Homosexuality

The whole idea of homosexuality is something that stands out to me. By reading the books and stories we have read this semester, the conflicts, characters, the dilemmas, thematic ideas, and the messages from the authors were revealing.

The thematic issues and ideas that were constantly present in Black Like Us and Giovanni’s Room was the issue of belonging, the need to “fit in” or conform. This really stood out to me because fitting in is something we all want to do. We don’t want others to judge us or make fun of us so we kowtow with what others are doing. If we are different we don’t want others to know for fear of rejection. This theme was present in the anthology Black Like Us but one story in particular was “Blessed Assurance.” John wants his son Delly to start acting like a man just like every manly man do. He prefers his to be normal. John wants his son to fit in and be like every man out there.

The messages that the authors sent out to us were very significant. James Baldwin, the author of Giovanni’s Room gave us an important point in his novel, to love and accept ourselves for who we are because it could cause conflicts with ourselves and others as well. For example a writer named David falls in loves with a barman named Giovanni but doesn’t want to accept it or in fact believe it. He struggles with his feelings for Giovanni and Hella, whom David believes he loves. The fact of the matter is that this message be sent to everyone no matter what race, age, or gender, just love yourself and accept who you are because that’s what will truly make you happy in life.

I personally thought that everything in this course stood out to me as a reader. I have never such provocative and detailed stories that have caused controversy. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to read such great books and stories because it opened my mind to new ideas and ways of thinking.

Maggie

In the book Big Mama Stories by Shay Youngblood we read a short narrative called “Maggie Agatha Christmas St. Clair.” In this story we read about the narrator’s awareness of those they call flim-flammers, who they are and what they do, but also about a strange woman named Maggie, who lives with Big Mama and the narrator for a while. The narrator learns about Maggie’s life, who she is, and what she has been through. Although the time/era of this story is not exactly specified we know that at the beginning the story takes place at Kin Folks Corner, a row of shops in the black part of downtown from where the narrator lives, and soon after transitions back to the narrator’s house. The main conflict that is presented in this story is that of an external conflict between people such as the flim-flammers and the people they steal from like Otis and many others. Besides this type of conflict you can also say that another would be an inner conflict, which involves Maggie and the struggles with her lifestyle. She is who she is, what she had done in the past will always follow and haunt her for the rest of her life.

As the story starts to unfold the narrator becomes close with Maggie just like sisters. Through a conversation that the narrator has with Maggie we discover that the narrator’s mom is up North and has been a while since she’s seen her. I believe there are two main characters in this story, the narrator and Maggie Agatha Christmas St. Clair. Maggie is woman who Big Mama brings home one day after she tried to beat Big Mama out of her money. We find out that Maggie was an orphan child who was abandoned on a Christmas morning and soon became a prostitute, later a flim-flammer. She had two babies and were somewhere out there in the world. The antagonist is the flim-flam person(s). These people would rob someone without having to use a gun and were only motivated by greed and had no scruples. At the beginning of the story we read about Mr. Rogers, who according to the narrator was “a big plum-black, bald headed man with a gold tooth that had a real diamond stuck in it” and happened to be sitting next to her and warns her about the flim-flammer(s). Next we read about Otis, a good hearted man, who was coned out of his money by two flim-flammers. At the end of the story we read a little about Deacon Perry, the youngest deacon at the church where the narrator, Big Mama, and Maggie attended. He was a thirty year old man who looked like a boy and still lived with his mom. As the narrative comes to an end we read that Maggie runs off with him but a few weeks later Deacon Perry comes back broke and without any signs of Maggie.

Two growing up themes/issues were presented in this story. The first theme is experiencing the loss of innocence or childlike perspectives and this is clearly manifested in the narrator as she learns about the flim-flammers and realizes there are cruel and malicious people who would do anything to get money. She also experiences this through learning about Maggie’s personal life and what she had been through. The second theme presented ties in with the first theme, experiencing life-changing turning points, and this occurs the moment the narrator meets Maggie because meeting her is something that changed her life. She is someone who taught the narrator secret things, girl things, in a sense she became her older sister and someone she will never forget and will surely miss.

The lessons that the narrator learns are many. First, to be very careful of those they call flim-flammers because they are full of greed and malice. They would do anything to take or ploy you out of your money. Through Maggie’s experience she learns that people can make mistakes and it is from those errors that one gains knowledge and grows in life to become a better person. Most importantly the narrator’s major lesson learned was that one is capable of change and sometimes all one can do is try and fix the mistakes one has made, just like Maggie realized her life wasn’t going in the right direction and decides to fix her mistakes in life by looking for her babies and give them the love she never had from her own mother. There is always a first step in doing what’s right and Maggie took that step in her life to make it better.

Independent Woman

In reading this story "Indepemdent Woman," one of the short stories from The Big Mama Stories by Shay Youngblood I learned that independence is an important value. These black women in the story set a perfect example to the narrator and to the readers as well. I learned that one has to look out for oneself. We can't always depend on others especially on a man. My mom always taught me to be strong and independent and to lookout for myself. She encourages me to do well so I can succeed in life and never have to depend on anyone just like Aunt Mae told the narrtor. I have to be self suffiecient or else who am I going to rely on in life.

The Ant Story

Talk That Talk is an anthology of African American Storytelling written by several authors. In this anthology, we come across a short story called “The Ant Story” written by Constance Garcia-Barrio. The main character, Ant, finds a huge piece of crumb and decides to take it back to the anthill for the others to eat as well, but he realizes that it will be a tough task to accomplish. Ant faces his biggest opposing character yet, himself. He believes he doesn’t have the strength to drag the huge crumb alone, therefore asks for help, but neither the bee nor the beetle were able to help him. Then he runs into a spider, who had been watching the whole time, and offers to help. She says “I’m going to wrap this crumb up and take it home to my children.” Angry, the ant grabs the crumb and starts pushing and pulling and before he knows it he’s reached the anthill.

As I read this story, three values came to mind: challenge, hard work, and determination. The challenge was the ant’s struggle to reach the anthill. It was an act or statement of defiance, a call to confrontation. He was confronted with this dilemma of trying to drag the large crumb to the anthill. Ant was challenged by the spider who told him she would take the crumb so the ant with all his might went for home. Ant put hard work and determination into reaching for the anthill. He didn’t want the spider to take his crumb so he was determined to get home no matter what and he did it, he reached the anthill. We can say that the values of hard work and determination come hand in hand. It is universally agreed that hard work and determination are two key components to success in life and work. Without them we can’t succeed.

When I come across a difficult situation I often find myself whining and moaning saying to myself that I can’t, just hoping to catch a break, when in reality I know I have what it takes to overcome any tough situation presented in my life and continue with my task at hand. Sometimes all I need is that little extra push to accomplish whatever it is that I want in life. Sometimes life gives us hard lessons which give us the chance to grow as a person and learn from these experiences. In reading this story, I learned that we shouldn’t underestimate ourselves, no matter how small or weak one can be, everyone can accomplish their goals in life even with the huge obstacles ahead. Like the spider tells the ant at the end “You can do a lot more than you think you can.” Each and everyone one of us can push and pull that crumb with hard work and determination to the anthill.