Compare Champion of the World (Angelou) and Fish Cheeks (Tan) Essay

Compare Champion of the World (Angelou) and Fish Cheeks (Tan) - Essay Example Maya Angelou has the historical issue of racism before her that baffles satisfactory solution and she articulates discrimination suffered by the African Americans and as such she uses narration to depict her sense of isolation from the dominant culture. Amy Tan employs the method of description to highlight the issue of generation gap and the discrimination which relates to the fascination of the young and not to the ground realities related to the Chinese versus American cultures. Both the authors articulate the issues about those who feel like aliens in principally white America. Angelou encounters and holds her differences as a child. Tan is chagrined of her culture until later in life when realization dawns on her that her exclusivity is an issue for celebration. It is not to be pitied or condemned. Angelou’s skin color made her dissimilar from the rest of the principal culture. As a young African American girl living in pre-civil rights era, Angelou dealt with discrimination without intermission and it was part of everyday lives of the black people. Rape, abuse and lynching took place in the ordinary course and yet they were full of pride for their culture. Some of them were outstanding like Joe Louis, a black boxer, who challenged a white man in a heavyweight boxing competition of the world. The contest was watched by one and all of the Black Americans. Maya Angelou describes the bout-eve scenario thus: â€Å"The last inch of space was filled, ye t people continued to wedge themselves along the walls of the store† (p.112). This indicates that the Black Americans, who were isolated from the mainstream society, were thrilled to find their man getting space and recognition and he was being watched on the television by millions. Their isolated spirit was beginning to get recognition by the society. When he wins the contest, the reaction of Angelou is obvious. She is inflated with pride and her original conviction about the greatness of the

China - Literature Development, Confucianism and Revolutions Essay

China - Literature Development, Confucianism and Revolutions - Essay Example Additionally, the essay discusses the philosophy of Confucius herein referred as Confucianism and how it has influenced the lives of the people of China in reality to date. Finally, the paper provides an in-depth analysis of the 1911 – 1949 revolution as the revolution with the greatest impact on China socially, economically and politically. A brief summary conclusion shall be provided that summarizes the thoughts in this essay. Redness or red as it were was a term used to refer to certain attitudes that were political and ideological. They were prescribed by the doctrine of Maoist. The expert on the other hand usually juxtaposed with the reds was used to denote special skills or knowledge in science or technology. As such tension existed between the two groups in the twentieth century in China with the two terms used in juxtaposition to one another (Schoppa, pg.112). Therefore redness had to do with the political and ideological attitudes while experts were intellectuals in this period. As such during the twentieth century, the two sides conflicted with beliefs that the two were mutually exclusive and could not be combined. Strauss, (578 -580) explains: As the two sides differed in ideologies it became difficult for them to strike a balance between the two in China. Chinese literature was indeed very crucial for nation building having a very resilient traditional cultural legacy. Thus it defined Chinese nationalism. Therefore striking a balance between reds and experts became one great challenge for this nation. The nation then took to carry out education reforms from the 1950s onwards and Chinese literature entangled with the nation building. As such the nation’s culture was defined by its literature. In the wake of a movement called the new culture, Kaozheng (reds) method came to be first provided. This was in 1917. Through this, a novel was written in vernacular focusing on canonizing the literature of Chinese.