Ralph Waldo Emerson

9 Pages 2197 Words

Ralph Ellison:
Short Story Struggles


There are many famous African American writers that are well known in today's society. Many are considered to be legends, as well as good role models for the youth of today. There are so many of these writers that are acknowledged in our history books, and there are even a few that have holidays set aside for them. Holidays for the nation to think about their contribution to our world. Although many of the African American writers are no longer alive, their outstanding achievements are still recognized, and taught to many boys and girls in schools all over the nation. Many of these writers wrote stories that at some extent represented a part of their lives. Even though one writer may have written hundreds of pieces of literature, something about their life or something about them is evident in their work. Keeping this in mind, this aspect has shaped their particular style of writing. One particular black successful writer is Ralph Ellison.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on March 1, 1914, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was the second son of Lewis and Ida Ellison. His older brother had died while still an infant. Three years after Ralph was born, his parents had another son named Herbert. Ralph Ellison was named after the nineteenth (19th) century philosopher and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. His father named him this, hoping that one day his son would become a poet. Lewis Ellison was killed in an accident in 1917, so he left his wife Ida to care for their two young sons. Ellison developed an interest in music, and he particularly liked jazz and classical music. When he graduated from high school at the age of nineteen (19), it was his musical abilities
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that won him an Oklahoma State Scholarship to attend the prestigious black college in Alabama, known as the Tuskegee Institute. While at the Tuskegee Institute, Ellison had to find a job, to earn extra money. He decided ...