What were your thoughts before you started and then when you began reading this?
So what does it mean?
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Before I read this piece, I thought that it was going to be more like "Graduation" by Maya Angelou. I imagined it would be about an African American encountering racism at a young age and how they dealt with it. However, this piece was more complex than that.
ReplyDeleteI think it was interesting how Naylor began with the bit about how the spoken word is more powerful than the written word. This was an interesting view on language, especially for me since I have always thought that the written word is extremely powerful. Now I can see where it can lack the effect of the spoken word. The written word is given whatever voice the reader chooses and its longevity on paper allows it to be interpreted multiple times. However, the spoken word is fleeting and is given one voice and only one chance to be interpreted by the listener.
The reason the author never thought she had heard the word "nigger" before is because she had never heard it used in an emotionally spiteful way-a cowardly disguise for true fear and hatred. The author made the point that "words themselves are innocuous" while it is the "consensus that gives them power". Prior to the third grade encounter, the author had never considered the word nigger to have a negative impact because it had been used to define fellow African Americans in both their best and worst moments (word of endearment, describing a distinguished individual, someone who had overstepped the bounds of decency). Any culture has multiple words to accomplish this. The African Americans in her community and communities like it in the South had come to an unspoken consensus for the word to be transformed into one that was impotent in the attempt to discourage or insult them. The whites who used the word as a derogatory term had come to the consensus that it would be used to oppress the minority. African American parents, like the author's mother, wanted their children to understand the meaning whites intended behind the insult and to remember that they did not accurately describe who African Americans were. I believe the word "nigger" has multiple meanings in this case and its meaning is interpreted by the people who hear it whether it be positive or negative. It has evolved from being a simple insult to both a greater insult and a symbol of resilience.
Before reading this piece, I was expecting it to be a story about a young girl hearing the word "nigger" for the first time and then her mother explaining to her the meaning of the word.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to the second paragraph I realized that I was actually quite close with my expectation of the piece but the middle of the piece threw me off. She didn't even mention asking her mom what the word meant until the very last sentence of the essay, the rest was about how the word was applied. The statement that surprised me the most was when she said that the people in her grandmother's living room "transformed "nigger" to signify the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be." They had taken the insult that whites had placed upon them and turned it into a word that stood for their heritage.
I think that the meaning of the word "nigger" depends on the situation and how the word is used. Although most people assume that it is only a word to humiliate and insult the African American race, it is also used to signify the the African American race in a positive way. The word "nigger" also has smaller meanings, but the point is that it can be used for good and bad descriptions.
I enjoyed reading this piece and I was enlightened a bit on how African Americans actually perceived the word "nigger." The statement from the piece that I like them most was, "So there must have been dozens of times that the word "nigger" was spoken in front of me before I reached the third grade. But I didn't "hear" it until it was said by a small pair of lips that had already learned it could be a way to humiliate me." Naylor realized that the word had long been a part of her culture, but it never stood out to her until she heard the term used with hurtful intentions.
Before I started reading this piece, I expected it to be about a young child struggling with understanding the meaning of this word. When I began reading this, I was interested by how it started...not anything like I had expected. It first goes into what language is. What it tries to accomplish. The author knows that language can never express "the richness of life."
ReplyDeleteThe voice of this piece is from the author as an adult, speaking of the past. I think this is a good way to go about writing a piece like this because she can speak about it more intellectually and from more life experience. Although she was a very intelligent child, I don't think she fully understood exactly what was meant at the time.
I understand more why colored people use the word "nigger" in referring to themselves. It makes a lot of sense the way the author put it. They took this word and transformed it to be something positive, it shows that the white people aren't enslaving them. Even by using this word, white people are still trying to put blacks down, make them feel inferior. By showing that this is not just a "white man" word, they are not enslaved by language either.
Naylor had heard this word in context many times previously, yet in third-grade it was directed at her. Obviously this word was not just a general term her family had used in conversation, but a derogatory comment pointed directly to her. The word nigger does not have one meaning within the piece. It is a word used to put down blacks, or a term used to refer to a man or a group of the black community, depending on the context. Naylor understands that words cannot fully express ideas, they are words. It is the meaning behind it that matters.
Before I read the peice I had asssumed that there would be an explanation of the root of the word and then there would be a declaration of it being wrong no matter who used it. Obviously that is not what the piece was about. The first paragraph was kind of confusing to me but I really liked it alot once I figured out what it was about. In fact it was an excelent start to the peice. It was important to not only show her knowledge but mistify people about what she was really writing about. The use of the word nigger is really what determines what the definition is. When a caucasian person says it, it's obviously not the same as when african americans use it. And it's important that african americans use the term. It takes the sting out of it. And even though many people think that it is becuase african americans use the term, white people still use it. The author explains how this isn't the case. It's a great piece that I really liked.
