Intro to Multicultural Literature 002

They tell you it’s not real, they tell you don’t be scared. But is it really the ghosts you’re scared of, or is it your lack of knowledge about their placement?

In Hansberry’s “A Woman Warrior”, ghosts are present throughout the story and play important roles. However, it can be hard to tell what the ghosts are truly there to represent. Is this idea a mistake or is that exactly what Hansberry is trying to insinuate? From reading the story, we know ghosts are present and that they are always around, but we have no true insight as to their true effects on Hansberry. This is truly an intelligent tactic Hansberry uses to write her story and make readers really evaluate what is happening.

Ghosts usually represent a “spiritual” being that was taught to us at a young age to signify fear. We have knowledge of their presence but have no true experience or interactions with them. Many are scared of ghosts because we are told stories that say ghosts are bad and they haunt you and will do bad things to you causing us to fear our own curiosity of these beings.

In the passage, Hansberry is referring to Americans as ghosts, portraying them as scary beings because she only has knowledge of their presence. Due to stories her mother has told her growing up, she’s fearful to act on her curiosity towards them. The stories that she was told of the “Newsboy Ghost”97 in Chapter 3 (Shaman) and how “He shouted ghost words to the empty streets. His voice reached children inside of houses, reached inside the children’s chests. They would come running out or their yards with their dimes. They would follow him just a corner too far. And when they went to the nearest house to ask directions home, the Gypsy Ghosts would lure them inside with gold rings and then boil them alive and bottle them alive.” (97). This shows that the narrator’s mother instilled fear into her when it came to American people, specifically those of Caucasian decent, making them out to be ghost which affiliated them with negativity.

Although ghosts were symbols of negativity, curiosity always seemed to surface. Curiosity allows her to create her own reality but fear blinds her from the truth. “When we heard the real newsboy calling, we hid, dragging our newspapers under the stairs or into the cellar, … We crouched on our newspapers, and plugged up our ears with our knuckles until he went away.” (97). This shows how their curiosity allowed them to create their own newspaper, mimicking the actual newsboy. However, this also shows how the fear created by the stories told from their mother, prevents her from being culturally in tuned.

How does her knowledge of ghosts affect her views on society?

How does story telling affect the power of ghosts in the narrator’s life?

 

 

Throughout Maxine Hong Kingston’s, The Woman Warrior; Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, the recurring idea of “ghosts” has become a vital piece to the novel. In the memoir, Shaman, the narrator discusses the types of ghosts she and her mother have encountered. At the start of the memoir her mother is haunted by a sitting ghost in her dormitory. Kingston writes, “This Sitting Ghost has many wide black mouths. It is dangerous. It is real. Most ghosts make such brief and gauzy appearances that eyewitnesses doubt their own sightings. This one can conjure up enough substances to sit solidly throughout a night. It is a serious ghost, not playful at all” (Kingston, 74). In this instance, the ghost the narrator’s mother is referring to is a spirit, a dead ghost. This type of ghost is one that is easily fought off; it can be destroyed; and it does get destroyed. Kingston states, “I told you, Ghost, my mother chanted, that we would come after you” (Kingston , 75). Her mother knew that if she showed no fear and confronted the ghost, the ghost could be ravaged. She also tells the story of the ghost she encountered on the footbridge she crossed in China. Kingston states, “One twilight, just as my mother stepped on the bridge, two smoky columns spiraled up taller than she….She used the bridge often, but she did not encounter those ghosts again” (Kingston, 88). Again, the ghost her mother encounters are dead ghosts, just spirits and shows no fear. But not all of the ghosts the narrator and her mother come across are similar to the Sitting Ghost and the ghosts on the footbridge.

In January of 1940, the narrator’s mother migrated to the United States. Following her move, she gave birth to her daughter, the narrator, during the middle of World War II. The narrator discusses the types of ghosts she encounters. Kingston states, “But America has been full of machines and ghosts- Taxi Ghosts, Bus Ghosts, Police Ghosts, Fire Ghosts, Meter Reader Ghosts, Tree Trimming Ghosts, Five-and-Dime Ghosts” (Kingston, 97). In this quote, it is evident that these ghosts are alive. Rather than spirits haunting and tormenting people, these ghosts are just average people in their everyday lives. Kingston also states, “The Japanese, though ‘little,’ were not ghosts, the only foreigners considered not ghosts by the Chinese” (Kingston, 93).  Here, the narrator describes every foreigner as a “ghost” besides the Japanese.

