Blog Post 6: Parable of the Sower

One of my favorite passages in this book, was on page 23 when Lauren says, "A little more hypocrisy to keep the peace". I found this passage very interesting and important because the audience is getting to see Lauren's progression of thought. Her ideas in this passage specifically are involving the relationships that her stepmother and one of their neighbors hold. While, this quote seems like it could be just about the relationship that she is examining, it also pertains to the text on a larger scale. Lauren is seeing hypocrisy in the world, I think this is specific to the hypocrisy that is often found in religion (i.e. religious beliefs and slavery/racism) and Lauren has come to the conclusion that hypocrisy is, sadly, holding many parts of the world together.

Blog Post 5: Nova

The significance of a the presence of a Nova in the novel Nova by Samuel Delany, is likely due to the idea of newness. An actual nova is a dying or exploding star that causes a large explosion and is very dangerous. After a nova occurs we get this "new" area, like a black hole and more space. I think that Delany is trying to give the audience of newness to his novel through the advanced and futuristic world that he has created. In this world, there are robots, space crafts and more advanced fuels (Illyrion). All of these things are indicative of "newness". The use of Nova, as both the title and as a dangerous space explosion, is very interesting. I think that Delany is implying that while newness is exciting and interesting, it is also very dangerous and sensitive. In a nova, it is difficult to judge the timing and strength of it, as described in the novel, "'The actual time a nova takes to reach its peak intensity from the time it blows is a few hours'" (106). This shows how sensitive and scary a real nova can be. And I think that Delany is using the idea of a nova to describe newness of the future, pertaining to the new ideas and changes in society at the time this was written in 1968, like the Civil Rights Movements coming into play and how society deals with those changes. Also, Delany is calling attention to the frightening aspects of change. In the 60's there were still people who were prejudice and disapproving of the new laws, and in the novel Nova,a nova explosion is extremely dangerous and harmful to humanity. Delany is potentially trying to bring these ideas to the readers attention in order to realize that while change is positive and progressive, sometimes something new can be dangerous as well, especially for the people directly involved. 

Another interesting idea surrounding the Nova star explosions, is that the word nova means "no go" in both French and Spanish. (This can be related to the poor sales of the cars from the 70's named Nova.) I feel like the use of the Nova and knowing the meaning of it in other languages could be Delany's response to newness in a way that is negative. He could be saying that he doesn't think that people should "go" to get the Illyrion, and that society should be careful and cautious when dealing with new and sensitive issues, like the Civil Rights Movements or the gathering of Illyrion!

Questions:

1. How much do you think Nova resembles a story similar to finding the Holy Grail? Do you think they are successful in their adventure?

2. Do you think Delany approves of the forward motion of society? What was happening at this time that made Delany write this book? 

Blog Post 4: Black Empire

 The book, Black Empire, by George Schuyler; follows the progression of success that occurs as the Black Internationale, a group of black men and women, who begin to implement their well thought out plans to become a powerful nation. A large part of the story is the movement from America to Africa, where the group plans to take the land for themselves and make a new start of ruling the world there. While talking about the move, Dr. Belsidus, the organizations head, talks about the many ships that they organization has purchased, and I found the names of the ships especially appealing. Schuyler writes, "'The others will take positions as follows: Capt. Cambell's S. S. Nat Turner...S.S. Fred Douglass...Sojourner Truth...Bessie Coleman...Phyllis Wheatley...Samory. You are to be ready at your stations on the afternooon'" (92). When I first read this, I didn't think much about the historical context of the names, but after thinking about it later on, I realized that all of the people were historically famous black people. I think it is very interesting that Schuyler used these people as the names of the ships, he deliberately chooses to name the ships after famous black people. There are many connections between the historical black people and the characters and events occurring in the novel and I wanted to look more closely at those historical pieces that Schuyler draws on.

Nat Turner: He led a rebellion, many black and white people were killed, Nat was then sentenced to death and was hanged. In terms of Nat's rebellion and his legacy, we notice, that Dr. Belsidus is running a sort of rebellion through trying to gain African stability and control. Also, the doctor would have been extremely upset at the treatment of Nat Turner.

