2014 Group 88

The first picture at the start of paragraph is "Harriet Tubman - No. 10." This is the image we looked at in class. Click on it to see it larger

In the picture it looks Harriet Tubman on a slave farm. She is trying to run away by cutting her chains off her leg. Then she can be free finally. - Gene

This picture is kind of hard to interpret. What I can see is the it looks as if someone is chained to a rock or something. This may represent the fact that the African-Americans felt abused and chained to how bad people treated them and no matter how hard they tried they couldn't get away from it.

"Harriet Tubman - No. 10" Seems to depict a man in chains, buried or trapped underground. Above him are stars and what appears to be a snake, which he reaches for. This painting might be about a man or culture trying to break free of his/their chains and reach the stars where he/they believed they would shine. In Jacob Lawrence's own words, "If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous struggle to lift his social position and to add dimension to his spiritual being." -Molly J

This picture by Jacob Lawrence called "Hariet Tubman - No. 10." Jacob's painting is dark and misterious in a way. He wanted to tell us what these people had to go through when wanting to find freedom. The painting uses dark edges and dull darker shades of colors. Jacob td us that we should stand up for these people.

I think this picture is about a black woman tring to escape the south to be free in the North. I see this because the black woman has changs on his arms. Also the black woman is looking for the North Star. he back woman in the painting is a spy in the civil war.

In this picture it looks like Harriet Tubman is escaping from slavery at night and she is running away even with chains attached to her.

In the painting it looks like there is a man holding something and trying to get away from being a slave.

In this picture there is a dark figure. The figure looks like he is imprisoned and can't escape from where he is being held. He has chains on one of his arms and is reaching up for something. I think the man is reaching for the stars, specifically the North Star.

This painting looks like a bunch of slaves in chains who have just been dropped off in america to become slaves and they are looking at the sun shining down on them. I think he painted this painting to show that there is still hope to escape the cuffs of slavery and abolish the cruel things that are being done to all black people everywhere. -Spencer

This piece is meant to show that there is still when all is down. The north star was the african americans sign of hope and it helped them get through hard times.

When I look at this picture I see slave's arms chained together. The slaves are on the waterfront coming out of a jungle or forest. There are two slaves looking up to the sky at a star that is shining very bright. One of the slaves is on his/her knees and seems to be begging to the star.

One Friday Morning by Langston Hughes is very similar to How it Feels to be Coldered Me by Zora Neale Houston because the main characters feel discriminated at first, but realized that they shouldnt worry about it. Zora says, "Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. ". She doesnt feel the need to get mad over what other people think. Nancy Lee in One Friday Morning is upset at first but realizes she doesnt need to be. "​One hand went to the heart, the other outstretched toward the flag. Three thousand voices spoke. Among them was the voice of a dark girl whose cheeks were suddenly wet with tears, "...one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." "That is the land we must make," she thought." She knows that she can make a change and diesnt need to worry about what other people think. They csn both change lives and be themselves.

"How It Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston is about Hurston's experience with being African American and how it can affect your life. Hurston writes; "At certain times I have no race, I am me." She knows that when people treat her like any other person, black or white, they are looking at her as a person. They are not judging her appearance, they are looking at her personality. A similar concept is written in "One Friday Morning" by Langston Hughes, Hughes creates a character that is nearly perfect as well as African American. The main character, Nancy Lee, is almost never judged by the pigment of her skin because she is a kind, caring and hard working person.

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech "I Have A Dream", he describes a dream that even today is inspiring. He describes a dream where his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." The description of his dream, of people living in equality reminds me much of the dream that Mrs. O'Shay describes in "One Friday Morning", a dream of a world where students receive awards and scholarships no matter the color of their skin. As Mrs. O'Shay says, "We still have in this world of ours democracy to make. You and I, Nancy Lee. But the premise and the base are here, the lines of the Declaration of Independence and the words of Lincoln are here, and the stars in our flag."

Zora Neale Hurston wrote a short story called "How It Feels to Be Me" where she talked about some of the experiences she had during her life in Eatonville, Florida. In the book she talks about how Eatonville is an all African American town and how most people would be afraid of the white people from the north. Her is how Zora thought of them, "They liked to hear me "speak pieces" and sing and wanted to see me dance the parse-me-la, and gave me generously of their small silver for doing these things, which seemed strange to me for I wanted to do them so much that I needed bribing to stop, only they didn't know it." As she said in the quote the northerners wanted to hear and see Zora do all these wonderful things for them. She was not judged on the color of her skin but by the wonderful skills she possessed. In "One Friday Morning" by Langston Hughes he displays Nancy Lee as not a colored person but rather like the same as Zora. Langston did this with just a little twist of the book by Zora though. He showed this by making her classmates like Nancy Lee for her artwork and personality. here is an example of what Hughes wrote, "Nancy Lee Johnson was a colored girl, a few years out of the South. But seldom did her high-school classmates think of her as colored. She was smart, pretty and brown, and fitted in well with the life of the school." As you can see, Langston chose that Nancy fit because of her nice personality and talents.

The essay one Friday morning shows a great resemblance to Claude McKay's poem America. They both portray America in the sense that it does not like them very much but all the whole they love it. They love how the hate field them and in his own words challenges his youth, it makes them stronger and more resilient to stand up to the hate. They feel like they may be different now but eventually they will rise up and become one with them. Nancy Lee feels the same way, she may have just gotten an award taken from her for the color of her skin but she knows that they think she is good, they may not react to it but some people respect her and that's all it takes, what she wants to do is use the hate as fuel to someday in the future make a life for the African american citizens of america.

The poem "Dreams" By Langston Hughes is about living without dreams. It says that "For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/ That cannot fly." This seems to say that if your dreams do not turn out the way you wanted, or are unable to be completed, then you miss out on the best part of life. "For when dreams go/ Life is a barren field/ Frozen with snow." This seems to say that without dreams, life is uneventful and boring, not really worth living. Without hopes for the future, you won't experience life as it's meant to be. -Molly J and Kayla M.

"Dreams" By Langston Hughes is about failing to accomplish your dreams and living the rest of your life with regret.

The poem "Dreams",and the poem "As I Grew Older" By Langston Hughes Both have a motive of hope and not losing something you dream of. They also both talk about being separated from their dreams. In "As I Grew Older" their is a wall. I believe the sun represents his dream and the wall is him being African American and not being able to follow his dreams and be a free citizen. In "dreams" He is warning people who are going through tough times that they always has to stick to what he believe in.

"Dreams" by Langston Hughes compared to "As I Grew Older" was like past and present. First, in dreams, he speaks of having dreams escape from you, but then he warns you of other people taking your dreams away from you. As I grew older was first so his ideas changed, but the topic was still the same. He says that you have to stick to what you believe in, and in As I Grew Older, he says you have to fight for what you believe in or else you might not get your dreams.

The poem "Democracy" by Langston Hughes has a negative view towards America because Hughes talkes about how he is all alone in America. He talks about that he has himself to depend on and no one else. "Acceptance" by Hughes is positive towards America because he talks about how God made each of us wise. He says in some words that America is what you make it.