Oppressors In America Research Paper

From that day in 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia when the first African slaves were brought to aid in crop production there has been a driving force that has always had a hand in making America the place that it is today. When those first slaves were brought here there wasn’t rally a plan or model for slavery they were treated as indentured servants, the only difference was they weren’t citizens and not subject to the rules they followed. The profitability of the farming industry in the colonies and the loss of workers as the indentured servants worked off their debts, in 1641 blacks became personal property of the people who had originally bartered for them.

"I wouldn't let him see me cry, I was so enraged. He used a foot ruler, and when I jerked my smarting palms back, he made me hold them out again. He looked at my dry eyes in a kind of fury, as though he'd failed unless he drew water from them." (Page 9) Hagar's father straps her hands with a ruler but even as a child, she will not let her tears be seen, she will not let him see that he is hurting her. Even when her brother Dan is near death, she will not comfort him, for it requires that she act as their mother, which to her is despicable. "But all I could think of was that meek woman I'd never seen, the woman Dan was said to resemble so much an from whom he'd inherited a frailty I could not help but detest, however much a part of me wanted to sympathize." Hagar cannot bear the thought of pretending to be someone as feeble and weak as their mother. Throughout her marriage, Hagar never lets Bram know that she enjoyed their lovemaking. "He never knew. I never let him know, it was all inner. (Page 81) When Hagar's husband Bram dies she does not shed a tear, not even when there is only her son to witness it. "But when we'd buried Bram and come home again and lighted lamps for the evening, it was John who cried, not I." (Page 184) Still, when her son John dies she does not weep, as if she had been born without tear ducts. "The night my son died I was

This repetition confirms that when she has an idea, she fixates on it until she sees it through. Surely enough, Hagar does not take a moment’s breath until she has finished fixing the problem of her looks to make Milkman love her appearence. Hagar’s obsessiveness surpasses physical action; Her mind always thinks in regards to Milkman. As she “gazes hungrily” at Ruth, Hagar jealously broods over all of the things Milkman’s family got to do that she could not, including “[stick their] fingers in his mouth to soothe his gums”, “[catch] his vomit in a fresh white diaper”, and “could walk freely into his room if she wanted to and smell his clothes” (137). These detailed desires display Hagar’s obsession.

Black Christianity in the South came into being "not only because of white missionaries and pastors but also in what historians have called the

The distinction between White and Black Theology also exists because White Theology first used religion to oppress African Americans. “In the lynching era, between 1880 to 1940, white Christians lynched nearly five thousand black men and women in a manner with obvious echoes of the Roman crucifixion of Jesus. Yet these ‘Christians’ did not see the irony or contradiction in their actions.” Just as the Europeans sought out the New World for religious freedom, so also did the African slaves. The journey to freedom was long and devastating. Greedy slave owners justified their sin by claiming the kidnapping and forced slavery of Africans was “God’s good reason for slavery,” and it was the white man’s duty to convert them and save their souls. But the question is, convert them to what- a white man? This, Du Bois claims is impossible. “How the fine sweet spirit of

It’s not even day back in Hagar times that a slave decided to liberate herself from her family. Hagar was just an inmost virgin slave that was oppressed by her owner Sarai. The owner used Hagar for her benefits but did not think about the repercussions. If a woman was unable to provide children for her husband, she was seen as worthless. Therefore, since Sarai had fertility problems she decided to give her slave to her

oppressors because even the historic Black church has been controlled by White theology and the

The Clinton Administration era was not a good time for non-white men. Oppression was a daily struggle for many minority groups and they had to overcome adversity during the Clinton Administration. Groups like women, immigrants and the LGBT community were under attack and faced oppression during this time. Women’s reproductive rights were one of the main areas of attack.

How do the two Hagars resemble each other? Both women hold relatively similar social positions. The Biblical Hagar is an Egyptian bondwoman bought as a servant for Sarah, Abram's wife. Hagar, by law, is bound to Sarah. Her freedom and spirit are restricted, or dictated, by Abram and Sarah. This ownership extends as far as Abram having possession of Hagar's body. When Sarah does not or cannot give Abram a child, Hagar is expected to do so. Dutifully, she bears him a son named Ishmael.

