“In her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Ms. Jacobs works to articulate to us the horrors of slavery. In my play, I work to articulate the psychological conundrum of trying to put words to that which is unspeakable.” In the final paragraph of “A Quick Note from the Playwright” from the…
Author: creelcashin
The Sense of Humanity
In the fifth chapter of Ntozake Shange’s Sassafrass Cypress & Indigo, Shange presents two senses of womanhood: “tired and stingy” as a singular organ for sex or childbirth and “rich and sensuous” through the craft of weaving. The disparity between these two senses in the way Shange presents them articulates “the necessity of [Sassafrass’] skill…
Who Can Taste the Jungle
The poem “Jungle Taste” in FIRE!! written by Edward Silvera consists of two stanzas parallel in rhythmic construction calling attention to the minor differences between the two and the similarities throughout upon comparison. The topic of the first centers around black men and their songs of coarseness, weirdness, and strangeness, whereas the second comments of…
The Language of Ingratiation
In the title of Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she uses the term incidents which describes her own flee from adversity coupled with scattered accounts of generalized slave experiences of a similar flight that are unbound by a singular event but rather a lifetime of incidents in which an opportunity…
Blackness: A Social Rank
In the last paragraph on page 186 of Derek Bell’s short story “Space Traders,” the true intrinsic incentive of the Jews in aiding African Americans in the prevention of Trade is revealed despite their seemingly well intentioned efforts based on a mutual front to end racial purging. Both racial groups have notably experienced severe oppression,…
An Easy Excuse
In the beginning of The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois’ use of a literary device makes clear the struggle faced by African Americans trying to integrate into the “American” society post Emancipation. Du Bois first presents the idea of “double-consciousness” as both a strength, a “gift of second sight,” and a weakness. “The sense…
The Emotion Behind a Juxtaposition of Pronouns
In the final paragraph of Chapter 7, Henry Box Brown describes his experience watching his wife and son stumble towards North Carolina where they were sold. Henry first recounts the witness of his eldest son. From a modern perspective, their is a dissonance to his account made clear in the line, “Thus passed my child…
A Contrast & Reminder
“What happened at the New Orleans?” This question begins Beyonce’s “Formation” music video. The video then flashes to a scene with Beyonce standing atop a New Orleans Police car in the middle of a flooded town. There is a stark contrast between the drowning city and Beyonce who is dry and dressed presentably. This is…
Black Matter 