Growth of New Culture in Traditional African American Communities - Thesis Example

Insert “The Lesson” and “Everyday Use A Comparative Analysis Tony Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” is an interesting short storythat illustrates the theme of social justice from the perspective of child upbringing throughout their maturation. Sylvia’s opaque reaction to the lessons provided by Miss Moore depicts a society that is rapidly shedding its ancient ties in favor of a seemingly divisive culture where economic power and social class counts. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” also captures the theme of social inequality in the contemporary world. She describes a seemingly more closely-knit, but largely unexposed traditional society where social class plays little role. This paper compares traditional African American Culture with the New African American Culture based on “the Lessons” and “Everyday Use.” The Importance of Heritage Heritage defines the traditional cultures in both stories, even though it risks being obliterated by the modern culture where traditional values are often seen as old-fashioned and unworkable. This is especially true in the new world where cultural-mix and the quest for more wealth is the clarion call. In “Everyday” Dee elaborates the challenges facing marginalized groups by virtue of their traditions, with new cultural practices being formed to challenge and or guard against perceived or prospective cases of discrimination in the settings. Dee attempts to offset the pillars of traditional heritage in a way that depicts the new culture which she represents as radical and marginalizing. The character goes ahead to bridge the heritage gap in a society where the values are increasingly getting blurred by shaking off her family legacy in favor of a new one. With a new name in Wangero, Dee is sure to be capturing accurate symbolism of her traditional African culture. However, Walker depicts her new identity in the African attire and other aesthetics as meaningless, at least in the ideological lenses (1). Her true knowledge of the Africa heritage in the current world is too shallow to actually present in well-meaning terms and actions. As Walker noted, new cultural influences are the immediate consequences of globalization which continue to challenge important traditional values in society, with both negative and positive outcomes to show for it. Unlike the clearly defined cultural practices of the traditional societies, which had no place for material wealth, Dee lives in a liberalist system where heritage has no place, especially if it does not have meaningful economic outcomes. The character admires traditional carvings and family quilts in terms of their traditional aesthetics, but in the real sense these rather precious artifacts have no value, most probably because new inventions and alternatives to them have been with the people. Dee represents groups of people that have cast themselves outside their own natural history and refused their traditional heritage in favor of synthetic ones, which only serves to deepen the social divide within African Americans. On her part Bambara presents social resentment to new cultures which communities believe do not belong in the current society in her depiction of children (1). By presenting children as resentful to class differences and income disparities relative to that of their families, Bambara depicts a society where economic differences have surpasses the power of traditional common heritages which tied African Americans together in the past (1). Disparities in social class have made the children of the latter culture to berate apparently classy items such as cars owned by members of their own community, in what tells a lot about the changing social demands within the community. Conversely, the children are more concerned about the Flyboy’s constant mentions of the problem of homelessness which continues to trouble people in the new African American culture in ways that the common approaches taken by members of the traditional African culture used resolve through collective bargains. Regardless, the constant state of intra-community animosity, alongside everyone’s suspicion of Miss Moore “who always looked like she was going to church though she never did” (Bambara 1) tells a lot about social resentment to the seemingly unfavorable cultural influences. Bambara basically argues that unlike the traditional unity among African Americans which was formed around race, the new culture is increasingly separating members of the community along finer social lines such as social class and secularism. Traditionalism versus Enlightenment The traditional culture is depicted as more inclusive and communal in nature, with the new African American culture being somehow divisive by virtue of new cultural influences acquired from other communities. The questions asked of the children by Miss Moore towards the end of the story, for example, are clearly symbolic of the new modern political divisions. At that point, Bambara uses Sylvia to show the relatively subjective and alienating political connotations dominating the new culture. Unlike the more inclusive traditional culture, the modern culture has clearly defined divisions within the African American community with the clarion call encouraging ‘Harlem residents’ to clamor for better social and economic status which meet internal individual interests. In “The Lesson,” Bambara (1) appears to concur with Miss Moore’s on the assertion that economic disparity is suggestive of the flaws in new cultural trends within the community and by extension the society. However, the experience does not come up naturally from the experiences; rather, it originates from an individual who is not the same as the other senior characters the children are familiar with, and who is seen as strange in the community. Unlike the controllable traditional cultures, most of the intra-community differences facing African Americans in the new culture are the