She introduced techniques of characterization, theme development, and dialogue and introduces the Maya character to bring out aspects of her story from the perspective of a child. Fiction stories tap into emotions and have deep impact on people; the stories create empathy for their characters and readers identify with their struggles and frustrations. The book is powerful and captivating, with richly realized and complex characters; Angelou brings out racial prejudice in America in 1930 and 1940s and the book help understand the plight of African Americans. ... Angelou went from being a victi...

• Word Count: 649
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Slavery and the American Experience More than any other history of race relations in America, the struggle between white and black Americans is by the far the most complex and long standing. ... Closely related to the Mammy was the character of the Sambo. ... He paved the way for the Jim Crow character first introduced by T.D. ... The Coon was a comical character that seemed to be able to do no right. ... Previously most of the characters of the Coon and Jim Crow were played by white men in black face in addition the up and coming black entertainers found that as the characters had been...

• Word Count: 1938
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Those people that make generalizations might tell us that a piece of fiction must have one or more characters with whom the reader can relate to. ... In this story, the way the characters are portrayed, to some extent, tends to relate to the existing characters in the reality in which I live in. ... Julian is a character in the story that is being demonstrated in such a way. ... However, Julian and his mother have a very complex relationship. ... It is one that the characters must accept, difficult as those revelations are for them to face. ...

• Word Count: 1330
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The narrator is a major character who is lost and is in search of his identity. ... Unable to question or to seek his own answers to complex issues and lacking a sense of identity, the narrator does not have a clear sense of who he is nor how he fits into society, nor does he ask the right questions to find the right answers. ... The development of the character lays out the foundation on the philosophy of finding and understanding himself confronted with a huge obstacle in his path; racism....

• Word Count: 769
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Amid this extraordinary opportunity, however, American writers faced new and complex challenges with regard to originality, authenticity, and social worth. ... What often makes his stories interesting, and sometimes fascinating, is that the characters are capable of being surprised and overwhelmed by something they learn in the course of the story. ... Johnson, because as the story progresses the once common-folk characters begin to shed their ignorance and weakness and come into their own. ...

• Word Count: 905
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

While the Victorian concept of "true womanhood" defined white women as possessing unquestionable moral character, African American women were defined as immoral and sinful. ... Throughout the 20th century, the cross section of both creators and audiences of popular images have changed and the business of commercial imagery itself has become a more sophisticated craft to the extent that contemporary stereotypes of African-American women can be broader and more complex (although no more real) than their 19th century counterparts. ...

• Word Count: 1267
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

According to Bloom, her writing style can range from complex symbolical ideas to easy to understand and direct concepts (33). ... In the poem, Angelou utilizes scenes and conversations, which outline the different emotions of her characters. ...

• Word Count: 1524
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Within the novels, Toni Morrison presents the complex stories of African American experience, and especially African American women's experience and their search for identity in the American mainstream society. ... The Bottom community's also deal with the absence of male characters and describes the underlying issues of male/female relationships which are presented. ...

• Word Count: 5084
• Approx Pages: 20
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Like Lo and Caine before him, Jian-Wa quite literally blends East and West through the casting of the role as well as through many of the attributes given to the character. ... Like so many other Chinese characters in the American popular imagination, Jian-Wa becomes inextricably linked to the world of crime through his brother's association with a criminal "tong."" ... In this light, although reluctant, Jian-Wa remains a character that symbolizes resistance to both the white American and the Communist Chinese status-quo, and, thus, he can travel the world fulfilling fantasies that resist...

• Word Count: 9463
• Approx Pages: 38
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This paper argues that Mama made the right decision in, "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker. When Mama gave the quilts to Maggie and did not let Dee take them away to hang them on her wall like in a museum to show off her perceived roots, to showcase her heritage. Walker's short story raises question...

• Word Count: 1911
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Abstract this paper will explore the histories of both Native American and African American cultures and their interactions with the dominant white population in America. Influential historical events for each minority group will be highlighted along with the efforts of each group to try and attain ...

• Word Count: 2111
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate