty pageants “silly”. Early’s family always watches beauty pageants and his children find it funny that women would try so hard to be liked. Although his mother believes it is important to have a black women win it to lead as a role model,  Early’s children do not even notice. Instead of getting their hair straightened, Early and his wife decided to give their daughters traditional afros. Although their peers initially made fun of them, they learned to love it and themselves.

Vanessa Williams, the first black beauty pageant winner, surrounded by three white women

source: newsone.com

Illumination Rounds

No one knows war as well as someone who served in it. No one can explain their own experiences like a writer. Clearly the best person to write about their times in war would be a soldier and an author, like Michael Herr. He wrote Illumination Rounds which is made up of several personal stories of his service in Vietnam. The Vietnam War started in 1955 and was a conflict between the US and Vietnam. The stories in his essay range from his helicopter being shot as he watched his fellow soldier die, to getting high with his friends. The contrast between these two types of events really shows how crazy war was for him. He had an interesting experience no one else had. This was written to inform people who were never in a war what battle is actually like. Not only is it terrifying, like when he saw a little girl’s leg detached next to her, but it can also be funny, like when an angry soldier tricked a Chaplain. The fact this was written in a narrative form really gave the reader the feeling of being there himself. It made it clearer to imagine Herr’s experience. The dialogue also helps with this; It is written differently in this essay than in other texts.  Correct grammar or spelling is not used. A man Herr was talking to said, “You git up onna ridgeline, see y’keep yer head down. Y’heah?( Herr 336)” This is to show how the people Herr interacted with actually talked and what it sounded like to him. It gives the passage a more realistic feel to it. Herr also used abbreviations including: ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam), LZ (landing zone), and LOH (light observation helicopter). All of these devices together allowed Herr to explain his unique war experiences to the readers who have never been in a war themselves.

An American soldier aiming his gun at the enemy from inside a Huey helicopter during the Vietnam war

Source: history.com