result of forces beyond the control of the communities. The argument supports the reasons behind children, especially those with rebellious qualities such as Sylvia, being seen as showing some kind of resistance to lessons brought by the new culture. However, the inescapable truth behind the issue persists: having noted that the degree of disparities will remain at least for longer, the observant girl embodies the spirit of hesitance among members of the community to adopt new cultures in the short-term. Educational influences Differences in the outcomes of educational enlightenment on the new cultural discourses persist between the two texts: whereas Bambara suggests that educational enlightenment contributes in creating a sense of understanding among members of the African community, Walker thinks education alienates the society from their traditional cultures (1). In line with the latter argument, children who are sent to school such as Dee immediately become alienated from her family and traditional values. The end result is Dee being synthetically alienated from the natural cultural values symbolized in her dressing, artifacts and her own self. Walker argues that lofty concepts and chances of expanding educational achievements in an environment where there is social diversity has enabled African Americans to lose their sense of heritage, traditional roots, and cultural identity, which used to thrive in an environment where the community had little or no social contact with the rest of the world (Walker and Christian 7). Unlike the traditional culture where individuals had common values, goals and agendas, Bambara’s depiction of educational achievement focuses on the internalization of new cultures and concepts among members of the new culture. By contrast, Walker depicts as backward, the excessive dislike for new cultures which traditionalists show when they are bombarded by alien practices and beliefs acquired through educational enlightenment (Walker and Christian 6). This is evidenced in Dee’s return to her family after an educational journey, which almost immediately earns her lots of flak. She is depicted as the bearer of the message that threatens the traditional culture represented by Maggie and Mama. Dee threatens to neutralize traditional beliefs that females are unable to obtain formal education, with her sword being civil rights, more visibility on social issues affecting the community and equality for all people including women and children (Graves 214). The new developments are not bad for members of the African American society who still hold on to the traditional culture; rather their only problem is that the new culture threatens to blur the tried and tested traditional ways of life in a rather radical way. The end result is a society where educational enlightenment deepens the social differences instead of building it by creating a culture of understanding among different communities including Africa Americans. The conflict is evident in Dee’s approach to life which then enables her to see things only from her perspective (Wright 78). This has resulted in her isolation from her own heritage. Maggie, with her beliefs being deeply rooted in the world she originated from, shows deep resentment for the new culture. Interestingly, traditionalists embodied in Maggie are depicted as poorly educated and unable to bring themselves to terms with the benefits of limitless opportunities brought about by greater social interactions and the culture of tolerance. Walker (1) argues that traditionalists within the African American society hinder their own self-enjoyment by accepting the limitations brought by their sheltered life in order to build this contrast to strengthen the irony in the whole story. Dee’s penchant for new knowledge and ways of life has taken her down the path to separation from her traditional roots in the family, while her family’s lack of educational enlightenment threatens to harm and stunt the ability of characters such as Maggie to cope in the new society. Both educational enlightenment and the total lack of it are associated with dangerous outcomes for the characters. It is arguable therefore, that some values espoused by the traditional African American culture must subsist in the new world of limitless opportunities for purposes of new knowledge acquisition in order to create a better environment where there is mutual respect among members of the society and where new knowledge is used to uplift the status of those who are still stuck in the past, instead of perpetrating inequality (Wright 81). Conclusion Generally, the traditional African American culture and the New African American Culture as presented in “the Lessons” and “Everyday Use” as both good and bad. Whereas the traditional culture gives the community a sense of identity and consistency in the beliefs needed to survive the flux nature of the contemporary culture, new culture exposes the community to limitless opportunities and unity in diversity. Barbara depicts education as the primary driver of social understanding within individual African Americans. On her hand, Walker attributes education to the deepening differences within the community. In light of the weaknesses of traditional African American culture and of the New African American culture, the two authors are in consensus that some traditional values should persist in order to serve as checks for the radical impacts of new cultures. Works Cited Bambara, Cade Toni. The Lesson (1939-1995). University of California, 1972. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. Graves, Roy Neil. Bambaras the Lesson. Explicator, 66.4 (2008): 214-217. Walker Alice and Christian, Barbara. Everyday Use. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Walker, Alice. Everytime Use. University of Virginia, 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. Wright, Katy M. The Role of Dialect Representation in Speaking from the Margins: "The Lesson" of Toni Cade Bambara. Style, 42.1 (2008): 73-83. Read More