Prejudice And Racism Exposed In Countee Cullen's Incident

Throughout the story the author also shows the different views people have about race in the nineteenth century. The theme that sticks out the most in this story is the issues people have with race. People usually have opinions based on who they are around, because they think they are doing wrong when it isn’t like everyone else.

“We were not made to eternally weep,” wrote Countee Cullen in his poem “From the Dark Tower,” referring to the way blacks feel about prejudice. Cullen was a famous African American poet who wrote poems during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement to give blacks a new identity. He wrote many famous poems, including “Tableau” and “Incident,” which gave an insight into the way that blacks were treated. “Tableau” and “Incident” did this by depicting the racial interactions between a black child and a white child. In “Tableau,” a black boy and a white boy walk together with locked arms. The town folk see this and stare at them, because they are offended that a black boy and a white boy would ever walk together as friends. This

They see whites “in their tuxedos, wolfing down the buffet foods, drinking beer and whiskey and smoking black cigars” (Ellison 287). The whites thought the blacks were weak and inferior to them. Readers notice this when the main character grabbed a hold of a white man’s chair and the man yelled “leggo nigger!” (Ellison 292). Nigger was not a word of respect and the whites knew this. A large group of kids were shoved into an elevator but the boy mentioned, “I felt superior to them in my way…” (Ellison 287). He felt because the whites enjoyed his speech, he was the good outcast in this situation. Here readers can tell the main character feels he belongs there, in wealth, while the others are just thrown around the place. Despite this, oppressors bring the boys to a place of wealth to later throw them into a filthy rink, where they could make fun of them being harmed, to show that they need to hurt the boys’ confidence to keep them in a lower

Racial Discrimination continues to be a heavy topic in today's age. Regardless of people’s age and gender, people of all ages are targeted, abused and bullied every day. No one really see's what is going on through the halls of schools and everywhere society goes. The book Black Boy and society both very similar and different is multiple ways. The reason Black Boy and society tie together in various ways is because people are all in a system and some are afraid to be different.

     Black Boy challenges our stereotypical thinking of the South and the North. In the South, Wright shows how ignorance and racial discrimination lead to prejudice and self-hatred. Wright shows how Communists dominate intellectual communion and social contacts in the North. At the end of Black Boy, Wright has a clear awareness that all the places where he experienced has threatened to diminish his spirit. Wright’s Black Boy sends a message of optimism about the possibility of the black Southerners achieving a fulfilling sense of identity in America.

We view the world as a perfect world with everyone equal. In reality, racism is tearing it down. Black, white, yellow, or any color their is, everyone should be equal, the bible even says it. Love should be spread through all colors and peace should overcome. In this story, we see how racism becomes something that is enriched and viewed to many cultures.

By using figurative language the author expresses his views on racial injustice. In “Tableau” Countee Cullen uses the simile “[t]hat lightning brilliant as a sword / [s]hould blaze the path of thunder” to create a feeling of power. This simile uses strong words like lightning and thunder to show the change the boys are making. By everyone seeing these boys be friends despite their races. This hopefully made some people wake up and realize race does not matter. The poem “Incident” by Countee Cullen uses imagery in powerful ways like “[h]eart-filled, head-filled with glee” to create a sense of cheeriness and later on sorrow. Near the start of the poem a young child is extremly happy to be traveling to Baltimore. Although, by the end of the poem the kid is upset because all he remembers about his trip was another child calling him a racial slur.

Countee Cullen’s “Incident” is a short, but immensely powerful poem. Cullen is an African American male, whom manages to capture hundreds of years of oppression and mental destruction of his race within twelve lines; detailing his memory of the first time he was called a nigger. Cullen introduces the thought that said mental abuse begins young, but he presents it in an almost sugarcoated or coded way that forces you to consider his words more in depth; leading to the same unpleasant conclusion every time.

In the poem “Incident”, Cullen recounts his encounter with another similarly aged boy that left him desolated with a reflective, outraged, and sad tone. Cullen writes, in regard to the other Baltimorean boy, “And he was no whit bigger, / And so I smiled,” which proves he viewed the boy as an equal before the unfortunate experience to follow. He also writes about how, prior to meeting the boy, he was “Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,” highlighting the contrast between his emotions. He initially felt excited to be in the city; however, the encounter brought forth disappointments that would, unfortunately, enlighten him of the racism of the early 1900s. Concerning the actual incident, Cullen is very straightforward as he documents the exact

The school books are a big example of racial injustice. In the novel, the Black School gets old books from the White School. However, inside the cover of the book it says Nigra. This is referring to the color of the owner of the book. This is racial injustice because it is calling a black child a name that is offensive. This is so offensive, Little Man starts stomping on the book because

I think that the major theme of this short story is equality because throughout the story everyone thinks that they have to be equal when really that’s not how the world works. People in the world today talk about the difference of race but really we all are people. Just because everyone looks different or has different skin tone color doesn’t mean we should be treated differently. Everyone in the story has some sort of handicap making them equal to the other person. Some people have to wear masks or have to change their tone in their voice. People in their world think its the right thing to be different but really differences in a person makes them who they are. In this story most people don’t mind being unequal but they would get in a lot

Thematic Significance of Conflict The Younger’s, badly treated by others; have a hard time finding themselves – both culturally and individually. Race plays a major role in their ranking in the social class and limits what they can or can’t do on a day to day basis. Their moving into a white community comes to a halt, as they are not welcomed by the neighborhood committee. Living life as one of color is not easy; instead it is bombarded constantly with fear and life scaring threats.

                Joe Christmas induces pain on himself by fighting with white men and black men.  Christmas teases white men into calling him “nigger” and black men into calling him white. He fights, and is sometimes beaten. Christmas hurts himself in order to find out if he belongs in a distinct category. The label of  “nigger” affects the way he lives his life. The way he lives his life affects the society around him as he vents his frustration and confusion on others.

Globally, racism has become one of the leading controversial issues, which threatens the lifestyle of almost anyone. Forms of racial discrimination are no rarity, with the novel addressing the African American prejudice which have haunted the black communities since they were treated as slave by early American Settlers. At that particular time of history, the African American demographic were one of the leading groups of racial discrimination victims with the KKK being an active hate group. They were criminalised for the colour of their skins.

Racial injustice and racial harmony have both been seen throughout all of history. Both can even be seen almost everyday. One writer, Countee Cullen, revealed what the world is and what is should be like through his poems during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The two key poems that present this are “Tableau” and “Incident.” He reveals harmony between a white and black boy in “Tableau,” representing the people of the United States of America and how they should be. Later, he uncovers the prejudice against black people in “Incident,” through the perspective of a black child who is ridiculed for being black by another little boy in Baltimore. He helped show how races should be in harmony through the main points of the poem this way. But, each poem has similarities and differences, seen through the diction of the author. The author creates the theme actions often speak louder than words in “Tableau,” and creates the theme sometimes the smallest things can hurt the most in “Incident,” by using the figurative language and tone throughout each poem.