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     Both Down by the Riverside  and A Raisin in the Sun share the theme of black characters facing futures that seem to crumble before their eyes, yet the stories present this theme in very different ways. One major difference between these two is that one uses naturalism, and the other uses realism. To understand the difference between these two stories, we must first understand what naturalism and realism are. First off, naturalism, as can be seen in the name, has to do with nature. In naturalism, the characters are at the mercy of nature and natural events. In general, in a naturalist story, characters barely have a say as to what happens; nature controls them and the story. Realism is very different in contrast; In realism, the characters have a lot of power in what is going on. The point of realism is to place characters in a certain situation with an assigned personality, and to have them react to that situation based on their personality. In these stories, Do...

  Vernacular tradition, the passing down of stories and traditions by word of mouth, is significant in older African American culture. Of the many hardships that slaves endured in early America, being denied education was a common practice on most plantations. Slaves were only taught enough English so that they could be told what to do, and a lot of the time, slaves had to teach their children without any help from their masters. Despite these hardships, African Americans were still able to create literature of their own in a way. While slaves rarely did anything other than work and sleep, they did so together, which created a sense of community. Through these communities, they made their own songs and stories, which they passed down by mouth, almost as if they were being written. One main example of vernacular tradition typical among slaves was singing. There is only so much you can do with your words while doing grueling work in fields, so creating simple rhymes that are easy to ...