Harlem Renaissance & Theory
This 1920s-1930s cultural, social, and artistic explosion was centered in a New York City neighborhood and celebrated African American culture.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
In the poem "Dreams," Hughes warns that if dreams die, life is like a bird with this specific physical limitation.
What is a broken wing?
This character serves as the observant, somewhat tolerant narrator of the novel, who moves from the Midwest to West Egg.
Who is Nick Carraway?
This physical object at the end of Daisy’s dock serves as a key symbol of Gatsby’s unattainable dreams and hopes for the future.
What is the green light?
To quickly execute his illegal street art before getting caught by police, Banksy relies heavily on this artistic technique.
What is stenciling?
In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois coined this term to describe the internal conflict of seeing oneself through the eyes of a racist society.
What is double consciousness?
Written when Hughes was just 17, this poem connects the African American soul to ancient waterways like the Euphrates, Congo, and Nile.
What is "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"?
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously used this phrase to describe the roaring, carefree, and prosperous decade of the 1920s in America.
What is the Jazz Age?
This massive, decaying billboard featuring giant blue eyes over yellow spectacles watches over the Valley of Ashes.
What are the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?
Banksy's true identity remains unconfirmed (let's pretend), but he is known to have emerged from the underground graffiti scene of this British city.
What is Bristol?
This literal and metaphorical barrier, conceptualized by Du Bois, suggests a psychological wall that separates Black and white Americans.
What is the Veil?
In "I, Too," the speaker declares that despite being sent to eat here when company comes, tomorrow he will be at the table.
What is the kitchen?
This fictional location on Long Island is where the "new money" residents, including Jay Gatsby, live.
What is West Egg?
Daisy’s arrogant, wealthy husband Tom Buchanan is characterized by his adherence to this specific, aggressive pseudo-scientific racial theory.
What is white supremacy?
In 2018, Banksy shocked the art world when this iconic painting of a child with a heart-shaped balloon self-shredded immediately after selling at auction.
What is Girl with Balloon?
Serving as a literal and symbolic safe haven, this specific New York neighborhood acted as a "Black Mecca" that sparked the movement by drawing diverse Black intellectuals and artists together in one dense urban center.
What is Harlem?
In "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," the speaker states that his soul has grown deep like these.
What are rivers?
Representing moral decay and industrial waste, this dreary stretch of land sits between West Egg and New York City.
What is the Valley of Ashes?
Fitzgerald uses this specific type of narrative style, where the story is told by a character who may filter or misinterpret events due to bias.
What is an unreliable narrator?
Because street art is frequently painted over, removed, or exposed to the elements, Banksy’s work embodies this quality, meaning it is fleeting and not meant to last forever.
What is ephemeral?
Derived from the French word for "rebirth," this term refers to a fervent period of cultural, artistic, political, and scientific transition and revival in a society.
What is Renaissance?
The speaker in "I, Too" asserts his American identity and belonging by proclaiming these precise four words at the start of the final stanza.
What is "I, too, am America"?
This real-life 1919 sporting scandal is mentioned in the novel as having been fixed by Gatsby's associate, Meyer Wolfsheim.
What is the Black Sox Scandal?
Gatsby habitually addresses Nick and other men with this specific, aristocratic-sounding British phrase of endearment.
What is "old sport"?
In works like Show Me the Monet (featuring dumped shopping carts) and prints reading "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Sht"*, Banksy aggressively critiques this societal obsession with buying and material goods.
What is consumerism?