Sunday, March 27, 2011
Interpretation of a Quote in the novel Giovanni’s Room
In the novel Giovanni’s Room, part one chapter three, the protagonist is David and Jacques is the acquaintance. They are in a bar in Paris were they are having drinks and a conversation about relationships. Jacques and David had a past relationship with each other, but Jacques notices that David is having an attraction for another man. Jacques says, “‘Love him and let him love you…You can give each other something which will make both of you better- forever- if you will not be ashamed, if you will not only play it safe’” (Baldwin 57). This quote explains how Jacques is telling David to let loose and let himself be who he truly is. David feels he cannot have feelings for a male because of society’s norms. Jacques tells David that if he realizes his attraction towards the same sex he would not only make himself happy, but his partner as well.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Analysis of Coffee Will Make You Black
In the novel Coffee Will Make You Black, the author, April Sinclair, progresses with the protagonist Jean Eloise Stevenson, also known as Stevie, who is an eleven and a half year old girl. Jean finds herself confused as she submits to the immense social pressures of her friends, Denise and Gail. In chapter two Jean is still an innocent child, compared to her six grade classmates, because of her parents’ refusal to explain to her anything about puberty or sex.
Growing up in Chicago as an African-American, the era is important to what the protagonist is experiencing because it takes place during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The Stevenson family has been inspired by the words and leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. “I remember how Mama and Daddy had called me and David in from playing to watch Dr. King give his ‘I have a Dream’ speech on TV, two summers ago”(Sinclair 14). The author’s use of setting helps the reader understand and notice why Stevie’s mother is very particular about how the English language is used by African-Americans. “Girls you should have said, ‘I didn’t go to church this morning because I didn’t get up in time” (Sinclair 14). Coffee Will Make You Black would not be the same novel if the time and place were changed because the Civil Rights Movement inspired all African Americans, including the Stevenson Family, to dream. This was a period of time that began significant changes in society.
Jean is experiencing change on the personal level. One of Jean’s character traits in chapter one is curiosity, which is portrayed through her ongoing questions about puberty and sex. In chapter two, Jean begins to walk home from school with Denise and Gail, developing a new trait of “cracking gum” because she wants to be able to fit in. In chapter one the protagonist values sincerity, she did not want to lie in a note that was sent to her by Michel Dun, “I’d snuck a peek inside and looked up the word virgin…I didn’t steal and tried my best not to lie” (Sinclair4). A new value that Jean has in chapter two is popularity. When Denise revels she had stolen nail polish, jeans thoughts is, “I almost swallowed my gum. I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, you mean you stole it?” (Sinclair17). Jean shows that popularity is important to her because she would rather stay quite to be able to belong instead of expressing what she truly values, which is honesty.
In the novel Coffee Will Make You Black, the protagonist is struggling to achieve popularity. Jean has chosen to abandon things that she truly values such as writing a poem for the school paper and her friends Linda and Melody to walk with Denise and Gail, to belong to the popular group in school. I speculate that the antagonists are Denise and Gail because they are only causing Jean problems. “Girl, Carla Perkins saying she is going to kick yo ass! Counta you been talking to Michel” (Sinclair 21). The protagonist is also experiencing an external conflict between people; Michel has not only touched her improperly but has brought the conflict of Carla into her life as well. Jean is also experiencing an internal conflict since being popular comes with different values and responsibilities than the ones with which she was raised. Being peer pressured by Denise and Gail, Jean is going to have to confront Carla for saying disrespectful things about her mom, in order to gain popularity. Jean is going to have to decide whether she is going to value honesty and sincerity towards herself or challenge Carla into a fight.
There are many other characters that have made an impact in Jean’s life, one of them is her mother Evelyn. I believe that Evelyn values faith because when Denise and Gail visit Jean for the first time the Stevenson family had returned from Sunday service and Evelyn asks them if they had gone to church. “I hate to think that some people would put card playing ahead of church service” (Sinclair14). Evelyn also values the Civil Rights Movement because she has been inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech and how he uses the English language. She has implemented into her and her family’s lifestyle to speak proper English. The relationship that Jean has with her mother is very strict because her mother will not explain to her anything about puberty or sex until it is the right time. The relationship that the protagonist carries with her mother is not as important to her as is one with her friends. Jean is influenced by her mother Evelyn because she was raised in a family where they value faith, family, honesty. These values that her mother has taught Jean cause discomfort for the protagonist when she finds herself peer pressured by Denise and Gail in certain situations she has never been in before.
Denise and Gail are characters that were introduced in chapter two, which have also made a great impact in Jean’s life. Two things that these characters most value are popularity and gossip. Denise and Gail are known as the girls who wear French rolls and like to crack their gum. They begins to talk to Jean because Michel sends her a note asking if she was a virgin. “Hey girl, any girl my cousin talks to, I make it my business to check out. ‘Cause don’t nobody get next to my cousin without coming through me…”(Sinclair16) For the protagonist, their friendship is very important because if other people see that she her interacting with Denise and Gail they may think she is half as cool as them. Jean wants to gain popularity and that is why she is influenced by their actions. The value of gossip that Denise and Gail hold causes the protagonist conflict because of the peer pressure to confront Carla.
In chapter two, the topic or theme of a character’s sexuality is not woven into this chapter. The protagonist is still an innocent child, but on her way to exploration as a pre-teen. A socio-political topic that I see emerging is the mother not informing her pre-teen daughter about puberty. While this subject is uncomfortable for Evelyn, it might cause Jean to seek for this information elsewhere. In addition, this topic connects to the Growing up Thematic Issue: The need to belong because Jean has been asked in school if she is a virgin, but she has no knowledge about the subject. The protagonist is in need to fit in and form a friendship with the popular group, which might lead Jean to make unwise decisions due to her lack of knowledge about puberty.
