Author of The Namesake
1. Clearly, Langston Hughes’s “Song for a Dark Girl” makes strong use of the song “Dixie.” How does this affect the impact of the poem? At least 350 words
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2. Speaking from your own life experience and observations, which writer least accurately represents what it means to be American? Why? Please provide examples. Responses should be at least 350 words
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A Month in the Country” by Jay Wright
“Song for a Dark Girl” by Langston Hughes
“How it Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston
“Sula” by Toni Morrison or “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie
“The Third and Final Continent” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“The Conversion of the Jews” by Philip Roth
“The Day the Cisco Kid Shot John Wayne” by Nash Candelaria or “The Last of the Menu Girls” by Denise Chavez
below is what I posted for my forum.
Part I Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of “The Third and Final Continent” writes stories usually centering a character that is made to leave their home just to move to a totally different country. The Novels are focused on the way plethora of emotions strikes the character as he discovers himself in an altogether new place with different lifestyle. The most important feature of her work is the love and dedication to the native place which each person carries along with them to the new land. The author herself is an immigrant and has been through these phases in life. The beautiful approach she uses to depict the love of her native country leaves an impression. Moreover the characters are made to depict the power of self control and determination which is really motivating about her work.
Part II The location comes as a mirror to the significant events, policies, treatment, lifestyle, happenings and culture in regards to that particular place. It gives us a background of how the social system works as well as the response of people to the events of life. In case of “Song for a Dark Girl” by Langston Hughes, the entire setting is on the south and is intentionally made so to clearly make the audience aware of the situations and circumstances behind it. The poem expresses the despair of the girl whose lover was murdered not for some crime committed, but due to the color of the skin he was born with. The injustice expressed through the lines explains how the people in the south are tortured. The racial discrimination faced in the south is predominant as they are black in color and hence are considered to be inferior as compared to the white skinned people. The location leaves an impact by letting people picture the exact problems in relation to a particular geographical area. In the same way Jhumpa Lahiri in her work expresses the general mindset of the people in Calcutta, India and how eventually the character stays in London and experiences some life changing events. Similarly “The Last of the Menu Girls” by Denise Chavez expresses the lifestyle of an American teen and the crosscurrents of emotions that she goes through. Hence the location solves a great purpose by setting the background of the work to make the audience aware of the country they are reading about. If the location is not available or some other random location is made up the reader shall not be able to correlate and understand the depth which the writer wants to convey to its audience.
Part III In case of “Song for a Dark Girl” the black girl symbolizes the condition of the people in the south and how her lover was murdered because of his black skin. Racism is a problem which has affected the world severely be it any country. However in the south the problem gets a little dominant and leads to exploitation of the people. The Black girl expresses the emotion clearly which would not have been possible if there was a white girl instead. “Sula” by Toni Morrison expresses the little demarcation that the term “good’ and “evil” has and how often one can have a tremendous impact on the other. The two can be seen to converge at some point of time in life. In this novel Sula is seen to resist easy answers in her life. She betrays her friend Nel and has an affair with her husband, which breaks the bond between the two friends. However at the same time the racial discrimination is not considered by her as she is way above the present social conventions and regards people as same irrespective of the background that one pertains to.
References Jhumpa Lahiri (Author of The Namesake). (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2014, from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3670.Jhumpa_Lahiri Langston Hughes ? Song for a Dark Girl | Genius. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2014, from http://lit.genius.com/Langston-hughes-song-for-a-dark-girl-annotated#note-1420302 The Last of the Menu Girls By Denise Chavez (Vintage… – Chicago Tribune. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-04-25/entertainment/0404240092_1_lily-dale-frog-hospital-novel Poetry Analysis Song for a Dark Girl by Langston Hughes by Cicely Richard | Humanities 360. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2014, from http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/poetry-analysis-song-for-a-dark-girl-by-langston-hughes-9935/