Frederick Douglass: He was a slave and escaped to the North, he was educated and fought for black freedom, though he believed in non-violence and wished to use his education to show people that slavery was wrong. Douglass reminds me of Carl Slater because he is much more mellow, he uses his writing to prove his points and seemed frightened of violence. Douglass, for example, refused to join John Brown's rebellion against Virginia because he did not wish to be involved in such a situation. Similar to this is Slater, who is not nearly as desensitized as others characters and views killing as a brutal and ruthless act. At the beginning of the novel we see Slater's awe and confusion at the act of killing, "'But that's murder, ' I objected. 'Cold-blooded murder.' 'Of course it's muder,' he [Belsidus] said, smirking sardonically" (11). This shows that Salter is uncomfortable and unhappy with the idea of murder, while Belsidus is uncaring and cold.  Another reason why Slater is like Douglass, is how they convey their feelings and stories through writing. This book is written from Slater's point of view, and Douglass wrote, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave from his view as well. Both describe situations and feelings about events very descriptively.


Sojourner Truth: In an English class I had last fall, I learned that she was very outspoken and made speeches for women's rights and was an abolitionist. She was famous for her speeches, but couldn't read or write, so all of her 'works' are written down by other people. Her not being able to express herself in the written word reminds me of the butler, Jim, who doesn't have a tongue and much rely on others to communicate effectively.

Bessie Coleman: Her similarities to a character is quite simple; she was a black woman who was also a pilot, which obviously resembles Pat! They both share flying as minority women, which is quite an amazing profession for women and African American's at the time.

Phillis Wheatley: She was one of the first African American women to publish her writing. The goal of the Black Internationale is to try to be the best, be the first and be in control and this connects to Wheatley because she sort of "paved the way" for other black writers and artists of the time, in the same way that Belsidus is "paving the way" for other black people to succeed and change their futures/lives.

Samory Ture: He was the founder of an Empire that resisted French rule in the late 1800's. I found this interesting because this is a similar situation to that of the Black Internationale's! Belsidus is the founder of the Empire and is trying to resist France and other European nations in order to maintain peace and progress in his plans.

Questions:
1. What other historical events can we find that Schuyler drew off of in the book? What is he trying to tell the readers by using historical characters and events?
2. Is Slater representative of his race and time period? Is Belsidus more representative of it than Slater? Explain.

Blog Post #3: Of One Blood

In Pauline Hopkins' novel, Of One Blood, we follow the progression of Reuel Briggs, his work and the cultivation of his relationships. Within this novel, I noticed the presence of mythological references, mainly in the form of names of multiple characters.

Towards the beginning of the novel, the audience is introduced to a very interesting character named Charlie Vance, who has a good deal of money and owns a seemingly fabulous estate. His nickname in the book is "'Adonis', as he was called by his familiars" (17). Upon noticing such an odd name as a nickname, I looked up what Greek God Adonis was in order to gain a better understanding of the character. It is an intentional move by Hopkins to give him this name and must tell the audience something about his personality. Adonis is the Greek god of beauty and desire. On Wikipedia it states, " He has had multiple roles, and there has been much scholarship over the centuries concerning his meaning and purpose in Greek religious beliefs. He is an annually-renewed, ever-youthful vegetation god, a life-death-rebirth deity whose nature is tied to the calendar. His name is often applied in modern times to handsome youths, of whom he is the archetype. Adonis is often referred to as the mortal god of Beauty". That being cleared up, we can assume that Charlie Vance/'Adonis' is a charming man, who is both handsome and desirable. His beauty in modern times is interesting because he is very charming and smooth in the way that he acts, he doesn't seem to worry about money, goes on the trip to Africa for fun, and is fairly laid back. In one section of the book we see him joking around with his friends, exuding his relaxed and appealing characteristics, "'Don't be surprised if Briggs acts strangely,' continued Charlie. 'It is in order for him to whoop it up in the spirit line'" (48). Here Charlie/Adonis is poking fun at this friend Reuel's inability to loosen up and have some fun.  Adonis/ Charlie also finds many women worthy, "Charlie Vance was generally 'struck' once a month with the 'loveliest girl, by jove, you know'" (13). In short, his nickname fits him because he is an attractive man, who is young, ready to enjoy himself and is a desirable bachelor.




Reuel has a love interest, her name is Dianthe and her name also has Greek origins. On a website describing the origin and meaning of names, I learned that Dianthe means, "Flower of the Gods". In general terms, flowers are delicate and attractive and dependent. If we use the idea of what a flower is and compare it to Dianthe being named after a flower, we can see that she actually greatly resembles a flower. She is both beautiful, attractive and commands the room. When she plays in the concert in Chapter two of the book, we find that she is exceedingly beautiful, "She was not in any way the preconceived idea of  a Negro. Fair as the fairest woman in the hall, with wavy bands of chestnut hair, and great, melting eyes of brown, soft as those of childhood; a willowy figure of exquisite mould" (14). Her beauty and talent is described at length.  She is delicate in the sense that, after her accident, Reuel revives her and she is has a delicate mind and memory, she can hardly move and walk, and then she is impaired with memory loss, thus causing her psyche to be delicate and confused. She is dependent on others to keep her financially stable, help her live, and give her the answers to her past. Dianthe is even described as "a child- so trusting that it went straight to the young man's heart" (54). Dianthe is a perfect  of her Greek name as well.


