Analysis Of Mk Asante 's Buck : The Idea Of Self Reliance And Making It On One 's Own

This true story is based on two African American males who grew up with many similarities but landed a completely different outcome in life. One of the main similarities is their name, Wes Moore. Both Wes Moore’s grew up in a fatherless home, born in the same neighborhood of Baltimore during the 1970’s, and both were handcuffed before age 11. The same question remains. How did one end up as a scholar, veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader and the other one end up serving a life sentence for a robbery that ended in the murder of a police officer? The book reflects how developmental psychology is implemented by focusing on the physical, social, and cultural environments influence developments that occur over time.

Beverly Tatum 's "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"and Ann DuCille 's Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference demonstrate what it means to be an African American adolescent in today 's time. One of the obstacles that African American adolescents face is the expectations of others. Often a single comment is all that is needed to imply to a student how another feels about their potential. For example, Tatum describes the experience of Malcolm X. Although Malcolm X was separated from his family and living in a foster home, he was a star athlete, a class president, and an A student. Despite his success as an adolescent, he was told by a respected teacher that his goal of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger." (Tatum 379) As the result of this single comment, Malcolm stopped participating in class, thereby hindering any current educational opportunities. This expectation from Malcolm 's teacher changed his educational experience making him adhere to his racial

The black characters in the novel are all victims of this “separate but equal” mentality; the younger characters yearn for real equality and the older characters have settled in to their lives by accepting their “fate.” The existing structures of society in Bayonne, Louisiana prevent black characters such as Grant Wiggins and Vivian from ever breaking out of their social class; both are forced to remain in their lives as teachers of young black children who will also grow up to live limited lives. Wiggins says of his classroom, “I’m the teacher... and I

This book is about two black children, Layfette and Pharaoh, who grow up in inner city Chicago. They are faced with racism and hardships because of their race and social class. They have different ways of coping, but are better at facing the worst the city has to offer than are many of the other young black children who live around them. During the story the boys are faced with many adversities that stem from the social system. They are faced with gangs, drugs and Chicago housing. However, they also must face their own inner demons that may lead to either of them giving up and giving in to the corruption of the inner city. One of the major turning points in the story is when Layfette gets arrested for vandalizing a car, even though he says he did not. He gets released and is gets off with probation and 100 hours of community service. After this incident the author gets both kids in to a private school where Pharaoh thrives and starts to make good grades instead of daydreaming. Unfortunately Layfette could not handle the pressure and returns to public school. During this time Rickey starts running drugs for one of the local gangs. He is later arrested for carrying a butcher knife. The CHA finally cleans out the horrendous mess in the Henry Horner basements and reclaims the buildings from the gangs. Dawn and Demetrius finally get an

The Black Wall Street, Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, and Great Depression are all period that came in mind, while reading this novel. To begin, the novel presented aspects of The Great Depression and Great Migration because it represented African American people escaping from the poverty, segregation, racism, violence, and lack of job opportunities they were exposed to in the South by migrating to the North. The novel itself represents The Harlem Renaissance because it was written when importance of literature during the time period for the African American people and the Black experience was growing. To continue, the Brothers throughout the novel were reminded of their class and race, which made them constantly aware of who they were and where they came from. This can be related to modern day Black men who experience poverty because they ar

Faulkner has distinctively outlined the differences between the antagonist and protagonist. As on account of Colonel Sartoris Snopes, youthful wiry with blurred pants and uncombed dark colored hair is left in a predicament of equity and his family (Faulkner 226). The boy looks pale and miserable, but he is the determinant of the case at hand. He fears the gaze of his father and the look of people around him. He has a crucial decision to

From the beginning of the story, we are shown racial inequalities. Ellison introduces us to our character who is a broke and hungry African American economically struggling to save his lady friend’s, Laura’s, life. The protagonist “got no birth certificate to

In the textbook The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the author illustrates about the lives of two young African-American men who share the same name: Wes Moore. They start their similar childhoods in Baltimore Maryland, with poverty, violence, drug game and fatherlessness. The author Wes Moore (Moore )became a Rhodes Scholar and a best-selling author, but the other Wes Moore ( Wes ) was sentenced to life in prison, The author Moore’s purpose in writing the story is to examine how two people with such similar backgrounds can end up with completely different lives. The author illustrates the way in which our destinies can be dictated by our environments. He claims that without the necessary resources, it is often not possible to make good decisions. He argues how people’s lives are influenced by their environment in which they live.

black man fights against, constantly trying to identify himself. At the same time, black men have found approaches to detach from this narrow minded image that society has created for them including; sports, education and family. The black male struggles to gain his own identity because there is already a firm image created for them that the white man visualizes the black male and the expectations of the black male. However, it isn’t just the society that plays a role in the development of the black males identity, there is also the consideration of how black males are brought up or raised in their current lifestyle situations. For example, athletes,

the reality of a racist society. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong

The impoverished conditions in which the residents of this community live are difficult based on the surrounding violence and discrimination they face. Tre, Ricky’s best friend, is able to survive the surrounding violence and discrimination through his father’s sensational leadership; he therefore knows what to do in situations he faces among his friends. However, his friends are not so lucky. For example, Dough doesn’t have great leadership or a father figure, but is raised by a single mother who is determined to get her children to succeed; nevertheless, her main focus is Ricky because he has the most potential; he is an athlete who has trouble in school, but obtains All-American in football, looking to get a scholarship to USC. The mother’s lack of leadership over

the role of a black boy. He became a black boy for the sole purpose of survival,

In exploring the problem of identity in Black literature we find no simple or definite explanation. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that it is rooted in the reality of the discriminatory social system in America with its historic origins in the institution of slavery. One can discern that this slavery system imposes a double burden on the Negro through severe social and economic inequalities and through the heavy psychological consequences suffered by the Negro who is forced to play an inferior role, 1 the latter relates to the low self-estimate, feeling of helplessness and basic identity conflict. Thus, in some form or the other, every Negro American is confronted with the

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck Finn, the protagonist, epitomizes a self-reliant individual as defined by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay, “Self-Reliance.” In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson describes four main qualities that a person must demonstrate in order to be considered self-reliant. Emerson states that in order to be self-reliant, a person must maintain his own values even if they oppose the values of society. Likewise, a person’s actions must be rooted in his own moral sensibilities, as opposed to society’s moral standards. Additionally, Emerson argues that a person who is self-reliant does not thoughtlessly submit to a religion because religion hinders independent thought. Lastly, Emerson explains that the significant value that society allots to property, inhibits self-reliance, as individuals grow to depend on their property instead of learning to be self-reliant. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim, an escaped slave, raft down the Mississippi River in hopes of reaching freedom. Throughout his journey with Jim, Huck Finn proves to be a self-reliant individual according to the standards that Emerson details in his essay, “Self-Reliance.”

The book, A Negro and an Ofay by Danny Gardner, is the first book in the Elliot Caprice series. This book is set in mid-century Chicago, as Elliot Caprice, the protagonist, struggles to find his place in the world as a biracial man. As Caprice tries to find himself and his place in the world, he encounters many life transitions: going from the classroom to the front lines, to becoming a Chicago cop and then eventually, to becoming a criminal on the run. As the story deepens, the book becomes more of an investigation of where Elliot fits into this world, and it explores his life situations.