Blog 3 The Lynching

“The Lynching” by Claude McKay paints a very bleak picture of America in the 1920’s. The attitudes of the white people in this poem towards the black person who had been lynched are quite disturbing. The line, “And little lads, lynchers that were to be, Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee” (McKay, 927) is especially unsettling. The idea that young children would dance around a dead body as if it gave them amusement is difficult to think about. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior was once common in America, especially in the South. Writers like McKay brought attention to this issue of white suppression through their poetry. Luckily, today there could never be a lynching that was publicly celebrated.

I knew that the South was an immoral place after the civil war, but this poem depicted a reality I would never want to think about. If an entire community is in favor of public executions then that is certainly a place void of respect for human dignity. The children dancing around the corpse shows that they had already been taught the African Americans were not to be view as human beings, which makes me think that that is the reason racism is still around today. If parents teach such young children to disregard an entire race, then how do they have a chance to see it a different way? Those children are likely to grow up and teach their children the same ideas. It could take generations for that cycle to be broken, creating a place where racism is not only accepted but expected. This contributes to the struggles our country is still facing with prejudice of all different kinds.

This poem was extremely powerful in its language. Images like, “The ghastly body swaying in the sun” (McKay 927) really cause you to picture what was happening. The sympathy this stirs in our hearts causes lines like “The women thronged to look, but never a one Showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue” (927) to be very confusing. This is because we as readers already feel sorry for a person we do not know and cannot actually see, so it is difficult to imagine how a person who is actually there could be so void of emotion. This clearly shows how different this time was. It is amazing how far we have come in a hundred years. Unfortunately, we still have farther to go. However, the fact that most people who have read this poem today find the actions of the white people shocking or disrespectful is means there is much hope for an even better future.

When reading this poem, it can be easy to feel ashamed of how people could have ever acted like this, and wonder if racism will ever truly go away. However, when you compare the actions of the people in this poem to how people act now, it can be hopeful. There are no longer communities that publicly murder people and then celebrate that murder the next day. When you think about it in those terms, it really seems as though we’ve come light years from where we were. There’s so much hope for the future, as humanity has proven time and time again that it can improve itself. We’re not there yet, but poets and writers, including Claude McKay, are helping humanity every day but showing us how we can be better.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Personal Synthesis

In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the most important issue is slavery. The entire point of the novel is to make people see how atrocious it is. Harriet Beecher Stowe educated so many people with this novel and helped to end one of the worst American institutions we have ever had. Though many would argue that her novel was not well written or did not portray African Americans accurately, such as James Baldwin, many more believe that she is an inspiration who plays a significant role in American history. She is a very powerful writer that puts you into the place of the person being depicted. In this way, each and every reader is able to experience slavery firsthand. Not only that, but she placed the blame on the shoulders of those who weren’t doing anything about it. We see that when she writes, “Both the North and the South have been guilty before God” (Stowe, 408). These kind of broad statements made people want to take action.

Stowe uses different characters to show the different hardships of slavery. She used Eliza to show how hard it was for slaves to have their families torn away from them. It was clear that Eliza was willing to do anything to stay with her son and protect him. We know that this was a real struggle that slaves went through because of Solomon Northup’s “A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” where he depicted an actual mother having her son torn from her. She used Uncle Tom to show the physical hardships slaves had to endure. Because of his good nature, he was subjected to much pain, and eventually died rather than give away information about slaves who had escaped. This was a circumstance that could happen to any slave. George was used to show how much it didn’t matter if a slave was intelligent or handy, he or she was subjected to their master’s will. When he is removed from his factory job due to his masters ill will, he expresses his discontent when he says, “What right has he to make a dray-horse of me? To take me from things I can do- and do better than he can- and put me to work that any horse can do?” (Stowe, 14). We can see that he is feeling dehumanized and undervalued all because he is a slave and cannot make choices for himself.

This book gave humanity to those who were deprived of it. Though the work is fictional, it tugs on your heartstrings in a way that makes it feel real. By creating characters that people could empathize with, Stowe gave humanity to an entire race of humans that were viewed as entirely inferior by at least half the country. As tragic as it was that our country had to have a civil war, it was also extremely necessary, and Stowe showed people why. Slavery was an atrocity and once people realised that, change could really happen. We can never know for sure how much influence “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had on American history, but I believe one could say that this novel at least played a significant role in creating the America that we know today.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Commentary

In James Baldwin’s article titled “Everybody’s Protest Novel”, he brings up many points to support his opinion that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is not as good of a novel as it has been historically known to be. One of his more interesting criticisms is that the characters of Eliza and George are essentially white in every way except for the fact that Stowe tells us they are black. He brings up that Uncle Tom, however, is much darker skinned, and because of this, Uncle Tom’s only path to salvation is through enduring his life until he dies and may enter into heaven. Because George and Eliza are lighter than Tom, they are able to gain their freedom while on Earth. He portrays this point most directly when he writes, “Black equates with evil and white with grace...” (535). He believes that this issue, including Stowe’s poor writing in general, is not discussed because the novel is fighting for a good cause, and therefore criticism of it would be a criticism of progress.

