Essay Questions

Why is establishing a sense of self-awareness among American society difficult for the blacks?

August Wilson joins other authors globally to illustrate the difficulty of self-identity for Africans in the American community in his text Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Besides developing self-awareness as the main theme in the book, the author illustrates the challenges the blacks go through to make ends meet. The blacks find themselves working as slaves for the white who owns big plantations. Characters such as Joe Turner are plantation owners who are enslaving blacks for their selfish interests even after the abolition of slavery. He illegally retains Loomis as his slave for more than seven years. Therefore, Loomis loses track of his wife and it takes a long time before locating her. Loomi’s search for his wife, Martha, represents the rediscovery of self-identity, which emerges as the central theme in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

How does the author portray the exploitation of the blacks in the book Joe Turner’s Come and Gone?

August Wilson is tactical and strategic on how he portrays the exploitation of the blacks. He uses the literary device of the symbol to leave the writer to make a judgment on whether there is the exploitation of the blacks or not. The author to portray the exploitation of the black people among the American community symbolically uses the character, Joe Turner. Slavery at this time is abolished and all the plantation owners are expected to abide by the law. However, Joe Turner illegitimately kidnaps Loomis whom he forces to work for him as a slave for seven years. This clearly illustrates how blacks are still exploited by the whites in American society despite the abolition of slavery.

Why is Seth ordering Loomis to leave the kitchen?

When Seth goes to the kitchen, he meets all boarders their and recommends a song and boogie. Loomis is not in the mood and he is annoyed with Seth’s suggestion. He proceeds to the kitchen and orders that no one should sing or dance. His annoyance is noted when he starts to have delusions. Seth is convinced that Loomis’s phantasm is unspiritual and that is why he orders him to leave. Seth sends Loomis away because he also thinks that he is drunk. Therefore, he asks him to find his place to live.