TransAtlantic
There is a built-in mechanism in how you see the world. They are called “lenses.” They are kind of like glasses, but instead of going to a doctor to get these lenses; in how you were raised for example if you grew up in a traditional household or a non-traditional household, in what kind of environment for example in a small town that was extremely racist. And your own personality changes these lenses. Each experience would change these lenses, so some people “that refuse to see… me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination-indeed, everything and anything except me” (Ellison 3) they change how you see others if you even see them at all. They start forming the minute you start to see the world around you. You might have grown up in a normal family, but maybe you are a different race than everyone in…show more content…
Each social class sees people outside of their social class as “others” so their lenses change from who are like them and who are “others.” But also, personality factors in forming your lenses. If you are stubborn and not open to change, your lenses take the same view as you. While you are open to a change of yourself and others, your lenses change with you. This brings us to Frederick Douglass from TransAtlantic by Colum McCann. Douglass is a black man that traveled to Ireland to bring awareness of black slavery to the white people that might have the influence to help his cause of freeing the black slaves. While traveling to different homes of the influential men of the time, he meets a young white maid. At first, she is invisible to him, describing her as “so very pale” (41) he doesn’t even give a description of Lily, just the color of her skin. “Douglass is invisible because he is not seen as having a distinct identity separate from any other African American” (Hardin 102) but in
There is a built-in mechanism in how you see the world. They are called “lenses.” They are kind of like glasses, but instead of going to a doctor to get these lenses; in how you were raised for example if you grew up in a traditional household or a non-traditional household, in what kind of environment for example in a small town that was extremely racist. And your own personality changes these lenses. Each experience would change these lenses, so some people “that refuse to see… me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination-indeed, everything and anything except me” (Ellison 3) they change how you see others if you even see them at all. They start forming the minute you start to see the world around you. You might have grown up in a normal family, but maybe you are a different race than everyone in…show more content…
Each social class sees people outside of their social class as “others” so their lenses change from who are like them and who are “others.” But also, personality factors in forming your lenses. If you are stubborn and not open to change, your lenses take the same view as you. While you are open to a change of yourself and others, your lenses change with you. This brings us to Frederick Douglass from TransAtlantic by Colum McCann. Douglass is a black man that traveled to Ireland to bring awareness of black slavery to the white people that might have the influence to help his cause of freeing the black slaves. While traveling to different homes of the influential men of the time, he meets a young white maid. At first, she is invisible to him, describing her as “so very pale” (41) he doesn’t even give a description of Lily, just the color of her skin. “Douglass is invisible because he is not seen as having a distinct identity separate from any other African American” (Hardin 102) but in
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