Racial Trauma in Literature Essay Example

Trauma can be passed down through generations causing  psychological health consequences and it will be shown by using imagery, symbolism , and  internal dialogue within these two literary works. Trauma in the black community has been in the world for so long and it affects how people view themselves or others based on things in the past like how black woman think they have to work like how Roselily thinks if she gets married and will have to be at home all the time and not working in a field because that was the times she was in.  Alice Walker and Zora Hurston are black female activists and they move people with their writing and creativity like how Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple  and was the first African- American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Zora helped the world with her work by raising awareness to the African life and improve the race relations  in the south due to discrimation. Racial Trauma in the black community affects black people mentally and physically and it implanted a shock in black people's minds that they will never be anything or anyone in the world because of what privilege white people say and they think they're better than us giving very much white supremacy. Racial Trauma is bad and shouldn’t happen to anyone but it does and it mostly affects  black woman like an 82 year old black widow is thrown out of her home and is getting put out on the street cause her home is valuable and its sad that this is what the world is and that this is how black people are getting treated. Its disrespectful and if were happening to a white woman these people would not be trying to her home in the first place.

The Authors Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker use internal dialogue to indicate what the character or characters  are  thinking. Like in TEWWG “when he slapped her face in the kitchen.” This quote  refers to Joe thinking  about the time he slapped Janie for the first time because his dinner wasn't properly made. And when Joe died, he had no control over Janie anymore and now she was free, “went about the house the next morning with her hair in one thick braid.” This  quote refers to Janie showing her hair and wearing how she wants cause when joe was alive he controlled her and  her hair and made her cover her hair  up. In Roselily, nobody really controlled her but she is going to get married and she is hesitating that if she do this that she won’t have control over her cause the man she’s marrying  is muslim meaning she has to convert to a different religion cause she’s christian,”his religion. His place of worship. Where she will be required to sit apart with a covered head.” This quote refers to Roselily being concerned that the groom’s faith will make her into a subservient role because in her life up to this point she has struggled with money and as a single mother, she has had her independence and she thinks that this marriage will change that. “Her fourth child she gave away to the child’s father who had some money.” This  quote refers to Roselily not having enough money nor space so she gave the child to the father because she was struggling.

The Authors Zora Hurston and Alice Walker use imagery to describe the situation/setting. Like in Roselily, when she thinks of rope and chains,”She thinks of rope,chains,handcuffs.” This  quote refers to Roselily thinking about her husband’s religion since she doesn’t know much about it and when she thinks of it she thinks of ropes and chain and being tied down and not having freedom but to give her children a better life and a better chance at respectability,she is willing to change her life. In TEWWG, when Janie was talking to Phoeby about Nanny ,”So Ah got up on de high stool lak she told me, but Phoeby, Ah done nearly languished tuh death up dere.”This quote  refers to when Janie did what Nanny wanted her to do but she suffered and felt like she didn’t belong.

The Authors Zora Hurston and Alice Walker use symbolism to represent something as an object that has a deeper meaning/importance. Like in TEWWG,when the hurricane hits,”Sometime that night the winds came back. Everything in the world had a strong rattle, sharp and short like Stew Beef.” This quotes symbolizes the hurricane as destructive fury of nature and represents how chaotic  the world can be and the hurricane makes the characters question who they are and what's their purpose in the world. “Freein’ dat mule makes uh mighty big man outa you.” This quote symbolizes that Janie sees herself within the mule because its hard working like and the mule symbolizes her relationship with Joe. In Roselily, when Walker uses Roselily’s children as flowers, “A squeeze around the flowers in her hands chokes off three and four and five breath.” This quote symbolizes her children as the flowers and Roselily envisions killing her children and Roselily is aware of herself outwardly conforming to societal expectations while inwardly revolting against them. “Like cotton to be weighted.” “Imagines cinders big as hailstones; heavy, weighting on the people.” These quotes symbolizes Roselily thinking of the weight of cotton, the weight of cinders pressing down on a person,  and the weight of the wheel of poverty she lives under. In every one of these images, the weight people carry is rooted in their race and class.

In Conclusion, Trauma can be passed down through generations causing mental and physical problems that will affect them in the long term and it was shown by using these literary devices, imagery, symbolism , and  internal dialogue within “Roselily” and “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. In TEWWG, Janie healed from her trauma by knowing her independence and her self worth.In Roselily, Roselily healed from her trauma of giving her child away by getting married because now she has someone that she can go home to and see and won't feel lonely.