The Normalization of Loss and Chaos in Ward’s Men We Reaped Leanne Diab College

The concept of loss is often viewed as a delicate yet intense matter where one is hit with an unexpected series of events that ultimately sparks emotion and panic. Jesmyn Ward delves into the concept of loss through her memoir, Men We Reaped, telling her personal story of the death of five men in her community and how this reflects the hardships faced among African American society. As expected, these deaths had a profound impact on Ward’s life as she explicitly reminisces the gruesome details of each death and how they contributed to her upbringing and development into the successful yet perplexed adult she is today. Based on the texts explored, African American communities face unjust living not only physically, but mentally as Ward intertwines her past, present, and future into how being a black female drives her to suffer an ongoing battle between herself and those around her. Due to social stigmas surrounding black neighbourhoods and communities, it seems as though there is a fixed mentality that there needs to be chaos and loss to fit the standards of living that have been primarily instilled by the white community. The normalization of loss and chaos is manifested in order to depict the fearful living in DeLisle and how...