Regional American Literature :: essays research papers

Journal Entry Regional American Literature & the SouthRegional American Literature seems to deal with specific areas and their culture. Culture has evolved throughout the years. Using the South as an example, its culture was clearly defined before the Civil War. The South was comprised mostly of slaves working hard picking cotton until their fingers bled for no pay, white supremacist slave owners quick to bludgeon at the slightest sign of insurgence and the rest of the populace unsure of which side they belong. Blacks were looked at as possessions, not allowed to understand how to read or write, sleeping in dark, damp shacks dirtier than animal stables, beaten and raped at their owners whim. Today, though the South still has an transmit of contempt that has carried itself through generation after generation of confederate pride, a new generation has a mind of its own believing that life is ameliorate lived in harmony. Our grandparents, mothers and fathers may still reference the African-Americans as niggers, but the phrase makes the children of the 21st centurys skin crawl. For example, my mother-in-law came for a visit and said, The Smiths house was bought by a bunch of niggers. There goes the neighborhood. All of our houses are worthless now. Her son and I are adamantly against racism. Their attempt to taint their childrens belief system by implanting white supremacist ideals has failed. A new generation is born a generation which break down understands the melting pot that America has forever been. Instead of white pride, its just pride pride in being an American. I believe this generation, being the so over-exposed to a wealth of media and knowledge, has drastically altered the regional literature of the South and for that matter, the United States as a whole. And how can adults operating under the old southern principals raise their children to value teaching and become doctors, lawyers and leaders of corporations. Maybe the parents didnt teach the children this drive for education? Maybe its their peer discussions and television programming showing them that there is an teemingness of opportunities outside of being a farmer, beer truck driver or a stay-at-home mother right out of high school. Television has been and continues to be a powerful tool in getting the word out to those underprivileged children living in poverty with seemingly no hope for a better life. Television is also assisting