Imamu Amiri Baraka\'s \"Dutchman\" is a play rooted in symbolism. It can be traced throughout the entire play: the language, the setting, the plot, the movement, the dialogue, and even the title. Baraka does a good job intertwining both the realistic and symbolic in effort to get his theme across....

While reading the September 1999 issue of Social Work: Journal of the National Association of Social Workers, I came across an article entitled "Symbolic Interactionism, African American Families and the Transracial Adoption Controversy". It was written by Leslie Doty Hollingsworth PhD, the assist...

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty is a story that uses symbolism through the surroundings. The main character of the story is Pheonix Jackson, an old black woman who seeks out to find medicine for her sick nephew. She lives in the woods and faces the journey of walking through the snow to get to th...

Colors bring exuberance and flavor to writing. They capture the reader's attention and fill the novel with expressive and inventive symbols. Toni Morrison possesses an extraordinary artistic talent with writing. Phrases like "blood red squares of velvet," "berry-black lips," and "jungle-r...

Ralph Ellison\'s \"Battle Royal\" is symbolic of the African American struggle for equality after the abolition of slavery. The various hardships that the narrator must endure in his quest to deliver his speech represent the many hardships that the blacks went through in their fight for equality. Th...

There are many symbols in Ralph Ellison's story "Battle Royal." Ellison's story is full of excellent symbolism of how African-Americans have struggled throughout history to fight for their equality. The narrator starts off the story by describing his grandfather's dying ...

Cry, The Beloved Country Cry, The Beloved Country was written in 1948, by Alan Paton. It is a novel written about South Africa, like Paton's Hope for South Africa, and The Land and People of South Africa. This was a realistic book because of its exceptional setting, symbolism, and character dev...

Nowa days, the adolescent culture is strongly represented through the use of video clips. One singer in particular, Madonna, can be seen as a cultural symbol. She reflects female's rights, rebellion and sexuality. This can strongly be seen in the video clip "Like A Prayer". Also in th...

Ralph Ellison wrote Invisible Man in 1952, when the post-modern writing style dominated American literature. Post-modernism is displayed in this novel by several metaphors that literally and symbolically challenge Emersonian and Whitmanian models, which consider social equality for all beings in Am...

The Negro Speaks of Rivers: An Analysis Langston Hughes, a poet in the early twentieth century is known for his poems about urban life and racial affirmation. In the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Hughes tells a story of the black man's evolution to America. The poem illustrate...

The integration of the white and black races is the most remarkable event of the second half of this century, surpassed only by two world wars in its significance. A Gathering of Old Men is a remarkable mystery about a young white woman and seventeen old black men in an isolated Louisiana township...

Beloved By Toni Morrison Dear Toni, Your novel Beloved evokes a tremendous amount of emotion from its readers. The various stylistic techniques enable the reader to see beyond the twisted story. Your use of stream of conscientiousness, symbolism, and characterization bring forth a wel...

The theme of the story " As I Grew Older" by Langston Hughes is, no matter what stands in your way fight for your dream. Hughes showcases the fact that racism and discrimination can hold African Americans back from accomplishing their dreams but, through the struggles they can triumph ove...

In the story, A Raisin in the Sun, one of the main characters was Walter Lee. His super objective in the story was to be able to provide a better life for him and his family and also to prove to the world that black men could be successful at life. Walter Lee had many reasons for his super objecti...

"A Worn Path," by Eudora Welty, is a story about an old, and small Negro woman, Phoenix Jackson, on a long journey from deep in the country and into town. The woman's march is encouraged by the need to obtain medicine for her ill grandson. As she makes her way through the forest to ge...

To Kill a Mockingbird: Symbolism of the Mockingbird "I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 90). Harper Lee, a creative novelist, uniquely quot...

A Childs SafetyThe "Ballad of Birmingham" wrote by Dudley Randall was about a church that was bombed in 1963. This ballad was wrote by an African American man who was forty-nine years old when the bombing occurred. This ballad features irony, symbolism, and discrimination.It is very ironic that th...

To the outside world white is good and black is evil; it is as simple as that. This philosophy is embodied in Marlow's aunt, who believes that his job is to bring light into the land of darkness and to enlighten the savages. This idea, however, becomes corrupted when white objects symbolize sufferin...

Throughout the novel, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the contrasting of light and dark images permeated the text. The use of this imagery created an underlying theme revolving around the conflict between savagery and culture, knowledge and ignorance. Conrad depicts the events, locations, and id...

"Everyday Use" is set in the late 60's or early 70's. During a time which African Americans were struggling to define their personal identities in cultural terms. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," Dee/Wangero and Maggie's differences are emphasized by their v...

"The Race Question" As race relations were once, and still are to some extent, a vital part of this country's history, it is only appropriate that authors speak out against it. Naomi Madgett does just that in "The Race Question." Through her use of metaphoric synesthetic i...

The lady that appears after the first 100 pages of the book turns out to be Vivian, Grant's secret lover. Grant and Vivian take a walk and after their walk they visit Grant's aunt, aunt Emma. Aunt Emma and her friends are very fond of Vivian and they give her many compliments. Aunt...

In Zora Neale Hurston's book, Their Eyes Were Watching God- we follow the life of a young black woman, Janie, as she matures and experiences life. Ms. Hurston uses many metaphors to further illustrate the experiences that Janie goes through. Her use of metaphors greatly enhances the book by all...

In "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, we meet two sisters, Dee and Maggie, who are completely different from one another. The story takes place in the South during the 1960's. It was the time of the Black Power Movement, when African Americans were fighting for their rights. Many had to struggle an...

"The story "Going Home" by Archie Weller is about a young mixed Aboriginal and white descent boy, William Woodward, and his struggles to find his place in society. Being of mixed descent, Woodward is confronted with many difficult conflicts of culture. The coming-of-age-story about Wo...