This essay was my final for English 333 Topic: Multi-Ethnic Literature during the Spring 2021 semester, my last class in the Bachelor of English program, where I was tasked to select one of the assigned readings to complete an original literary analysis and synthesis intended for college-level students. For my essay, I chose to write about the use of humor by the character Warren, the African American and Irish protagonist in Mat Johnson’s Loving Day.
This paper, the very last one I wrote for the Bachelor of English program, was the accumulation of my training as an undergrad, demonstrating a range of rhetorical skills and research abilities through finding a niche topic of interest regarding the text.
Besides some of the poor grammar, the only thing I would change about this essay would be some of my language choices. I think there are a few moments that sound too confident in having the correct answer. At the time, I considered this to be the greatest thing I have ever written, and in many ways it still is.
This paper was absolutely vital for my development as a scholar and as a writer. As a multiethnic individual myself, completing a thorough analysis of a multiethnic protagonist, written by a multiethnic author, was not only beneficial to my writing rhetorical abilities but also therapeutic in coming to grips with the discrimination I have faced throughout my life. The pride I felt having completed such a difficult research project, and having received high praise from my professor, cements this analysis as a landmark for my progress in many ways.
Matthew Kajiwara-Hernandez 