QuaTonia Hawkins
Dr. Q
Comp II
11 April 2020
Introduction
American history has been embodied in movies, poems, and literal works to ensure the preservation of the efforts of those that were involved in various historical milestones in America. Harriet Tubman and Langston Hughes were among those that contributed to this country. Harriet, tirelessly fought against slavery while Hughes through his poems documented a vision for a better America. This paper seeks to analyze their documented contributions through the film Harriet which shares an account of Harriet Tubman’s life and Langston Hughes’s vision through his poem, “Let America Be America Again.”
Harriet Tubman Movie Review
Harriet Tubman is an American abolitionist whose efforts are portrayed in the movie Harriet, which will be reviewed in this section. In the movie, it is evident that the protagonist fled from slavery in the Maryland Farm. Through a hundred miles walk she reached Philadelphia specifically at the Anti-Slavery Society. There, she became a good friend to William Still and Marie Buchanon, the black advocates. Further, as an attempt to save her family from slavery, Harriet maintained some trips back home to free her family from black and white slave catchers (Hans, p 1-3).
In the film, Harriet saw herself as a stranger in the land of freedom. Leaving her family in slavery could not give her peace of mind as she well knew all the social problems they were undergoing there (Meilan, p 1-11). It took her quite some time to rescue her family from slavery in the southern state. Her efforts of liberation for her family were successful although one of her family members died in the slave land. However, as compared to other American icons of her kind, Harriet has rarely received scholarly consideration.
“Let America Be America Again”
The poem Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes in 1935 describes the American dream which encloses freedom, happiness, and equality and how it is impossible for many to attain the social virtues enclosed in the American dream (“Let America Be America Again Summary”, p 1-3). The speaker explains how such an ideal America in the dream has gone, but still giving hope for its future. The dream for a better America, however, has been seen as a cruel illusion by the oppressed, poor and downtrodden. This is shown by looking at how the society has treated black people. They were forced to work but were not paid. Besides, the society had suppressed challenges that the oppressed could air their grievances. However, the poem ends up with a light to the future giving hope for a better America, which can only be achieved when American society gets rid of their criminal and rotten system.
The Aspect of Motivation in The Poem and The Movie
The speaker in the poem ends by utterances of hope to Americans by stating that, despite the rotten criminal system. Americans will renew, refresh and re-establish America into a good place. Moreover, the speaker holds that there is a possibility of remaking the beloved true America again. The speaker calls for all the persons to convert the land, the rivers, and the plants and make America great again. Also, the motivation behind the poem is equality as the persona feels that people of his race are not given opportunities as other people in society. He yearns for freedom, happiness, and equality, which seems impossible for his people to get.
Moreover, Harriet’s director added that Harriet’s actions were mainly motivated by the affection of her family. In the movie, Harriet’s motivation to free her family from slavery in the southern state outdoes races and borders. Her motivation was as a result of love and passion for her family. Harriet wanted her family to feel the same freedom she had at the Southern states, therefore, she went back and helped her folks to escape slavery.
Dramatic Monologue in The Poem and The Movie
In the poem, the speaker has employed dramatic monologue in his anger and resentful tone. He addresses the unknown listener throughout the poem. Some of the monologues are seen where he says “O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, and yet I swear this Oath-America will be!” (“Let America Be America Again” Summary, p 5-9). There is a lot of dramatic monologue in the poem where the poet seems to talk to himself. The monologue in the poem points out how the persona and his people were exploited in America. He explains that people like him work, but they never got paid, and when they strike, the authorities shot them. Thus, they have no voice in society. He also pose a rhetorical question asking who was free; this implies that they were not free at the time.
Likewise, a dramatic monologue in the movie is also evident. Harriet pleaded with God as if she could see Him. After she heard some rumors about Brodess’s intention of selling her and other siblings to slaveholders, she talked to God praying “Oh, God if you aren’t going to change that man’s heart, kill him, Lord, and take him out of the way” (“Let America Be America Again Summary”, p 5-9). Her prayers depict that she cared for her family and she did not want to be separated from them. This monologue highlights her faith in God, she left that she had nowhere to turn to but towards God.
Tragedy in The Poem and The Movie
In the poem “Let America Be Great Again”, tragic events are more evident. The speaker of the poem sees America as not the America he expected it to be. Full of distress crime, looting, inequality and lacking consideration for the poor, America had to be reformed. Line five of the poem reads “America was never America” to show how far Americans were from equality, freedom, and liberty. Tragedy in the poem is depicted through the shooting of the speaker’s folks. The persona has mentioned that whenever they went on strike, they were shot at, and this implies that a large number of people died, leaving others wounded.
Likewise, in the movie, tragedy is evident where the film’s protagonist dies at the end. Harriet had managed to rescue more than three hundred slaves but she later died towards the end of the film. The movie portrays that Harriet is a hero whom death has taken away. She rescued some from slavery, and they were going to continue championing for the freedom of slaves.
Psychoanalytic Criticism in the Poem and the Movie
Sigmund offers a three-layer analysis of the mind and with focus on the preconscious. It is evident that human memory serves a major part in determining the anxieties of the authors in the poem and the experiences that Harriet deals in her life as she tries to escape slavery. The psychoanalytic criticism claims that literary works express the author’s secret anxieties and desires and they are an exhibition of the author’s fixations (Holt and Freud, p 160-179 ). The poem relates to psychoanalytic criticism by giving the reader dream-thoughts which strike unusually than they are expressed by the poet. The poem uses metaphors and similes to represent the poetic speech. The speaker in the poem shows unresolved feelings and doubts of the real America (Lynn, p 156).
In the movie, the aspect of the paradox is also evident as a literary device to show self-contradiction. The approach may arise in examining what the film, not intended to portray than what it intended to show (Wright, p 46). For instance, the shift of focus from Tubman’s escape to her rescue mission may pose some criticism such as, why should she flee from the south and later come back to the same place?
Conclusion
This review brings into perspective the different contributions that have been made in literature as they aim to portray historic events. Through literal analysis that includes dramatic monologue and motivation, this analysis has offered a detailed understanding of these works. Additionally, the analysis of tragedy and psychoanalytic criticism has also been included to provide detailed information on the paper.
Works Cited
“Let America Be America Again Summary.” Owlcation. N.p., 2020. Web. 26 Mar. 2020.
Hans, Simran. “Harriet Review – Thrilling Drama About the Abolitionist Harriet Tubman.” the Guardian. N.p., 2020. Web. 26 Mar. 2020.
Holt, Robert R and Sigmund Freud. Freud reappraised: A fresh look at the psychoanalytic theory. Guilford Press, 1989.
Lynn, Steven. Texts and contexts: writing about literature with critical theory. Addison-Wesley Longman, 1998.
Meilan, solly. “The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie.” Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., 2020. Web. 26 Mar. 2020.
Wright, Elizabeth. Psychoanalytic criticism: A reappraisal. Taylor & Francis, 1998.