Voice of the self by Keith Gilyard - Essay Example

Voice of the Self Order No. 511535 Keith Gilyard is a distinguished of writing at the of Syracuse and wrote extensively on language and literacy with particular focus on issues of the African-Americans. He has contributed immensely to African American literature that involved composition studies with particular attention to rhetorical traditions that prevailed at that time. He received the American Book Award for his “Voices of the Self” in 1992. In chapter 4, Gilyard sheds light on the linguistic ‘collision’ experienced by the African American students, in trying to cope up and satisfy white culture.

Tensions and conflicts faced by African –American students through their school years is interlaced with Gilyard’s own life experiences which gives us a vivid but disturbing picture of the hard facts faced by them. In Chapter 5, Gilyard emphasizes how language could be an effective tool of empowerment. Education by itself cannot be taken to be a viable tool but there is no doubt that it is only through education we can achieve the goal of acquiring that empowering tool which is language. In ‘Voices of the Self’ Gilyard attempts to create two different selves – one is Keith and the other is Raymond.

Though they are one and the same person, he makes use of this strategy to explain to us how these characters are representative of the educational system that existed and how they survived such discrimination and segregation. Finally we find that both these selves become reconciled with each other when Keith begins to go to college. References Keith Gilyard (1991) Voices of the Self: A Study of Language Competence. Wayne State University Press. Pgs, 178