ReplyDeleteThis piece, as you all have said, really fools people. Do you think the author deliberately does that? If so, why?
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this piece, I thought that it was about a parent trying to explain to their child what the word meant and then reflecting on racism. I was wrong. I think that this piece is about how words only have the meaning that the speaker gives them. This essay started off with a little English lesson. I thought that that was interesting seeing as we haven't read a piece with something like that as the intro. I think that the whole essay was like answering a question. First, the person gives their answer, and afterwards, the support as to why they think that way. As I stated before, I think that the word only has the meaning that one gives it. When we, as "white america" hear the word, we instantly think of an extremely derogatory word that should never be uttered for the fear of being labeled a racist. As put by the author though, the word "nigger" can be used to speak of good qualities when used by the African American community. Really the word doesn't have much of a meaning. For example, I create the word xok. Now to anyone seeing this word, they make up their own meaning to it. For some, it could be derogatory, to others a descriptive term. It all depends on the context and the mind of the speaker to create meaning to a word.
ReplyDeleteI figured that the piece would be about the origin of the word and how it used to be used, how it is currently used and how it developed. I thought it would be a mother explaining the word to her son or something like that. This piece was nice and short which helped me be able to pay more close attention when reading it. Her story helped give a good background on the word and the many ways it is used. The word can mean many things based on the context it is in. African Americans often use it with eachother but when a white person uses it, it is often portrayed as bad. The word is viewed in different ways by the different groups of people in society.
ReplyDeleteI think the author purposely tries to get people to think that this piece is something other than it is before reading it to keep the reader interested. If you go into a piece feeling you know what it will be about, and it is about what you thought- there's no surprise to it, it seems slightly dull as you read it.
ReplyDeleteThis piece was a pleasant surprise, and went about the subject of racism well, without diving into it.
Before reading this piece I was kinda puzzled of what it was going to be about. I thought that it maybe was going to be a piece about a girl hearing nigger for the first time and coming home and asking her mother to explain it. The first part of this piece was actually what I really expected but the middle of this piece was not what I had expected and was kind of confusing to me.
ReplyDeleteI think the word nigger is a very complicated word. And many people do not see it as a complicated word they just think of it as a very simple word. I think the word nigger was first use when slaves were first discovered and used as work horses. I think that this word is a very rude word and is a disrespecful word when used in front of black people. I think that the author deliberately fools people and I am not sure why he does it. Maybe he does it to make the piece more powerful and also maybe he does this to make a point. I liked the shortness of this essay it really makes it powerful and reinforces the point of this essay. I can't wait to see what other people have to say in class on this essay, it will be interesting.
I expected this piece to be the same kind of piece as "Graduation" was, but upon reading it I have come to believe that the author meant to make it sound that way in the title. I like the way that the author portrays the meaning as flexible depending on who uses it. When other African Americans use it, it isn't insulting in the least, whereas when white people use it, it is looked upon as a massive insult. My Stepdad works with an African American who separates the African American race into two categories: the contributing members of society, and the "niggers." I'm not sure if I agree, but I think it's an interesting point of view to consider as well.
ReplyDeleteI having read The Women of Brewster Place had somewhat of an idea of what to expect from Gloria Naylor. In The Women of Brewster Place Naylor showed a general sexist point of view against men which gave me the impression this piece would be somewhat sexist as well which proved to not be the case. The piece explains that the term "nigger" is racially a one way street. Through this piece I was given the impression that white people "made" the term bad from a white person's point of view. While from a black person's point of view the word nigger is a almost common and non-disputatious term for a man of african decent. The way she talked about the African Americans around her such as her family and friends is almost identical to the experiences to that of the characters in The Women of Brewster Place.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that most everyone had different assumptions about this piece. I think that the author did this to make people pay more attention to the piece. If one is reading someting expected, then they read it mechanically without really processing the words. However, when there isn't something expected, it kind of surprises people and thus they read more carefully so that they may discover what the piece is truly about. I think that Travis made good use of the quote in showing that the word "nigger" didn't stand out to the author until it was directed at her in order to put her down.
ReplyDeleteI agree with josh. The blogs show that people had different ideas on what the piece would be about. I think that the author did this on purpose because she didn't even include the part where she asked her mom what the word "nigger" meant until the very last sentence, even though the title to the essay is "Mommy what does nigger mean?" Although my prediction was close, it was only because I was expecting it to be something that you wouldn't normally suspect. I agree with sam that the author went about the subject of racism well and didn't turn the center of the piece towards that issue.
ReplyDeleteGreat so far...here is a question...how does tone change in the piece?
ReplyDelete