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CLS371: Law and Disorder in Literature - Coggle Diagram
CLS371: Law and Disorder in Literature
Figures of Speech
In "Lynch Law in America," Ida B. Wells uses many powerful figures of speech to inform her readers, expose injustice with law, and express many emotions about lynching in the United States.
She portrays lynching as a “national crime”, suggesting it is not just isolated violence but a widespread failure of the entire country.
~This metaphor forces the audience to see lynching as something America is collectively responsible for, not just random individuals.
She describes the violence and suffering in a way that makes it feel real and immediate.
~Using imagery appeals to the audience’s emotions, making it harder to ignore the cruelty she is describing.
She points out the contradiction between America calling itself civilized and democratic while allowing mob violence.
~This highlights hypocrisy: a nation claiming justice is actually tolerating injustice.
There are many different situations throughout the course where we see "Ghost" being used as a metaphor in certain situations .
In Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, ghosts are literal characters, but they also stand for something deeper, which makes them a metaphor, also known as another figure of speech.
They represent the past that won’t go away forever
Ghosts symbolize trauma, memory, and injustice
They show how history “haunts” the present time
So even though ghosts appear physically in the story, they function figuratively as a symbol of lingering suffering and history.
Political Violence
Political violence is violence used to achieve political goals, control populations, or enforce social hierarchies. Many of the readings and historical contexts we have studied show different forms of political violence, especially aimed at Black Americans.
In The Closing Door, Bob’s family lives under constant threat of lynching. This fear shapes their behavior, limiting freedom and enforcing social control.
Even when physical violence hasn’t happened yet, the threat itself is a form of political violence, because it coerces people politically and socially.
Racism
In The Closing Door, racism appears as violence, fear, restriction, and dehumanization, affecting both the body and the mind.
The Closing Door, Angelina Weld Grimké
The mother lives in extreme anxiety, trying to keep her son inside and safe.
Racism affects her mentally—she is overwhelmed by fear and helplessness.
Racism here is internalized as trauma, shaping how people think and feel.
The 13th Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution technically ended slavery, but it helped racism continue because of a loophole in its wording.
How did that affect Racism in the US?
The amendment abolished slavery except for people convicted of a crime. Racist lawmakers used this to target Black Americans with unfair laws, like:
Vagrancy laws (punishing unemployed people)
Curfews or minor offenses
This led to the arrest of many Black people for minor or fabricated crimes. Once imprisoned, they could be forced into labor.
Moral VS Immoral
Natural law theory is the belief that there are universal moral laws built into human nature and the world, which people can discover through reason rather than through written constitutional law.
Natural Law Theory
"Is it Right & Wise to Kill a Kidnapper," Frederick Douglass
Natural Law theory is perfectly described in this reading from class.
Douglass argues that even if slavery is legal, it is morally wrong
He suggests people have a natural right to freedom and self-defense
This reflects natural law: justice comes before man-made law
All in all, he states that if a law supports slavery, it violates natural law and can be resisted.
Lynching
We discuss the immoral ideas of lynching time after time in this class throughout certain time periods in the US.
Lynching is a punishment carried out by a mob without a fair trial in a court of law, also making it racist and unjust
It ignores the legal system and the idea that people are innocent until proven guilty
This makes it fundamentally unjust