Final essay

Author: Monika Kvapilová

Date: 04.12.2023
Part 1
In this essay, we will compare and contrast the cultural ideas and realities of the
American education system from three sources. The first source is a part of President Ronald
Reagan’s speech that celebrates making public schools accessible for all. It is called Remarks
at a Briefing for the White House Workshop on Choice in Education (1989). The second
source is part of an article by Nikole Hannah Jones that shames American education for
unequal resources for white and black schools in an article called It Was Never About
Bussing (2019). The last source is a poem, Theme for English B (1951) by Langston Hughes,
depicting the poet’s hardships as the only black student at a university.
All these resources describe the issue of integrating black children into schools
where white children are the majority from different perspectives and periods. Hughes’s point
of view is from the 1950s, when he, as a coloured student, had to travel crazy distances to get
to a school where he would receive the proper education that he had the right to get. Almost
seventy years later, Jones’s article describes the same problem where black kids are forced ‘to
drive hours to get into a school where education is the priority because that school gets the
resources and funding that it needs. On the other hand, Reagen’s speech is made out of
celebration that all children, but mainly the black ones, have a choice in what school they can
attend. Basically, the thing that Jones is shaming was brought to live here.
Jones is not nitpicking about the idea that a black child cannot sit next to a white one.
She is complaining about busing, which should be unnecessary in this period of time. They
should know better. Busing is a means of transport for children going to school where they are
the minority. That transport takes some time as it usually is not in the close neighborhood. In
America, it is expected to go to school in their district. That has the consequence that the
black communities that usually live in one district go to the same school, a black school that
gets underfunded. That is not the fault of the school itself. Jones mentions, “The whiter the
school, the more resources it has.” That is why busing is so common. Once the parents
discover that if they want proper education for their children, they need to go to a white
school, they do it. Because parents want the best for their children, that cannot be apparently
said about the country because, as Jones said, “the country does not value black children as
same as white ones.”
Hughes’s poem only validates that statement even though it is seventy years prior.
Society moved from that time. There are many students with many ethnicities in one class
sitting close together. Nevertheless, the pitfalls the black student has to go through may differ
drastically from the obstacles that a white student has to overcome. The reality for both is that
people like to do similar things. Hughes likes to “eat, sleep, drink, and be in love,” the same
as other people. But doing those things may still viewed as not the same because they are
coloured. “So will my pages be coloured that I write?”
President Reagan’s speech celebrated people’s choice in accessing public school
education. That was a great step in the right direction, done too late but in time of need.
Reagen said, “Choice recognizes the principle that there is no one best way for all of us.”
However, if that were true, then there would not be bad options either. That is not the case, as
we have already mentioned above. There are bad “choices” that one can make because they
just cannot effort to make the good ones. That was and still is a present issue in many black
families. Education is the stepping stone for the future that follows, and it can make or break
the deal. In 1954, black children were afforded equal access to public schools. Thirty-five
years later, they have a right to choose the path they want to take regarding their education.
Now, thirty years later, there should be more steps following these ones at a much quicker
pace as there are still some wrongdoings being done on behalf of the black community.
People are still not being treated the same way.
People should be viewed as one giant melting pot with so many varieties of tones and
colours that one cannot distinguish white from black, where the choice they make is truthfully
a choice made for a reason different than their skin colour. That should be the aim of the
educational system, where there is no difference between black and white schools that are
solely based on an idea that nobody believes in anymore. But that is the issue. The belief that
white is worth more than black is still firmly rooted in some minds. That is a lie that needs to
be proven as such.
Part 2

B.

Amy is a character in Goodman’s short story, The Four Questions (1996). The story is about
an American Jewish multi-generational family that gets together to celebrate Passover. All the
children arrive from different parts of the country at their grandparents’ house.

Avi arrives from Connecticut with his girlfriend Amy, who attends university with him. She is
a lovely girl who tries to fit in and be helpful as much as she can. Even though she was raised
in a different faith, she tries to understand and learn about the Jewish one. She would be
perfect in Estelle’s eyes only if she were not part of a Methodist family that is quite religious.
“If only Amy weren’t Methodist. She is an absolute doll. “She has “gorgeous strawberry-
blond hair, “which makes her stand out even more in the family circle.

