Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
Racism in the 1960's: An Honest DiscussionA fuller understanding of the complexity of the racial evolution of the 1960s is better realized by examining the first-hand accounts of those individuals directly affected by the racial upheaval of the time period. Eldridge Cleaver's autobiographical letters in Soul on Ice provide an insightful perspective of a black prison inmate trapped in a world ruled by white bigotry during the 1960s.In this essay, I will examine Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice in three parts: 2. Demonstrate how he rhetorically develops his themes; 3. Draw conclusions about the questions his work poses. While Cleaver's assorted letters address a variety of topics, several general themes arise from the totality of his work. I will briefly discuss these general themes, and in the next section, demonstrate how Cleaver develops these themes rhetorically. Cleaver's letters serve as a personal healing mechanism that allow him to can cope with the harsh realities that define his existence. He confronts head-on the identity crisis that faces black and white America as their two worlds clash during the turbulent 1960s. And, after examining the bitterness of his anger
The reader is better able to understand Cleaver's earlier motivations and the later admissions because Cleaver has engaged the reader with the deeply personal autobiographical narrative. "My pride as a man dissolved and my whole fragile structure seemed to collapse, completely shattered. In order to establish credibility with the reader, Cleaver must faithfully portray his thoughts as truthful and deeply personal. While many literary pieces about the 1960's explore racial bigotry, few authors can provide the unique perspective that Eldridge Cleaver offers in Soul on Ice. The source for these desires rests largely on the restrictions imposed by white society. In "The Allegory of the Black Eunuchs", Cleaver issues a broad attack on those old, gray black men who "dared to cling to their miserable life" (Soul on Ice, p. While many conclusions can be drawn about Cleaver's work, the central question the reader must deduce from Cleaver's work is: Do honest and sometimes painful discussions about society help lay the foundation for future progress; or, do these honest discussions lead to a bitter atmosphere that serves to restrict, not increase, thoughtful and productive dialogue about society's pressing issues? It's my argument that, coupled with other simultaneous civil rights efforts of the time, the honest dialogue brought forth by Eldridge Cleaver played an important role in providing Americans with a fuller understanding of the dynamic and complex nature of the civil rights struggle of the 1960's. The most captivating and thought-provoking rhetorical device that Cleaver employs involves his use of vivid and explicitly imagery. "All our lives we've had the white woman dangled before our eyes like a carrot on a stick before a donkey: look but don't touch. Calling for a moratorium on student initiative, they were greeted instead by an encore of sit-ins, and retired to their ivory towers to contemplate the new phenomenon" (71). Cleaver's unique account gains instant credibility and intrigue by the very nature of his life experiences: a black convict in white America; an admitted rapist; a religious convert; a political philosopher; and finally, a black man in search of meaningful, romantic companionship. One of his central premises is that, for too long, America has been numbed to the harsh effects of racism, and therefore the only way to awake America from this slumber was to offer a form of literary shock therapy. But against this backdrop of disgust towards previous inaction, Cleaver juxtaposes the young generation's activism and passion. Cleaver's use of autobiographical narrative effectively helps develop the themes of personal coping and hope for racial progress.
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Acceptance Essays
