How does African American literature exposes a society - Essay Example

African American literature, according to Robert Fox, is a literature which exposes society. It exposes the inhumanity of prejudicial stereotypes, the African America struggle for acceptance and quest for identity. It is a literature which exposes the racial nature of poverty and the oppressive nature of society (pp. 43-44). While African American literature had, for quite a long time, been devalued' simply because its authors were black' and, therefore, popularly perceived of as incapable of producing art, it is a literature which is currently highly valued for both its aesthetic nature and its exposition of humanity and society (Fox, pp. 43-44). This interpretation of the intent and value of African American literature is validated by the fiction of Walker, Baldwin, Bambara and Ellison. A critical analysis of "Everyday Use," "Sonny's Blues," "The Lesson" and "Battle Royal" indicates that the determination to escape the shackles of social prejudices and to disprove popular racial stereotypes is an integral part of African American life. By illustrating this struggle, these works of fiction do not simply expose society's inhumanity but show readers that the root cause of inhumanity is fear of that which is different. Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," which centres on jazz culture and the life of musicians, follows the story of two brothers who are driven by the determination to survive and create a life for themselves. While both similarly relate escape from Harlem with survival, both pursue very different paths towards self-realization and the affirmation of identity. The brother embraces White America's middle class dream. He goes to school, becomes a teacher and lives a middle class lifestyle. He is determined to escape the streets of his birth and, significantly, his African American culture. Sonny's ambition correlates with his brother's insofar as he is similarly determined to escape the streets of Harlem and to re-make himself. Unlike his brother, however, he does not embrace White America's middle class dream. Instead, he pursues a life of jazz music and redefines himself as a jazz musician. On the surface, it appears that Sonny's brother succeeded while Sonny himself failed, descending into a world of drugs, addiction and eventual incarceration. The narrative draws its impetus from the juxtaposition between the two brothers and gradually leads readers to an understanding of Sonny's struggle and an appreciation of the integrity of the said struggle. The narrative plays on readers' prejudices and stereotypical understandings of success and failure. One is tempted to denounce Sonny as a failure and his life as a waste, just as one tends towards identifying his brother with success and describing his life in constructive terms. Baldwin, however, hints throughout the narrative that this is not really the case. In their determination to escape Harlem and to shed their African American culture/identity, both brothers lose themselves. As the brother himself admits when gazing at some children: "boys exactly like the boys we once had been found themselves smothering in these houses, came down into the streets for light and air and found themselves encircled by disaster. Some escaped the trap, most didn't. Those who got out always left something of themselves behind, as some animals amputate a leg and leave it in the trap" (112). These words contain an implicit admission of his failure, just as they explain Sonny's descent. The brother is not a success, despite appearances to the contrary because, in his struggle for survival, he renounced his identity and therefore, is condemned to life as an amputee. Similarly, Sonny's descent into drug addiction and later incarceration are a consequence of his determination to cut himself off his Harlem roots and to conquer the society which marginalises and oppresses him, as an African American, by remaking himself into a jazz hero. The extent to which both brothers have lost themselves is further evidenced in the response he gives to Sonny's friend when he asks him what he is going to do about his brother: "Look. I haven't seen Sonny for over a year, I'm not sure I'm going to do anything. Anyway, what the hell can I do" (106). Sonny and his brother have lost themselves and lost one another in their determination to embrace, conquer or become White America. Ellison's protagonist plays to White America. As is evident throughout "Battle Royal," the protagonist's primary battle is the battle against prejudice and a society which refuses to accept his humanity. He is constantly called upon to affirm his worth and confirm his humanity. He does so by adhering to his grandfather's advice: "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome'em with yeses, undermine'em with grins, agree'em to death and destruction, let'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open" (Ellison, 938). It is, thus, that he agrees to participate in a brutal and inhumane boxing match for the chance of winning' a place in university and, therefore, becoming someone. While, like Baldwin's characters, he concedes to the white man's vision of society and embraces the white man's strategy for success, his concession does not imply a loss of the self. It is a strategy for self-realisation. The very nature of the boxing match and, most importantly, its rationale, is nothing short of a searing exposition of a society which has lost its humanity. Ellison's white society is a society whose attitude towards African Americans is predicated on a supposition of superiority and an unwavering belief in the inferior humanity, or sub-human nature, of the African American individual. It is within this context that white society justifies its condition for university admission for African Americans. Paradoxically, while it does so because it believes that the African American is not a person, is lacking in humanity, this society proves that it is it which is lacking in the stated and not the African American. Indeed, as he steps into the boxing ring, Ellison's protagonist exposes white society inhumanity and confirms his own humanity. He is determined to both succeed and to affirm his identity and, therefore, temporarily participates in the white man's game. As may have been inferred from the preceding, both "Sonny's Blues" and "Battle Royal" centre around the relationship between black and white society and, more specifically, the reactions of the former to the latter's prejudices. In "Sonny's Blues" the narrator and the protagonist react by cutting themselves off their black, their Harlem roots and in their different ways, by embracing white values and worldviews. In so doing, they appear to have internalized society's prejudices and, ultimately, lose themselves. In comparison, Ellison's protagonist rejects the white man's vision of the black man and his apparent concession to white society's rules is his strategy for manipulating that society and its prejudices for his own ends. In direct comparison to the white-black dynamics from which "Sonny Blues" and "Battle Royal" draw their impetus, Bambara's "The Lesson" is Afro-centric. The story unfolds within an African American community and, with few fleeting exceptions, is