Analisys

1. you know, it's not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.

Many people try to blame the world or anyone around them for their problems. I feel as though in this quote he is expressing the importance of responsibility. He is saying that once you are introduced to certain aspects of the world it is all in your hands. He is also saying that only you can control what happens in your life.

2 It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective sentimentality limits their understanding of it, that the Negro in America has been able to tell his story.

He is analyzing what we listen to. I can get from this that he is expressing rap. Most of the terms expressed in rap is sex, drugs, violence, and money. All of the above in which is related to the African American society and movies. This is why we love and admire it so much because we can relate to it.

3 The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land.

I believe that this quote could tie in to many themes. The one I am more convinced about is race and cultural beliefs. You have to forget what has happened prior to your life and generation in order to maintain an American stature. One also has to become one with his surroundings.

4 Americans, unhappily, have the most remarkable ability to alchemize all bitter truths into an innocuous but piquant confection and to transform their moral contradictions, or public discussion of such contradictions, into a proud decoration, such as are given for heroism on the battle field.

This is critiquing Americans and their way of life. A lot of Americans are defensive or opposed to the idea of being in the wrong or being disagreed with. They also have the tendency to try and block out the truth if it is not what they want to hear. Last but not least Americans are great for turning an act of shame into pride.

5 It is a great shock at the age of five or six to find that in a world of Gary Coopers you are the Indian.

I am not to sure about this quote however I believe that he is expressing the view of the world from a single minded person. This probably means that this Gary Coopers person only views the world one way. This could also be a misguided interpretation being as though he was five or six at the time of acquiring this knowledge.

6 Any honest examination of the national life proves how far we are from the standard of human freedom with which we began. The recovery of this standard demands of everyone who loves this country a hard look at himself, for the greatest achievements must begin somewhere, and they always begin with the person. If we are not capable of this examination, we may yet become one of the most distinguished and monumental failures in the history of nations.

My opinion of this quote is that he is expressing what you have to do become a better citizen. Many people who "love this country" don't often show it with their words or actions. If you can not bring yourself to be as a respectful human being of your surroundings then how do you think your surroundings will turn out? The world doesn't magically get perfect on it's on, it takes time and people to change it back to what it was.

7 We cannot discuss the state of our minorities until we first have some sense of what we are, who we are, what our goals are, and what we take life to be. The question is not what we can do now for the hypothetical Mexican, the hypothetical Negro. The question is what we really want out of life, for ourselves, what we think is real.

I have come to a conclusion that this quote is mainly about stereotypes. Many people say that Chinese people need to learn how to drive or Whites need to stop being serial killers. Are their not Black serial killers and White people who need a drivers lesson or two? He is saying we need to find the ideal life style for ourselves before we can come to criticise another race or culture.

8 An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.

Thia quote speaks upon choosing how you are viewed in this world. He is saying that in order to acquire a positive structured identity you must first show that when opportunity strikes, you will take the right path instead of the fast or easy ones which seems so appealing in times of need.