August Wilson

My Reflections on “Fences” by August Wilson

        “Fences” by August Wilson was a long play that read like a story. With each page, I became more intrigued as the author explained the black experience of the drama. The tone of the drama seemed to match the attitudes of the time as well. In “Fences,” August Wilson depicted the life and times of Troy Maxson, an African American blue collar worker. 

        Troy Maxson had a tough life growing up. Conflict with his father caused him to leave home at age fourteen. He learned how hard things could be living on his own early in life. This lesson is something that stayed with him during his entire lifetime. His way of thinking often caused conflict among the family and was most likely a result of his upbringing.

        Troy Maxson was the main character of the drama. The story is told through his point of view. Rose is Troy’s wife and she is a main character also. During the play Troy has several conversations with Jim Bono (friend), Lyons (oldest son from prior marriage), Gabriel (his brother), and Corey (his son with Rose). Later on in the drama, a new baby daughter, Raynell, is introduced also.

        Troy encounters many conflicts during his lifetime. He has been in jail. He has seen discrimination at his work. He had a conflict with Corey about work and college as well. His brother (Gabriel) is a source of conflict because he is in an out of treatment facilities. He has experienced conflict with Rose as he exposed his adultery and news of a new daughter. He also feels constant strife with the devil for his life and wishes to keep it out with a fence. 

        Jim Bono and Troy make a deal concerning the fence also in the story. Jim told Troy when he built Rose a fence that he would buy his wife a new refrigerator. As the conflict with his wife heightens, he finally builds Rose a fence. 

        Troy appears so have an underlying conflict within himself concerning death. Many of these views were most likely an effect from a dysfunctional home life. Although Troy has some good times in the play, he doesn’t appear to be a very happy man. He mentions in the play that the pressure of being the provider of the family has gotten to him. He feels like when he is with his mistress that he can be happy and stress free. He doesn’t appear to be a very happy man. 

        Rose always stays by Troy’s side though. She is always caring and attentive to Troy as well. She even raises his baby for him when the mother dies during child birth. After Troy’s death, she continues to care for young Raynell. She wanted the fence to be put up to keep her family in as long as possible. Troy wanted to keep out death until it was his time to go. He passed away swinging a bat towards death.

Nikki Giovanni

My Reflections on Nikki Giovanni’s Poetry

            Nikki Giovanni is an author that we have studied who is still living. She is sixty-seven years old.  She teaches at Virginia Tech where she is a professor of Black Studies. She has received many awards over the years. Many of the awards she has received include an NAACP and Langston Hughes Award. Her first published work was in 1968. She has also battled lung cancer and is a survivor. The last work she published was in 2005 when she also contributed an introduction to the anthology Breaking the Silence: Inspirational Stories of Black Cancer Survivors (Hilton Publishing, 2005).

            This week’s assignment included three poems from Nikki Giovanni. The three poems were: “Nikki Rosa,” “I’m Not Lonely,” and “Poem for Black Boys.” Poverty and harder times are common themes in these poems. She often explored the life of an African American as well.

            “Nikki Rosa” speaks a lot of childhood of black children. There are references to white people in the poem. She notes many of the differences that children have and what makes them happy. She also notes how some things don’t matter to children who come from poverty. All they need is love.

            “I’m Not Lonely” is another poem of Nikki Giovanni. It is a sad poem that speaks of lost love. The speaker of the poem is professing that they are not lonely anymore and they don’t need the person who has left them. I thought it had a sad tone. The speaker of the poem is a big girl and doesn’t need anyone or have bad dreams anymore. The beginning of the poem started out strong, but ended in a sad way.

            “Poem for Black Boys” is another one of Nikki Giovanni’s poems. It seems to be an instruction type poem for young black males. She dedicates this poem especially to a person named James.

Tillie Olson

 My Reflections on “As I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olson

                Tillie Olson’s “As I Stand Here Ironing” is a short story that tells of a woman recounting the childhood of her daughter named Emily. The mother seems to feel regret when talks of the mistakes made while raising baby Emily. This short story was told in narrative form and was a little hard to follow at first as the reader tries to figure out the speaker.

                The mother in this story felt as if she didn’t spend enough time with her daughter Emily. She felt that Emily was perfect when she was born. She even thought that baby Emily was the most beautiful of all her children. The mother character was described in such a way as if she wished she could go back in time to those days. Regret was the main feeling I got that the mother felt.

                Since the father left when Emily was born, the mother had to go to work. So, Emily had to go live with his family. This really bothered the mother. She felt Emily had changed so much when she returned to get her. That seems like it would be a nightmare for a mother. Many mothers have a hard time going to work when their babies are little. That time in the story seemed to be when the regret started.

                The mother had to also let Emily go live at a house when she was sick for treatment. Since her mother was so busy with the new baby, people felt this would be best for Emily. It didn’t seem like the mother cared as much about Emily at that time. Emily was just put aside again.

