To address the colossal notion of American culture, the ideal would be to start with its inhabitants. The questions of what defines us and what we value are inherent challenges in themselves because the country is divided into different subgroups: by race, by class, by creed, by ethnic group, and so on. As this essay addresses the excess of minority culture, another challenge emerges for these groups in terms of “achieving an independent personal and group identity; gain access to political power and economic opportunities; and find ways of thinking, speaking, and creating that are not dominated by the ideology of the oppressor” (Tyson 423). When delving deeper into multicultural literature and its voices, an even deeper challenge presents itself. By default, it seems that white culture has become a universal culture due to its strong literary and political influences since the country's inception. “…if the colonizers recognized the existence of a native culture, they argued that such cultures were not worth sustaining in the face of the 'superior' civilization offered by Europeans” (Tyson 424). White privilege has oppressed other identities, other values, and uniformed our culture. Furthermore, stifling or hiding other stories made it seem as if whites should exclusively praise America's heritage, as history books, short stories, and biographies focused exclusively on the accomplishments of white Americans. Therefore, the white voice is believed to be the most “accurate” voice. We are still sending the message of “cultural capital,” as the essayist Henry Gates calls it, and we are still directly affected by cultural imperialism: the conquest of one culture (the “non-white” culture) by another (the “white” culture). culture) in terms, more specifically, of the customs and values ​​of the economically dominant culture. So where are the other voices, and what do they have to say about all this? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There is a distinctive theme in African-American literature, particularly relating to how this minority experiences economic and social limitations that inhibit their success. As we know, Americans in general have a habit of internalizing their success as a form of personal identity. Essayist Leslie Hawkes explains that “the notion of new self-creation is profoundly American and is indeed a founding principle of the country” (21). Self-creation and individualism are deeply rooted in the notion of the American Dream. The critic Lois Tyson linked the discourse of the self-made man with the "success manuals" that circulated in the period in which the American dream began to take shape. Around the turn of the century, success manuals were created to give kids an idea of ​​how to become successful by adopting certain success practices and symbols. Gates' essay about our nation assimilating into "white" culture, Ivy League empowerment, and activities symbolizing the "upper crust" echo these playbooks, and it appears that is where the problem lies. Tyson states: "The discourse of the self-made man 'erases history' by choosing to ignore or marginalize the enormous character flaws of many famous self-made men, while at the same time defining self-made success as a product of one's character rather than a product". of your environment. The discourse is permeated by the desire to escape history, to transcend the historical realities of time, place, and human limitations” (308). These successful manuals, like the Dream, erase history, allowing us to deny our past and ignore our flaws, as well asto ignore how well we hide and continue to hide oppression and constraint. Paradoxically, the American Dream was built on the genocide of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans and, as we will soon discover, continues to thrive on the abuses suffered by immigrants and socioeconomic barriers against people of color. The American dream was built on the poverty and limitations of our cultures, which throughout history we have tried to hide. This essay will explore three narratives by African Americans about African Americans and its commentary will work to show how the concealment of the past, the employment of internalized racism, and the unattainability of symbols of wealth have set a barrier among African Americans. and the Dream that their culture holds in high regard.I. Retrospective In discussing American culture and its fascination with “rising to the top,” we must recognize how society aims to limit African Americans from this pursuit by obscuring the past. Nowhere is the theme of a hidden past more evident than in Alice Walker's short story, "Elethia." The theme of forgetting and remembering creates an atmosphere for its motif of disguised physical decay on the part of Uncle Albert and gives us a broader sense of an imagined past and imagined history on the part of the slaves' testimony. In “Elethia,” Uncle Albert's corpse decorating the window of a diner where blacks are not allowed is a reminder of the false continuity with the present that the civil rights movement tried to shatter. The false past is alive in the image of the stuffed corpse. of uncle Alberto. All teeth, smiles and servitude, in reality Albert was a slave who had his teeth knocked out for his defiance of slavery. “They beat him badly trying to make him forget the past, smile and act like a nigger” (Walker 309). Decorate the window of an all-white