Nightjohn, "Mascot" and The Great Debaters Essay.

     Nightjohn is a story about a little girl named Sarny who lives on a slave plantation.  The story shows the life as a slave.  In Chapter 2, Sarny describes life in the plantation and how she does not know about reading or wealth.  Sarny's mom does not want her to collect money because she said people will take it away from her.  Also, Sarny's mom cooks on the plantation.  Waller, the plantation owner is described in this chapter. He carries a whip.  In Chapter 3, Nightjohn comes into the story.  Nightjohn is describes as having scars on his back from being whiped a lot.  Sarny meets Nightjohn at night, when Nightjohn asks for a lip of tobacco. Sarny asks him why he wants to tobacco and Nightjohn says he will exchange 3 letters for some tobacco.
The letters he was talking about were A, B, and C.  The first thing Sarny learned to write was "100 lbs".  Her mom told her not to learn how to read because if the slave owners see her learning they will whip her.  In Chapter 4, many things happened.  Jim and Pawley are talked about in this chapter, about how they tried escaping the plantation and how they died trying to leave.  Next, a girl named Alice is introduced.  Alice is a air-headed girl who was used for breeding.  Alice was whipped one day, and after that she tried running away but she did not get away because dogs visously attacked her.  She did survive though.  Later in the chapter, mammy sees Nightjohn teaching Sarny how to read and write and she hits Nightjohn.  Nightjohn covinces mammy to let him teach her so their story can get out.  After this, mammy is convinced and Nightjohn teaches Sarny more letters.  That is what happened in the chapters of Nightjohn.

 

“Mascot” is the story of Malcolm X when he is thirteen years old and is going through a important time of his life.  First, Malcolm describes how he first tried to become a boxer, but lost twice to a white boy named Bill Peterson.  Malcolm said he was embarrassed to even go to school because he lost to Bill.  After, he describes how his actions during school got him sent to reform school.  He would be going to a detention home in Mason, Michigan which was runned by Mr. and Mrs. Swerlin.   While Malcolm was staying with the Swerlins, he starts to realize something about white people that he soons has a problem with them because of this.   Malcolm thinks that all white people treat him well, but still treat him as if he were a pet, rather than another person like them.  He says a white man will never see a black man as he sees himself.  At school he is actually very popular, he even becomes class president but still notices the same thing.  Teachers and students use offensive language around him as if he would not care, and treat him more like a mascot than another student.  Malcolm in this chapter is impacted a lot when his half-sister, Ella, comes to visit from Boston.   Ella was a fairly successful woman in Boston. Malcolm really begins to look up to her.   Malcolm has the chance to visit her when shes asks him to.  While in Boston, Malcolm experiences a sense of community among other black people that he has never experienced before. He is very surprised by this and actually enjoys it. A event occurs in his life when he has a talk with his English teacher, Mr. Ostrowski.  When Malcolm tells Mr. Ostrowski that he wants to be a lawyer when he grows up, Mr. Ostrowski tells Malcolm to be realistic, and that Malcolm should consider something like carpentry instead.  But, Mr. Ostrowski encourages other white students to strive to be things like nurses and veterinarians, even though they are not as good of students as Malcolm.  This changes Malcolm inside.  Malcolm ends up moving to Boston with Ella, where he is happy.  That is what happens in "Mascot".

 

The movie The Great Debaters, Nightjohn and "Mascot" all show similarities to each other.  The movie was similar to Nightjohn because they both took place in Texas.  In each one of the titles there is rascism.  NightJohn and the movie occured in the South.  The movie and Nightjohn talked about reading and writing.  Harvard was in Boston and thats where Malcom X was.  Malcoml X feels a black expeirience when he visits Boston and so do the people in the movie.  Malcolm X and Samantha Booke were similar because they both wanted to be lawyers.  The Debate team went to Boston just like Malcolm X. Malcolm X and the debate team were both from small schools.  There were also many differences.  Nightjohn had slavery but the movie and "Mascot" did not have slavery, those blacks were free.  Next, Malcolm X lived in the North. Malcolm was also the only black man in his school while the debate team was from an all black college.  Also when Malcolm went to live with a white family he was openly welcome.  The debate team was looked apon badly when they were debating a white college.  These are the similarities and differences with the two stories we read in class and the movie we watched in class.