Blues Legacies and Black Feminism by Angela Y. Davis

When I read “I Used to be Your Sweet Mama” in Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, I’m surprised about blues woman what they sing about or how they express the message to audience. Before I focus on the lyric, I can’t think about the significant of blues woman. They do not just sing, but they also describe about gender conflict, fault of social standing, and female domestic life. The interesting part of blues is that blues women try to connect with unrevealed problem which is related to sexuality and female standing in society. Ma Rainey’s lyrics describe about the marriage under the patriarchal pressure. I think it is too realistic that it is closed to hazarded female life. Davis said that “the blues genre is a direct descendant of work songs” (26). Bessie Smith sings express the violence and sexual partnership. My favorite blues woman is Billie Holiday. She not only sang sorrow, but her song also contained historical tragedy.

Strange Fruit -Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear strange fruit

Blood on the leaves

Blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh              

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

for the rain to gather

for the wind to suck

for the sun to rot

for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop

What did I imagine? I don't want to think about the fact in her song because it is too tragedic. The lyrics described the truth historical fact which was the discrimination against race. I like her voice which supports her willingness.  

No Name Woman

Maxime Hong Kinston was a female writer as a second generation of Chinese immigrants. In No Name Woman, Kinston points out the cultural and historical tragedy rink to aunt’s suicide. After I read the No Name Woman, I totally understood what happened to the family. Her aunt betrays her husband which means disobedience role of the community as a married woman. Chinese were influenced by Confucianism which was based on male dominant society, and it was built on Hierarchal society. The Villagers believe that her fault would be effect on other woman, so they had right to punish her instead of god. Due to the failure of government system, the role of community widely concerned about personal relationship.  Her aunt’s pregnant was dangerous to maintain their ethical roles, so people violently attacked the house that “Then they threw eggs and began slaughtering out stock” (Kingston). I imagined how she terrified or ignored by family and neighbors. She was isolated because her pregnant was the criticism of Chinese’s ancient culture. The narrator was changed by the tone that writer’s mother moved back to the past, and writer described her present to reflect her aunt’s image in her mind. I enjoyed reading cross cultural literature to understand different culture.  

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Maus is a graphic novel that Art Spiegelman drew his father’s experiences of Holocaust. Art was the post generation of Holocaust survivor, so he sketched father’s survivor stories to understand father’s trauma because his relationship with father was not good. He used metaphor the characters by races that Jews were maus and Germans were cats. He interviewed his father, and he attached several real photos to prove father’s trauma as accurate as the past experiences. His stories described politics, economics, and social problem during the World War 2. He not only explained father’s trauma, but he also pointed out his suffering due to not share the family legacy.

The characteristics of Vladek were handsome, ambitious, and well-educated Jew. After he survived Auschwitz, he was changed that he always worried about hungry, money, and anxiety. His wife Anja was also survivor of Holocuas, but she killed herself. Once, Spiefleman drew a short comic about her suicide that broken family relationship between Vladek and Art in Prisoner on the Hell planet. Contrast other literature; his graphic narrative had more strong power because it made reader feeling of guilty as not experienced. Spiegelman attached his brother’s photo to pay attention it as real historical tragedy. He showed how historical tragedy impact on individual life and next generation as trauma.