Language
Quote: "In your lifetime I suspect you will go from being African-Americans to... to being once again Colored People"(xvi).
Analysis:
Things never really change because of racial domination/superiority/divide. This relates back to the idea of the "Circle being unbroken" because it is a cycle. People act as though they will change, but ultimately, when our society has its mind made up about prejudice, it is hard to break that cycle.
Example analysis paper:
Topic sentence (it needs to directly reflect your thesis): HLG uses language to expose that society never changes because of racial superiority.
(Introduce your quote) Gates shows this when he says, "In your lifetime I suspect you will go from being African-Americans to... to being once again Colored People"(xvi).
(Explain what the quote means) Moving from African-American to People of Color, and finally back to Colored people showed that our society continues in a cycle. Gates challenges readers with the question of "Will the circle be unbroken," but in reality, he asserts that it will not with the use of language.
(Significance) What HLG exposes is a broken society that pretends they want to break the cycle of discrimination. In reality, society may either lack the tools or refuse to see or understand the endless circle of racial superiority that they foster
(relate the last sentence in your body paragraph back to your thesis- anchor it!!!).
"Colored People live in three neighborhoods...on Backstreet which we call Blackstreet..."(7).
Analysis: Ironic that they decided to call their street they live on "Blackstreet" because it shows how they are conscious of the racial divide within society.
"The town will die, but our people will not move. They will not
be moved" (i).
Analysis: The Black people in Piedmont will not change because that is just who they are. That is the way they were raised.
They embody Piedmont. HLG uses language as a form of rhetoric. He italicizes the "be verb" to put an emphasis on them being a "statement of being."
"Our space was violated when one of
them showed up" (9).
Analysis: HLG uses the language of "them" to show opposing sides. Whenever a person uses them that automatically implies there is an "us." This reveals the idea of outsiders.
Intergration:
"As if to say: 'Negro will you pulease disappear so that I can get my own white people'"(xiii).
Analysis: On one scale some black people don't want to be colored so that they do not have to deal with the issue of segregation. On the other hand, some black people want to embrace the fact that they are black. Black is beautiful idea.
"And I from another direction have gradually come around and stopped trying to tell other Negroes how to be black"(xiv).
Analysis: There is a varying degree of "being black" within American society. The most extreme scale, according to this book, is the "loud" and "wrong" type of black person. The most subdued kind is the one that tries to act "white." Either way, it shows there is a clash in ideas of what it means to be black.
"And I hope you'll understand why I continue to speak to colored people I pass on the street" (xvi).
Analysis: HLG experiences nostalgia towards his upbringing specifically in this book in Piedmont. Piedmont is a greater representation of the black community. Nostalgia dives into the idea that
he is longing for major aspects experienced during segregation.
As you read- watch his nostalgia because you need to find out what it is about segregation that he longs for.
Ideas on integration so far:
This is a challenging issue because it deals with acceptance in society. We live in a world with people who are different. Worlds do collide, but ultimately you will either reach a point where there are few who understand or few who want to. We need to work together to see how we can function together as different entities in society. This is HLGs greatest lesson.
