Monday, November 21, 2016

A Beloved Citizen

Beloved by Toni Morrison is a piece of literature that is written very poetically, and I think there are some parallels between Beloved and Citizen by Claudia Rankine. Citizen is more strictly poetry, but the there are similar themes and literary techniques in both the works of literature.

 For example, in
Beloved, when Sethe and Paul D are sharing their stories of their abuse at Sweet Home, Sethe says "Feel how it feels to have a bed to sleep in and somebody there not worrying you to death about what you got to do each day to deserve it. Feel how that feels. And if that don't get it, feel how it feels to be a coloredwoman roaming the roads with anything God made liable to jump on you. Feel that" (80). The repetition of the phrase "feel how that feels," with some variation, evokes Claudia Rankine's writing style. Specifically, the Hurricane Katrina passage in which Claudia Rankine repeats the phrase "Have you seen their faces?" (83). In both sections of text, the repeated phrase short and powerful, and to me, the phrases appear to be aimed directly at the reader. Also, I believe that both the phrase "feel that" and the question "Have you seen their faces?" demand that the reader search for a better understanding of the context of the excerpts, which is slavery and Hurricane Katrina respectively. In general, the poetic nature of Beloved makes it easy to compare it to Citizen, especially given the fact that both works of literature explore the experience of black people in America, at vastly different points in time. 

2 comments:

  1. I hadn't thought of that connection, that's really interesting! Those phrases do seem to be aimed at the reader. I wonder why Morison and Rankine decided to do that; if it was a call to knowledge or action.

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  2. Interesting how you connected Citizen to Beloved. I agree these phrases are similar in intent only I feel the phrase from Beloved is much more powerful because it's about Sethe's personal experience.

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