Unwritten rules
Unwritten rulesUnwritten Rules
"Just five decades ago, most black Americans could not work, live, shop, eat, seek
entertainment or travel as they chose (Jaynes and Williams 3)." This statement reflects the plight of African Americans during the time period described in " Incident" by Countee Cullen and "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka. These two poems show how black people were treated during a particular era in American history. In these two poems one can see how black people were segregated, excluded, and intimidated by the white majority during a particular time period. In both of these poems one can see all of the prejudices faced by black people and the struggle of white people to stay separated from black people. One can see in " Incident" by Countee Cullen and "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka, similarities that demonstrate the historical and sociological impact of this era on African Americans.
"Incident" and "Telephone Conversation" both reflect a historical period in America that deprived African Americans of basic freedoms. These poems show in simplistic situations that many prejudices held against African Americans during that time period. Historically, the 1930s was a time period when black Americans were made to feel as if they were subordinate to the majority. Cullen and Soyinka both reveal how black people were put down during this time period.
In this time period during which "Incidents and Telephone Conversation" occur, segregation of black people and white people was the social norm. In the majority of public places black and white people were forced to use separate facilities, among other things. Segregation was common in restaurants, schools, and businesses. "Segregation was the rule in public accommodations, health care, housing, schooling, work, the legal system, and interpersonal relations (Jaynes and Williams 58). In "Incident", a white child sticks his tongue out at a black child reflecting his feelings that he should not have to socialize with a black child. By this child's behavior, one can see how the ideas of this era were ingrained into society. Even a young child felt he should not socialize with a black child. This child felt that segregation was justified because he did not like black people. However, one cannot expect a white child to know how to socially interact with black children all his life. "Telephone Conversation" shows a woman who does not want to rent to a " very dark" man. This woman would like to separate herself from the obvious members of a minority group. This type of segregation was so common during this time period that the man placing the call felt he needed to disclose his color ahead of time in order to avoid " a wasted journey." The poems reflect a time period dominated by segregation of blacks and whites.
During the time of "Incident" and "Telephone Conversation" the exclusion of blacks was common place. This is most often noted in the inability of blacks to participate in the electoral process. Along with voting, blacks...
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