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Denver's Character Development

Beloved, written by Toni Morrison, revolves around the character Sethe and her story of escaping from slavery at Sweet Home. Her daughter, Denver, is obviously intertwined within Sethe’s story and a lot of Denver’s experiences in life are affected by Sethe’s past. Denver represents how generational trauma resulting from slavery can affect a person because even though Denver never lived on the Sweet Home plantation, her mother and father did. Sethe and all of the memories, emotions, and trauma that she carries with her every day have an effect on Denver because they affect her daily life, her mental health, and the relationships she has with the people in her life. Beloved begins when Denver is about 18, and as a young adult, the struggles of other people her age are only a small fraction of what Denver experiences. Denver represents this middle character who faces all of the repercussions and trauma of slavery, yet still feels unable to relate to her mother or her family at Sweet Hom
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Janie's Journey through Relationships

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, circulates around Janie’s life and how each stage of it is defined by her relationships. Janie battles with finding true love and dealing with relationships in conjunction with discovering her own independence. Janie’s first husband, Logan Killicks, provided nothing of excitement to her, as their marriage was arranged by her grandmother. Janie believed that she would grow to love him as their marriage progressed, however, that never happened. All Janie wanted was to be loved and treated well. Although Nanny may have pushed her own ideals on her about how marriage was supposed to be more of a financially and socially beneficial engagement, Janie herself couldn't keep herself in a marriage just for those factors. Leaving Logan Killicks allowed for Janie to eventually enter into a mindset that she would not stay with someone who she didn’t feel fulfilled by, although not initially. Janie’s perfect idea of a marriage from Nanny had b
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Tod Clifton and the Sambo Dolls

In Chapter 20 of Invisible Man , the narrator returns to Harlem after three weeks to discover that a shift has occurred. Harlem became a ghost town, and the narrator notices the Brotherhood appears to have changed. Entering the headquarters, the narrator finds himself in search of Brother Clifton, but no one can give him any information regarding his whereabouts. In fact, the narrator gathered that “Brother Clifton had appeared at the district as usual up to the time of his disappearance. There had been no quarrels with committee members, and he was as popular as ever.” (428). The narrator was confused and worried, both with the Brotherhood’s dismissal of his attendance and of Clifton’s apparent absence. The narrator leaves the headquarters in pursuit of a new pair of shoes on Fifth Avenue. By complete coincidence, the narrator finds Tod Clifton on the walk there, but it is not in a setting he ever expected. Tod Clifton is on the side of the road selling Sambo dolls, a complete 180 to
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How the Brotherhood Warped the Narrator's Perception of His Own Identity

The Brotherhood is a group of individuals dedicated to activism based in New York. Partway through the book, the narrator finds himself sucked into associating with them. His experiences in the Brotherhood change how the narrator views his relationship with his own identity and begins chipping away at the wall of invisibility that surrounds him. The narrator is skeptical of the Brotherhood when first talking to Brother Jack, this being one of the first moments that the narrator thinks for himself. Because of his skepticism of Brother Jack’s “kindness”, the narrator thinks to himself “something told me to refuse [Brother Jack’s offer], but I was intrigued and, underneath it all, was probably flattered.” (288). The Brotherhood is both intriguing and untrustworthy to the narrator, and their control of his identity, later on, confirms those suspicions. As the narrator enters the Brotherhood and continues his journey with them, he finds himself both exploring his own identity further but co
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The Hidden Meaning of Liberty Paints

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Invisible Man, written by Ralph Ellison, and published in 1952, follows an unnamed narrator through his life, beginning at college in the deep south, then moving to New York City. The narrator comes to find that New York carries many of the same racist qualities he thought he left behind in the south. The narrator’s life is written by Ellison in such a way that because of his sense of invisibility, feels surreal to the reader. One of the first jobs he obtains is with a company called Liberty Paints, famous for their “optic white” paint. While at first glance “Liberty Paints” may appear to be a seemingly normal title for a paint company, it carries a lot of symbolism throughout the chapter.  The name of the company, “Liberty Paints” and their slogan “Keep America Pure with Liberty Paints” allows for much interpretation. Not only does the name itself push the rhetoric that whiteness and liberty go hand in hand and therefore insinuating that black individuals will never experience the sam
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Interpreting Richard Wright’s Titles of “Fear”, “Flight”, & “Fate” in Native Son

   Native Son by Richard Wright tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black man living in Chicago in the 1930s. Readers are introduced to a life-changing portion of Bigger’s life through a series of situations that change Bigger’s perspective on life forever. Native Son’s rapid-paced story follows Bigger from when he lands a job as a chauffeur with a white real-estate magnate, Mr. Dalton, to standing in a courtroom being sentenced to death over Mary Dalton’s death. The book is formatted into three separate “books” that all follow a different theme: Fear, Flight, and Fate. The three titles connect to Bigger’s overlying attitude throughout his journey. The first book is titled “Fear.” The opening scene of book one immediately draws the connection between Bigger’s emotions and the book title. Bigger must kill a rat, while his mom and sister stand on their bed in fear. Immediately after this event, readers are further introduced to Bigger’s fear when Bigger beats up his friend Gu
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