restaurant. Believed to be a "dummy", Elethia discovers that the body is her real corpse. This reflects the weakening of the white community against the plight of blacks: they believe in the banality of the crimes committed: everything is an allusion, not real. Elethia and her friends steal the corpse and burn it, aiming to rid the world of its false and stereotypical images of black people and to rectify its misrepresentations, recover the past, and preserve the truth for those who come after her . the window is racist; downplays the severity of slavery and erases the past struggle and pain that Uncle Albert and all slaves went through. Elethia carries Uncle Albert's ashes to mourn and heal, just as one would for a family member who has passed away. He is healing from the damage done to Albert's corpse and the damage done to his ancestors. “Everywhere he looked, there was an Uncle Albert…. And she was careful that, no matter how convincing the advertising, Uncle Alberts, in her mind, was not allowed to exist” (309). Elethia is trying to preserve a cognitive relic, which was painted with sugar-coated brushstrokes to lighten the plight of the slaves. He realizes that all Uncle Albert types were not allowed to be remembered because that would mean admitting to a shameful and shameful past. Walker is able to find, through his themes of remembrance, a vocabulary for personal grievances and the concerns of the civil rights movement. worries. “Elethia” represents the time of the civil rights movement and the tension between black and white societies. While the majority of the white community seemed to want to perpetuate black oppression, the black community rose up to put an end to it. Elethia's mentality during this story is very similar tomentality of the black community during this movement. Elethia and her friend's defiance of the older community's acceptance of racial stereotype employs her ability to transcend the identity chosen for her. Charles Taylor wrote in his essay “The Politics of Recognition” that misrecognition of others can cause a group of people to “suffer real harm, real distortion, if the people or society around them reflects a limiting image, humiliating or despicable." of themselves. Non-recognition or misrecognition can cause harm, it can constitute a form of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted and reduced way of being” (75). The image of Uncle Alberto is distorted, he is imprisoned and confined behind a glass case and forced into a humble and reduced expression of happy servitude: “His lips smiled intensely and his false teeth shone. He carried a covered tray in one hand…and over the other arm was draped a white napkin” (Walker, 307). Elethia, much like supporters of the civil rights movement, attempted to reshape the misrepresented past and bring these social issues back into the spotlight. They are essentially working against decades of misrepresentation, oral, psychological, literary, and, as we see here, even Albert's physical presence is omnipotent: “Everywhere he looked there was an Uncle Albert… in his textbooks, in newspapers and on TV ” (309). Uncle Albert who is “not allowed to exist” gives us insight into the invisibility of black history and culture. Not only are African Americans not recognized as victims, but their stories and identities are essentially erased. Because of the misunderstanding, they are diminished and belittled. As we now know, although it prides itself on its diverse society, America has had and continues to struggle with its racist attitude. From this obstacle arise the phenomena of internalized racism, which have managed to paralyze the success of African Americans. In "The Death of Horatio Alger" by LeRoi Jones and Amiri Baraka, a young African American named Mickey gets into an altercation with his friend JD over a pun that gets out of hand. Their three white friends look on and cheer them on. Mixed in with this external conflict is Mickey's internal disorder towards white society and his isolation from it. This work is largely concerned with racial politics: exploring racial issues and the social and psychological effects of racism. The fight scene allows us to understand Mickey's concern for white society's ideals of beauty, his acceptance of racism, and the stereotypes about blacks that form his identity. It's clear that Mickey Mouse has internalized society's beauty ideals: "And it's a useful memory here, because things like these were the vague images that even so early on had helped shape me. Pale freckles, sandy hair, tight, clean bodies . Though no one lived where I lived” (155). He realizes that those white ideals are out of his reach and he will never “conquer”: “Or something that a deacon would admit was beautiful against ideas. The point was to be where you wanted and do what you wanted. After all is 'said and done', what remains but those doggie constructions” (155). Mickey informs us of his awareness that he is beneath his white friends because of society's accepted narrow ideals of racism, which critic Lois Tyson defines as “the belief in racial superiority, inferiority, and purity based on belief. that moral and intellectual characteristics, just like physical characteristics, are propertiesbiological processes that differentiate races". (360). Mickey Mouse's identity is shaped by white society: “We are named after all the things we will never understand. Whether