                Emily’s mother felt like many mistakes had been made. She knew that the time away from Emily had affected the person she had become.

"Good Country People" by Flannery O' Connor

My Reflections on “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner

     In the story, “Good Country People,” it begins by introducing good, country type people. The characters Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga seem to think differently about good, country people. Hulga seems to feel aloof regarding them until they encounter the salesman. The salesman turns out to be a scam artist in the end. He is not what Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga regard to as good, country people.

     I think the story begins with Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman to give a back story dialogue regarding good, country people from the area and time. Hulga is exposed to good, country people for a long time. She sees how her mom talks with Mrs. Freeman who they think is a good, country person. They have seen how Mrs. Freeman and her family are but her mom thinks of them as good, country people also. So when she encounters the salesman, after being a little distant, she begins to equate him with the good, country people she has been around before. He seems to be a nice Christian person who is trying to sell Bibles. 

     Although very educated, Hulga feels less power when her leg is taken off by the Bible salesman. The salesman changes his entire disposition when he feels Hulga is helpless in the barn loft. Hulga realizes that the salesman is not a good, country person when he does these things. After all, the contents inside his Bible were not very Christian like.. It seems like the salesman had anticipated taking advantage of Hulga in the barn loft because he knew she was an Atheist. Hulga is left feeling like her thoughts about people are still correct. She thinks people pretend to be something like Christian or good, country people, but really are not the way they try to be at all.

James Baldwin

 James Baldwin

 My Reflection of “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

            James Baldwin lived from 1924-1987. He was known as the most important American black writer during the 20^th century. He supported himself at an early age and became a writer at an early age as well. He was a voice for black Americans often warning white Americans of what was to come. He was often considered militant for this.

            “Sonny’s Blues” was told from a first person point of view. The main character is a teacher, but his name is not mentioned in the short story.  The teacher is reminded of his brother Sonny one day in class. As he sees the young men going down a troubled path, he thinks of his brother. They remind him of Sonny. Apparently, the teacher had not seen Sonny in quite some time. 

            The teacher had memories of Sonny and his drug usage. He couldn’t believe Sonny had been caught with drugs.  Although Sonny was a drug addict, his brother still thought he was a good boy. The mother often worried about Sonny too. She asked the brother to take care of him once she was gone. The father had died when Sonny was only fifteen. 

            The teacher and Sonny are reunited at the mother’s funeral. That seems such a terrible place to reunite with a family member. The teacher soon remembers what he had promised his mother in regards to Sonny. So, he asks Sonny what type of work he has been doing. The teacher learns that Sonny has been playing the piano in a Jazz band. The teacher seemed disappointed that he was not going to school but instead hanging out in Greenwich Village with friends. 

            The teacher is consumed with everything that happened with his brother Sonny. He doesn’t realize his own feelings, but instead focuses on the troubled youth and adulthood of his brother Sonny. 

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath

My Reflections on the poetry of Sylvia Plath

            We were also assigned to read the poetry of Sylvia Plath this week. Sylvia was a poet that lived between1932-1963. She was only thirty-one when she died. She was a very talented poet publishing her first poem by age seventeen. She had a troubled life and hospitalized and received psychiatric therapy. Sylvia Plath committed suicide at age thirty-one. Many of her poems were published after her death.

            Only two of her poems were published in this area of our book. Those poems were “Lady Lazarus” and “Daddy.” “Daddy” talked of her father. His death seemed to really affect Sylvia so much so that she wanted to write a poem about him. I can understand feelings of missing a parent since my mother passed away 2 years ago. Although I am not a young girl that is the way you feel when a parent dies.

            Mentioning her father in the poem “Daddy,” Sylvia mentions being German. She mentions Jewish people. She mentions Nazi concentration camps. She mentions being scared of her father. She mentions her father has “Aryan” blue eyes. Swastikas are also mentioned. That seems to be some pretty serious subjects in a poem during that period of time.

            “Lady Lazarus” was the other poem in the book. Both of them were medium in length. She mentions Nazis in the poem as well. Her poetry has been known to sound like a suicide letter. This poem seems to have that theme in it. She mentions death in this poem as well. Many of the greatest artists always seem to feel tortured. It seems that quality seems to produce such interesting work. I found it to be sad that she committed suicide after treatment in a psychiatric facility failed to help her.

Randall Jarrell's Poetry

Poetry by Randall Jarrell

     For this week’s assignment, Randall Jarrell’s poetry was on the list. Mr. Jarrell lived during 1914-1965. He was a teacher, but he loved to write poetry. He also served in the military. I found this information interesting. I am sure the things he learned while serving in the military influenced his work. While reading his poetry, I noticed that many of them mentioned death. Death was a common theme among Randall Jarrell’s poetry.

