American Literacy Cultures Final

Lorraine Hansberry

Flannery O’Conner

Allen Ginsberg

James Baldwin

Art Spiegalman

Jhumpa Lahiri

Ocean Vuong

• systemic racism

• mama wants to put a downpayment on the house

• Ruth wants to save money for the baby otherwise she will terminate it

• Beneath wants to save money for med school

• Walter accepts bribe, mother stops him and tells Walters son to watch

• Grandmother values being a lady

• shows that clique southern Christian values aren’t what is going to save you

• three appeals to misfit!!

  • manners

  • social status

  • Christianity

• misfit says if the gospel were true there would be nothing left to do but drop everything and follow him (christ)

• lament of self-destructive behaviors for the people he knew

• children being sacrificed

• crucifying them by leading them to self destructive behaviors

• Sonny is heroin addict

• brother promises to take care of him, eventually follows through on a promise

• narrator/brother’s daughter Gracie dies which leads him back to Sonny

• Brother shows unconditional love

• sonny gives brother permission to grieve

• the entire first chapter is a broken promise

• afraid of stereotyping his father

• anything can be of value when you’re stripped of everything

• narrative of relationship with father

  • art had a seemingly traumatizing childhood, shown in epilogue

• Miranda learns how to be independent

• dev’s wife is in India

  • therefore doesn’t think its wrong to be in relations with another woman

• relationship dissolves

• an internalized lesson that people you love you may never see again

• Robin, young boy, sees miranda put dress on

  • says she looks sexy because he thinks it means loving someone you don’t know (how mom talked to husband)

• disaster can strike at anytime

• “I want to love more than death can harm”

• using poetry to process tragedy

• uncle commits suicide