Literary Evolution of African American Womens Traditions...

Lena Younger, also referred to as Mama portrays the traditional, holy, black woman during the period of the civil rights movement. As the eldest character, Mama has been around for a larger portion of history, including slavery, which helps her to understand the plight of the African American population and how much progress has been made. As the matriarch of the family, she is regarded with reverence and the head of household, even though she feels obligated to remain in traditional female roles as homemaker for her family. By the end of the play, she grants Walter the permission to take over as the head of the household, â€Å"like you supposed to be† (Hansberry 1827). This enforces her traditional views, wanting to stand behind men rather†¦show more content†¦She is independent, strong, intelligent, and proud. By being part of the modernist, young generation of the 1950s, Beneatha is obviously going to have some very strongly clashing viewpoints from that of Mama a nd the rest of her family. For instance, Beneatha is pursuing her dream to become a doctor, an almost completely male dominated profession in the 1950s, yet her family is not supportive of this fantasy profession. In fact, Walter goes so far as to tell Beneatha if she is â€Å"so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people† then she should â€Å"go be a nurse like other women – or just get married† (Hansberry 1779). This is an important quote because it shows how much agency a man has in a household while presenting the social norms of the time period. Continuing to fight the societal norms and her traditional family, Beneatha makes many choices her family considers as radical. She decides to grow into her heritage by changing her straight, â€Å"mutilated hair† into a more traditional, natural afro (Hansberry 1789); this symbol works into the movement of the time that Black is Beautiful. She also dances around in traditional African clothing, becoming more aware and prideful of her own sense of culture. Beneatha also shocks her family by being disconcerted with the idea of marriage, even after Asagai asked her to â€Å"marry him today and go to Africa† (Hansberry 1824). Once again,Show MoreRelatedApush Chapter 25 Study Guide1276 Words   |  6 Pages1. Describe the rise of the American industrial city, and place it in the context of worldwide trends of urbanization and mass migration (the European diaspora) Cities grew up and out, with such famed architects as  Louis Sullivan  working on and perfecting skyscrapers (first appearing in Chicago in 1885). The city grew from a small compact one that people could walk through to get around to a huge metropolis that required commuting by electric trolleys. Electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephonesRead MoreHistory5499 Words   |  22 Pages‘‘Harlem Renaissance’’ refers to the efï ¬â€šorescence of African-American cultural production that occurred in New York City in the 1920s and early 1930s. One sometimes sees Harlem Renaissance used interchangeably with ‘‘New Negro Renaissance,’’ a term that includes all African Americans, regardless of their location, who participated in this cultural revolution. Followers of the New Negro dicta, which emphasized blacks’ inclusion in and empowerment by American society, were undeniably spread throughout theRead MoreEast African Culture Refle cts on Their Drama Using Aminata, Echoes of Silence and I Will Marry When I Want as Case Study12168 Words   |  49 PagesEKITI STATE UNIVERSITY ADO - EKITI FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES AN ASSIGNMENT ON: ELS 226 (MODERN AFRICAN DRAMA) SUBMITTED BY : GROUP 4 QUESTION: THE CULTURE OF THE PEOPLE DETERMINES ITS DRAMA. DISCUSS THE EAST AFRICAN EXPERIENCE AS EXEMPLIFY IN FRANCES LIMBULGA’S AMMATA, NGUGI WA THIONGO’ S I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT AND JOHN RUGANDA’S ECHOES OF SILENCE. LECTURER-IN-CHARGE: DR OLANIYAN MRS LIST OF GROUP MEMBERS. OGUNFEIBO AYOKUNLE O 1002630 IBITOYERead MoreBibliographic Essay on African American History6221 Words   |  25 PagesBibliographic Essay on African American History Introduction In the essay â€Å"On the Evolution of Scholarship in Afro- American History† the eminent historian John Hope Franklin declared â€Å"Every generation has the opportunity to write its own history, and indeed it is obliged to do so.†1 The social and political revolutions of 1960s have made fulfilling such a responsibility less daunting than ever. Invaluable references, including Darlene Clark Hine, ed. Black Women inRead MoreEssay about History: World War I and Bold Experiments7600 Words   |  31 Pagesknow how to answer the following questions: 1. Why and how did American society industrialize during the late nineteenth century? 2. What were the causes and consequences of urbanization? 3. How did political change and progressive reform gain momentum after 1900? 4. How did the United States emerge as a world power by 1918? 5. What tensions between the old and new existed in the 1920s? The 1920 Census revealed that a majority of Americans (51 percent) lived in urban are as for the first time. Part 5Read MoreASAM 5 Notes Essay6590 Words   |  27 Pagesnot be as core as. Three parts Minority Literature Minority literature The concept of minority has been central to the very founding of American life and government Metaphors of minorities Invisibility : lock of recognition Notion of otherness: radical difference WEB Dubois, the souls of Black Folk (1903) Historian and writer First African American to receive PhD from Harvard Two primary ideas :The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. Double consciousness DoubleRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Read MoreChapter 23-25 Notes for Ap Us History6413 Words   |  26 PagesJames G. Blaine. The main disagreement between the two groups was over who would give the jobs to the people who voted in their favor. The Hayes-Tilden Standoff, 1876 Congress passed a resolution that reminded the country, and Grant, of the two-term tradition for presidency after Grant was speculating about running for a 3rd term. The Republicans chose Rutherford B. Hayes as their presidential candidate for the election of 1876. The Democrats chose Samuel J. Tilden. In the election, Tilden won the popularRead MoreThe Origin, Development and Significance of Human Rights10255 Words   |  42 PagesIndependence, proclaimed by the 13 American colonies on July 4, 1776: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Similarly, the marquis de Lafayette, who won the close friendship of George Washington and who shared the hardships of the U.S. War of Independence, imitated the pronouncements of the English and American revolutions in the DeclarationRead MoreEssay about Summary of History of Graphic Design by Meggs14945 Words   |  60 PagesChapter 1: The Invention of Writing - From the early Paleolithic to the Neolithic period (35,000 BC to 4,000 BC), early Africans and Europeans left paintings in caves, including the Lascaux caves in Southern France. - Early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes. - Petroglyphs are carved or scratched signs on rock. - These images became symbols for what would be the first spokenlanguage. - Cuneiform – Wedged shaped writing, created in 3000BC. Started