Angie Brown - Book Analysis Essay

Introduction

The book Angie Brown, A Jim Crow Romance, originally authored by Lillian Jones Horace, is centered on the struggles of black people during the era of Jim Crow (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Further, the author candidly describes the financial stress that weighed heavily on African-American women during the Jim Crow era. The views presented in the book sought to encourage black people to navigate life difficulties during the Jim Crow era by seeking education and, more importantly, pursuing economic self-sufficiency despite the barriers created by racial discrimination during the period (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Also, Lillian Jones Horace highlights that black people could achieve substantial economic progress outside the South, more critically because Jim Crow posed an economic threat to the blacks in the region (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Notably, the author's work revolves around optimism, where she indicates that black people were likely to leverage on economic opportunities, albeit limited to achieve individual and mass prosperity through education, hard work, and insightful social maneuvering.

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Understandably, Lilian Jones Horace focuses on the life of Angie Brown as a black woman, where she is struggling to earn her place and love in the hostile environment during the Jim Crow era. Angie brown's life mirrors the difficulties that were being navigated during the era (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). A heartbreaking moment is depicted when Angie's ailing child is denied medical attention because of their skin color. Angie and her child are given less than second-class citizens treatment, and this culminated in the death of her child in her arms. Angie Brown is distraught, especially in the wake of losing her husband and then the child. She feels lonely and could not find a way back home (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). The book paints a picture of a struggling young woman forsaken by her mother, and she had to struggle to guarantee her survival. Angie demonstrated hard work, and she gradually surfaced from the uncertainties that life had immersed her.

Further, Horace's work highlights the stifled economic opportunities in the South by Jim Crow and how black people struggled through to progress in their lives. The threat posed on the lives of the black people informs the suggestion by the author that blacks could find economic opportunities without the South (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). More significantly, the aspect of romance sprouts in the book despite a heavy focus on activism. Angie strives to find a pathway from her struggles by continuously learning and understanding the world and realizing that she can make a difference (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Her exposure to the world deeply encourages her, and she thinks that it is time to rise to save young African-American children who are racially discriminated against and denied vital life opportunities. Moreover, Horace's book exposes the financial plight of African-Americans and observes that the can disentangle from that through pursuing social, economic, and political advancement to ensure that they achieve their goals (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017).

More significantly, the book highlights that African-Americans could create economic opportunities despite the inherent obstacles during the Jim Crow era. Notably, after Angie witnessed the dark side of the world, she could also see the underlying beauty, and this motivates her to build herself to morph into a successful woman at the end of the story (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Additionally, Lillian Jones Horace's book provides insight into the interface of beauty and the agony of love, especially during the prevalence of injustice in the South. The book emphasizes economic self-sufficiency, and this is depicted by Angie's struggles to become a successful woman who does not depend on anyone for survival (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Towards the end of the book, Angie is demonstrated to have overcome barriers by emerging from being a domestic worker to become a co-owner of a "Colored" motel.

Lillian Jones Horace premised her book on different historical sources that highlighted the struggles of African Americans against the backdrop of racial discrimination (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Further, the author used cultural, gendered, and economic experiences to demonstrate the difficult lives of black people. She gathered ideas from black Texan women who were subjected to cruelty because of their skin color. Moreover, Horace sourced her ideas from their family's financial and socio-political problems in the South (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). She became cognizant of her mother's financial woes, particularly when her father failed in his responsibility to provide for the family. Further, as a black southern women educator, she was underpaid compared to her black and white peers in urban areas (Kossie-Chernyshev & Benson, 2017). Undoubtedly, this became an integral source for her book because she experienced financial difficulties first hand as a black woman.

Understandably, the author achieved the intended objective in highlighting the difficult lives of the black people in the South during the Jim Crow era. She demonstrated that black people could achieve social and economic progress when they become aware of their struggles and underlying opportunities, even in the face of racial discrimination. Horace succeeded in using powerful words to demonstrate to the reader that one can achieve great goals despite their racial background. More significantly, Horace's description of the financial difficulties of Angie Brown as a young woman cannot be used to remain in poverty. Still, an individual can achieve the desired goals through education and hard work. Additionally, the author made significant strides in illuminating the atrocities during the Jim Crow era and proceeds to encourage black people and particularly women, to overcome barriers in achieving their dreams.

Reference

Kossie-Chernyshev, K, & Benson, M. (2017). Angie Brown: A Jim Crow Romance. Outskirts press, Inc.