The essay I chose to review was “The Fourth of July. ” by Audre Lorde. This essay was amazing. Shocked. angered. and disquieted. merely some of the feelings I felt while prosecuting myself into this narrative. This essay left me desiring to contend for the chief characters freedom. even though it took topographic point in the 1960’s. Lorde did a truly good occupation seting together this essay. and an astonishing occupation portraying the message. It is as if there was a secret message behind this narrative. To me. the message was clear. we shouldn’t have to trust on our imaginativeness to take us to the land of freedom ; it should be granted to us.
Audre Lorde was a Caribbean-American author and militant. She has been really active in active in civil rights. anti-war. and feminist motions ( Kulii ) . In her essay. her household is on holiday in the Nation’s Capitol of Washington D. C. Washington D. C. is known to be a topographic point of America’s victory in order to make freedom for our state. This is a topographic point that greatly expresses and celebrates our freedoms. Her household was on holiday here due to the fact that her sister was non allowed on her school trip to Washington. In the essay. Lorde provinces. “I learned later that Phyllis’s high school senior category trip had been to Washington. but the nuns had given her back her sedimentation in private. explicating to her that the category. all of whom were white. except Phyllis. would be remaining in a hotel where she Phyllis ‘would non be happy. ’ significance. Daddy explained to her. besides in private. that they did non lease suites to Negroes. ” Lorde’s household is a coloured household life during the 1950’s ( Lorde 240 ) . Her sister was non allowed to travel to the Capitol of our State. where “freedom” is supposed to be the most outstanding trait of Washington D. C.
This essay is non a research based article. but does include a clip period that is really critical to this narrative point of view. The Fourth of July was during the 60’s. During the 60’s it was a important minute of racism. bondage. and unequal rights. If you were to research the 60’s. this is precisely what you would detect from your consequences. Racism and unequal rights were taking over this small girl’s life because of the clip period she was born into.
In the essay The Fourth of July. Audre Lorde conveys her choler toward American society. Her choler is caused by the racism and favoritism in her state. Although she clearly establishes her claim. Lorde uses sarcasm to show her sentiments to command her choler. The Fourth of July implies that Lorde most likely had a positive experience on the vacation and that there is a peculiar ground why she named her try what she did. However. because she titles it The Fourth of July and rapidly establishes her negative experiences at that place. the sarcasm is created. She was seeking to inform us about how bad racial segregation was. and how she wished she could alter it.
Audre Lorde expresses her choler. embarrassment. and hurt when she had to come to the decision that she was non a free individual. while on holiday in Washington D. C. on the Fourth of July. July Fourth is the twenty-four hours that America gained its independency or freedom. In the last paragraph of the essay she states. “The waitress was white. and the counter was white. and the ice pick I ne’er ate in Washington D. C. …” this is when she came to the sad world of her deficiency of freedom in her ain state. where being white was the lone thing that was of import to most people ( Lorde 239 ) . The usage of the word white in this paragraph as a usage of verbal sarcasm. in the fact that she realizes how at bay she in this universe that is about wholly ran by white people and their ways of life at the clip. Lorde’s character knew that the capital of the United States stood for freedom. autonomy. and equality ; therefore she thought racial favoritism would non happen at that place. However. Washington D. C. was portion of the southern provinces. the 1s that favored bondage after the Civil War. so racism was even stronger at that place. The author’s insistent usage of the word “white” to depict people. topographic points. and things in Washington D. C. convey non merely the scene and racial positions of the metropolis. but besides Lorde’s choler towards her ain nation’s capital.
As I read more into this narrative. I was captured by every small item Lorde was adverting to her audience. It was about as if this narrative was existent. Even though it is non a true narrative. this narration was based on an illustration of what a small miss would experience like turning up during that clip. The writer uses utmost item to do us experience as if it was existent. but Lorde was non that little enraged miss sitting in an all white cafe . seeking to recognize why this town was her nation’s capital.
I found this narrative truly interesting. and I am so glad I decided to review this essay. Not merely did I learn multiple things about the clip period. but I besides learned more about how tough it was to be turning up during that clip. Audre Lorde did an astonishing occupation stating her audience the battle and disturbances that went on. and could hold gone on for any immature kid.
Plants Cited
Kulii. Beverly T. “Audre Lorde’s Life and Career. ” Audre Lorde’s Life and Career. N. p. . 1997. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. Lorde. Audre. The Fourth of July ( n. d. ) : 239-42. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.
