Citizen, By Claudia Rankine Essay - 1098 Words

Citizen, is a book by the author Claudia Rankine, who was born in Jamaica, and then immigrated to the US at a young age. After seemingly absorbing and understanding the culture of America, she writes the book Citizen, to not only define violence, but as a voice to black individuals on the racism and violence they face daily. The book does a very good job of putting the reader in the shoes of a black individual in America, without not making it believable. The book has its own style, which is used to show the violence that blacks face daily. This book was the perfect addition to the course in the sense it unwittingly attempts to answer the question, â€Å"How does it feel to be a problem?†. In reading this book, I could directly identify with the various forms of violence and especially the violence against black individuals. Being a white moderate with seemingly no identity to find, at the time of reading this book, Citizen helped shape the ideas of what I would have to answer the question â€Å"How does it feel to be a problem?†, as well as helping me form an identity within myself. The question â€Å"How does it feel to be a problem?†, is a question that per Citizen, is not answered with a simple or easy solution. That being a problem is more a question on the individuals who have this problem, rather than the black individuals themselves who carry this burden of a† problem†. Citizen, for me helped illuminate the real problem which as described above is more of a matter of people whoShow MoreRelatedCitizen, By Claudia Rankine Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesWhen one thinks of a â€Å"citizen†, they often imagine the process of gaining the title of becoming a citizen within a country. But often times people do not think of â€Å"citizen† or â€Å"citizenship† to be connected to race. In Claudia Rankine’s book â€Å"Citizen†, she takes time to discuss and display specific moments that have happened in the lives of African Americans who live in the United States. By doing so, she is investigating in depth of what it means to be a Black American â€Å"citizen† today in society. TheseRead MoreCitizen : An American Lyric By Claudia Rankine1604 Words   |  7 Pagespray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.†- C.S. Lewis Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine is a lengthy poetic attempt at exposing the competing consciousness pertaining to race and racism in society, pitting the historical person against the individual. Set side by side with The Souls of Black Folks and This Land is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie, Citizen takes on a very distinct impression of separate identities competing in one person. W.E.B. DuboisRead MoreCitizen An American Lyric By Claudia Rankine1505 Words   |  7 PagesCitizen An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine is a unique piece of literature that truly encompasses the concept of being a Black Intellectual assessing the state of Black people in the American society. Among many of Rankine s passages in Citizen, she addresses microaggressions, racial incidents and current events surrounding Black Americans. From there her novel further transitions into assessing high profiled racial and political cases in America of Blacks who have died unjust deaths, as wellRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Citizen By Claudia Rankine Essay1756 Words   |  8 PagesCitizen, written by Claudia Rankine in 2014, narrates testimonies of systematic racism and every day micro aggressions through poems, essays, scripts and images. Rankine documents the racist encounters through the second person point of view for the reader to feel and understand the effects racism has on the bod y and mind. This paper will examine hypervisibility and invisibility of the black body embedded in the novel because of decades of racism. Rankine emphasizes the sensory emotions and feelingsRead MoreClaudia Rankine s Citizen Contains A Number Of Intricate Images905 Words   |  4 PagesClaudia Rankine’s Citizen contains a number of intricate images usually following a story within a section of the lyric. Using the context of the story, one is able to perceive his or her own meaning for why the image was included. The images provoke thought and emotion in many different ways. While an image may seem sad to some, others may decipher a positive or progressive view of their own. The true beauty of these images alongside their text is that they will bring forth a unique response fromRead MoreRacial Profiling And Discrimination By Claudia Rankine s Citizen : An American Lyric Essay1366 Words   |  6 PagesRacial profiling and discrimination is an underlining theme in Claudia Ra nkine’s Citizen: An American Lyric. The author uses everyday encounters to expose the harsh reality African American people live. Rankine’s perspective on racism is applicable to years dating from 1860 and to present day occurrences. Discrimination against African Americans is a continuing problem. Although slavery does not exist today, African Americans continually grieve the agony their ancestors faced throughout the CivilRead MoreDiscussing Theme Of The Works Of Claudia Rankine896 Words   |  4 PagesDiscussing theme in the works of Claudia Rankine Claudia Rankine can best be described as a Jamaican American poet who is constantly â€Å"challenging notions of what poetry should look like.† (Leszkiewicz) Spending most of her life in a predominately white neighborhood, Rankine is an advocate for black lives and notes in one of her poems â€Å"by transforming the slain black body into a public spectacle, America is able to observe such tragedies at a distance.† (Rankine) By discussing what people are uncomfortableRead MoreRacism And Prejudice By Claudia Rankine889 Words   |  4 PagesCitizen (2014), by Claudia Rankine, is a book that explores racism and prejudice that is happening in the United States. Rankine incorporates personal encounters, reactions, reflections, writing and art pieces, historical events, and the media to prove the point that racism is still very prominent to this day. For a majority of the book, Rankine writes short pieces about her personal encounters that deals with some form of racism, whe ther it happened to her or if she witnessed racism happening toRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Living Color By Claudia Rankine903 Words   |  4 PagesIn Living Color Citizen (2014), by Claudia Rankine, is a book that explores racism and prejudice that is happening in the United States. Rankine incorporates personal encounters, reactions, reflections, writing and art pieces, historical events, and the media to prove the point that racism is still very prominent to this day. For a majority of the book, Rankine writes short pieces about her personal encounters that deals with some form of racism, whether it happened to her or if she witnessed racismRead More##toric Themes In Claudia Rankines Citizen : An American Lyric834 Words   |  4 Pagesof the United States. Claudia Rankine’s collection of poems, â€Å"Citizen: An American Lyric† explores these themes. The lyrical themes found in Midnight Oil’s songs relate to Citizen as they exemplify the racial struggle between the Aborigines and the white settlers of Australia which can easily be related to the struggle of the blacks and whites in the US which is exemplified in the son gs Beds Are Burning, Warakurna, and The Dead Heart. In the collection of poems, Citizen: An American Lyric, the