Their Eyes are Watching God

It is often thought that men maintain a majority of the power in a relationship. Their main duty as the male is to take on most of the external hardships in which women are too physically or mentally weak to handle. However, the reality is many men use this responsibility as tool to control the relationship. Most men feel like they are obligated to withhold a position of power, therefore they use their strength in the form of physical means to uphold this position. Zora Nelson adequately depicts these types of relationships in which a women, Janie Starkes, is unable to break free from the power of men. Janie Starks is a women of free will, but throughout the book she displays a level of weakness. She marries three times, and every marriage consisted of some form of abuse. Out of her three marriages, Janie only truly loves one of her husbands. Her weakness is displayed by the allowance of physical and verbal abuse. There is no excuse for a man to hit a woman, and there is no excuse for a woman to take it. Only a powerless woman allows a man to destroy her pride and dignity, however a woman of power will defend it to the death. Accordingly, Janie Starks was portrayed as a woman with no will power to defend her pride or dignity, but a woman with a weak mind who lived under total control.

Is America a cultural bouillabaisse?

It is a common notion that most people of like qualities gravitate towards each other because there is a sense of comfort one has being among people who are like them. America is the most diverse places in the world. However, since people of like qualities tend to be comfortable together then it is highly possible for one to be unaware of the diversity that exist in America.  But, once a person steps out of that comfort zone and experiences America as it really is they will come to an understanding that America is without a doubt a cultural bouillabaisse. I have family members that have lived in the south all there lives and never traveled America. They were remaining in that comfort zone with no realization of the true America. They understood the America to be black and white, but as they began to travel they saw the world in a different light. They saw cultural, racial, and religious diversity which is the true America. One could get a glimpse of the true America by simply going to the airport. One week ago I was traveling and I stopped in the Atlanta airport, which is one of the biggest airports in the nation. When I looked around I saw America in its truest form. There were people of different racial groups, ethnic groups, culture background, and religion. It was phenomenal to me how one airport can be a microcosm of America. Consequently, America's diversity goes beyond the airport. It is seen in various places around the world, but at that time the airport encompassed the differentiation that exist in this nation. It encompassed America as a cultural bouillabaisse. 

Never Post Racial

The appearance of Barrack Obama in the 2008 election is often considered evidence of America being or becoming a post racial society. It is no secret that blacks in America have drastically progressed as a people transitioning from being enslaved by the government to maintaining the highest power of position in the government. However, this transition only proves that the level of racism has decreased in America and fails to be permanently suppressed. Evidence of the prevalance of racism in America can be found in everyday black American life.Recently, there was an article printed on BBC news about a black scholar, Professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested after entering his own home. Apparently, he forgot his keys in his house and he was attempting to jimmy his way in. A person who saw him contacted the police, but when the police arrived he was already in his house. He showed his ID to prove he lived there, but he was still arrested. Obama commented on this incident and said he is working towards a racial profiling bill because their is unquestionable evidence that blacks and hispanics are being stopped in great numbers. In Obama's opinion "that is a sign, an exampe of how race remains a factor in the society". Therefore, a post racial society doesn't come as easy as electing a black person in a position of power. Racism is the foundation of America, and this foundation must be destroyed so America can be rebuilt. In order to build a new foudation generations must die off and new generations must be born without the concept of any form of separation, especially racism. However, in order for this to occur we must be unwilling to teach future generaions about the true history of America, but this is impossible because we, blacks and whites, have too much pride in our history. Consequently, America is not and will never be a post racial society!