separate pasts

In his essay, “Pretty like a White Boy: The Adventure of a Blue-Eyed a Ojibway,” Drew Hayden Taylor discusses his negative life experiences, and decides that he will no longer classify himself as either a White, or Native person, though he is of dual ancestry. Though he aims his essay at the Everyman, he assumes that the reader has knowledge in Native history. Taylor, the comedian mentions that he never knew his White father, and it is likely that he was raised in First Nations household. This assumption supports the ethos of his essay as a whole. While examining the thesis, Taylor makes jumps in logic that are difficult for the reader to follow, on the path to his conclusion. Taylor’s style is consistently lighthearted, and his essay is structurally sound, however, due to errors in logic, his essay appeals to the heart alone.

Countless more scenarios cross Julian’s mind, but none of them would deceive his mother more than the last one. “Instead, he approached the ultimate horror. He brought home a beautiful suspiciously Negroid woman” (O’Connor 634). By describing dating a black woman as an “ultimate horror,”, Julian reveals through his thoughts his inner snob, a trait he obviously acquired from being around his mother.

Imagine finding out that your entire life was a lie, and that every single thing you knew about your identity and your family was completely false! Armand Aubigny, one of the main characters in Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, experiences this exact dilemma throughout this short story. Desiree’s Baby is a story about a young man and woman, who fall in love, but Desiree, who does not know her birth parents, is considered nameless. When she and Armand have a child, they are both very surprised because the child’s skin color is not white as expected. It is obvious that the child is biracial, and immediately, Desiree is blamed for the color of the child’s skin because of her uncertain background. The truth, however, is that it is Armand who has

The stereotypes in the story, makes it difficult for the readers to conclude the race of each character. People assume that the African American character would be illiterate and uneducated and the white character to be well-educated. During the time period of the story African Americans did not have access to a decent education; making it harder for them to learn just the basics. Whites had access to good education, making it easy to believe the white character is more educated. It is also believed that a person that is well educated will have a better lifestyle when they are older. A well-educated person will have a better job, paying more, and have a better opportunity to afford the means of a luxurious lifestyle. An under educated person will most likely live in poverty, struggle for their basic needs, or live in a declining neighborhood. Behavior is a harder stereo type to use to distinguish a race. Many assume that whites have an entitled attitude toward life. Whites had access to a good education and jobs, they had a “I’m better than you” attitude. On the other hand, many think African Americans were upset because of how easy it was for whites to have better access to the basic necessities such as education and housing.

threats and violence. Black experiences were to refer to white men as authority for being a

Diaz progresses into detailing the necessary steps the young man must follow to get an actual date with a woman dependent upon her race and background. The young man is led to believe that for each type of girl he must present himself differently to not offend her or her parent’s fragile sensibilities and receives instructions on how to properly illicit a date “The directions were in your best handwriting, so her parents won't think you're an idiot” (256). Clearly, careful psychological manipulations of a girl’s parents are a vital component in achieving dating success. To this point, the young man has only received instruction and it is here that the reader receives some insight into which type of woman the young man is wanting to date “The white ones are the ones you want the most, aren't

The first person to influence McLaurin’s racial views was a black playmate by the name of Bobo. During this time period it was perfectly acceptable for white children to play with black children. In “Separate Pasts” McLaurin describes an event in which he had licked a needle

work place if they felt that they were better than him. This is paralleled in the statement that a man should only take a woman they knew they were better than. Upon realizing my qualm with this book I searched it find further evidence. “It seems that some women love to be exploited. When they are not exploited, they exploit the man.[…]Always every now and then, I had given her a hard time, just to keep her in line. Every once in a while a women seems to need, in fact wants this, too. But now, I would feel evil and slap her around worse than ever[…]” (X 156). I’m sure white people beat and exploited black people just to “keep them in line.” The hypocrisy this book holds is so obvious it’s rarely noticed. In every way the white people abused

McLaurin grew up near Fayetteville, South Carolina, life in the Deep South for McLaurin was one of a typical white southerners, except that he felt a fascination for how the relations between whites and blacks were and came to be. “Young Melton had little interest in the mundane conversations of his white neighbors, but coming to know the town’s black citizens was like looking into

Throughout the novel it is apparent that everyday instances of racism occur, causing people of color to feel outcasted. There are two very obvious occasions where this happened. In the first instance two African American woman are in a workspace of primarily all white co-workers. When a woman they worked with got these two names mixed up, it was stated that she had a “fifty-fifty chance of getting it right” insinuating that these two women are the only black ones working here. Later, the woman who had the mix-up with the names wrote an apology note; however, in the note she stated it was “our mistake” and seemingly put part of the blame on the to women. This is a primary example of how African Americans can be thrown against a white background making them seem different than everyone else.

A lack of self-awareness tended the narrator’s life to seem frustrating and compelling to the reader. This lack often led him to offer generalizations about ““colored” people” without seeing them as human beings. He would often forget his own “colored” roots when doing so. He vacillated between intelligence and naivete, weak and strong will, identification with other African-Americans and a complete disavowal of them. He had a very difficult time making a decision for his life without hesitating and wondering if it would be the right one.

They needed and deserved protection. African American women were wanton, licentious, promiscuous […] African American men were lustful beasts who could not be trusted in the company of ‘good’ women, white women. [4]

Something as little as looking at a picture with a white girl in it could get him into trouble. Trouble for a black man in this part of the country could very likely lead to a sever beating or death by the hands of an unruly mob. He needed to be “educated” to know his roles in various situations, so he could behave “decently” in order to stay away from such troubles.

Boyle McGloin believed that a true American is defined as white and didn’t associate with “Blacks”. In the movie McGloin showed those traits, because throughout the movie he was very racist, a traitor, and willing to die for the Natives (and not his own people). In the movie, when Priest Vallon died he instantly switched to the Natives because he could pass for one of them, and he knew the Irish would be outnumbered. He also went against the Irish as if they weren’t part of him, just to be considered a Native and hang with Bill. In one scene, he was in the church praying and he saw a Black man with Amsterdam, his response was “No niggers among the Natives. Niggers as robbers are one thing, but niggers in a church that’s something else.” McGloin was very racist toward any colored person regarding the fact that they weren’t “white”, and he felt they were the

The grandmother’s bigotry is also on display as the family rides past a black youth standing near his modest home. Her reaction to seeing him is like walking past an adorable dog; “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” (12). When her granddaughter June Starr comments on the boy’s lack of clothing, the grandmother explains that “little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do” (12). As the grandmother emits racism through her comments, she is also inserting such notion into her grandchildren’s minds. Nor Bailey or his wife says anything, so it can be suggested that they are used to such comments and may hold the same views as well. The grandmother does not see a reason to be empathetic; the boy waves and she does return the gesture. Instead she romanticizes the boy’s plight as a missed opportunity, suggesting that “If [she] could paint, [she’d] paint that picture” (12).