Difference between revisions of "Stella by Starlight"

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==References==
 
==References==
 
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[[Category:Black Racism in Fiction Novels|Anti-Black Racism in Fiction Novels]]
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[[Category:Black-Targeted Racism in Fiction Novels]]
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[[Category:Anti-Black Racism in Fiction Novels]]

Latest revision as of 07:14, 15 March 2021

Stella by Starlight Cover Book

Stella by Starlight written by Sharon M. Draper is a historical fiction novel. School Library Journal reviews this book as presents “storytelling at its finest” in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era novel about a young girl who should figure out how to be courageous even in the face of violent prejudice when the Ku Klux Klan returns in her segregated southern town. [1] Sharon is also known as the author of many books for teens, including the New York Times bestsellers Copper Sun, the 2007 Coretta Scott King Award winner, and We Beat the Street. [2]

Plot

Stella lives in the segregated South—in Bumblebee, North Carolina where she can go to some stores and can't to some other stores. Some people are pleasant and some others not. In one late evening, when she should have been sleeping and not wandering around outside, Stella and her little brother see something they're never expected to see, something that is the main flash of change to come, unwanted change in any way shape, or form. As Stella’s community—her world—is overturned, she chooses to fight fire with fire. Furthermore, she learns that ashes don’t necessarily mean an end. [3]

Controversy

This book with 1932 as a background and segregation is the law of the land in little Bumblebee, N.C., where the separation between the black and white communities is fundamental. Stella's school is once-over, the books outdated, while the "white" school flaunts solid scholastics and athletic facilities that Stella and her friends jealous about. The one real industry in town, a wood factor, employs not very many black men, and those who do work there get the lowest-paying jobs in the factory. The black population of Bumblebee endures everyday outrages, embarrassments, and once in a while viciousness. As far as Stella knows, this is exactly how things are "Every Negro family in Bumblebee knew the unwritten rules — they had to take care of their own problems and take care of one another. Help from the white community was neither expected nor considered. It was as it had always been." Another thing that shows the segregation in the book is where there is only one black doctor, who is the father of Stella’s friend, Tony Hawkins. And for the white physician, Dr. Packard, he only treats white people. [4]

Black Empowerment

This book not just showing the racism and discrimination that the black community experienced. However, it additionally shows that there are individuals who think segregation isn't required and care about the prosperity of the local area. It shows when the Klan torches a neighboring house and Stella is amazed by the number of white people who come to the help of the large and now homeless family. When Stella and her white friend going to their own school, her friend tells her, "I don't get why we gotta go to different schools anyway. Seems kinda stupid to me." Nont only that, the story also shows where Stella saves the life of a white girl her own age, the daughter of the evil Dr. Packard, who has fallen into the lake in a not-very-convincing try to be noticed by her father. This book also shows that even while confronting challenges, the community could remain together and battle treacheries. For example, when the information that the Ku Klux Klan is active in their community, Stella, her family, and other members of their community gather as one to remain steadfast against against the injustices of racism. [5]


References

  1. Stella by Starlight. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  2. Sharon M. Draper. Scholastic. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  3. Stella by Starlight. Amazon. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  4. Stella by Starlight. Pluggedin. Retrieved January 31 2021.
  5. Stella By Starlight. Indie Bound. Retrieved January 31 2021.