The names are obviously significant to personality and character in Hopkins' novel. 


Questions:
1. Are there any other characters in the novel that have Greek Mythology based names? If so, how do their characteristics compare to the name they are given?


2. Do you think that the characters would mean as much if they weren't named after gods? What significance do their names play in the book as a whole?

Blog Post #2: Imperium in Imperio

In Imperium in Imperio by Sutton E. Griggs, the audience reads a story of two young men who start their education in the same town and school, and continue on through life; although the lives they lead are very different. Griggs uses the two boys are representations of the differences between white and black culture and abilities. In the book, Belton is a young African American man who has grown up in poverty and has to work very hard to pay for school and living expenses (though he does receive a large scholarship) and Belton's rival is Bernard, a half African American man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He goes to the best schools and has spectacular opportunities given to him much more often than Belton.

 Towards the beginning of the novel, Griggs presents a situation in which Belton, about to graduate from college, is tricked by a fellow classmate and is extremely embarrassed because he was making a speech in front of the graduates and families and his speech was essentially ruined. It is ruined by his roommate who swapped Belton's handkerchief with a dirty and smelly sock of a classmates (38). Belton does not realize there is a sock in his pocket until during his speech he starts to "gather tears" and goes to grab his silk handkerchief, and instead pulls out a disgusting sock to wipe his face with in the middle of his heartwarming speech. His embarrassment arises when there was "an uproar of laughter; and the astonished Belton gazed blankly at the socks lying before him" (39). At this point, Belton is humiliated and feels horrible, but he handles the situation in a very dramatic way. Griggs writes, "Belton hurried out of the speakers' room and hastily ran to the city to purchase a pistol. having secured it, he came walking back at a furious pace. By this time the exercises were over and friends were returning to town. they desired to approach Belton and compliment him, and urge him to look lightly on his humorous finale; but he looked so desperate that none dared to approach him"(39). Here, Belton becomes angry and violent. His actions are emotionally charged and he has become irrational. At this point in the book, I became afraid that Belton would kill the boy who played the joke on him, and ruin his chances at having a successful life! So, as a reader, I started to get frightened because I didn't want Belton to make a huge mistake right after completing school and doing so well.

 Belton has worked so hard and deserves to do well, so this instant of weakness is crucial. Belton's character is tested in this part of the book, and instead of hurting someone, he learns to control his emotions and become a better person. Griggs says, "The next morning, the president came over early and entering Belton's room, was more kindly received. he took Belton's hand in his and sat down near his side. He talked to Belton long and earnestly, showing him what an unholy passion revenge was. He showed that such a passion would mar any life that yielded to it... Belton was melted to tears of repentance for his unholy passion" (39). This is a huge turning point for Belton, he begins to show more of his spiritual side, he trusts in the power of God, and uses that passion to get over the wrongdoings in his life. I think that this point will be a turning point for him the story and keep him on the right path as opposed to giving in to the dark political side that Bernard is stepping into.


Questions:
1. Do you think that Bernard would be the same type of person if he was less privileged as a child? Would knowing his father growing up have made a difference in his life? What is Bernard representative of?

2. What do you think became of Belton's siblings? Does Belton represent any stereotypes that we still hold today? Does his family represent any racial stereotypes?

Blog Post #1: The Pretended and Black to the Future

“This is especially perplexing in light of the fact that African Americans, in very real sense, are the descendants of alien abductees; they inhabit a sci-fi nightmare in which unseen but no less impassable force fields of intolerance frustrate their movements; official histories undo what has been done; and technology is too often brought to bear on black bodies (branding, forced sterilization, the Tuskegee experiment, and tasers come readily to mind)”. (Dery 180).