In this memoir, ghosts represent the unknown; they are the fear and uncertainty the narrator faces. This is why the Japanese are the only foreigners not considered “ghosts”, to the Chinese, the Japanese are familiar and comfortable. But, the American culture is not. The narrator does not understand the American culture, so everyone within the American culture is labeled as a ghost. Sometimes it can be unclear whether or not the ghosts are alive or dead, or are in the past or present. But in each senacrio they repsent something differet. When the narrator’s mother tells her ghost stories, it shows how she is brave and also, unaffected she is by the cultural differences. When the narrator uses the word ghost, she is referring to the mysteries and insecurities she is facing in the unknown culture she is emerged in. Her mother is portrayed to be strong, confident, and secure within herself when she tells her ghost stories. Her ghost stories are also ways of teacher her daughter lessons about life. By telling her daughter how she stood strong against these ghosts, is a way of telling her to be confident and fearless in every aspect of life.

Questions:

1. What lessons or advice do you think the narrator’s mother is trying to portray through the stories of the bridge ghost and the Sitting Ghost?
2. Do you think it is peculiar that even though the Japanese are an adversary to the Chinese, they are the only foreigners not considered ghosts? Why or why not?

  According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, feminism is stated as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the memoir No Name Woman in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, there is a strong lack of feminism.

  In the story Kingston is told by her mother “You must not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born” (Kingston 3). The opening paragraph is Kingston learning that her aunt drowned herself. Her Aunt committed adultery with an abusive man and became pregnant. Shortly after giving birth, she committed suicide by jumping in the family well, also killing the baby. “The other man was, not after all, much different from her husband. They both gave orders: she followed. If you tell your family, I’ll beat you. I’ll kill you. Be here again next week”(7). Woman in old China were forced into marriage and were put into abusive situations. Kingston learns that her aunt was technically raped by a man in her village and when she became pregnant, the man organized a raid on her aunt. As a Chinese woman, her aunt cannot defend herself against the village because men are in control of the community. Woman are treated drastically different from the men. “Woman in old China did not choose. Some man had commanded her to lie with him and be his secret evil” (6). There is an absences of women’s rights throughout the memoir. 

  Kingston analyzes her own life in the memoir. She is torn between being a woman in American culture and Chinese culture. “I have tried to turn myself American-feminine” (11). Kingston does not know how to be a proper woman and she wants to be loved. “If I made myself American-pretty so that five or six Chinese boys in the class fell in love with me, everybody else-the caucasian Negros, and Japanese boys- would too. Sisterliness dignified and honorable, made much more sense” (12). This quote shows how Kingston wants to fit the stereotypical American woman standard.  She is trying to understand her families past while attempting to balance life as Chinese American. She feels displaced between the two cultures. 

Throughout the memoir, there is an underlining theme of what it takes to be a woman in Chinese culture. “Don’t Humiliate us. You wouldn’t like to be forgotten as if you had never been born. The villagers are watchful” (5). In Chinese culture, their is an expectation to never talk about sex, especially if you are a woman. “Among the very poor and the wealthy, brothers married their adopted sisters, like doves. Our family allowed for some romance, paying  adults brides’ prices and providing  dowries so that their sons and daughters could marry strangers. Marriage promises to turn strangers into friendly relatives- a nation of siblings” (12). Woman were expected to obey their families tradition and take part in arranged marriage. Another expectation of women was to get their feet bound. “my mother said we were lucky we didn’t have to have our feet bound when we were seven. Sisters used to sit on their beds and cry together, she said, as their mothers or their slaves removed the bandages for a few minutes each night and let the blood gush back into their veins” (9).

Kingston observes how different female influences adapted to the Chinese culture. Woman have a prestigious role to play which is influenced by culture and tradition.

