Literature of the United States

The Uncle Tom, or African American who is too eager to please white people (in the character of Uncle Tom).
Stowe intended Tom to be a «noble hero.» The stereotype of him as a «subservient fool who bows down to the white man» evidently resulted from staged «Tom Shows,» over which Stowe had no control.
However, scholars such as Henry Louis Gates Jr. have begun to reexamine Uncle Tom's Cabin, stating that the book is a «central document in American race relations and a significant moral and political exploration of the character of those relations.»
There are many modern subjects that can be explored through literature besides these. For example, a piece of African American literature might touch on the use of the «N» word in today's popular culture.
It can be anything that either the reader or the writer deems a legitimate African American issue to be as long as there is evidence that one can make a claim for and defend successfully. Critics have argued that this genre no longer exists because American culture no longer has to deal with difficulties such as slavery or the Jim Crow laws. It is true that these things no longer exist, but racism and problems concerning race are still rampant in our society even if they now manifest themselves in slightly different ways.
African American literature includes any piece of literature that deals in particular with issues that are related to African Americans as a people. This does not mean the author needs to be black though, writers of any skin tone can fashion characters with many different perspectives and cultures. The common misconception that this genre includes many works or biography and autobiography is false. Many pieces of African American literature are fictional. Topics that are included in this genre can include slavery and the like, but they can also be more modern. African American literature is a growing category just like any other type of literature.


2.3 Comparative analysis of the novel «To Kill a Mockingbird» Harper Lee and story «Going to Meet The Man» by James Baldwin

In order to explain influence of racism on literature, we took in the capacity of analysis the American novel «To Kill a Mockingbird» Harper Lee and the story «Going to Meet The Man» by James Baldwin.