Reading the novel, Coffee Will Make You Black, brings back high school memories of when people gossiped about each other. In high school, everyone wants to know everyone else’s business and at times that leads to false accusations about other people. For instance, my cousin had a bad reputation in high school based on gossip, leading her to social isolation. Like Jean, my cousin had purposefully created rumors in order to be noticed. In the end, my cousin succeeded in becoming popular while abandoning her family values.
Growing up in Chicago as an African-American, the era is important to what the protagonist is experiencing because it takes place during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The Stevenson family has been inspired by the words and leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. “I remember how Mama and Daddy had called me and David in from playing to watch Dr. King give his ‘I have a Dream’ speech on TV, two summers ago”(Sinclair 14). The author’s use of setting helps the reader understand and notice why Stevie’s mother is very particular about how the English language is used by African-Americans. “Girls you should have said, ‘I didn’t go to church this morning because I didn’t get up in time” (Sinclair 14). Coffee Will Make You Black would not be the same novel if the time and place were changed because the Civil Rights Movement inspired all African Americans, including the Stevenson Family, to dream. This was a period of time that began significant changes in society.
Jean is experiencing change on the personal level. One of Jean’s character traits in chapter one is curiosity, which is portrayed through her ongoing questions about puberty and sex. In chapter two, Jean begins to walk home from school with Denise and Gail, developing a new trait of “cracking gum” because she wants to be able to fit in. In chapter one the protagonist values sincerity, she did not want to lie in a note that was sent to her by Michel Dun, “I’d snuck a peek inside and looked up the word virgin…I didn’t steal and tried my best not to lie” (Sinclair4). A new value that Jean has in chapter two is popularity. When Denise revels she had stolen nail polish, jeans thoughts is, “I almost swallowed my gum. I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, you mean you stole it?” (Sinclair17). Jean shows that popularity is important to her because she would rather stay quite to be able to belong instead of expressing what she truly values, which is honesty.
In the novel Coffee Will Make You Black, the protagonist is struggling to achieve popularity. Jean has chosen to abandon things that she truly values such as writing a poem for the school paper and her friends Linda and Melody to walk with Denise and Gail, to belong to the popular group in school. I speculate that the antagonists are Denise and Gail because they are only causing Jean problems. “Girl, Carla Perkins saying she is going to kick yo ass! Counta you been talking to Michel” (Sinclair 21). The protagonist is also experiencing an external conflict between people; Michel has not only touched her improperly but has brought the conflict of Carla into her life as well. Jean is also experiencing an internal conflict since being popular comes with different values and responsibilities than the ones with which she was raised. Being peer pressured by Denise and Gail, Jean is going to have to confront Carla for saying disrespectful things about her mom, in order to gain popularity. Jean is going to have to decide whether she is going to value honesty and sincerity towards herself or challenge Carla into a fight.
There are many other characters that have made an impact in Jean’s life, one of them is her mother Evelyn. I believe that Evelyn values faith because when Denise and Gail visit Jean for the first time the Stevenson family had returned from Sunday service and Evelyn asks them if they had gone to church. “I hate to think that some people would put card playing ahead of church service” (Sinclair14). Evelyn also values the Civil Rights Movement because she has been inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech and how he uses the English language. She has implemented into her and her family’s lifestyle to speak proper English. The relationship that Jean has with her mother is very strict because her mother will not explain to her anything about puberty or sex until it is the right time. The relationship that the protagonist carries with her mother is not as important to her as is one with her friends. Jean is influenced by her mother Evelyn because she was raised in a family where they value faith, family, honesty. These values that her mother has taught Jean cause discomfort for the protagonist when she finds herself peer pressured by Denise and Gail in certain situations she has never been in before.
Denise and Gail are characters that were introduced in chapter two, which have also made a great impact in Jean’s life. Two things that these characters most value are popularity and gossip. Denise and Gail are known as the girls who wear French rolls and like to crack their gum. They begins to talk to Jean because Michel sends her a note asking if she was a virgin. “Hey girl, any girl my cousin talks to, I make it my business to check out. ‘Cause don’t nobody get next to my cousin without coming through me…”(Sinclair16) For the protagonist, their friendship is very important because if other people see that she her interacting with Denise and Gail they may think she is half as cool as them. Jean wants to gain popularity and that is why she is influenced by their actions. The value of gossip that Denise and Gail hold causes the protagonist conflict because of the peer pressure to confront Carla.
In chapter two, the topic or theme of a character’s sexuality is not woven into this chapter. The protagonist is still an innocent child, but on her way to exploration as a pre-teen. A socio-political topic that I see emerging is the mother not informing her pre-teen daughter about puberty. While this subject is uncomfortable for Evelyn, it might cause Jean to seek for this information elsewhere. In addition, this topic connects to the Growing up Thematic Issue: The need to belong because Jean has been asked in school if she is a virgin, but she has no knowledge about the subject. The protagonist is in need to fit in and form a friendship with the popular group, which might lead Jean to make unwise decisions due to her lack of knowledge about puberty.
Reading the novel, Coffee Will Make You Black, brings back high school memories of when people gossiped about each other. In high school, everyone wants to know everyone else’s business and at times that leads to false accusations about other people. For instance, my cousin had a bad reputation in high school based on gossip, leading her to social isolation. Like Jean, my cousin had purposefully created rumors in order to be noticed. In the end, my cousin succeeded in becoming popular while abandoning her family values.
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