It begins by introducing an unnamed black protagonist, whom Rankine refers to as "you.". The erasure of Black people is a theme that is referenced throughout Citizen.Rankine describes this erasure of self as systemic, as ordinary (32). Get help and learn more about the design. C laudia Rankine's book may or may not be poetry - the question becomes insignificant as one reads on. Perhaps this dissociation, seen in the literariness of Rankines poetics and use of you, speaks to the kind of erasure of self that happens when you experience racism every day. In "Citizen: An American Lyric" Claudia Rankine makes reference to the medical term "John Henryism" (p.13), to explain the palpable stresses of racism. A relevant question might be, talented . And this ugliness is some of what being an American citizen means. In Citizen, Claudia Rankine's lyrical and multimedia examination of contemporary race relations, readers encounter a kind of racism that is deeply ingrained in everyday life. The lack of separation between clauses creates a sense of anxiety as there is no pause in our readingRankine does not allow us breath. . Courtesy of Radcliffe Bailey and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. The text becomes a metaphor for the way racism in America (content) is embedded in the existing social structures of systemic racism (form). Courtesy Getty images (image alteration with permission: John Lucas). A neighbor calls while you are watching the film The House We Live In to say that "a menacing black guy" (20) is walking around your house. The Atlantic Ocean Breaking on Our Heads: Claudia Rankine, Robert Lowell, and the Whiteness of the Lyric Subject. PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, vol. We often say Citizen: An American Lyric study guide contains a biography of Claudia Rankine, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. "Citizen" begins by recounting, in the second person, a string of racist incidents experienced by Rankine and friends of hers, the kind of insidious did-that-really-just-happen affronts that. By merging poetic language with visual imagery, and subverting lyric convention in pursuit of her own poetic structure and form, Rankine forces us to see the erasure of Black people in every aspect of Citizen. The purposeful omission of the black bodies highlights yet again the erasure of Black people, while also showing us that this erasure goes beyond daily acts of microaggressions or the systemic forgetting of Black communities (Rankine 6, 32, 82). For Serena, the daily diminishment is a low flame, a . Leaning against the wall, they discuss the riots that have broken out in London as a response to the unjustified police killing of a young black man named Mark Duggan. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. The celebrated poet and playwright is preparing to deliver a three-part lecture series at the University of Chicago during a pivotal moment: Russia has invaded Ukraine; the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world; and the United States, she said, still teeters between fascism and fragile notions of democracy. They have become a you: You nothing. This was quite an emotional read for me, the instances of racial aggressions that were illustrated in this book being unfortunately all too familiar. The visual motifs of frames and cells illustrate the way racist ideology, which endorsed slavery, continues to keep Black people in chains in modern-day America. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. The physical carriage hauls more than its weight. How do sports in particular encourage spectators and officials to assume influence or even ownership over the bodies of. It's the thing that opens out to something else. The placement of the photograph at the bottom of the page is deliberate, as it makes the empty black space seem even smaller in comparison to the white figures and white space that surrounds it. In their fight against the weight of nonexistence (Rankine 139), Black people do not have the authority of an I. Racist language, however, erase[s] you as a person (49), and this furious erasure (142) of Black people strips them of their individuality and the rights that come with an I that are given during citizenship. In particular, the narrator considers what her own voice sounds like. Claudia Rankine, Citizen, An American Lyric (Graywolf Press, 2014). Figure 5. In an interview, Rankine remarks that upon looking at Clarks sculpture, [she] was transfixed by the memory that [her] historical body on this continent began as property no different from an animal. More books than SparkNotes. By talking about her experiences in second-person, Rankine creates a kind of separation between herself and her experiences. At this point, Citizen becomes more abstract and poetic, as Rankine writes scripts for situation video[s] she has made in collaboration with her partner, John Lucas, who is a visual artist. Black people are being physically erased, through lynching and racist ideology (Rankine 135). The separation of the Black and white subjects acts as a visual metaphor for the racial segregation of the Jim Crow era, as the Black and white subjects are separatednot only by the wooden frame of the image, but by the page itself. The frames, which create 35 cells on either page, also allude to Black imprisonment, as the subjects appear to be behind wooden prison bars (Rankine 96-97). I'll just say it. As a woman of color, I am always concerned about bringing a raced text into a classroom, especially at universities that are less diverse. Instead of following the woman to ask why she did this, the protagonist took her tennis racket and went to the court. This narrator, who seems to be a version of Rankine herself at this moment, remembers a different time with a different racial make-up than the one in which she currently resides. 