If you liked Edward P. Jones' "Bad Neighbors"....
then you might also enjoy ”The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara, ”Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison, or ”Everything that Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor. For Friday, read ONE of those stories and post a 4-5 sentence reflection/reader response here as a comment to this blog post. You also need to REPLY DIRECTLY to 2-3 of your classmates comments (think: Instagram/Facebook feed, but slightly more detailed than a series of emojis or five word responses!) as part of this assignment. There's no need to include actual textual evidence in either your original response or when you comment on classmates' work, but if you're having a hard time generating ideas, feel free to look back to the short story questions we used last term. I just want to get a sense of what you thought about the story you've chosen; there's no pressure, so have some fun and be creative!
I really enjoyed reading "Everything That Rises Must Converge Summary" and the way it shows how it portrays a moment in which people of different races are starting to be together, even as racism and prejudice still impact the perceptions that each character has. On one end we have Julian that believes in integration of races but in the same family is her mother which is firmly opposed to racially mixing and is clearly racist. On my eyes the story is suggesting that in a society built by racism, perhaps that idea of people recognizing similarity is somewhat unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteI also read "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and find your final conclusion very interesting. I would say that the moms inability to see her similarities with the African-American mom strongly support your claim (especially with the hat detail). I wonder how you interpreted the conclusion with this idea. Great reading!!
DeleteI enjoyed reading "Everything That Rises Must Converge", by Flannery O'Connor, as it portrayed an important generational conflict that is strongly connected to the issue of racism, which usually isn't attacked. This generational conflict is attacked through Julian and his mother, one a strong advocate for integration and the other which goes as far as calling the world a mess because of integration. This clash continues throughout the whole story as Julian tries to educate, ironically, his mother who to her core is just a child of her racist ancestors, which is shown with the authors focus on her innocent eyes. Julian is unable to teach her but this conflict remains important. This importance is highlighted in the end of the story when Julian's mother is shaken by her confrontation with the African-American woman. She looks to call for people which share the same racist views in this time, asking for her grandfather, but in doing so fails and falls. After falling, she looked to Julian and "found nothing" and dies (closes her eyes but I'm making that jump). In this case I believe that Julian's mother is now a symbol of racism and in her death it shows how Julian and his clash against his parents is necessary for racism to truly die and not be prevalent but hidden, because Julain's mother cannot find any of herself within him and that ultimately allows her to close her eyes.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you described how the theme of racism was approached in this story and how confusing it was for a generation that was just recently mixed after being racist for many years
DeleteHey Hutch,
DeleteI thought emphasizing the generational divide regarding how people perceive racism was pretty interesting because this debate about integration is still relevant to today. Also, pointing out the symbolism between Julian's mother's death and the end of her particular generation and their racism was very interesting to think about.
Super interesting conversation, y'all? Do you think we're meant to judge the son as equally racist? How does his racism differ, and is it perhaps an even more dangerous form in its subtlety?
DeleteI think the son should be looked at as equally racist. His racism is in a different form as he looks down on African-Americans condescendingly in comparison to looking at them in disgust as his mother does. I agree with the idea that this racism is more dangerous as it is more masked and therefor harder to address.
DeleteHutch--
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were able to combine details about your personal reading of the text with an overall summary of what happened. I think you struck a nice balance of these two elements so that both people who have and haven't read this can participate in some sort of discussion.
From Maddie
DeleteI agree!
DeleteWhen reading the "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison, I was quickly appalled by the blatant and obscene racism from the town's elite white men. Starting with the main character's grandpa denouncing himself as a traitor to the black people for being complacent with whites and keeping to himself establishes a rebellious tone and makes the reader question the main character's dignity when he participates in the savage battle royal. The entirety of the elite white men gathering enrages me because of how horribly they treat their perceived lower ordered people such as the naked blond lady and the 10 black men they force to fight blindfolded. Reading the intense sexual misconduct and horrible treatment of the naked woman clearly antagonizes all of the white men in the building for being such horrible people, especially since they are all drunk and smoking. However, once the white men dehumanize the black men by making them fight each other and shout mean and horrible words, I couldn't help but wish the the narrator had punched the other fat white men hurling insults. Even making the black men fight each other over a stash of money on a tarp reveals how the white men thought of the black men as animals. Although the white men did present the narrator with a scholarship to a black college, they are giving him the scholarship because the narrator champions humility and overall obedience to the racial structure for the sake of peace. These white men want to appear philanthropic, but instead, their actual goal is to promote compliance within the black community in order to keep their power.
ReplyDeleteI share your anger, Matthew! Love that idea that their philanthropy masks a kind of systemic racism.
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DeleteI agree with everything you wrote and especially your anger. No human beings should ver be treated like that because it "dehumanizes" them in a way that is humiliating. No power should ever be achieved through humiliation. Great analysis and great reading! Good job Matthew!!
DeleteWhen reading "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison I realized how brutal racism was back in the day and how it was used to create fear and and at the same time create power that was power that whites used on the black society. Towards the beginning of the story we can already understand that the black and white community have been at opposite ends since the very beginning and the perfect piece of evidence for that is what the main character´s grandfather expresses to him... The grandfather classifies himself as a traitor for not standing up tp the white society for all the mistreating they do to the black community. When the main character arrives to the gathering he can see how the group of white men are all together and putting to use the power they have on top of not only the black students but the white woman as well. The most disgusting part of the story is how the white group of men are treating them, because they are treating them like animals and "dehumanizing" them in a way that seems very funny to them. It is very sad to see how the white men thought they had such power over not only the opposite color but also the opposite sex and also felt the need of showing them that the white men are the most powerful race of all. Towards the end of the story, when the fighting and the speech is over the white men sort of try to make up what they have done but not entirely. They offer the main character of the story a scholarship to a black university. In one hand it is nice that they are doing that for him, but in the other hand it shows how they have the power to decide which African-American kids will go to school and which will not. THIS IS PATO GARCIA´S PARAGRAPH
ReplyDeleteA very interesting story to highlight the race relationships that have troubled society for a long time. I like how you highlight the power dynamics and how they are shown through the short story.
DeleteI enjoyed reading "Battle Royal", by Ralph Ellison, even though a very appalling story, because it highlighted the impossible task of pursuing social equality for the African-American community in the past. It highlighted the battle of historical ideologies between the African-American community very early in the story with the narrators grandfathers words at his death bed. Those words haunt the narrator as he chooses to follow Booker T. Washington's idea of social acceptance and education in order to slowly gain rights. Following this ideology does lead the narrator to get a scholarship. However, through out the story the rewards for daunting tasks are misleading and similarly is his scholarship. After the battle in the ring the African- Americans are forced to pick up coins which are said to be American money that hold no value, being electrocuted while doing so. They give the fighters money in the end, giving the longest standing the most, which seems nice, but is truly demeaning all those people, as their value becomes only their strength and power, resembling slavery. Similar to all these examples, the narrators scholarship is misleading as it really is more about promoting civil obedience than it is a big step towards equality. The fact that the college is only for African Americans highlights how the white community is still separating the narrator from themselves. The narrator does have a moment of Du Bois in the story but he is equally not successful in this approach. When in the face of laughter and ridicule he calls for "social equality" he is bashed with threats and violence. Both ideologies unsuccessful, showing the unattainability of equality. Finally, I feel as the fight can be a metaphor for the African-American life in the past. They have to be blind to the inequality they face or they will be attacked by brute force. They must struggle with each other for the scraps within the economy. Always being watched and faced by the white community.
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