In the dark poem "Strange Fruit," author Joy Harjo, explores the difficulties that minorities in the world. Throughout the poem, there is a reoccurring theme of hatred and violence, personified through antagonists, the 'Klu Klux Klan'. The author takes us through the life of a possible African American female, another victim of the violent hatred towards minorities. This poem is written and narrated in the first person from the Female's perspective. If one is familiar with the song, strange fruit, by Billie Holiday; one would get a sense as to what to expect from the poem, which is that it involves lynching (Execution usually by hanging, without trial). If not, the title may seem a little vague. In fact, this poem involves a little more than that lynching. It covers the general injustice that minorities encounter, especially in America. .
The opening sentence of the poem, creates the background for the poem, describing what she was doing and who she saw. The author then introduces the antagonists of the poem, the 'KKK', describing them as pure evil beings with 'hooded sheets, riding black cats'. The way Harjo describes them, the reader cannot be certain whether these 'evil beings' are humans or monsters. This is just to show the dark nature of the KKK. .
The protagonist of the play (The African American woman), goes on to say, "My lover told me: Shush, we have too many stories to carry on our backs like houses, we have struggled too long to let the monsters steal our sleep, sleep, go to sleep". This quote is saying that, their ancestors have struggled and suffered too long, to let people like the 'KKK', come and instill fear in their minds, but it is time to overcome the fear, and not allow the KKK to scare them. Ironically, what her lover told her is similar to what a parent would tell their child with a nightmare of seeing monsters, but as the poem goes on, the protagonist says, "But I never woke up", implying that they were living in a nightmare and these monsters in fact were real and out to get them.
The War Zone is a poem written by Joy Harjo. In the poem Harjo used a stylistic approach where she builds up the emotions of the reader then give them a sigh of relief at the end. ... But that was just for a while and then we moved on with our lives, which was what Harjo meant: We go on. ...
Strange Fruit is perhaps the greatest poem and song ever written in American history. ... "Southern trees bear a strange fruit", is the first line of this poem. ... He just says "Strange fruit swinging from the poplar trees". ... So much feeling has never been put into American music and Strange Fruit may never have an equal. ... Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. ...
Three literary works from the death unit that illustrate the conflict that many women encounter are "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston and "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window" by Joy Harjo. ... Along a similar path of pressures of conformity, is the poem, "The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window" by Joy Harjo. ...
In Joy Harjo's, "Perhaps the World Ends Here,"" the kitchen table, as a representation of acknowledging the present moment, proves that the act of eating changes meaning according to circumstance. ... As Harjo states elegantly, "the world begins at the kitchen table, " in other words, humans, whether they like it or not, must eat in order to survive. ... As the poem continues, Harjo states, "this table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun"" (13). ... She looks to the kitchen as a way to find protection from the outside world; in the same way the table from Harjo's ...
" (4) May Stacy commented in her book 'The United Fruit Company in Latin America. ... In 1899, Keith merged his banana trading company with Boston Fruit Company, founded by Andrew Preston, and established the United Fruit Company. ... By the early 1900's, United Fruit created its "banana empire" with no ominous competitor. ... Not only in Guatemala but also in the U.S. market, bananas of United Fruit dropped down to an extremely cheap price, other fruit companies have no way to compete. ... By 1955 there were 160 banana importers in the U.S, United Fruit controlled 59...
It was not uncommon for men to have more than one wife, such as in The Problem of Old Harjo. In this story, Harjo, a Native American with two wives was told he was a sinner in the eyes of God. The story shows clearly that Harjo was not taking advantage of either of them, and that he loved them both in different ways. ... Though Harjo was being loving and compassionate, his life was shamed by Christian beliefs. ... Many felt the need to convert to Christianity, and like old Harjo, many were willing to make drastic changes in their lifestyle. ...
The Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club is a story about four Chinese friends and their daughters. ... June sat at the East where it all starts "The Joy Luck Club". The Joy Luck club was a weekly meeting of the best friends, were they talked about their hopes for their daughters and there stories of the past. ... In the movie The Joy Luck Club, Aunt Lindo is sold to a family when she is only four years old: when she goes to the family, she is fifteen. ... Jocks have their letter jackets and tight jeans, and the freaks that wear just about anything that is strange. ...
Flannery O"Connor's character Joy Hopewell, who changed her name to Hulga, in "Good Country People" is a rather strange character. ... (T) At the age of ten, Joy was in a hunting accident where she lost her leg. As soon as she turned twenty-one and got away from home, Joy changed her name to Hulga just because it sounds ugly. Joy's altered name is a reflection of her self-image and personality. ... While Joy values formal education, Manly Pointer is much more equipped for the real world. ...
"Good Country People" The story "Good Country People," by Flannery O"Conner was very interesting but a strange story to understand at first. ... Joy ends up changing her name to Hulga, probably to anger her mother. I think the mother named her Joy because she wanted her to be pleasant and all that good stuff, but Joy changed her name to the way she felt her mother viewed her with disappointment. Joy was thirty-two years old and her mother treated her like a child. ... He makes advancements on joy and eventually stills her leg and leaves her. ...