What are ways in which men were treated differently than women in old Chinese culture?

Do you think there was a better solution for Kingston’s aunt instead of committing suicide?

A few of the things that you can connect from the memoir to real life is the idea of poverty and people being hungry, and storytelling.
The idea of poverty can relate to this because on page ten Kingston says, “Poverty hurt, and that was their first reason for leaving”. With this line Kingston’s talking about the men came to the United States looking for a better life and their main reason for coming over was because of the poverty. In a 2011 study by Steven Friedman of the Huffington post he lists the top five countries that are in poverty are Turkey, the United States, Chile, Israel, and number one is Mexico. Even though the United States is one of the wealthiest countries it’s surprising to that the United States as high as it is in this list. The second way poverty can relate to this is when Kingston says, “But the men-hungry, greedy, tired of planting in dry soil- had been forced to leave the village in order to send food-money home”. Even though the men are over in the United States working they’re still sending the money back home so that the rest of their family can have the money.
Using the same quote as listed above “But the men-hungry, greedy, tired of planting in dry soil-had been forced to leave the village in order to send food-money home”, we can see that some families are having a hard time putting food on the table so that they can eat. This is also a problem in the United States, and in parts of other countries. Another example of this is when Kingston says, “Always hungry, always needing, she would have to bed food from other ghosts, snatch and steal it from those whose living descendants give them gifts” on page 16. Kingston is talking once again talking about her aunt who is looking for food to feed herself and to possible feed the baby. Another example is on page seven, when Kingston says, “In a commensal, food is precious, the powerful older people made wrongdoers eat alone”. If you are an older person and you have done wrong, you’ll be eating a meal by yourself.
Telling stories is helpful because it can help people understand different things like different people that they are related to or what people used to do for fun when they were younger. An example of this is when Kingston talks about her grandfather on the bottom of page ten and at the top of page eleven, saying that “There are stories that my grandfather was different from other people” and “And one day he brought home a baby girl, wrapped up inside his brown western-style greatcoat. He had traded one of his sons, probably my father, the youngest for her”. This quote goes to show that Kingston is learning about her grandfather through a story she probably would have never heard, if it wasn’t for the person that is telling her the story. Another example is at the bottom of page fifteen is when Kingston has learned about her aunt and her mother tells her to not talk about the aunt and the cousin because the father doesn’t want to hear the name of his sister who he doesn’t believe ever existed. In the sentence that starts out “I have believed that sex was unspeakable and words so strong and fathers so frail that “aunt” would do my father mysterious harm”, to think that even mentioning the word aunt around your father would do him harm is sad to think about.
Questions:
1) What other ways are stories being told throughout the memoir?
2) What are some other ways in which poverty is talked about?

 

A strong sense of pride, along with love, radiates through the last act of A Raisin in the Sun.

Before getting into the meat of the act, the beginning starts with a meaningful introduction that demonstrates the importance of the lighting in the room within the first couple of sentences as “gloomy…gray light not unlike that which began in the first scene of Act I” (131). This flashback shows the difference between what the room felt like in the beginning of the play itself, which was “a comfortable and well-ordered room” (23). The discomfort of the room is present because of the remaining disappointment that happened an hour before hand when Walter told Mama about all the money that Willy had taken.

Walter had no intention in setting aside a portion of the money for Beneatha’s schooling even after Mama put all her trust in him. At the end of the previous act, Walter had disappointed not only the family but the legacy and hard work in which his own father had done and worked himself to death. The money being taken away finally made Walter realize what that money had truly meant by saying, “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH—” (128). In result, the pride Mama had in him was quickly taken away.

Walter’s pride in his own dream was taken away once Willy had taken all the money. Though, Walter did mope and “he starts to pound the floor with his fists, sobbing wildly” (128), he shows great pride towards something else by the end of the act.

Most of the pride in this act comes from Walter when Lindner, a prejudice white man who thinks that taking away this family’s pride by offering more money than they had initially bought the house for, would benefit his people. When Lindner responds to the phone call Walter made by coming over to the Younger’s apartment, Walter starts by saying to him, “Well Mr. Lindner…We called you —because, well, me and my family (he looks around and shifts from one foot to the other) Well— we are very plain people…” (147). He suggests to Lindner that just because they are “plain people” they are people who come from a lot of pride. The dynamic changes in the way Walter is proud by stating, “I mean–we are very proud people. And that’s my sister over there and she’s going to be a doctor— and we are very proud—” (148). Walter includes himself along with the rest of the family, in his pride for his sister’s decision in having a dream of becoming a doctor. Whereas, in the beginning of the play, he would say, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people—then go be a nurse like other women—or just get married and be quiet…” (38).

This change in pride shows that instead of being a selfish man with his own dreams, like before, he is now accepting of Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor and like Mama says towards the end of the act, “He finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he? Kind of like a rainbow after rain…” (151). This quote is significantly important because of the metaphor Mama uses to exemplify the change in attitude and perspective Walter has gone through. The metaphor is also a way to show the way the mood has lightened and is happier now that the family gets to all move into the house of their dreams.

The ways in which the dynamics of pride had changed was present and notable throughout the whole play. The prejudice the white folks had against the Younger family before they even knew them was insulting and critical in the way their pride shined in the decision made to move to that neighborhood anyway.

 

Questions:

1.) What other ways was pride shown throughout the play as a whole?

2.) Do you believe the decision of moving to the new house was the best choice, why or why not?

   The concept of love shines throughout A Raisin in the Sun. Every character shows the love that they have. Towards each other, their beliefs, and their dreams.       

   Mama Younger loves her family and will do anything and everything to ensure that they will have great lives. She has dedicated herself to keeping a roof over their heads and keeping positivity through the house as much as she can. Mama also loves her plant. This little plant sits in the lonely window of the house and gets the smallest amount of sunlight. Yet Mama cares for that plant as if it were another one of her children. Just like Mama this plant is struggling to stay strong and keep fighting, and just like Mama, it does. Her love for this plant stems from her ability to relate to it. In Act II Scene 3, Beneatha sees Mama fidgeting with the plant. After Beneatha asked what Mama was doing with the plant, and being told that Mama is fixing it so it won’t get damaged on the move, Beneatha asks, “Mama, you going to take that to the new house? That raggedy-looking old thing?” To which Mama replies, “It expresses ME!”(121) At the end of Act III, Mama walks out of the house without her plant and closes the door. “The door opens and she comes back in, grabs her plant, and goes out for the last time)“.(151)

   Perhaps the greatest show of love comes from Asagai. When he is first introduced, it is seen through his words how much he cares about Beneatha. “How much time must there be before one knows what one feels?”(61) Asagai came back from Canada and brought a gift over to Beneatha’s house. When she opens up the colorful Nigerian robes, he mentions that she should be careful with them since they are from his sister’s personal wardrobe. Beneatha asks, “You- you sent all the way home- for me?” to which Asagai replies, “For you- I would do much more.” (63) This gift shows how truly he loves Beneatha, because it’s something that means so much to him and is personal to him. In the beginning of Act III, Asagai came to the house to help the family pack. Before he leaves the house, he says to Beneatha, “I have a bit of a suggestion. That when it is all over- that you come home with me-…” “…-I do not mean across the city- I mean across the ocean: home- to Africa.”(136)

   Asagai’s love for Beneatha is extremely important to the growth of her character. He immerses her in the Nigerian and Yoruban culture. She listened and danced to their music while wearing the robes Asagai got her(76), she cut her hair to prove to Asagai that she wasn’t assimilating to American culture(80), and she fought George by standing up for her heritage(81). With all of the turmoil that the family endures, Asagai is the one person who always shows Beneatha that she is perfect just the way she is, and he will love her no matter what. After all, he wants her to go to Africa with him.

   Love is a funny thing. No matter who or what it’s aimed towards, the person who gives it has the best intentions in mind. Those are the people who change the world.

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“There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing.” (145)

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Questions:

1. Do you think that if Asagai wasn’t around, Beneatha’s character would have developed as much?
2. Mama loves her children. Do you think she feels as if they are no longer accepting of it and that’s why she loves her plant so much?

