The Fourth Of July Analysis
In the essay, Fourth of July, Audre Lorde conveys her intense feelings of hatred towards white supremacy by narrating her first racist experience. In the summer of 1947, Lorde and her family leave their hometown of New York City to visit Washington D.C. as a graduation gift to Lorde and her older sister, Phyllis. Lorde’s Caribbean parents did their best to shield their offsprings from American racism; however, their efforts fail when they inevitably face the horrid reality when asked to leave a “white only” ice cream parlor. Lorde is outraged by the blunt discrimination. Her anger is further fueled by frustration when her entire family succumbs to the injustice with silence and submission. Although this essay takes place in 1947, the topic
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She makes sure that the reader understands that racial issues will be a major theme in the essay. This topic is first introduced amidst a happy memory of eating a home-cooked meal in the train, when Lorde is reminded that they cannot eat in the dining car with the excuse of financial and sanitary reasons. Lorde writes, “My mother never mentioned that black people were not allowed into railroad dining cars headed south in 1947. As usual, whatever my mother did not like and could not change, she ignored,” (Cohen, 255). In order to protect her children, Lorde’s mother ignores the fact that racism exists. This is accompanied by the information that Phyllis was unable to attend the Washington D.C. trip with her classmates because the hotel would not allow Black people. Her casual and curious tone suddenly escalates to anger when the family is kicked out of the ice cream shop. “No one would answer my emphatic questions with anything other than guilty silence. ‘But we hadn’t done anything!’ This wasn’t right or fair!” (Cohen, 257). She catches the reader’s attention by visualizing her pain by placing her reaction next to her family’s subdued reaction.
Lorde argues her point by using words such as “light” and “bright” to describe Washington D.C., and equating the blindingly white “monuments of freedom” with injustice and racism in the United States. Her anti-patriotism and discontent towards
She makes sure that the reader understands that racial issues will be a major theme in the essay. This topic is first introduced amidst a happy memory of eating a home-cooked meal in the train, when Lorde is reminded that they cannot eat in the dining car with the excuse of financial and sanitary reasons. Lorde writes, “My mother never mentioned that black people were not allowed into railroad dining cars headed south in 1947. As usual, whatever my mother did not like and could not change, she ignored,” (Cohen, 255). In order to protect her children, Lorde’s mother ignores the fact that racism exists. This is accompanied by the information that Phyllis was unable to attend the Washington D.C. trip with her classmates because the hotel would not allow Black people. Her casual and curious tone suddenly escalates to anger when the family is kicked out of the ice cream shop. “No one would answer my emphatic questions with anything other than guilty silence. ‘But we hadn’t done anything!’ This wasn’t right or fair!” (Cohen, 257). She catches the reader’s attention by visualizing her pain by placing her reaction next to her family’s subdued reaction.
Lorde argues her point by using words such as “light” and “bright” to describe Washington D.C., and equating the blindingly white “monuments of freedom” with injustice and racism in the United States. Her anti-patriotism and discontent towards