Exploring African American Literature

 Mr. Norton, The Beginning vs the End Addison McClure       In the last chapter there was a scene that stood out to me. The narrator runs into Mr. Norton again. The narrator is relaxed and laughing as he talks to Mr. Norton. While he can clearly remember Mr. Norton, Mr. Norton has no clue who he is. There is a huge shift in tone between how the narrator approaches the situation versus how he used to. In chapter 2 the narrator is acting as a driver for Mr. Norton, the elite of the college. The narrator is in a constant panic trying to make sure he does nothing that makes him stand out. He views the world at face value. He lives scared that one wrong move will bring his downfall and he lets people step all over him. Mr. Norton has all the control in the conversation. Compare this to the interaction they have on page 578. The narrator believes that Mr. Norton has only approached him because he wants to save face. He says “to lose your direction is to lose your face...

Objectification in Chapter 19 Chapter nineteen is a bit chaotic. The chapter begins with the narrator being sent to speak on women's rights and ends with a one night stand that throws the narrator’s mind off track. The encounter starts with the narrator engaging in a discussion with one of the women at the seminar. She invites him back to her apartment to discuss the ideologies of the Brotherhood, but this quickly escalates to her intensely and inappropriately flirting with the narrator. Eventually they spend the night together. The narrator is awoken by her husband standing in the doorway. While neither the woman or her husband seem bothered by this interaction, it freaks the narrator out. He quickly flees the apartment terrified of the consequences of his actions. Chapter nineteen really highlights some important issues and stereotypes that the narrator faces. In an uncomfortable exchange between the narrator and the woman she tells him that his speaking is “so powerful, so-so...

  Bessie Deserves Better  Addison McClure Bessie does not have a character development in the novel Native Son . She really only appears in book 2. Bessie and Bigger do not have a healthy relationship to begin with. They seem to be with one another to get something for themselves, Bigger wanting sex and Bessie wanting liquor. The treatment that Bessie receives and the little acknowledgment of the horror of Bigger does to her is disgusting. Bessie is treated like nothing to everyone and she deserves to be talked about more and her little representation in the novel reflects the little representation that black women get in real life.  There is something intensely disturbing about the way that Bessie is used by everyone. Bigger rapes her and violently murders her by smashing her head with a brick. Her body is brutalized with no respect whatsoever. This is a moment where I felt nothing, but hatred for Bigger. To rape someone is so violating and then to dispose of their l...