Unwritten Rules Essay, Research Paper

Unwritten Rules

& # 8220 ; Just five decennaries ago, most black Americans could non work, populate, store, eat, seek

amusement or travel as they chose ( Jaynes and Williams 3 ) . & # 8221 ; This statement reflects the predicament of African Americans during the clip period described in & # 8221 ; Incident & # 8221 ; by Countee Cullen and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; by Wole Soyinka. These two verse forms show how black people were treated during a peculiar epoch in American history. In these two verse forms one can see how black people were segregated, excluded, and intimidated by the white bulk during a peculiar clip period. In both of these verse forms one can see all of the biass faced by black people and the battle of white people to remain separated from black people. One can see in & # 8221 ; Incident & # 8221 ; by Countee Cullen and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; by Wole Soyinka, similarities that show the historical and sociological impact of this epoch on African Americans.

& # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; both reflect a historical period in America that deprived African Americans of basic freedoms. These verse forms show in simplistic state of affairss that many biass held against African Americans during that clip period. Historically, the 1930s was a clip period when black Americans were made to experience as if they were subsidiary to the bulk. Cullen and Soyinka both reveal how black people were put down during this clip period.

In this clip period during which & # 8220 ; Incidents and Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; occur, segregation of black people and white people was the societal norm. In the bulk of public topographic points black and white people were forced to utilize separate installations, among other things. Segregation was common in eating houses, schools, and concerns. & # 8220 ; Segregation was the regulation in public adjustments, wellness attention, lodging, schooling, work, the legal system, and interpersonal dealingss ( Jaynes and Williams 58 ) . In & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; , a white kid sticks his lingua out at a black kid reflecting his feelings that he should non hold to socialise with a black kid. By this kid & # 8217 ; s behaviour, one can see how the thoughts of this epoch were ingrained into society. Even a immature kid felt he should non socialise with a black kid. This kid felt that segregation was justified because he did non similar black people. However, one can non anticipate a white kid to cognize how to socially interact with black kids all his life. & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; shows a adult female who does non desire to lease to a & # 8221 ; really dark & # 8221 ; adult male. This adult female would wish to divide herself from the obvious members of a minority group. This type of segregation was so common during this clip period that the adult male puting the call felt he needed to unwrap his colour in front of clip in order to avoid & # 8221 ; a wasted journey. & # 8221 ; The verse forms reflect a clip period dominated by segregation of inkinesss and Whites.

During the clip of & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; the exclusion of inkinesss was common topographic point. This is most frequently noted in the inability of inkinesss to take part in the electoral procedure. Along with vote, inkinesss were denied many of the other basic rights given to Whites. Besides, inkinesss were non allowed to keep certain occupations or take part in certain societal activities that were preponderantly white. & # 8220 ; Exclusion of black people was common in authorities, concern, communiyt association, and in most brotherhoods ( Jaynes and Williams 60 ) . & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; portrays a kid who is evidently familiar with and accepting of the exclusion of black people from societal state of affairss. By openly showing his disfavor for a black kid, the white kid is excepting the black kid from societal interaction. & # 8221 ; And so I smile, but he poked out/ His lingua, and called me, & # 8217 ; Nigger. & # 8221 ; & # 8217 ; By his actions, the white kid demonstrates his penchant to merely socialise with other white people and to except black people from his societal circle. & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; portrays a adult female who would wish to except & # 8220 ; really dark & # 8221 ; people from leasing her belongings. This adult female grew up in a clip period where it was legal and ethical to know apart against inkinesss. The African American seeking to lease the belongings faced being excluded from any belongings whose proprietor does non wish to lease to African Americans. In the clip period of these poems the exclusion of black people was usual activity. & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; both show an effort by white people to command the black community. During this clip period, many inkinesss felt that Whites were commanding them by the unjust ordinances. By non leting inkinesss to vote, the white population stayed I

n power over authorities. African Americans had no political engagement due to their deficiency of ballots. “With its possible force and basic inequality, segregation was a powerful system of white control over the black population ( Jaynes and Williams 59 ) .” This citation displays how white people use segregation as a tool to increase their control over the black people. In ” Incident” the white kid wanted to exert control over the black kid by doing him experience unwelcome and segregated from the bulk white race. This technique turned out to be slightly effectual in that the white kid controlled the black child’s full experience in Baltimore. The lone thing the black kid could retrieve of his clip in Baltimore was a individual act of hatred. In “Telephone Conversation” the adult female looking to lease her belongings is seeking to command where inkinesss live by non leasing to “very dark” people. It was non

Uncommon for the white population to try to command the black population during the clip period of & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8221 ; Telephone Conversation. & # 8221 ;

In the epoch of the two verse forms most whit people used bullying to act upon black people. By blatantly demoing their antipathy for inkinesss, a big bulk of the white population attempted to demo their power over black people who attempted to demo their power over black people. & # 8220 ; There was a widespread effort to intimidate black people who attempted to vote and prosecute in other political and societal activities ( Jaynes and Williams 65 ) . In the verse form & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; , one can see where the white kid uses his hate as an bullying technique to do the black kid feel uncomfortable when interacting socially with white people. The white kid & # 8217 ; s behaviour is certain to do the black kid wary of of all time even smiling at white people once more. In & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; the adult female uses her place as a white businesswoman to intimidate a possible black client. The adult female inquiries the adult male on the exact colour of his tegument, trying to do the adult male experience that if he is non really black, she may lease to him. In both verse forms, one can see how the white population attempted to command the black population.

& # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation both demonstrate the sociological facets of being African American. These verse forms show how unfairly black people were treated by society. The biass of white people influenced even the day-to-day lives of black people. The black population was mistreated and put down by society as a whole for a really long clip and Cullen and Wole gaining control that experiencing in their verse forms.

Both poems show how different races normally stay separate. For many old ages Americans have opted to socialise and interact more frequently with their ain race. & # 8221 ; The initial fact, therefore is that human groups tend to remain apart ( Allport 19 ) . However, this remaining separated finally made the black race feel like an inferior minority to a superior shred bulk. These two verse forms show how race groups tend to remain apart in two peculiar state of affairss. In & # 8221 ; Incident & # 8221 ; the white kid felt he was of an wholly different group than the black kid. This whit kid uses hateful actions as a agency of maintaining himself off from the black community. In & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; the adult female uses the method of choosing whom she does concern with to maintain herself apart from people of a different tegument colour. By being choosey about whom she will let to lease from her, this adult female is remaining separate from a group unlike her ain. This adult female is simply a contemplation of the societal norms of her clip. Both the verse forms reflect how society struggled to maintain the black and white populations apart.

In & # 8221 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8221 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; one can see the many biass society held against inkinesss. & # 8220 ; Prejudice is a form of ill will in interpersonal dealingss which is directed against an full group, or against its single members ; it fulfills a specific irrational map for its carrier ( Allport 12 ) . & # 8221 ; This definition of bias describes the attitudes of many white Americans towards black Americans. These attitudes are depicted in both verse forms. The white kid in & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; demonstrates his bias through name-calling and lodging out his lingua. The adult female in & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; shows her bias in her reluctance to lease belongings to a black individual. These two verse forms demonstrate two Acts of the Apostless of bias that were common in this clip period. The state of affairss in these verse forms show how prejudice invariably plagued African Americans. Both & # 8220 ; Incident & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Telephone Conversation & # 8221 ; portray the biass faced by black people.