Ashley 1920 Mumbo Jumbo Essays (726 words) - American Writers

Ashley Altidort Professor Keene Recent Trends in AM Fict February 25 , 2017 The 1920's Mumbo Jumbo An age of dramatic social and political change, the 1920s was the time to be. Coast-to-coast, w omen demanded more freedom, became more sexually "free" compared to their past generations, and now held the option to vote. America's economy was booming in acceleration due to their ability to provide for World Wa r I and with the new inventions, invoking a birth of mass culture. Generating from Southern states, an influx of African Americans migrated to Northern states, creating the influential Jazz Age. It allowed African Americans to not only express how they felt musically but also perform countrywide. However, the era's social tension also spoke grand measures in the infamous period , like the prohibition law that banned the manufacture and sale of liquor, but encouraged and created speakeasies, an illegal bar. Finally yet importantly, a cultural civil war broke out because some parties failed to agree with African Americans growth both socially and economically . Society 's morals and values began to chang e as Blacks chose to migrate from the countryside to the city while the nation's wealth and growth triplicated. Granting women the option to vote allowed "new w omen " to prove to men that they are of equal superiority and will not tolerate abuse and impudence. They did as they pleased without the approval of their significant other, such as dressing more provocatively, educating themselves, and occupying the city in search of jobs to avoid what they were used to, being a typical at-home wife . The availability of birth control devices, like the diaphragm, also allowed women to have more control and structure over their own life, something that's been uncommon for most . Haitian lw as , present in Reed's "Mumbo Jumbo, were voodoo masters that did black magic and always arose suspicion within the community due to the magic's inexplicability . I n Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed , Papa LaBas, which translates to "Papa's over there" is a voodoo ritualist that practiced the religion of voodoo and was rumored to do magic on people who attempted to insult the black culture/community. "A warehouse burned after it refused to deliver a special variety of herbs to his brownstone headquarters and mind haberdashery where he sized up his clients to fit their souls. His headquarters are derisively called Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral by his critics." (Reed 23) To further emphasize Papa LaBas's strength and power, Reed described a former experience where when Papa LaBas didn't get what he wanted , the supplier payed the price. To recognize the virus Warren Harding called the livelihood of the African American s in the 1920s , Reed used "Jes Grew", insinuating that African American culture "just grew" according to the whites surrounding African Americans. Jes Grew , " sleeps after the night of howling, speaking-in-tongues, dancing to drums; watching strange lights streak across the sky." (Reed 17) Reed uses a metaphor to compare the African American culture to a fierce beast that seems to sleep at night and dances to the sound of their drums, speaking in their own native language . However, the excitement and freedom African Americans sought through "Jes Grew" of course , created pr oblems within white supremacists, so they made any attempt to try to deteriorate Jes Grew , even insult ing Haiti 's image . Ishmael Reed 's "Mumbo Jumbo , " consisted of both fiction and history, depicted a story about a viral breakout of black culture , called "Jes Grew"- including song, ebonics, and dance , being spread throughout America,. Mainly because it was uncommon to those who didn't practice it, the virus induced enough confusion and rage to have groups of people aim to end it because it seemed impractical and was viewed negatively. Reed portrayed an important period for African Americans in the 1920s as a virus because in the 1920s, the African American social and economic growth was viewed as such, so hate groups like the KKK made attempts to stop them, and in the novel it was the Wallflower Order . In comparison with all the other novels