There was a lot to process in this reading. Though it was hard to see his point at all times, I believe that in general this added to our understanding of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by offering opinions that were never expressed by anyone in our class. His opinions certainly help you to reexamine the novel. It is interesting to wrap your head around an entirely different perspective of the book and then see how you interpret it. Because of that change in thought, we have even more to chew on than just the popular opinion. I don’t believe anyone ever tried to make the case that Uncle Tom had the fate he did simply because his skin was darker than that of other slaves, therefore, I never considered it. This article forced me, and likely others, to look at the book with a more critical eye. It is important to take in everything you read with a dose of skepticism.

It is interesting to consider the different skin tones of Eliza and George compared to Uncle Tom and their different fates. I have a difficult time believing that if Eliza and George had had very dark skin, Stowe would not have had them escape from the South. The shade of their skin seemed to have little influence on their outcome, in my opinion. I cannot say that I disagree with Baldwin’s point entirely, however. It is certainly true that the slaves with lighter skin had a better fate, but it doesn’t matter how dark they are to any of the slave owners. All that matters is that they have any dark coloring, because that’s enough to make them a slave. Regardless of skin tone, I believe that these three characters made the decisions that they did because of who they were and what they believed in.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom's Cabin Background and Context

“A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” by Solomon Northup details the events of a slave auction. This essay describes how the slaves would be dressed nicely and taught to act intelligently before being paraded before potential buyers. The slaves were then thoroughly inspected by the buyers and bartered for based on their perceived worth. A couple was bought by the same person and were quite happy with their situation, while a mother was separated from her son and couldn’t contain her grief. This contrast shows that when your life is in someone else’s hands, all you can do is hope that you are met with a decent fate because ultimately you have no control over what happens to you. The main point of this text is to show how dehumanizing slavery is.

The inspection of the slaves is depicted by saying “Customers would feel of our hands and arms and bodies… make us open our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which he is about to barter for or purchase” (Northup, 436). This really emphasizes how dehumanizing the slave trade was. These human beings were viewed as property, no better than a work horse. There was no compassion for their familial bonds and money was of higher importance than they were. It was truly heartbreaking to read about the mother who could not keep her own son in her life, no matter how much she begged.

This text adds to our understanding of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by showing us how truly important the work was at its time. This essay grounds the book in reality by showing that it was accurate in its portrayal of slavery despite being a work of fiction. There are close parallels between the mother in this essay and Eliza in the book. For example, when Eliza first hears that her son might be sold away from her, she has a very protective reaction, “Her heart swelled and throbbed, and she involuntarily strained [her son] so tight that the little fellow looked up into her face in astonishment” (Stowe, 9). This is a more subdued reaction than the Eliza in Northup’s story, “Eliza was crying aloud, wringing her hands… Eliza burst into a paroxysm of grief, weeping plaintively” (Northup, 436). These reactions are similar and realistic, as having your child taken from you must be one of the greatest pains a person could go through. This was the kind of pain that was created within slavery, and the kind of thing that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” helped to put an end to.

Blog 2: The Yellow Wallpaper

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a very perplexing story. One of the more puzzling symbols of it is the yellow wallpaper itself, and the woman that is described as being trapped within it. I believe that this represents the narrator’s illness and her perception of herself. When you read the story you can trace the decline of her mental state through her observations and feeling about the wallpaper. At first, she is disgusted by it, which shows how unhappy she is with her current treatment. Then, she becomes obsessed with it, as it’s the only thing she has to think about. This represents how she has no other choice but to live with her suffering all the time, she can’t make it go away or distract herself from it so she just has to feel it at all times. Finally, she tears it down and becomes the woman who was trapped behind it. This shows her entire loss of sanity, as she has become nothing but her own turmoil. The wallpaper is a symbol of despair and hopelessness. In this way, the story shows female mental illness as a serious issues that cannot be solved with inactivity.

It is very difficult to understand someone’s mental illness. I think many people hold the preconception that the mentally ill have their lights on, but nobody’s home, so to speak. Sometimes it can be difficult to see them as actual suffering people who need help. The wallpaper helps us see this because it shows us what is really happening within the narrator’s mind as she slips into madness. This was especially important at the time this story was published because it helped people see that the “rest cure” was ineffective, if not detrimental to recovery.

The narrator’s relationship with John shows how bad the treatment of ill women was at this time. When the narrator writes, “He says no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let any silly fancies run away with me.” This shows how he really saw her. It is as though he believed she was just too weak to stop being depressed and hysterical. This blames her for her situation and doesn’t address her medical needs. There is some commentary in the story about the incompetence of doctors. For example, when the story says, “John is a physician, and perhaps[...] that is one reason I do not get well faster.” This directly shows that there is a mistrust between patients and their doctors because doctors at this time were not equipped to treat mental illness.

I believe this story is extremely important for women’s rights. Seeing the narrator’s humanity slip away because she is not treated like a human being shows people the effects of dehumanizing others. Some of the medical practices that were used on women centuries ago were misinformed and quite unpleasant. It’s women like Gilman who give a voice to the voiceless and become catalysts for change. This story creates a new perception of women’s mental illness and how it should be treated. It does so by emphasizing how important it is to treat everyone with the dignity they deserve.