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Mindset vs. Ideology

    Today, I am going to be talking about Booker T. Washington's reader's autobiography Up from Slavery, and Malcolm X's The Autobiography of Malcolm X . The main thing that I want to emphasize is how similar their stories are in background and experience, yet how differently they apply their intelligence and voracious attitude toward learning. The time their stories take place massively affects how they use their power and influence. The main way we see the difference in their character show up is in the philosophy they hold and advertise to the world. Washington's main idea was creating economic independence for black people by themselves through hard work and perseverance, i.e. the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality. Malcolm X, on the other hand, had a very different idea of what black people deserved, though he does have a somewhat similar mindset to Washington. He was much more aggressive in his ideology, and this was very appealing to a lot o...
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Implications of Naturalism in "Down by the Riverside"

     Today, I am going to be talking about "Down by the Riverside," and the way that it relates to the movement for equal rights for black people during the the mid-1950s. "Down by the Riverside" is a very interesting text because of its naturalist tone. You might expect to have super hopeful and optimistic stories about black people finally being seen by their white peers as equal and not being looked down upon. However, what we see in this story is basically the opposite. Through every moment of the story, there is a feeling of hopelessness and inevitability that feels quite pessimistic. Reading this text makes you feel that this horrible situation that exists in the United States will not be changed by any effort that is made. I was surprised while reading how negative of a message this text seems to send when this feels like the time to be pushing back and hopeful for the future.           Throughout the story, we see very strong themes o...
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Jacobs vs. Washington

    Today I am going to be comparing the narratives from Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington. There are a lot of similarities between these two narratives because they were both slaves in America, but the way that their story plays out after they are free is very different because of the period in which they took place.   Harriet Jacobs had a much more painful and intense experience in slavery and escaping slavery. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington had a much less negative view of slavery and was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, creating a very different narrative. The way that they live their lives after they escape slavery is also very different because of this.     The biggest difference between the two stories is the period in which they took place. In Washington's , Up From Slavery , the story starts right at the end of slavery and the time of reconstruction after the Civil War. However, Harriet Jacobs's story starts during and c...
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