She expresses herself in ways that are more destructive. Violence is the outlet Hagar sees in expressing herself. Her “graveyard love” for Milkman initially mutes her voice (148). His goodbye letter “sent Hagar spinning into a bright blue place where the air was thin and it was silent all the time, and where people spoke in whispers or did not make sounds at all, and where everything was frozen except for an occasional burst of fire inside her chest” (116). Hagar is hardly aware of her own emotions and finds it impossible for her to tell Milkman how she feels because she has no identity. Instead, Hagar turns to physical violence. She was a “doormat wom[a]n” that “wanted to kill for love, die for love” (336). When she tries to kill Milkman, she finds herself “paralyzed” by her obsessive love for him (150). Like Ryna, her love left her. When Milkman left and “dreamt of flying, Hagar was dying” (363). Hagar’s extreme obsession ultimately turns self-destructive and assists to the cause of her death. She spends her last hours in a frantic search for clothes and cosmetics that will make Milkman love her again. She dies convinced that “he loves silky hair . . . penny-colored hair . . . and lemon-colored skin . . . and gray-blue eyes” unlike her own (346). To Hagar, her African-American race and body are worthless if they do not attract Milkman; she was trying to create “this ideal of beauty” that she could never have (Pereira). Hagar’s dependence on Milkman and

History often repeats itself. Is this because Humans are creatures of habit or because of something else? Often times, the things people do, often repeat every year. Sometimes you may go to the movie theater on the same day for two, maybe three, years in a row, and sometimes more. This is also the case with all of our holidays as well; Christmas and Thanksgiving, as well as Independence Day, are all on the same day every year. This is all evident when discussing oppression in the United States against groups of people with certain beliefs and different cultures such as; the Native Americans, African American Slaves/Segregation, and LGBTQ rights supporters. Oppression against people and groups including; the Native Americans, African Americans, and LGBTQ supporters, has been justified in the United States through dehumanization and religion.

In this course we learned about many different types of oppression, from the time America was first “discovered” and the discoverers began oppressing the Indians, to slavery, to the oppression of the mentally handicapped, all the way to more “modern” times in schools were students are being oppressed.

What is Lewis Carroll’s parody poem saying about the didactic original of the poem “The Old Man’s Comforts and How He Gained Them”? Lewis is showing how old father William is doing tasks that will help in later in life so he isn’t just old and weak. Southey’s father William on the other hand is only trying to enjoy his life as he will die eventually. It shows how Carroll wants better advice to be said and for the poem to be more enjoyable.

Long before their contact with whites, Africans were a strongly religious, and deeply spiritual people. During the early history of slavery, the African American spirituality was often seen by whites as a pagan faith. These rituals and dogmas were seen by whites as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and superstitions. They often commented on these "pagan practices," and fetishes, and were threatened by them. As a result, great effort was put on eradicating these practices, and many were lost within a generation.# Although tremendous efforts was placed on eradicating the “superstitious” religious beliefs of the African slaves, they were not immediately introduced to the religion of white slave masters, Christianity. Many planters resisted the idea of converting slaves to Christianity out of a fear that baptism would change a slave's legal status. The black population was generally untouched by Christianity until the religious revivals of the 1730s and 1740s. The Bible was manipulated to support the institution of slavery and its inhumane practices. Christianity was used to suppress and conform slaves. Slaveholders, priests, and those tied to the Church undermined the beliefs of the millions of African-Americans converts.# White Christianity was used to justify the enslavement of blacks. By the early nineteenth century, slaveholders had adopted the view that Christianity would make slaves more submissive and orderly.

Death, death is a concept that many to all people can't accept. The idea of you going to sleep and never waking up again is a dark thought, but in the short story 2br02b by Kurt Vonnegut it's normal routine that is important in order to make new life. The story follows a family of a husband and a wife trying to give birth to triplets. But in order to maintain a steady population 3 people must die in order to bring 3 new people to life. But a common theme in this story is “death is needed in order for life to prosper”.