primarily peopled by African Americans. Just as did the other two stories, however, it similarly exposes the small-minded nature of prejudice and irrational racial stereotyping. Whereas Ellison and Baldwin portrayed the African American as the victim of societal prejudices, Bambara depicts them in an alternate light - African Americans are as capable of stereotyping others as is the white man and they are as prejudiced against those who are different as is the white man. This is evident from the outset, through reference to "winos", "white folk crazy" and the description of the "junk-man." If the white man's outlook on society is influenced by his racial identity, Bambara demonstrates that the black man is no different in this regard. The theme of prejudice is clearly expressed in the depiction of attitudes towards Miss Moore and to a lesser extent, the West African girls. Miss Moore stands out from the rest of the community, at least in the eyes of the narrator, because her mode of speech, her interests and her worldview are different. The West African girls stand out because their skin is a lighter shade than the narrator's. Certainly, it is understandable that both Miss Moore and the West African girls stand out because they differ from the rest of the community but the question which needs to be asked is whether these differences justify hatred and cruelty. Miss Moore is, quite significantly, unrelated to the children in whom she takes such an obvious interest. Unlike Mrs. Kearney and Granny, she is "not even related by marriage or by blood" (p. 81) to the children; a fact which does not dampen her enthusiastic determination to educate them and expand their horizons beyond their present and their geographic surroundings. She wants the children to understand the racial and economic divisions which characterize the world and to think beyond the slums. It is evident that Miss Moore wants the children to become independent and, most importantly, take their fate in their own hands by stepping outside of the slums. She is, however, unappreciated and the lessons which she seeks to impart to the children are dismissed by the children as "boring-ass things" (p. 81). The children, as quite clearly expressed by the narrator want Miss Moore to leave them in peace so that they may "go the pool or to the show where it's cool (p. 81). Miss Moore, however, is persistent and determined and just "don't never let go" (p. 81) as the narrator phrases it. Certainly, Miss Moore is a bother as far as the children are concerned but her being so is not a cause for hatred. The narrator hates Miss Moore and this sentiment, alongside the taunting of the West African girls, expresses the reality of human nature. It shows us that humanity is intolerant of differences, prejudicial and exceedingly judgemental. Miss Moore is doing the children a service and she is trying to make them take charge of their own fate. They refuse because they are complacent with their lives and intolerant of differences. Human nature, on the basis of the stated, is one which tends towards complacency and is reluctant to engage in constructive change. Walker's short story, "Everyday Use" stands midway between the three discussed in the preceding. As in "Sonny's Blues," one of its themes is escape from the slums but unlike Baldwin's two brothers, Walker's Dee comes to recognize the value of her roots and her ancestor and returns, both to learn more about who she is and where she came from and to connect her past with her present. Like Ellison's "Battle Royal," the characters understand who they are, appreciated their familial heritage, whereby the recollection of the grandfather in "Battle Royal" becomes the recollection of the grandmother. Finally, the story echoes some of Bambara's themes and settings. It similarly unfolds within the context of a poor black community where pride in identity is apparent and the notion that one can take control of one's fate is explicitly expressed. Contrary to "The Lesson," the characters in "Everyday Use" do not mock the notion of responsibility for one's fate but uphold it. In other words, therefore, even though this story shares much in common with those discussed earlier, it stands out as distinct from them. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" projects a constructive image of society. Certainly, Dee's obsession with style and fashion can very well be interpreted as a testament to the superficiality of her character and interests but, the fact that she comes back, seeking a connection with her heritage and past, redeems her. Indeed, the narrator often refers to Dee's style and her sense of style, mentioning that "At sixteen she had a style of her own and knew what style was" (p. 50) and Dee's "feet were always neat-looking, as if God himself has shaped them with a certain style" (p. 52). In statements such as the ones quoted, Dee's obsession with style is emphasized and when this obsession is considered alongside the mother/narrator's often critical attitude towards Dee, readers begin to see through her superficiality. However, Walker's treatment of her characters is such that Dee is not condemned for her superficiality and the fact that she stands out as different from either her mother or her sister, and by association the larger community, does not make her the target of derogatory and prejudicial remarks, as it does Miss Moore. From a personal perspective, this is because Dee has not lost herself and is keen on learning who she is and where she came from. She may be intent on recreating herself and on improving her social and economic conditions but she is not eradicating her past in the process. In other words, superficiality is a character flaw which is balanced out by Dee's other positive characteristics. These are an acknowledgement of the past, pride in ancestry and heritage and a determination to assume control of her life. Having critically analysed the four short stories, the answer to two questions need to be emphasised in the conclusion. These are what do these stories tell us about society/human nature and how do they approach the question of faith. With the exception of Walker's "Everyday Use," the stories communicate a vision of society as intolerant of differences, judgmental and superficial. Society, as portrayed in Baldwin, Ellison and Bambara, is small-minded and lacking in humanity. All the stories, however, emphasise that human beings, regardless of their status in life, have the option and the power to improve their condition. We, as humans, are not the playthings of fate but can take control of our fate, should we choose to do so. This is "the lesson" that all of the stories impart. Works Cited Baldwin, James. " Sonny's Blues." 1957. Going to Meet the Man. New York: Dial, 1965. 101-141. Bambara, Toni Cade. "The Lesson." In Gorilla, My Love. New York, Pocket, 1972. 80-89. Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royal." Making Literature Matter. Ed. John Schilband John Clifford. Boston: Bedford, 2000. Fox, Robert Elliot. "Ted Joans and the (B)reach of the African American Literary Canon." MELUS, 29 (Autumn - Winter, 2004), pp. 41-58. Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." In Love and Trouble. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1967. Read More