In A Lesson Before Dying and The Bluest Eye there is a repeated pattern of young black adolescents not speaking up, when being talked to. Silent answers or gestures are used instead of their voices, a subtle, but important detail. Jefferson and Pecola are robbed of their ability to send a message with words, knowing it will not affect their situation. Instead of speaking without getting results, they decide to be silent in many situations. They understand that their words do not play a significant role. Pecola does not talk much with many adults, i.e. when she as at the candy shop and the salesman is demanding her to speak up, “Christ. Kantcha talk?”(Morrison, 49). Jefferson does not speak up either when his family visits with the teacher, “He didn’t answer, and kept his eyes on the ceiling”(Gaines, 71). The characters being robbed of their ability to speak dehumanizes them and shows weakness towards the world around them.
Helwig, Charles C. “Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Conceptions of Civil Liberties: Freedom of Speech and Religion.” Child Development 66.1 (1995): 152-66. JSTOR. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
– This article explores the development of children through their freedom of speech. This is connected to the topic by showing how young African-American adolescents are being stopped from forming, they are left monstrous and abnormal, by not being able to progress through their speech.
White America. Prod. Eff Bass. By Marshall Mathers. Perf. Eminem. Music Video. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. .
– This Music Video my American rapper Eminem has a political message, touching upon the freedom of speech on how the government robs people of their voices to control them. This happens to Pecola and Jefferson, too. Once they do not have a voice they are easy to control, they are convenient when silent.
Orwell, George. 1984. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2005. Print.
– In this political novel, freedom of speech is not allowed by law, under the fear of the Big Brother. Jefferson and Pecola are also afraid of the older and powerful people, who are in control of their lives, whom law they obey and do not speak up.
Work Cited:
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson before Dying. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Vintage, 1993. Print.