            In the book were four poems by Randall Jarrell. Out of the poems in the book, “In Monetecito” was my favorite. In Montecito seemed to have a lighter theme to it. The poem mentions the city Santa Barbara. It also mentions fashion as well. The description of the city seemed to feel exciting and interesting by the words used to describe it. As the poem progresses, it seems to describe a missing woman. Then, a death theme pops back out. Reading on, you can see that the woman mentioned is no longer using her electric toothbrush. She has left her expensive car, a Bentley, behind.  She is no longer checking her safety deposit box. Her seat at the cricket match is no longer occupied by her. Her girdle is empty also. The poem mentions many nice things about the woman, her hair, and her figure. The poem also mentions the person who replaces this woman will not be as attractive as she was.

            I didn’t think Randall Jarrell’s poetry was as easy to read as other poems I have been assigned to read or even read for enjoyment. Reading the poems a few times did help to understand them a little better. His biography helped to explain the themes Randall Jarrell explored with his work.  Death was found in many of the poems, but he explained it in many different ways.

"A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry

My Reflections on "A Raisin in the Sun"

 I agree with our instructor in that is this is a great read! It is one of my favorites and I really enjoyed the film as well. This drama is about a black man named Walter and the struggles he faces with his family as they want a better life. He has dreams and wants to see them come true so he can help his family. 

            When the story began, this family was waiting on the arrival of a life insurance check. The life insurance check was worth $10,000 and was the result of the father’s early death. The money meant a lot to the mother, Lena. Lena had hopes of changing the lives of her family with that money. She had watched her husband work himself to death on a daily basis

The son, Walter, had other ideas for the life insurance money. He was tired of being a servant to other people. He wanted to start a liquor business with his business partners. He thought working for himself would make him feel proud and provide a better life for his family. Lena did not want the money from her husband’s death to be spent on liquor though. She was against the entire idea. She and Walter had disagreements because of their differing opinions.

             Meanwhile, Ruth, Walter’s wife, is unhappy. Her son, Travis, has to sleep on the couch in their cramped home. She has to live in that little, stifling place. Her relationship with Walter is deteriorating as well. She is overcome with joy when the money arrives and has hopes of moving out of that place to a real house. She wants a better life. 

            When Walter finds out that Lena spent the money on a house, he is very upset. Beneatha, his sister, always argues with Walter about the money as well. She is a college girl with bigger ideas about the world. She is wrapped up in African heritage which is the source behind her character in the story. As Lena sees that Walter can’t feel like a man or the head of their family, she gives him the rest of the money to handle. She trusts him to do what is right for their family and put aside money for Beneatha’s college.

Walter decides to use the money for the liquor business with hopes of making money for their family. His shady business partner Willie steals the money and disappears though. The entire family is devastated and doesn’t feel like they can move into the new house when this happens.

Along with the pressure from the white neighborhood to stay out of their neighborhood and the news that their money was stolen is a little too much for this family. They do not know what to do now. Ruth doesn’t want to stay where they are. Lena feels sad and angry that her husband’s hard work was for nothing. Beneatha is mad that Walter just gave the money away. Walter just feels devastated and feels the pressure of being the head of the family. He knows he has let his family down.

The family comes together in the end. Walter makes the decision as he runs the family to move into the white neighborhood although it will be difficult. Lena still gets to make a difference for her family through this decision. Ruth gets to move into a real house. This black family suffering through tough times again forges ahead at end of drama in hopes for a better life.

"The Man Who Was Almost A Man" by RIchard Wright

My Reflections on “The Man Who Was Almost A Man” by Richard Wright

            “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” was written by Richard Wright. This story is about a young black kid named Dave that wishes to be a man. He is only seventeen years old. He seems to feel overworked and doesn’t get to have any benefits from working so much since his mother receives his pay. As he struggles to feel more like a man, he runs into trouble in this story. 

            Dave really wants to buy a gun in this story. Since Dave does not feel very power as a young black male, he feels like a gun would bring respect. In fact, he thinks he could kill any man with a gun no matter how young he is. He seems to want the gun to feel more like a man. His mother wants no part of it though. He won’t even discuss it in front of his father. Dave nags at his mother so much till he gets her to give him the two dollars that the store owner wants for a gun.

            Reluctantly Dave’s mother gives him the two dollars with specific instructions to bring it back. Dave is so excited to have the gun that he puts off relinquishing it to his mother. No one suspects something may be wrong with the gun only be two dollars which is much cheaper than the ones in the Sears catalog that Dave carries around.

            As Dave works with the mule of his employer, he feels like that is the perfect opportunity to try out his gun. Dave wants to feel the power someone would get from shooting the gun. He seems to be a little afraid, but wants to try out the gun so badly. He ends up shooting the mule and getting into trouble for having a gun at the end of the story. The gun didn’t seem to work right. 

            Being told that he has to pay back fifty dollars for a dead mule and work even harder for that as people laughed at him seem to be too much for Dave. He leaves before he could become a man after firing off the last few shots of the gun.