we can fight it or not…” (156). And he suffers from internalized racism. “Victims of internalized racism generally feel inferior to whites, less attractive, less useful, less capable, and often wish they were white or appear whiter” (Tyson 362). Because Mickey shapes his narrative with his internal feelings of futile inferiority, the fight between him and his other black friend becomes a source of racial ridicule and entertainment for Norman, Johnny, and Augie. The battle scene follows, and the three white boys laugh at the spectacle. With racial lines established, the conflict between Mickey and JD seems, on a larger scale, to represent the struggles and humility of African Americans attempting to define and defend themselves, and the satisfaction and callousness that comes with it.from society white in controlling and stifling their progress. Since the conflict initially begins between two black men, this symbolizes the difficult struggle for equality for black culture and their efforts to overcome the oppression resulting from the persecution of segregation. Mickey is clearly torn between two worlds, his personal life and culture and the culture of white America. The battle between him and JD becomes something bigger for Mickey than a quibble over insults; it becomes a war between the parties: a conflict caused by his inability to live harmoniously in a mixed culture. W. E. B. DuBois first described a phenomenon that many African Americans experience in The Souls of Black Folk as double consciousness or double vision, the awareness of belonging to two conflicting cultures: African culture and the European culture imposed by white America. DuBois calls it "a peculiar sensation... One always feels this duplicity: one American, one Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled efforts; two conflicting ideals in one dark body, whose stubborn strength alone prevents to be torn to pieces" (89). Norman, Johnny, and Augie watch from the sidelines and laugh, and we get a sense of white men's feelings of superiority and Mickey's realization of his duplicity. Furthermore, white men may vicariously experience their desire to be less civilized through struggle. The fact that the fight for them is a spectacle and a source of entertainment represents the state in which white men in society enjoy keeping black men in a state of inferiority, conflict and oppression through manipulation. Mickey seems ashamed by buying into the stereotype. Furthermore, Mickey is ashamed of his internalized feelings. “And early on I was conscious of my dad saying, 'Go on Mickey, hit him. Fight.' And for a few seconds, under the weight of that demand for my dignity, I felt, "...[B]ut JD hit me whenever he wanted to" (157). The latter was not a literal "hit", but a symbolic one. JD had to show Mickey the shame of his blackness. Mickey and JD attack their three white friends who were watching and cheering them on, but the final image of Mickey's frozen hands gives us the idea that, although this is progress on Mickey and JD's part, they tried to undress their their alienation, leaves them only in a frozen state. Mickey's “frozen hands” at the end, which may “[n]ever thaw” (157), speak to his position in society as well as his conflicted identity. Ever since he fought with J.D., he has believed the white stereotype of blacks and the white stereotype of what is beautiful: "The niggers and the Italians have beaten me and molded me, and my allegiance is there. But the triumph of romance have been the parquet floors, the yellow clothes, gardens and hairsandy I must have felt the loss and couldn't stand against a cardboard world of dark hair and linoleum" (156). Although he would like to fight for himself and his race, he has accepted the white stereotype. This reinforces the notion of his duplicity. He wants to rebel against white people; he wants to rebel against his own people so he can be one of the "beautiful people of white society", but he can do neither; He cannot belong to the white world (which he longs to be) and he cannot reject his black world Charles Taylor says, “…denying recognition can be a form of oppression” (81) and Mickey is denying recognition of himself. itself .“The Death of Horatio Alger” is largely about the social construction of race and identity Because we are inherently a nation of conflicting cultures, there is a conflict between race that is produced socially rather than biologically. In this story, there is a struggle to find one's identity amidst these warring influences, as well as a struggle to dispel or fuel society's racism and social expectations towards "inferior" races. Mickey Mouse cannot, at this moment, exceed the social expectations imposed on him. He essentially cannot “make a name for himself” or his race. He is frozen and limited, unable to progress normally in a society that is passionate about progress. During the civil rights struggles of the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, African Americans became increasingly aware of the consequences for blacks as a whole when individual blacks adhered to white middle-class values. “Many African Americans engaged in unified group efforts that created a sense of community and established ethnic pride, while others associated individually with privileged whites but never fully became part of privileged society, instead creating a divided subset of the African American community” ( Champion 