Mary Elizabeth

I enjoyed reading Mary Elizabeth by Fauset. At the very beginning I found it striking that Sally really didn’t seem like she could function without the assistance of Mary Elizabeth and Roger, unless he is grumpy every morning, seemed to be struggling also to get through his morning routine without Mary Elizabeth’s presence and or assistance. I find it interesting that these two people cannot seem to function with out a servants assistance. It made me think that these two people have taken for granted that they would not need to learn to do the simple things in life, like making coffee or cooking breakfast because they would always depend on a servant to do these things for them. Maybe Fauset was giving these people a reality check on life.
Mary Elizabeth is described as being a small, aged, dark woman with confidence. This is striking description because he does not give Roger and Sally that descriptive background but just from the opening paragraph you know that they lack confidence that comes with age and knowledge of the world. This use of a couple of just a couple of words to describe her really brings Mary Elizabeth to life and gives her some depth. Fauset seems to give Mary Elizabeth more background and depth than did Toomer and McKay. All of these writers seem to speak fondly of the power, diligence, and grace of African American women, however Fauset doesn’t’ speak of them in terms of nature nor as an over all race. Fauset seemed to pick one woman who may have been fictional or non fictional and really used this one person to give us a look at an African American woman.

The Real McKay?

After reading the second batch of McKay poems and learning a little more about him as person, I can understand why he was considered one of the more prominent or moving writers of the era.
The fact that McKay took a strong interest and standing in the socialist party really explains some of his poems; such as “Exhortation: Summer of 1919”, “The Dominant White”, and “Invocation”. However, learning that he came to America of his own free will and then reading poems of pure demise for America makes me wonder why he never returned to his homeland that his writings professed that he longed so much for.

This made me wonder if I interpreted his poems correctly. McKay is known for writing on racial issues of the working class and his use of frank directness really moved and awakened people. So I started to think maybe McKay personally didn’t long for Africa as we interpreted from many of his poems, maybe he was using these references to culture, heritage, jungle songs, homeland, self-heritage, and native clime; to awaken people and make them conscious of who they are and where their roots lie. I don’t necessarily just mean roots to Africa but roots to a place in society.
He was a socialist and wanted to make the working class pay attention to increase social and economic equality, so what better way to do that then to bring people back to the reality of their roots and empower them with courage and force to uplift their culture and hold themselves at a higher level.

We discussed that many of his poems really have that masculine force behind them, but what better way to evoke change then to pump people up and stir feeling of pride, dignity, and spiritual awakening.
So I think all the longings for “home” were really just a cover to get people to think about who they are and what they want from this life.

Claude McKay

The poem that struck me was Home Thoughts. After reading it I felt like this poem could have been written by anyone. African American, Chinese, or Caucasian. This poem is simply about the feelings of missing home. Everyone misses home no matter who you are. I liked how McKay talks about all the simple things that one may do. Going for a swim, picking fruit, bringing groceries home. We all do these things and sometimes when we do things it triggers memories of home or when we were young. But, what I liked about this poem is that it is about just being you and not about being prejudice or treated unfairly.
I think this poem was in McKay's selected poems just for that reason. To show that we are all people no matter the color of our skin and we all do the same things in life; whether they are simple or intricate. People feel sadness and happiness regardless of the color of their skin. People take pleasure in reminiscing regardless of the color of their skin. People are just people regardless of the color of their skin.

page 115....I found quite pompous!

I will say that so far this book is quite enjoyable. I find the title to be interesting since this is not an autobiography at all, but it grabs you initially because, for me it is always interesting to read about other people.
Anyway, we had talked in class a little about how the narrator isn't really a person who really goes above and beyond even though he appears to be quite intelligent and seems to have had a fortunate life where he could attain higher things. So we read a lot about how much he loved his music. That even it was so good it drove him to tears as a child. But, he never really seems to do anything with it. He is in NYC and needs a job, but comes across as having no skills at all. I would think a person with a good education and other skills would have a few more choices then rolling cigars. So as for page 115 the narrator goes on about what a "natural talent and perseverance", "remarkable player of rag-time". He even states he was the best player of rag-time. So if he has so much confidence and "perseverance" why does he seem to be kind of lazy and not really interested in achieving or finding a better life for himself? I don't know if I really like his attitude at this point in the book. He knows he is good and talented, others obviously encourage him to continue and share his talents, but he still just seems sort of lame in a sense. A few chapters back I really thought that "shiny" may have inspired him to be a go getter, but I think really he is much more a follower than a leader of any sort.