Harlem Renaissance in the3 21st century

I think studying the Harlem Renaissance is important becuase it was a point in history when a class of people who had been held down began to rise. It was a period when artistic expression peeked and it allows us a unique insight as to how black artists truly felt. I think reading the writings of those of the time speak much more than a history text- it's personal. I think it relates to today because we are people and people are often curious about how others live. I think that these writings, music, etc. are still influential pieces of work. It would be our loss as a society to forget art of any time period. We can still use it to look back on a generation of people at a crucial turning point in thier lives and also just enjoy the art for what it was from one person to another.

Thier Eyes Were Watching God 6-12

Janie seems to be a dreamer. Especially in this next section. Joe seemed to keep her down and was probably a perfect husband in the eyes of her grandmother. He was a typical husband of that time - or what he thought he should have been. Janie wanted to be loved and respected. I thought the chapters with Joey and Janie really talked a lot about women's rights and women in marriage and social status. On page 71 Joe says "Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho dont think none theirselves". There was also another section that stood out to me (and as a women made me mad) when the men on the steps discussed how one man in the community didnt feel a women should be hit. The other men greatly disagreed. I think the author brings up these points and conversations purposely. Through the narration of the female lead it shows us that the sterotypes were not true because we are obviously knowing Janie's thoughts and she can think for herself. It shows her captivity of what society thinks she should be and so far I love how she rejects that guideline over and over again. She wants to be free and I think that spoke for many women of that time. It made me think a lot about "Passing" and the restrictions that Irene in particular felt about woman/mother hood.

Thier Eyes Were Watching God 1-5

I like the story so far. I do find it kind of confusing though with the dialect being so heavy. I really like the character Janie. I find her similar in spirit to many of Toomer's characters. Shes independent and often the talk of the town. She's beautiful and has an intersting connection with nature. I think Janie is a very deep character and I hope the book discusses her more deeply than it has so far. I also at first liked Joe but had a feeling that Janie wouldn't be happy with him either. I think she'll run from him too, she seems too much of a free spirit to not be satisfied. It seems that nature leads her thoguths and steps. I'm curious as to where the book is going. It doesn't seem to have a steady plot yet other than recapping Janie's life.

Cullen Poems

The first thing that stood out to me in Cullen's poetry was his religious references. In "Black Magdelens" he refers many biblical stories. When he writes "...to write upon the sand" he is referring to God writing on the wall. The line "Inviting him that has not sinned to raise the first rude hand" is referring to Jesus stopping the women from being stoned. The line talking about Christ coming and putting ointment on his feet is referring to Mary Magdeline wiping Jesus's feet with perfumes. "Simon the Cyrenian Speaks" is also an obvious biblical reference of Simon who carried the cross for Jesus when he fell before the crucifixion. I also noticed that like other writers we've seen (Toomer, and McKay) he discuss colored women as being beautiful, like in "A Song of Praise". I really like Cullen's poetry. I think he has a lot of meaning behind what seem to be meaningless phrases. He makes you look deeper into the writing and that's what good poetry is supposed to make you do.

Brownie's Book

I thought reading the passages from Brownie's book was very insightful. I liked the way that it addressed young children's problems and hardships of dealing with racism and descrimination. You could clearly see this in the letters the children wrote in to the magazine with issues that really bothered and distressed them. I was really surprised by how much pressure was placed on colored children to succeed and take opportunities thier ancestors were denied. Lines like "The only reward that yo'r unhappy fo'fathers ever will get is through you, an' if you fail, you disappoint yo'r whole race. (p. 35). When the little girl replied she echoed that pressure and said "I might have given up and been a failure and disappointment". As a teacher that made me cringe to think of a child calling themselves a failure and a disapointment. This pressure was also echoed in the poetry not only the stories. In th poem "Slumber Song" the last stanza states "You must nees be double true, Doubly strong in the task you do. Nor fail the Race that speaks in you, Brownie Boy." I think that the agenda of this magazine was very clear- to build up the next generation so that something like slavery won't happen again. I think that at the time it was probably necessary.

Passing Part II

This part of the story really delve deeper into the lives of the two main characters. It showed Irene's fears of her husband leaving to do what he really longs to do and her torment over making the "right" decision. It showed me how Irene seems to be stern about her opinions and strong about her choices yet inside she's really not as sure or secure as she pretends to be. It also showed how Clare is starting to act somewhat bitter over the choices she made for her life. It seems like in this second half Clare is running a huge risk and seems to not care anymore if she's caught. She longs so much to be back with and a part of the black community. Im very curious to see how the story plays out. I think that at this point Clare wont give up what she lost alreafy (her taste of being among her race) but she's worked so hard to gain security and passing for her and her daughter. Im very curious to see which she chooses.

The Gift of Laughter

Fauset's article was very intruiging to me. I'm not very familiar with plays and other forms of performing arts so the African American's role in acting was new to me. A few things that Fauset said stood out to me. One of them was "He was sad wih the sadness of hopeless frustration". In this articles Fauset showed us another area where the color of someones skill matters more than the talent and makeup of the person. African American actors and playwrites were limited by the role they were allowed to play; "His expansion was always upward but never outward". Once again thier actions were limited. I liked how Fauset showed how this can be and was worked around to show that the "funny man" was breaking with thier tragic past and that this can to be shown in thier role. In the end the gift of laughter was somewhat healing to them and Fauset believes it is a gift.