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All You Need is Love by The Beatles

“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung

Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game

It’s easy

Nothing you can make that can’t be made

No one you can save that can’t be saved

Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time

It’s easy

All you need is love, all you need is love

All you need is love, love, love is all you need”

May as well do a little introduction..

Walter Younger, is an example of a dynamic character. A dynamic character is someone who changes throughout a piece of literature or media. Walter lives with his wife Ruth, his sister Bennie, his son Travis, and his mother in a small, one-room apartment on the Southside of Chicago. The Younger family lived in a time period between 1945 and 1959 when segregation was starting to become more established. Since his father died, the family has been having a hard time money wise and are slowly falling apart. Walters idea of an “American dream” is to have anything and everything. He wants his family to have the best of the best. Walter works as a chauffeur for a rich white man named Mr. Arthur. He works extremely hard every day. Mr. Younger wants to earn as much money as he can because he believes it will bring his family tranquility and happiness. Mr. Younger’s main goal is to have money and he dreams up so many different ways to make money that he sometimes overwhelms himself. He doesn’t want to think about reality and how things really are. He only concentrates on the future. Walter is an example of a dynamic character because his character evolves throughout the novel by changing from a selfless, compassionate, family man to a very selfish person, only looking out for himself.

Walter experiences the most significant change throughout the course of the play. Walter has dreams of using his mother’s insurance check to start his own liquor business to reach financial success. Walter believes that he’ll be able to buy happiness and thinks money will solve all of the families problems. After Lena refuses to invest in Walter’s dream of owning a liquor business, Walter becomes depressed and loses hope. When Lena asks her son why he talks so much about money, Walter tells her, “Because it is life, Mama!” (Hansberry, 74) In an emotional moment, Lena confesses that Ruth plans on having an abortion and begs her son to say something to stop his wife from going through with it. When Walter remains silent, Lena says, “You . . . you are a disgrace to your father’s memory.” (75) As the play progresses, Lena ends up giving most of the money to her son, who ends up losing the money when one of his business partners steals it. Walter’s mood changes from being depressed to excite and happy when he receives the money, to being upset and full of despair when his partner runs away with it. Yet, his attitude is determined by his financial situation throughout the majority of the play.

Coming up to the plays ending, Walter calls up Mr. Lindner and is responsible to sell the house Lena bought in Clybourne Park. Lena watches over Walter ’s shoulders and makes Travis watch his father sign the papers, Walter experiences a change of heart. He refuses to sign the deed and tells Mr. Lindner, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money.” Hansberry (148) Walter’s attitude changes from being solely focused on his financial situation to be focused on his family and his integrity. Originally, Walter goes from being a selfish man into a morally upstanding, noble individual by refusing to sell Lena’s house back to the white community.  The amount of growth Walter goes through is very clear.

Questions!

1. What are the marks of manhood at which he arrives and what do these have to do with the major themes of the play?
2. What causes the changes in his character?

In Act II Scene II Hansberry reveals two values that regard education. Beneatha believes in education as a way in understanding self- fulfillment and George sees education as a way to get a good job in the future. These views about education show the deeper distance between the two characters- idealism vs pragmatism. Beneatha believes that in order to change society it needs to be done through self knowledge and through the celebration of ones heritage. However, George’s family that they key to a successful future is to get wealthy and gain respect through their economic status. Walter’s view of education falls somewhere between Beneatha and Goerge’s. Walter seems to care more about Travis’ education then Benethas mostly because Travis is a male and Beneatha is a female. This shows the restrictions that black women have. One, their black, and two, their women, and those were two very opressed categories. Walter has his son’s interest held more closely to him even though Beneatha has shown that she is just as academically capable as Travis. Walter believes that the insurance money can help him put Travis through school, who is more of a priority then Beneatha.

Walter describes his materialistic fantasy about the future with Travis- he wants to be a part of the culture that excludes him with all the rich people. In his mind being rich is the solution to all his problems. Most of all, Walter wants his son to have a better life then he himself had and wants to provide Travis with the best education he deserves. Going deeper into this however, this is also selfish of Walter. In his mind, the success of his son will let him feel more like a man and that Travis’ success would be a reflection of his own success as the man of the house.