During the day, Avi sparingly leaves Amy’s side. He tries to make her comfortable and
includes as much as he can. He knows that his family has varied views and that some family
members would not be welcoming towards her. When they start reading the Four Questions,
the youngest one should start. Avi, the youngest of the children, is asked to start, but he
objects that Amy is two months younger and, therefore, she should read it. Amy wants to fit
in, so she reads it in English, which Ed dislikes because it sounds strange, and makes Avi read
it In Hebrew. After he is done, Amy asks Avi for an explanation. That shows that she cares
deeply about Avi and wants to be part of the family. Avi feels the same, as he already jokes
freely about marrying her. At that joke, none laughs.

In this story, Amy is portrayed as a stereotypical-looking Christian Protestant with a modern

outlook on life, and the Kirshenbaum family is the picture of Jews’ different views on faith
and its traditions and customs, clashing together and creating conflicts between generations.
Amy’s role in the story is significant because she shows the conflict between religions,
especially the issue the Jews have against eloping individuals with different faiths. Amy is the
perfect picture of a point that is discussed heavily between liberal and traditional Jews about
marrying out of religion.
C.

Amanda Gorman´s The Hill We Climb is a poem specifically written for the inauguration of
Joe Biden in 2021. This poem holds much meaning. Even the title says a lot about what is
said in the poem. The hill refers to the American myth City on a Hill, the God-given place
where everything is right. The fact that Gorman is pointing at its existence reinforces the idea
about this myth coming true someday. “that is the promise to glade, the hill we climb if only
we dare.” The fact that they are already climbing that hill to the top is taking back the idea of
already having to reach the peak that was forced upon them in the last few years.

The style that Gorman presented and recited the poem fits perfectly with that era. She is a
black woman “descended from slaves and raised by a single mother” who is standing next to
the President and before all the Americans at the Capitol in Washington, DC. She is
performing for all to see after two weeks prior to the riot on the Capitol. “We´ve seen a force
that would shatter our nation rather than share it.”

Society is divided but not broken. Therefore, there is nothing to save. Just keep growing as
they “are striving to forge a union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all
culture, colours, characters and conditions of man.” She encourages us to close the divide
between people created in the past and look for the future because that is what matters. “we
have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.” People started to see each other as
enemies and not as human beings that deserve respect and rights regardless the colour,
religion, or sex. “We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.”

The message of this poem is not to the rebirth of the country. It is the reconciliation of what
the country already is and making that better, recovering “every known nook of our nation in
every corner called our country.”
Part 3

Walker Brothers Cowboy (1968) by Alice Munro and The Day They Burned the
Books (1972) by Jean Rhys are short stories written by female authors that are appreciated for
their narratives that capture readers’ attention from the late 20th century. In this essay, we will
have a closer look at the stories, and mainly, we will compare and contrast the family
dynamics portrayed in them.

The relationship between the married couples is very prominent in both works. In
Rhys’s story, it is easy to see that there is a big unsolved problem. The husband, Mr Sawyer, is
an English man who lives on a Caribbean Island colonized by the United Kingdom. Nobody
knows why he chose to settle in the Caribbeans. He did not have a job there. He probably had
a private income because he owned a lovely house, but he still never fell in love with that
place like many others. He was a racist. That is why it was surprising that he married a
colored woman who was “decent, respectable, and nicely educated.” (Rhys, 1972, p. 37)

He acted atrociously towards her. He did not go very far for a bad word aimed at her
or for a slap, as one can imagine. “Look at the nigger showing off.” (Rhys, 1972, p. 37) He
would even bash her before people, selling the foul words as a joke. Mr Sawyer was abusive.
That illustrates the behavior of the British towards the colonized countries. It was one big
unhealthy relationship where one was in charge of the other. That created a foul tension in the
house because Mrs Sawyer stayed quiet and never said or did anything to go against it. Her
only compensation for her husband’s wrongdoings was the pleasant house. Mr Sawyer had a
room in the house that he used as his library. Many books were filling every shelf. Mrs
Sawyer hated that place with passion. When he died, she made sure to get rid of the room.
Surprisingly, Mr Sawyer died suddenly. It is not described in the book, but one can assume
that it was not an accidental passing because his death was very convenient for his wife, who
was finally free from the abuse. Getting rid of the books that symbolized the oppression of the
British on the Caribbeans was a symbolic act that set her free.

