I think in class we focused on the renaming of the town around the idea of how ownership of the name means ownership of the thing in the African-American experience. So then the question remains: is there a way out of the cultural decline or will there still remain the desire for false hope and promises? As part of the Black community, there has been evidence of “agitation” in order to get to “freedom.” Examples such as the trek from Selma, AL to Montgomery, AL during the 1960s, the countless of non-violent protest Blacks have enacted in order to get equal rights, and so forth all establishes this baseline. As Frederick Douglass once proclaimed “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. This reflects the point of how ex-slaves, or Freedmen, struggle to find themselves, their true identity through the writing of their autobiography.

Before they received their new name, the company decided to improve the quality of the product and to offer them in different colors so they could match the skin tones of all different racial ethnicities.

Print Word PDF. As Dr. Gourdine stated if you never change what you are doing you will never bring about the change .

Summary.

The allegory with the bandages and the toe is so appropriate because his whole body is put out of commission.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The Apex backstory spins out in a slow, retrospective treatment that competes with the town's travails. Many in the black community still identify strongly with the “festering and decaying” wounds of the past, but there is an almost overwhelming movement lead many in the same community that pushes to forget and move forward into progress. The bickering runs its course listlessly, and a last-minute discovery provides a convenient, bittersweet resolution. This narrative becomes an outcry for the removal of bandages and other adhesives that just merely hide the pain and hurt temporarily. In the same way; although a neat labelling of ‘Black Autobiography’ markets a book as simply a product of race, it cannot hide the complexity of the narrative that lies beneath or the importance of the ways race, gender and class interrelate. 4 pages at 400 words per page) View a FREE sample .

One of the options for renaming was supposed to be a meaning of blacks over coming hardships and having freedom indeed that meant a lot to some people. Following some of the discussion from last week’s blog posts, where we discussed ‘when is being black ever good enough?’, the instinct to rename to keep up with the times links to our theorising on the gaining freedom of identity. 3.5, 6 Ratings; $11.99; $11.99; Publisher Description. The use of names and the politics and emotions behind them are a key aspect in the book.The significance of naming and the power to give a name are very detrimental. During his visit, the main character is introduced to several citizens attempting to persuade him in favor of their preferred name for the town. Many times a name can have a meaning behind it that’s significant. He’s almost like a perfect fit for the job. For many years African Americans fought for their own identity to be recognized as a culture independently. Is it possible to move forward while constantly acknowledging it? More By and About This Author . During slavery and after, African Americans could not fix the problem (slavery); although many African Americans wanted freedom (equality) some were not able to obtain it.

To pick up on your point: “To prosper in the future, one must be clear about what happened in the past.” I think that this novel focuses on the need to account for the present as well as the past: using a word we mentioned in class, Struggle is a process, and as the country (shown through the metaphor of the city) is still in a stage of development, the name is fitting because of the continual process of genuine racial equality in society. There will only be new instances of the same showing up with the passage of time. But the question is, is there truly freedom amongst race, class, and gender throughout the world? Apex Hides the Hurt Colson Whitehead, Author. Struggle then becomes suiting in that, there is an never ending struggle for the African American; the struggle of being good enough, of belonging, of self worth and identity or the struggle of the past. To view 2 Short Summaries and 5 Book Reviews for this book, visit our Apex Hides the Hurt - Summary and Analysis … She explains that the library is relocating to make room for a shopping center. When reflecting on the idea of “struggle” I can clearly see that it is an integral part of African American culture. In this sense, the nomenclature consultant is little more than his job – that is the only thing he has ownership over. In addition, the journey the towns people are on to find a new identity for the town is going backwards instead of forwards. To remain conventional was a great way for them to continue following their traditions and customs of their ancestors. ARTICLES. This also links back to Dr. Gourdine’s statement that “Without a plan, you always end up where you are” and this plan “requires active engagement” in the reflective, critical, and constructive realms. The suggestion of the renaming of the town as Struggle by Whitehead’s protagonist gives the reader hope that the chain of misguided attempts at Freedom will finally be broken and a process may begin through which African Americans will actively engage in working towards Freedom from all of the oppressive structures at play today. I found that within the name of the town debate, the reader almost finds what’s considered important to each type of individual; whether older, younger, white, black, and so on. This quote forms the basis for our in-class discussion today concerning the three options for the renaming of the town in Apex Hides the Hurt. While definitions of post-soul, at least those posited by those who have staked their own generational sense of identity on it, have tended to suspend such judgments of value, to affect a kind of diffidence over whether essences or truths exist, As Dr. Gourdine stated if you never change what you are doing you will never bring about the change . In this response I want to focus on your idea of the bandage being a way of camouflaging what lies beneath. The novel follows an unnamed nomenclature consultant who is asked to visit the town of Winthrop, which (it turns out) is considering changing its name.

Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. In highlighting the inability to capture the whole product, is Whiteman questioning the validity of naming? It concerns the reader that their narrator is nameless as it means he cannot be identified and the town lacks an identity before it is named. But is the goal really to end the struggle? Douglass writes that, without active “agitation” one cannot hope to achieve “Freedom,” it is the Struggle that one should be proud of and work for, because the Struggle is what gives meaning to the Freedom. Although ‘Apex hides the hurt’ it does not cure what is festering underneath. Discussion Questions "Regina didn't speak for the rest of the ride to the hotel, leaving his eyes to jump from sign to sign. We must ask what is significant about this rebranding? The protagonist leaves his hotel room in search of the town library. Creating a loved community among different racial backgrounds was something that the town should have focused a lot more on, to start building foundation the naming should also be important for progress. Could this possibly their “struggle” to their “freedom?”. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” Struggle has been the platform of most African-American self creation, and by bandaging or dismissing that very disposition would be a complete and utter disgrace to history.

Struggle gives a realistic outlook on progress, but people do not want to put in the effort because the name scares off people because it sounds like unnecessary work. Hiding the truth behind history will only make things difficult for upcoming generations to fully understand their cultural backgrounds. From the MacArthur and Whiting Award-winning author of "John Henry Days" and "The Intuitionist" comes a new, brisk, comic tour de force about identity, history, and the adhesive bandage industry When the citizens of Winthrop needed a new name for their town, they did what anyone would do--they hired a consultant. Quirky what's-in-a-name?–style pontificating follows, and it often feels as if Whitehead is just thinking out loud as the nomenclature consultant weighs the arguments, meets the citizens and worries over the mysterious "misfortune" that has recently shaken his faith in his work (and even taken one of his toes). The town of Winthrop has decided it needs a new name. When he finds it, he sees that it is closed. Colson Whitehead's Apex Hides The Hurt takes a satirical look at the question and the answer, but also ingeniously blends in other aspects of cultural spoofs as we follow the adventures of a quirky (somewhat weird) "nomenclature consultant." Following the novels The Intuitionist (1998) and John Henry Days (2001), and the nonfiction The Colossus of New York (2004), a paean to New York City, Whitehead disappoints in this intriguingly conceived but static tale of a small town with an identity crisis. For African Americans the town naming was more than just a name; it was the foundation that had worked hard for to accomplish. They had to continue with life and daily duties while being hurt physically and emotionally. He can’t cover up the wound for too long before it starts stinking. In the novel, Goode allows the settlement of freed black men to be renamed as Winthrop, accepting the name and ceding the legacy of the town to a white man in order to take advantage of Winthrop’s economic connections.

This leads to questioning of the validity of the ‘bandage’ of marketing literature under a genre which only focusses on one dimension of a text. Topic posters, title your posts as comments to this. I think this connects to black autobiography in the sense that it is marketed on a platform of blackness, rather than by the actual contents of the autobiography. The overall circumstances of African Americans brought about fate to make them strongly appreciate the value of foundation that was built.

The Winthrops took over the town by offering industry and infrastructure, and at least one... (read more from the Pages 87 – 128 Summary). Or do African Americans need that element of hardship as a distinguishing trait of their culture? I agree that struggle is the only thing that will bring about change but productive towards the struggle is required as well. This relates to how in marketing, it is the image that is seen by the rest of the world that they are concerned with. The protagonist of "Apex Hides the Hurt "is a nomenclature consultant. This leaves him in the same state of limbo that the town is in while the debate about what to name it continues. With that Apex is sort of a medium within those categories because he’s experienced a connection with all their lifestyles. The new name of the town becomes more important than the town itself. This section contains 1,209 words (approx. Apex Hides the Hurt. Reflecting on Apex Hides the Hurt, I see a parallel with the nomenclature consultant’s toe and the mask people of color had/have to wear in the mist of struggles and disappointments.