Harper Lee’s place in American letters was secured in 1960 with the publication of her Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), the story of a young girl’s encounter with fear, ignorance, and courage in a small Southern town.
After graduating from the University of Alabama in 1948 and spending a year studying law at Oxford University, Lee headed north to New York City. She took a job as n airline reservation clerk and in her spare time wrote fictitious accounts of he childhood experiences. In 1957 she submitted the manuscript to a New York publisher; one of the editors felt it had potential but was too episodic and suggested she quit her job and work full time on her book. After «a long and hopeless period of writing the book over and over again» the book was finally published.
Although some critics found the novel too melodramatic and objected to having an eight-year old narrator with a mature woman’s ability to recall the past, Lee’s first and only novel became an immediate best-seller.
The recipient of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize in fiction and the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, To Kill a Mockingbird was adapted into film, which in 1962 won two Academy Awards. Subsequently, critics reevaluated the novel’s author, this time acclaiming her as a «remarkable story-teller» who possessed «wit and compassion». By 1975 the novel had sold more than 11 million copies and had been translated into 10 languages.
The story covers a three-year period during which Scout, and eight-year old girl, and her brother, Jem, observe a trial at which their father, Atticus Finch, a town lawyer, defends Tom Robinson, a black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman Mayella Ewell. They come to admire their father for standing up to injustice and racism and to understand that to kill Tom would be a senseless as to destroy a mockingbird who, «don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy». Atticus is intent on ensuring Tom Robinson receives a fair trial and is brought to justice. When a Negro is falsely accused of rape, the townspeople judge him guilty based on his color, creating obvious problems for the defendant and his family, and the fair-minded adults and children who are disgusted by prejudice and hypocrisy: «There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads-they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.» (Lee, 1960, p. 243) Atticus addresses the jury with a passionate speech on equality as he entreats them to come up with a «not guilty» verdict: there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal-there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein and the ignorant man the equal of a college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. and in our courts all men are created equal. (Lee, 1960, pp.266–267)
Tom Robinson's lack of suspicion gets him into trouble in the first place; he willingly walks into Mayella's home thinking she needs his help. When she accosts him, he runs and is caught by Bob Ewell who claims he tried to rape his daughter, which begins the story of Tom Robinson's trial. Atticus's success in planting the seeds of doubt in the townspeople's mind about Bob Ewell's honesty causes the varmint to seek revenge, accelerating the story to its climactic moment when Bob Ewell attempts to murder the Finch children, «'. he knows in his heart that very few people in Maycomb really believe his and Mayella's yarns'» (Lee, 1960, p. 275); and so forth.
In the interest of justice, witnesses are called to testify to provide an insight into what happened between Tom and Mayella. Bob Ewell's version of the events that occurred is clearly a lie, and as a consequence he is not able to put the bad reputation he has had in the past with the townspeople behind him,
«. He knows in his heart that very few people in Maycomb really believe his and Mayella's yarns. He thought he'd be a hero but all he got for his pains was. was, okay, we'll convict this Negro but get back to your dump.» (Lee, 1960, pp.275–276);
The racial injustice fictionalized in classic «To Kill a Mockingbird» was really as usual business during the time depicted in the novel. Such injustice and even worse things, such as hangings and murder, were part of the culture of that time.
It was quite clear to the white jury that the alleged perpetrator was innocent. They convicted him because he was black, yes, but they also convicted him because they had to protect their own fragile worldview. In that worldview, white women are not attracted to black men. To accept that the woman was the aggressor was impossible, given that worldview. In the minds of the jury and most of the whites in town, the black man had to have attempted to assault the white woman because anything else was impossible.
It seems hard to believe, but they may have actually convinced themselves that the black man was guilty and the white woman was his victim. To believe otherwise would be to begin the unraveling of their culture, their society, their most cherished beliefs about themselves and the world. Rather than wait for his case to be put before the court of appeals, Tom Robinson, believing the past will not change attempts to escape prison and is shot down, «'I guess Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his own'» (Lee, 1960, p. 260);
The Negroes in the community already suffer from their past history of slavery, and as Tom's honest recollections of the events of November 21 do not result in justice, an opportunity for the Negro community to rise above their past is lost.
The court demands its witnesses to give their honest recollection of what happened on November 21 at the Ewell's shack in order that justice may be served. This goal is not achieved; Bob and Mayella Ewell lie about what they remember, and as they have lied to the sheriff, Heck Tate, his memory is biased; Tom Robinson tells what really happened but is still found guilty of a crime he did not commit.
The main character, Atticus Finch is exceptionally good at compromising. An example of this is where he comforts Scout by saying if she goes to school and gets an education then they will carry on reading together against her teachers word.
Atticus is completely anti racist. Although he dislikes the dirt of Maycomb County like the Ewell family, he accepts Negroes as an every day normal human being. During the period which the book is written around, black peoples were thought of as trash, but Atticus humiliated many white people by hiring Calpurnia to work in the house and look after Jem and Scout. Atticus has much respect from black communities by doing this, and after Tom Robinson’s court case; even thought he is found guilty; the Negro’s who attended the trial stood up as he left the shocked court room respecting him.
Atticus Finch has a great ability to cope with pressure. He does not care about other peoples’ views including his nephew Francis who calls him a «nigger Lover.» Mr Harry Johnson’s dog, Tim Johnson, had caught onto rabies. Atticus is a very astute father, after Calpurnia had rung him to tell him, he tells her to keep inside the children and ring local neighbours warning them not to venture out into the street. (p98–100) He does not enjoy grabbing the lime light and first off tells the sheriff Heck Tate, that he better shoot mad Tim Johnson. However, many would falter under pressure, and Heck was one that would. Heck has confidence in Atticus so much that he wants him to take the one shot and put the dog out of its misery. He succeeded in the task, the street came alive and Jem and Scout stood beleaguered that their father had that much personal fortitude. His children did not know that Atticus was the ‘deadest’ shot in Maycomb County until Miss Maudie informed them of this feat. Atticus had now gained much more respect, and even more respect off his own children.
The accused Tom Robinson was a Negro so many white people would be after his scalp. Atticus had Tom moved into Maycomb Jail house. One evening he took an extension lead with a light bulb on the end of it into town with him one evening. Atticus was a cool and calculated character and in this instance it is pointed out. A bunch of anti-Negro’s had gathered outside the Jail house, where Tom Robinson was being held. The gang/bunch had a joint IQ of most likely below 90, so putting them in their place was not a hard job for Atticus Finch, the local attorney. Whilst the men became agitated at Atticus’s refusal to let them have Tom, Mr Finch refused to resort to violence in this matter. Atticus, having refused to believe Heck Tate that a group would try to stir up some bother over Tom’s occupancy of the jail house, took the precaution to look after his client and as ever, take care of his own and his family’s business.
Harper Lee's psychological understanding is brilliant in this work and this book is about much more than simple racial injustice. It is about the heart of humans and our capability to build stories and myths that allow us to commit terrible crimes in the name of justice, democracy, and freedom.
The second story «Going to meet the Man», that we are going to analyze is written by James Baldwin (1924–1987) Harlem born black writer, like the novelist Ralph Ellison, went about protesting in his own way. As far as his novels are concerned, Baldwin’s way involved a preoccupation with the intertwining of sexual with racial concerns, particularly in America.