In Dery’s essay and in his interviews with two Afrofuturism authors, he discusses the use of African American culture and people in the science fiction novels and art. Here Dery is explicitly saying that African Americans, in real life, were aliens. They were abducted from their roots and brought to be slaves in different parts of the world, thus making them the epitome of an alien. To me, I see this as motivation for black writers and for them to look at potential future environments in which they will be involved.  Examining the short story, The Pretended by Darryl A. Smith, we see a future in which the characters are robots with “bones made of steal and skin made of light” (361) but the robots aren’t just made with these characteristics, they are also replicating the appearances of African American people. We learn of this when the main character, Mnemosyne is talking to her friend Diva Eve; they argue about the importance of their bodies saying “They programmed you so you could pretend like you was black” (361). Mnemosyne struggles with the color of her body and thinks that being white is more beautiful and closer to being perfect than being black is. Mnemosyne says, “’Oh yeah! White robots. Think of it! White skin over brains made of light. White skin over platinum bones, over crystal-clear blood wid sparkles! That would be so beautiful, Eve! “(367). This quotation is crucial to the story because we get to see how color plays a huge part in the future and how people(robots) may feel. I like this story because science fiction usually seems to create a new future, where things are outlandish and new; but here, I see things that aren’t new at all. The prejudice still exists against different colors and issues of the past exist. The girl wishes she were white, even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with her.  It would be my hope that in the future we, as a society, can move past these feelings of hatred, but Smith imagines a world where prejudice and dislike still exist, even in a technologically advanced society.

            Smith’s story, in relation to Dery’s quote, is interesting because Dery proposes that science fiction keeps the “black bodies” of the characters and that the African Americans tend to be aliens still. And in Smith’s story, I really like how he keeps the African American style alive. He has his main characters colored black still, they listen to music that, when reading, comes off as a hip-hop style song (“History!, Dis!story, Fist!ory;/We got da missed story, da list gory-/See? I’m pissed, tired a dis shit; We endin it, offendin it, sendin it/Down like a bad dream, a mad skeme;/And getting ALL us muthafuckas out clean/ Like 501’s outda washmachine!”(366).) Hip-hop, even techno, as discussed in the documentary in class Monday, is directly associated with African Americans. So, this song style keeps the culture alive that Mnemosyne and Diva Eve have. Also, I see the traces of slavery in this story as well, based on the characters’ colloquial slang. Their slang is seen where they don’t pronounce words fully and they are grammatically incorrect. The errors in speech remind me of the dialogue in the book Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, since they seem closely related on that level it leads me to think about slavery and lack of proper education.

            Ultimately, the passage when Dery discusses Afrofuturism and the short story by Smith are related because Dery discusses how black culture can carry over into the stories told, and in Smith’s story I see reflections of slavery in the United States, a love for music that can be associated with popular music (like from the documentary) and slave tendencies, including speech and beliefs concerning white people. 

QUESTIONS:

1. Does Mnemosyne wish she were a human or white? What do you think Diva Eve is symbolic of in this story? (She seems to try to make her friend feel better quite a bit, but does she have a larger purpose?)

2. What do you think about how Smith envisions is depicting white humans as negative people, who still dislike African Americans? What kind of real world issues may have convinced Smith to construct his story in this way? 

Hunger Games Discussion

Attending the discussion about the books, The Hunger Games, with Christina Van Dyke, was really interesting. I had only read the first  book in the series, and she did a good job of not ruining too much plot in the later books. In her talk she described how the capitol city used its power uniquely in order to gain more control and keep the citizens doing as they wished. I found most of what she had to say entertaining because she seemed excited and interested in the topic. In her paper/discussion she comes to the conclusion that the people of the capitol, while seemingly happy and enjoying life, are really used  by President Snow to proves his control over the people. They are just chess pieces in a complicated game. Something as simple as fashion and personal beauty is used to keep a tight grip on the people of the Capitol because by keeping them fixated on the things they need in order to look perfect, they are keeping their minds busy instead of thinking about how the Capitol is a place that lacks freedom. The idea of "social norm" is implemented in a way that controls the way people think, act and feel; thus taking away all of their freedoms and beliefs. In comparison to the Capitol, which is extremely extravagant and interesting, District 13 is a place where military-like control is used in order to keep the people in line. Through all of Van Dyke's analysis, she makes sure to describe how Katniss, the main protagonist, is feeling. Basically, Katniss does not approve of the Capitol or District 13 and wishes to find the perfect balance of freedom.

I found her talk very interesting and relevant, mainly because the books/movies are extremely popular right now. Because these books were published and written for young adults, I picked up on these themes very easily, and there are many other symbolic and meaningful traits in these books! They are fun to read and it is really exciting to see them become so influential to many people, and the discussion I attended made the books seem much more meaningful as well!