Discussion Questions:

1. What effects of Walter’s prioritizing of Travis’ education verses Beneath’s education have on Walter’s and Beneath’s relationship?
2. Is Beneatha correct about how to change society?

My name is Dustin Wheeler, I’m from a small town called Waverly. I’m the oldest of four children in my family. This is my first semester at Cortland. I’m a sport management major.

Before I even begin to explain what act one consists of, I must begin with the long but necessary introduction that gives us a starting idea of what this book will be about. First, in knowing some background knowledge about the author, Lorraine Hansberry, I was instantly aware of her background and history of her and her family being activists. She starts out with a poem called “A Dream Deferred”, written by Langston Hughes during the time of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s and 30’s. This poem is a perfect introduction to help the readers understand the racism and deprivation that African Americans faced during these intense time periods, and I could not imagine a better poem to weave us into the book. I believe that this poem, and the rest of Act I has a repetitive pattern of poverty and inequality for the lower class African Americans that were forced into these lifestyles due to judgement and harassment. We can see it through the little things like the quality of their living, or their need to constantly budget and ration as a family.

Act I begins with the describing of the setting, which is pictured as a run down unkempt house in the ghetto, with furniture that is most likely older than they are. Hansberry makes a point to go into extreme detail about their home to give us readers a better image of how this place must look. After the beginning description, she shows Ruth doing housewife chores, which then we assume that she is unemployed and is devoted to her job as a wife and a mother. This leaves Walter to be the main income, and since he was seen as a unequal black male, he does not make nearly enough as a chauffeur for the whole family to live comfortably. To start the story off, Walter comes in and the first thing he asks Ruth for is a check. Judging by her irritable response when she says “I hopes to God you ain’t going to get up here first thing this morning and start talking to me ’bout no money—’cause I ’bout don’t want to hear it.” it proves that this must be Walters main concern and he most likely has been mentioning it to her a lot. Then, later after when Travis is leaving for school, she tells him to just get money for carfare and milk, “and not a single penny for no caps!”. Hansberry obviously added Ruth saying this to show that they can not afford to treat themselves as the white middle and higher class can. 

From prior knowledge and education, we know that the ghetto was not the ideal place to live in during this time. Throughout the act, they talk about the check their supposed to be receiving constantly and why they need it; simply because they want to move to a cleaner, nicer, and safer area where they can have better opportunities. Also, with Ruth being pregnant, they are in dire need of a bigger living space that they can all be comfortable in. But, they are being denied this right because of the fact that they come from a lower status black family. Also, on the other hand Walter keeps mentioning his dream to open a liquor store with the money, when Ruth and most of the rest of the family know that they should be using or saving it for actual necessities. Walter’s dreams of starting his business and striving to live the typical “American Dream” has ultimately been one of the main factors of his absence as a husband and a father. Since “Mamas” dream was always to own her own house, it proves that Walter is just trying to open this liquor store for his own selfish needs. 

After we are introduced to Beneatha’s new boyfriend, George Murchison, the issue of money becomes the main topic. Since George is a wealthy man, the family believes that the only reason she wants to be with him is simply because he’s rich. Walter though thinks that her being with him is wonderful, obviously since he wants to be spoiled by his hopefully future son in law as well. Beneath is obviously offended, and goes into a rampage and uses the lords name in vain, leading to Ruth fainting and the end of scene. I believe this ending was a perfect way to prove my point because it ties together the whole act. They all have dreams, and all their dreams just involve money because they are poor. But, the saying says that money does not buy happiness, and I believe that this family is in for a rude awakening when they realize that because of their social status, these dreams will not be as easy to achieve as they may think. I definitely enjoyed reading act I, and I look forward to see how money will continue to play a role in the rest of the play. 

Questions for comments:

Why is the American Dream pictured as having money and social status rather than the hard work put in to achieve it?

Why does poverty and low social class make it more difficult to not see money as the root of all happiness?