137163., doi:10.1017/S0021875817000457. A group of men stand in solidarity behind the woman as she solicits his apology. Lyric Reading Revisited: Passion, Address, and Form in Citizen. American Literary History, vol. 52, no. Clearly - from the blurb and the plaudits - this is an 'important work' - and my failure to 'get it' is a failure to police my mind (or something). Figure 2. The emptinessthe lack of a corpse or a live body or faceis a literal representation of the erasure of African-Americans. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. It wasnt a match, she replies. This decision to use second-person also draws attention to the second-class status of black citizens in the US (Adams 58), or blackness as the second person (Sharma). You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Even the paper that the text is printed on speaks to the political nature of Rankines form, for the acid free, 80# matte coated paper (Rankine 174), which looks and feels expensive, holds within it so much Black pain and trauma. Eventually, the friend stops calling the protagonist by the wrong name, but the protagonist doesnt forget this. You are in Catholic school and a girl who you can't remember is looking over your shoulder as you take a test. (84-85); Did you see their faces? (86). Black people are facing a triple erasure: first through microaggresions and racist language that renders them second-class citizens; then through lynching and other forms of violence that murders the black body; and lastly, through forgetting. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Rankine concludes that this social conditioning of being hunted leads to injury, which then leads to sighing and moaning (Rankine 42). LitCharts Teacher Editions. It was a lesson., Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Yes, and leads to a narrow pathway with no forks in the road. In response, the protagonist turns the question back around, asking why he doesnt write about it. The protagonist experiences a slew of similar microaggressions. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Rankines use of the lyric deeply complicates the trope of lyric presence (Skillman 436) because it goes against the literary trope [that is often] devoid of any social markings such as race (Chan 152). You exhaust yourself looking into the blue light. When the clerk points out that the woman was next in line, the man responded, "Oh, I didn't see you.". [White Americans] have forgotten the scale of theft that enriched them in slavery; the terror that allowed them, for a centruy, to pilfer the vote; the segregationist policy that gave them thier suburbs. (including. What did he say? After a tense pause, he tells her that he can take his calls wherever he wants, and the protagonist is instantly embarrassed for telling him otherwise. Its a quick listen at 1.5 hours. The mass incarceration of Black people, which was made explicit in the content and emphasized in the form, is reinforced in Carrie Mae Weems Black Blue Boy (Rankine 102-103), which features the same young Black boy in each of the three photographs (Figure 3). The childhood memories are particularly interesting because they give the reader a sense of otherness right from the start. I think this is probably excellent and I enjoyed most of it but my caveat needs to be I am inept at appreciating poetry. You raise your lids. African-Americans are still experiencing hardships every day that stem from slavery such as racial profiling, and stereotyping. Rankine begins the first section by asking the reader to recall a time of utter listlessness. Rankine, Claudia. You can't put the past behind you. Johanning, Cameron. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Caught in these moments of racism, the Black subject is forced to ruminate on these microaggressions, processing how they have become reduced to that of an animal. I nearly always would rather spend time with a novel. