Journal Entry Quarter 3: 2

Note: This blog was posted last Saturday, but due to less than exceptional internet connection, apparently did not actually post.


          The values and contributions that minorities make to the American society are reflected both in Herland and in the Harlem Renaissance. Both the novel and the movement demonstrate the powerful misconceptions and missed opportunities of a society that ignores or puts down the minorities. Herland shows that women are at least as capable as men of making decisions, creating a stable land, providing for themselves, working towards a common goal, and sustaining a high level of organization and standard of living. Though the novel is written from an obviously feminist perspective (even at times as far as radical feminism), the overall argument is sound: women give to society the values of Motherhood. Herland suggests that the men of the world outside the secluded little nation of the same name have been mission the opportunity to create a more moral and caring society by making women a lesser part of their world.
          The message of the Harlem Renaissance was not so different. African Americans strove to prove that their culture was not inferior, was not to be ignored. They knew that they had music and art and literature to add to the culture of America if they could only convince whites to share it. Through the Harlem Renaissance they did show off their culture. They did make inroads into the greater mind of America, singing, dancing, and writing their way into the history of this nation. They had a "point to prove." Minorities, by color or by sex, can contribute greatly to the society, particularly the American society.