Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge Comparison free essay sample

Pedro Rodriguez Exam #1 The Great Migration reshape of American History Rudolph Fisher in the story Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge does a great job by exploiting the different characters of the Great Migration. For example, for immigrants that has just arrived to Harlem Fisher highlights Miss Cynthie and Gillis. For immigrants that are established in Harlem Fisher highlights two characters headed in two different directions; one is David an established artist, second is Uggam a person involved in illegal activities. All of these serve the purpose of reporters for the reader to get a deeper knowledge of the life during the Great Migration. When Miss Cynthie arrives to the city of New York she is flabbergasted at the decorum that she is shown. We see this when the red cap gentleman calls Miss Cynthie madam something that she have never heard in Waxhaw. In the book Miss Cynthie tells the red cap gentleman â€Å"you liked to took my breath back yonder, boy, callin’ me madam. We will write a custom essay sample on Miss Cynthie and City of Refuge Comparison or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Back home everybody call me Miss Cynthie†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Well, you see, we call everybody madam†(page 36-37) Miss Cynthie is astound that in New York people show so much respect to others; her perspective of the city has already changed. At first she expected that the way that she was going to be greeted was similar to how she is greeted in Waxhaw; as Miss Cynthie not as madam. You can further read of Miss Cynthie dubious perspective towards the city during her conversation between her and the young man. The young man tells Miss Cynthie â€Å"There aren’t any snakes in the city†. â€Å"There’s snakes everywhere, chile†. page 35) This paradoxical exchange between Miss Cynthie and the gentleman exposes how oblivious both are to each other’s background. The gentleman is talking about actual snakes and Miss Cynthie is referring to burglars. There are major discrepancies between the lexicon of people in Waxhaw and New York. Miss Cynthie meanwhile, alr eady has a pre-determined assumption that the city like her town of Waxhaw will have burglars. Another assumption that you can read that Miss Cynthie has is that in order for a person to be successful they must be a doctor or an undertaker. We read about this interaction when Miss Cynthie is talking with the red cap gentleman. Miss Cynthie says â€Å"But he’s done succeeded at sump’m. Mus’ be at least a undertaker, â€Å"cause he started sending’ the homefolks money, and he come home las’ year dressed like Judge pettiford’s boy what went off to school in Virginia. †(page 36 – 37) Miss Cynthie’s perspective as the new immigrant into the city is that if you are a successful person that you must have become successful because you are a doctor or an undertaker. Miss Cynthie’s believes that is the only possible way that David must have become successful. Miss Cynthie’s perspective is very narrow in which she believes that Doctors and Undertakers are the only ones that can be as wealthy as David. Miss Cynthie’s perspective of Dave’s career is look down upon once she finds out what Dave has actually become. She has a pre-determined assumption that the crowd watching the show must not be following the acts of God. We see this when in the story it states â€Å"She sat with stricken eyes watching this boy whom she’d raised from a babe, taught right from wrong, brought up in the church, and endowed with her prayers, this child whom she had dreamed of seeing a preacher, a regular doctor, a tooth-doctor, a foot-doctor, at the very least an undertaker—sat watching him disport himself for the benefit of a sin-sick, flesh-hungry mob of lost souls, not one of whom knew or cared to know the loving-kindness of God;† (Page 45) Miss Cynthie’s perspective is that if you are dancing and exploiting yourself in this form, then you must be worshipping the devil. She also has determined that the audience does not have any interest in appreciating the work of the lord. Furthermore, we read once again of Miss Cynthie’s interest of having her son seek a career that would bring more dignity than a dancer. We finally read about Miss Cynthie perspective changing and her accepting her Grandson’s career once she sees that Dave has sang a song that she taught him when he was young. What we are able to see from this change of heart is that Miss Cynthie understands that just because Dave chose a different career it does not mean that he forgot about the morals that she taught him. We see Miss Cynthie’s perspective towards Dave changing when in the story it says â€Å"Miss Cynthie, smiling at him with bright, meaningful eyes, leaned over without rising from her chair, jerked a tiny twig off the stem of the flower, ten sat decisively back, resolutely folding her arms, with only a leaf in her hand. â€Å"This’ll do me,† she said. †(page 47) The action of Miss Cynthie reaching for a leaf is a symbol of her acceptance