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. She's published several collections of poetry and also plays. Share Claudia Rankine quotations about language, past and feelings. The artwork which is featured on the coverDavid Hammons In the Hood depicts a black hood floating in a white space. High-grade paper, a unique/large sans-serif font, and significant images. Its dark light dims in degrees depending on the density of clouds and you fall back into that which gets reconstructed as metaphor. Public Lynchingfrom the Hulton archives. It's / buried in you; it's turned your flesh into . On campus, another woman remarks that because of affirmative action her son couldn't go to the college that the narrator and the woman's father and grandfather had attended. By paper choice alone, Rankine seems to be commenting on the political, social, and economic position of Black life in America. Considering what she calls the social death of history, Rankine suggests that contemporary culture has largely adopted an ahistorical perspective, one that fails to recognize the lasting effects of bigotry. But even Tocqueville could not estimate the extent to which microaggressions would come to rule the lives of many in the states. You are told to use the back entrance of her house because this is where patients go to get trauma counseling. No one else is seeking. This reminds you of a conversation contrasting the pros and cons of sentences beginning with yes, and or yes, but. She says the things that we have all said and describes situations we have all been in. Best to drive through the moment instead of dwelling on it. In context, the author is referring to the weight of memory, the racial insults, the slights, and the mistreatment by other players. You say there's no need to "get all KKK on them, to which he responds "now there you go" (21). Placed right after the Jena Six poem, the images allude to the trappings of Black boys in the two institutions of schools and prison shown in the images double entendre. "Citizen: An American Lyric", p.124, Macmillan . So much racism is unconscious and springs from imagined . Figure 4. Her son went to another prestigious university instead. Reviewed: Citizen: An American Lyric. . You are in Catholic school and a girl who you can't remember is looking over your shoulder as you take a test. Usually you are nestled under blankets and the house is empty. Political performance art. In the beginning of this poem, Rankine asks you to recall a time when you felt absolutely nothing. Project MUSEmuse.jhu.edu/article/732928.Sdf, The Dissolving Blues of Metaphor: Rankines Reconstruction of Racism as Metaphor in Citizen: An American Lyric, www.guernicamag.com/blackness-as-the-second-person/. SHOTTS: It is an utterly amazing honor to work with Claudia. The wearer of the hood no longer exists, and the now empty hood has been cut off or detached from the rest of the body. This makes Rankines use of the lyric form political in its subversive nature. Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Here, the form and figuration of the text, which emphasizes white space, works to illustrate this key theme of erasure through visual metaphor. When he says this, the protagonist realizes that the humorist has effectively excluded her from the rest of the audience by exclusively addressing the white people in the crowd, focusing only on their perspective while failing to recognize (or care about) how racist his remark really is. Claudia Rankine is an absolute master of the written word. On a plane, a woman and her daughter are reluctant to sit next to you in the row. In the book Citizen, Claudia Rankine speaks on these particular subjects of stereotyping deeply. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Unsurprisingly, the protagonist is right. Anyway, I read this is a single sitting in bed and recommend it to everyone. And this is why I read books. It happens in the schools (6), on the subway (17), and in the line at the grocery store (77), where the non-Black teacher, everyday citizen, or cashier looks straight past the Black person. Some of them, though, arent actually all that micro. Rankine will answer . The way the content is organized, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. In the photograph, there are no black bodies hanging, just the space where the two black bodies once were (Chan 158). Moaning elicits laughter, sighing upsets. We categorize such moments just as we categorize the incongruous things that people say and who said them. Rankine believes that Black people are not sick, / [they] are injured (143). Rankine writes: we are drowning here / still in the difficultythe water show[ed] [us] no one would come (85). Eugene Jarecki, 2003) is about racial injustice. Claudia Rankine's book Citizen: An American Lyric was a New York Times bestseller and won many awards. "Yes, of course, you say" (20). Read the Study Guide for Citizen: An American Lyric, Considering Schiller and Arnold Through Claudia Rankines Citizen, Poetry, Politcs, and Personal Reflection: Redefining the Lyric in Claudia Rankine's Citizen, Ethnicity's Impact on Literary Experimentation, Citizen: A Discourse on our Post-Racial Society, View our essays for Citizen: An American Lyric, Introduction to Citizen: An American Lyric, View the lesson plan for Citizen: An American Lyric, View Wikipedia Entries for Citizen: An American Lyric. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. In disjointed and figurative writing, Rankine creates a sense of desperation and inequity, depicting what it feels like to belong to one of the many black communities along the Gulf Coastcommunities that national relief organizations all but ignored and ultimately failed to properly serve after the hurricane devastated the area and left many people homeless. Another sigh. 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