Mommy what does nigger mean essay
Journal 2 “Words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power”, Gloria Naylor. This statement couldn’t be truer. The validity of this here statement is the cause of conflict, in this story and our society as we know it today. There are many words in the average Americans vocabulary that can cause conflict when used, however none more than “nigger”. It’s not the meaning of the word nigger that causes issues, it’s the agreement among different groups of people what the word means, when, and how it is used. Naylor begins telling her story of the first time she heard the word nigger. She starts by informing us how growing up “the word nigger was used in my presence, but it was set within contexts and inflections caused it to register in my mind as something else”. Therefore in the third grade when she was called a nigger, it wasn’t really the first time she had heard the word. However she states that even though the word had been used around her before, she didn’t really “hear” it until it was used to humiliate her; this is where the issue is presented. This is exactly why I hate this word. It was once used a word of disgust referring to black people. However now, mainly by the black community, we have adopted and changed the word into something we use as a term of generalization, endearment, and as a descriptive word. It is used by people every day all around the world, just as a word in their everyday vocabulary. Still though, as soon as it rolls off the tongue wrong, letters are rearranged, or just comes out of the wrong person’s mouth, it is no longer a word of endearment or generalization, but now a word of hate. Therefore I believe it would be better off if this word was no longer used. I believe Naylor’s essay was incredibly written in a style that was very persuasive. She began by introducing us to some very valid points having to do with the power of words and words versus writing. She then began telling her story, but