Discussion Post 1: Morrison & Literary Analysis

In ​Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination,​ Toni Morrison takes time to
analyze the construction of race and its influence on the real American Identity presented in
American literature. To briefly summarize, Morrison claims that without the Africanist presence,
there would be no American Identity. For example, Morrison writes, "Africanism is the vehicle
by which the American self knows itself as not enslaved, but free; not repulsive, but desirable;
not helpless, but licensed and powerful; not history-less, but historical; not damned, but innocent;
not a blind accident of evolution, but a progressive fulfillment of destiny" (52). This statement
ultimately examines the concept that the white male American Identity was only formed from
African peoples' suffrage. Morrison's examination of this concept follows through as she
provides an analysis of how black characters were represented in American literature. One way
black characters were portrayed in the text was by being 'the low standard' that white people
were not supposed to succumb to. Another way they were represented was by their speech. Black
characters were categorized into either passive grumblers or active apologists (Morrison 79).
This means that their representation in literature would either fuel conflict or character motives
whether they were looked upon as a 'lazy troublemaker' or 'good submissive apologist'. Finally,
when Toni Morrison says, "Africanist presence" she means to make this phrase a literary tool of
sorts, utilized in American literature. Most likely similar to something like a plot device.

August 28: A Day In The Life Of A People​ was a film that discussed a variety of events and
cultural movements, all taking place on that date, that changed African American history in
America (NMAAHC). Within this film, many works of poetry and one essay's work were
included to provide insight and shape each distinct event. While each piece of literature was its
own, there was also a common thread between each work. I believe that the authors use elements
of nature like animals and landscapes to emphasize black humanism and human spirit for a group
of people that have been consistently put beneath others.

"Bury Me in a Free Land" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is a poem where the author explains
her desire after death, to be buried in freedom and "not in a land of slaves" (Harper, line 32).
Harper's first stanza reads "make me a grave where’er you will / In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill; /
Make it among earth's humblest graves, / But not in a land where men are slaves", expressing
how the plains and hills are favorable landscapes to eternally rest (Harper, lines 1-4). To
emphasize her desire, she begins to list unrestful places for her grave that have been influenced
by the practice of slavery. In this contrast, she uses animals like doves and bloodhounds to depict
the dehumanizing hardships of the slaves since they were taken from their "parent nest" or
hunted like "human prey" (Harper, lines 16-18). By showing such negative uses of nature,
Harper shows the emphasis of black humanism with a desire to be buried in peaceful greenery.
"If We Must Die" by Claude McKay is a poem that inspires oppressed black people's resistance
to their oppressors. In his poem, McKay uses the natural elements of animals to rouse fellow
black people in a fight towards justice. In the first stanza, he says, "If we must die, let it not be
like hogs / Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot," which insinuates that if black people were
to remain idle in their oppression, they would be dehumanized to the likeliness of a hog and their
death would be meaningless (McKay, lines 1-2). By comparing the black community to hogs,
Mckay utilizes a call-to-action for black people to take a stand towards justice and assert their
black humanism.

"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes is a poem that shows the black presence
throughout history. In this poem, landscapes and rivers are utilized to sculpt to black presence
throughout humanity's history. In stanza three, for example, Hughes mentions hut building "near
the Congo" and pyramid building "upon the Nile" (Hughes, lines 5-6). These instances depict
humanity and technology's evolution, which ultimately attributes back to people of color, thereby
showing their true humanistic spirit.

"On the Pulse of Morning" by Maya Angelou is a poem about togetherness, courage, and bravery
despite the struggles all groups of people have faced. She shows these themes by personifying a
rock, river, and tree, which double as elements found in nature. While Angelou doesn't
necessarily focus exclusively on black people, this poem is technically made for all and therefore
allotting for a black perspective just as it could any other race. Therefore, when Angelou writes,
"The Rock cries out to us today, / You may stand upon me, / But do not hide your face", this can
be examined as black people, no longer hiding but standing their ground (Angelou, lines 21-23).
This displays them standing up for themselves and demanding their black humanism spirit.

In Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" she shows her confidence as a
black woman and explains how "a little pigmentation" would not make her "weep at the world"
(902). While her proud stance of her race continued through the text, there was also a point
where she showed insecurity by saying, "I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp
white background (903). She furthered this analysis by writing, "Among the thousand white
persons, I am a dark rock surged upon, overswept by a creamy sea. I am surged upon and
overswept, but through it all, I remain myself. When covered by the waters, I am; and the ebb but
reveals me again" (903). In this analysis, Hurston compares herself to a rock and white people to
a sea, using nature to broadcast her black humanism. That despite getting overswept, surged on,
and overwhelmed by others, she still makes it a point to be strong and proud.
 Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. “On the Pulse of Morning.” ​Poetry Foundation​,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48990/on-the-pulse-of-morning​.
Harper, ​Frances Ellen Watkins​. “Bury Me in a Free Land.” ​poets.org​,
https://poets.org/poem/bury-me-free-land​.
Hughes, Langston. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” ​Poetry Foundation​,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44428/the-negro-speaks-of-rivers​.
Hurston, Zora Neale. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.”
http://harrellrmul20.weebly.com/uploads/5/9/3/6/59362229/how_it_feels_to_be_colored_
me.pdf​.
McKay, Claude. “If We Must Die.” ​Poetry Foundation,​
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/if-we-must-die​.
Morrison, Toni. ​Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination​. Vintage Books,
1992.
NMAAHC. “August 28: A Day In The Life Of A People.” ​Youtube.com​, 27 Aug. 2020,
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4evbidNOL6M&feature=youtu.be​.