FAmily:
Family has nothing to do with blood relation, but has everything to do with those you are closest to. The concept of family in the Harlem Renaissance was very interesting. They had a lot of focus on appreciating their family members whether they were blood related, through marriage, or just really close relationships. Many writers included this theme such as Langston Hughes, and Alice Walker in two separate literatures.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” he focused on appreciating what the generation of family did before the present one to open up more opportunities and enhance living conditions. It says, “Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” The mother is telling her boy that she worked very hard to be where her family is today and goes on to explain how her mother and father before her also worked very hard to get where they were for their family. It puts emphasis on the importance of appreciation and hard work.
In The Color Purple, Alice Walker really hits hard how family has nothing to do with who you are related to by blood or relation, but simply by who you truly care for and stay close to. An example of that would be two of the main characters Celie and Shug. They are not related at all by relation or blood, but easily are seen as very close friends and treat each other like family.
What was also interesting when studying family in this novel is that the characters enjoyed working together if it made their loved ones happy.
Celie was married to Mr.___ who didn’t treat her well at all and who truly loved Shug, but because Mr.___ loved Shug and Celie had a bond with Mr.___, Celie cared for Shug when she was very ill and became close with her throughout the novel. Another example of this sort of teamwork would’ve been between Sophia, Harpo, and Squeak. Sophia was married to Harpo, but when Sophia left him he found another girlfriend with the nickname of Squeak. When Sophia was put in jail, Squeak attempted to get her out even though they were both fighting for the attention and love of Harpo. Squeak knew that Harpo loved Sophia and therefore she knew it would make him happy if she was out of jail. The complexity of these characters and their love triangles baffled me at first, but not I think it is such a great thing that they care enough about each other to put their own wants aside and help the other to be happy.
In Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use,” there is a very odd family situation. The model daughter, Dee, does not hold the family’s history close to her heart even though she is very successful and outgoing. The other daughter, Maggie, is not as outgoing or successful but truly cares about her heritage and her mom. The mom in this story is a huge advocate for appreciating where you come from and respecting your heritage. Even though Maggie might not be as successful in the normal world, she still has a closer relationship with her mom that her sister because she appreciates her heritage.
The main points of the theme of family are that you need to appreciate them, whoever they may be, and that family relation has nothing to do with how close you are or how you should treat one another. The author’s did a great job of portraying that.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” he focused on appreciating what the generation of family did before the present one to open up more opportunities and enhance living conditions. It says, “Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” The mother is telling her boy that she worked very hard to be where her family is today and goes on to explain how her mother and father before her also worked very hard to get where they were for their family. It puts emphasis on the importance of appreciation and hard work.
In The Color Purple, Alice Walker really hits hard how family has nothing to do with who you are related to by blood or relation, but simply by who you truly care for and stay close to. An example of that would be two of the main characters Celie and Shug. They are not related at all by relation or blood, but easily are seen as very close friends and treat each other like family.
What was also interesting when studying family in this novel is that the characters enjoyed working together if it made their loved ones happy.
Celie was married to Mr.___ who didn’t treat her well at all and who truly loved Shug, but because Mr.___ loved Shug and Celie had a bond with Mr.___, Celie cared for Shug when she was very ill and became close with her throughout the novel. Another example of this sort of teamwork would’ve been between Sophia, Harpo, and Squeak. Sophia was married to Harpo, but when Sophia left him he found another girlfriend with the nickname of Squeak. When Sophia was put in jail, Squeak attempted to get her out even though they were both fighting for the attention and love of Harpo. Squeak knew that Harpo loved Sophia and therefore she knew it would make him happy if she was out of jail. The complexity of these characters and their love triangles baffled me at first, but not I think it is such a great thing that they care enough about each other to put their own wants aside and help the other to be happy.
In Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use,” there is a very odd family situation. The model daughter, Dee, does not hold the family’s history close to her heart even though she is very successful and outgoing. The other daughter, Maggie, is not as outgoing or successful but truly cares about her heritage and her mom. The mom in this story is a huge advocate for appreciating where you come from and respecting your heritage. Even though Maggie might not be as successful in the normal world, she still has a closer relationship with her mom that her sister because she appreciates her heritage.
The main points of the theme of family are that you need to appreciate them, whoever they may be, and that family relation has nothing to do with how close you are or how you should treat one another. The author’s did a great job of portraying that.