On the other hand, Munro’s story does not describe a dramatic relationship as Rhys’s
short story does. Ben Jordan, the husband, seems to be a nice man who works hard for his
family. He used to own a silver fox farm in Dungannon, but thanks to the depression, they lost
and came with nothing. They had to move, and he got a new Walker Brothers salesman job.
He was lucky to do so because, for many people, it was hard to find a job. After all, there
were none. At the same time, the job was not the best one. A person has to have the ability to
charm people and, at the same time, not mind being pushy in order to sell a product. They
need to have thick skin. Mr Jordan was a nice man, and it looked like he had some qualities
that made him good at that kind of job, but people had little to no money during that time, so
they often sent him away from their porches. Sometimes, they were not even trying to be nice
about it. “Somebody dumped down pee!” (Munro, 1968, p. 11)

His wife could never do that. She cared too much about what people thought of her
and her family, even though she pretended she was above that. When Mr Jordan got dumped
with pee, the first thing he said when he got into the car was, “Just don’t tell your mother that
she isn’t liable to see the joke.” (Munro, 1968, p. 11) She missed the fox farm and quite often
dreamed about the old times. She seems depressed and longing for her old life. However, it
seems she did not blame her husband for that. They had quite a normal relationship with each
other. There was no misbehavior or tension between one another. Problems could arise the
minute Ben’s wife discovers what he has been up to on his travels he must do as Walker
Brother. In the middle of the story, we get to know Nora, a single woman living alone with her
mother. The narrator, Ben’s daughter, has never met that lady before, but Ben seems very
familiar with her. By the look of her father and Nora, there was a chemistry, which could
imply a former relationship unknown to the narrator’s mother.

The narrator, Ben’s daughter, is a young girl who does not enjoy dressing up, which
she is forced to do by her mother when going outside with her shopping. She feels stupid in
posh dresses and made-up hairdos. She thinks her peers would make fun of her if they saw her
like that. That causes tension between her and her mother as she is called ungrateful for not
appreciating all the hard work that her mother has to put into making nice dresses for her.
That makes her closer to her father. That can also be seen by how we only get to know his
name from the whole family. In order to be closer to her father, she even goes on a supposed
work trip with him and her younger brother. The father tries to convince their mother to
accompany them, but she finds it too dull. She does not tell them that; instead, she pretends to
have a headache.

Nevertheless, the father tries to make the long road trip fun. He sings, makes jokes,
and encourages the children to play. He trusts his kids immensely by bringing them to Nora,
who lives outside of Ben’s territory. When she invites them inside her house, which is nice
and cool, she plays music and dances with them so the kids will not get bored sitting around.
She teaches the narrator to dance and even encourages her father to dance, too. The narrator
finds it intriguing that he never used to dance before or drink whisky as he is there. It almost
seems like her father has two lives, and she has no idea about the second one. When they say
goodbye to Nora, Ben invites her to visit them in their home, but it is clear from the
conversation that that is unlikely to happen. Even though it is not said so, Nora is a big secret,
but it is applied very carefully. It does look like nobody cares about it so much as the youngest
one is too young to notice, and she has an unspoken pact with her father that is not malicious,
unlike in the other short story.

The Sawyers’ relationship with their son in The Day They Burned the Books is quite
different. In the beginning, we can see that Eddie is quite like his mother. He is opposed to
everything the British have to offer, like strawberries and daffodils, that he has never seen
before but has to learn about anyway. Eddie is outspoken, unlike his mother. He says what is
on the top of his thong even though it may not be viewed as proper. His Caribbean half was
strong in a way where “he didn´t burn red or brown, he didn’t freckle much.” (Rhys, 1972, p.
39) However, after his father’s death, he takes over his library. While his mother
enthusiastically removes her husband’s presence in the house, Eddie tries to preserve it. While
in the beginning, he omits the English heritage that he got from his father, in the end, he
accepts it all and slowly turns into his father. He begins to be abusive towards his poor
mother, who just looks and does nothing about it. “Now I’ve got to hate you too.” (Rhys,
1972, p. 41) The question is if this could be avoided. His turning point was the burning books,
the only reminiscence of his late father. At that point, instead of embracing both heritages that
he got from his parents, he pushes one aside.

The two short stories are very different from one another, even though we can
observe the family dynamics. Rhys’s story is full of sadness and oppression, and on the other
hand, Munro’s story is easy to read without the anxiety that something will go wrong at any
moment. Even though Jordan’s family struggles too, their struggles are caused by the shortage
of money flow, unlike the Sawyer family, which has a lot of money but no love and respect
toward each other left in their household.