In this essay Phyllis Allen gives us a display of her entire life and how it related to the culture changes through the decades. She gave examples to us about how she formed herself to these movements. Like in the 60’s when she first got a TV, she talked about how she witnessed the black people being beaten and abused, being told that she was a Negro and part of the march to freedom. Then during the 70’s she talks about how she gave up on the concept of non violent protesting and became part of the black pride movement. Then in the 90’s she talks about how she got into the credit card craze and eventually found herself in large amounts of debt. And then during this new millennium she refers back to her introduction where she gives a quote from her mother to be the best you can be.
I really like this essay. Although i am not really in the position to relate to it in any way considering I’m white and i have not quite experienced the the 50’s through this new millennium. I must say that i love the simplicity and structure of this essay. It starts out with a simple introduction from when she was a young girl and then for every paragraph it gives a general concept of her life through every decade. Then for the last paragraph it ties right back to the introduction. Like i said, i cant really relate to what she is saying but i do like how she says it.
I like this essay very much. Like you said, i can’t relate very well, but the structure was well done. She told a brief version of her life by the decades, giving us examples of how her beliefs changed over time. It shows her struggles and how she had matured by the time she had reached fifty.