towards David’s career. Miss Cynthie perspective towards the north changes, as she is able to acknowledge that just because you are ancing does not mean that you lose your morals. Dave’s perspective in the story is a very seldom one because he wants to slowly get Miss Cynthie accustomed to live in the North. The way that Dave does this is by showing Miss Cynthie around the town and then finally decides to take her to watch the play. We see evidence of Dave’s humbleness when Miss Cynthie ask Dave about h is career and she mentions that she prefers for him to be a doctor or at least and undertaker, Dave responds â€Å"Undertaker! Oh, Miss Cynthie—with my sunny disposition? † (page 38) This was a very humble approach by Dave to take. The perspective of the immigrant that already lives in Harlem is not to be astound but more to be a progressive. Dave sounds like an ambitious individual that would not settle for less. We see evidence of Dave’s ambitiousness when he and Miss Cynthie are talking about churches Dave says â€Å"Nobody’s hand-me-down gift†, which Miss Cynthie responds â€Å"Oh, yes, it was a gift, David. It was a gift from on high†. (page 39) Dave is telling Miss Cynthie that everything everyone in Harlem has achieves is because they have worked hard that nothing has been handed down. Miss Cynthie of course repudiates those comments by stating that everything has been handed down from God. In the story of City of Refuge Gillis is fascinated in seeing a black person in power. Gillis perspective is that he would never see a black police officer in power and that is why he abides; when the black officer is going to reprehend him. We see this in the last page where it states, â€Å"Gillis found himself face to face with a uniformed black policeman. He stopped as if stunned. For a moment he simply stared. Into his mind swept his own words, like a forgotten song suddenly recalled:â€Å"Cullud policemans! †The officer stood ready, awaiting his rush. â€Å"Even — got — cullud — policemans —†Very slowly King Solomon’s arms relaxed; very slowly he stood erect; and the grin that came over his features had something exultant about it. † (Page 11) Gillis is amazed to see a black person in power that he is no longer going to resist arrest. The story states about how he had this big grin on his face when he saw the black officer and this grin is a grin of accomplish. Gillis feels like black people have had a big accomplishment. Back in North Carolina he was wanted for murder and it was not going to be a black officer that was going to arrest him. The City of Refuge is the epitome of the great migration. The story talks about all the different activities that were going on in Harlem at the time. For example, in the story it talks about the Harlem Hell Fighters, when it mentions â€Å" The Uggams were always talking about it; one of their boys had gone to France in the draft and, returning, had never got any nearer home than Harlem. (page 1) The Harlem Hell Fighters were a unit of black airmen that fought in World War 1 for France. This story makes a great connection with the great migration because only in Harlem at the time where black people given the chance to serve their country. We further read about the great migration when Gillis just arrives in Harlem and he has notice black people everywhere. In page 1 it also states â€Å"Negroes at ev ery turn; †¦ women, bundle-laden, trudging reluctantly homeward, children rattle-trapping about the sidewalks; here and there a white face drifting along, but Negroes predominantly, overwhelmingly everywhere. There was assuredly no doubt of his whereabouts. This was Negro Harlem. † This story helps explain the great migration and how blacks were settling in Harlem. This also helps to distinguish the different black folks that were settling in Harlem. The narrator descriptive details of the people that lived in Harlem at the time, helps validate the variation of people that were migrating to the north. Uggam as the immigrant that has lived in Harlem perspective is to find a way that he can survive rather than worry about racial discrepancies. We see this when Uggam is having the conversation with King Solomon and King Solomon tells Uggam that he wants to be a police officer. Uggam’s response is â€Å"You’ll do it,† laughed Uggam, â€Å"if you live long enough. † (page 10) Uggam is not too concerned with dreams and aspirations his main objective is to survive. King Solomon on the contrary does have some dreams of his own but Uggam mockingly tells Solomon the answer that he wants to hear. Even though, Uggam does not believe that Solomon will live to become a police officer. Uggam’s entire perspective throughout the story is to find a way to survive. To conclude, both City of Refuge and Miss Cynthie helped reshape some of the stories that we do not hear during the great migration. Both stories served the purpose of informing the readers of stories that transcended through Harlem. Throughout the text, Miss Cynthie and Gillis perspective is mostly in astonishment; while, Uggam and Dave’s perspective is shaped on a will to survive and progress.