69). In “The Lesson,” by Toni Cade Bambara, a group of black schoolchildren go on a field trip to FAO Schwartz in Manhattan that ultimately creates this aforementioned divide in the African-American community. Furthermore, the contrast between poor children and their new environment creates a commentary that parallels the absurdity of the presence of economic inequality and the American Dream. Significantly, our narrator Sylvia does not immediately follow the other children into the store because she feels “funny, ashamed. But what do I have to be ashamed of? I have the right to enter like anyone else” (93). When children enter the high society store, they quickly become aware of their limitations and begin to use comparisons that suggest they are becoming aware of class divisions and their inability to obtain these “sign-exchange-value” symbols and signifiers of wealth. . Sugar asks if they can steal, while Sylvia criticizes a white woman for wearing a fur coat even though it's hot. It is also interesting to note that, after being exposed to their extravagant lifestyle, Sylvia never takes on a hierarchical economic structure. Instead of respecting and admiring the privileged, he makes comments like “White people are crazy” (89). Junebug says he doesn't need a $480.00 paperweight because he doesn't own a desk. Flyboy states that he doesn't need a desk because he is homeless, a statement that disgusts Sylvia because she thinks he only makes such comments "to keep the white people away and feeling sorry for him" (148). When Miss Moore asks her if she is angry, Sylvia says she won't give her the satisfaction of expressing her emotions. This scene demonstrates the growing tension that Sylvia experiences as she becomes aware of the unequal distribution of wealth. “While in otherscircumstances, she and Sugar would laugh and talk together, as a sign of camaraderie, after being exposed to the capitalist economy, they immediately drift apart” (Champion 74). As they leave the store and board the train home, Sylvia's comments begin to resonate. “Sugar and I at the back of the train watched the tracks whizzing by, first large and then small and then being devoured in the darkness. I'm thinking about this complicated toy I saw in the store. Cost $35... Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen's son. Thirty-five dollars and the whole family could go visit Grandpa Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would be enough to pay the rent and even the piano bill” (150). The train tracks being devoured certainly represent the spirit of capitalism, which rampages and exploits the less privileged. Sylvia associates the image of train tracks with the $35 toy, and the connection made to the reader is that blacks who aspire to white middle-class values ​​will never become part of the privileged class, because they are destined in a racially biased society to become "engulfed" by racist attitudes. The broader question implied, of course, is: why would black people want to become part of a social system that has historically oppressed them? As Hamlet would say, "Yes, that's the problem." “Although Sylvia is unaware of the complicated ramifications of the lesson, readers understand that over the course of a sequence of lessons Miss Moore will ultimately teach students the full extent of the social problems indicative of capitalism, of which she has thus far provided only a glimpse” (75) At home, Sylvia lets Sugar get ahead of her, rejecting his proposal to run: “He can run if he wants and even run faster. But no one will beat me at anything” (152). and Sugar pitted them against each other. Close friends at the beginning of the story, their new awareness of their boundaries pushed them to naturally compete and split up, much like the fight in "Horatio Alger," and shifted their focus to obtaining higher class symbols. By purchasing the Dream, Sylvia and Sugar alienate themselves from an already lost battle, only worsening their oppression and confining themselves ever deeper to their places in society.II. Perspective We have found through the experiences of the black community a vocabulary to identify how the American dream has failed, not only for this group, but for all minorities. America's desire to transcend history, deny the past, invent a new life, and deny the historical realities of socioeconomic class makes us “never rooted and there is nothing to connect us to the land” (Hawkes 23). “America has experienced, and is still suffering, the consequences of attempting to merge utopian ideals with notions of materialist satisfaction. He still believes in the utopian dream, but sees it with much less innocent eyes. The United States has always used symbols as a means to unite its ideals” (Hawkes 23). We don't have to focus on the pictures of stores like FAO Schwartz and look the part. Symbols alienate and isolate, as we saw in “The Lesson,” rather than uniting a nation. Mickey's internalized recognition of the "wrongs" of his image gives us a disturbing insight into how much we know we are missing. We must not try to distort our image or the image of the nation, nor must we try to rewrite our "wrongs" as "Elethia" aimed to do. Yet, even so, the American Dream tells us to imitate the upper class, suggesting that we create allusions of status, image and wealth. We are all blinded by belief in the American dream, because we are founded on a strong:.