Black And White Essay -- essays research papers

dreary and WhiteFollowing the Civil War, just prior to the turn of the century, numerous an(prenominal)American novelist were writing more secretely of the previous buckle down culture. dickensof these writers being Mark orthodontic braces and Charles Chesnutt. Mark Twain was a prevalent white author by this time. Charles Chesnutt, the son of stark sours,decided to prosecute a dream of becoming an author in order to pull back the spirit ofracism. By studying these authors in particular, the views of a white brocaded inthe slave h venerableing south are juxtaposed with the views of free black. Both Twainand Chesnutt satirize whites in different ways done their literature. Twainalso displays some unfavorable preconceptions of blacks. This can be attributedto his h gray upbringing in the slave holding south.The main character of the Chesnutt stories is an old Negro man,previously a slave, who engages his new white employers in many humbugs about lifeon the woodlet. Uncle Julius relays these stories with much detail. Though,at the conclusion of each, the indorser is left wondering whether the tale wastrue or if Uncle Julius had conceived of it merely to run into his possess desires.Chesnutt has added to the end of each story an ulterior motive of Uncle Juliusthat seems to be met by the vocalizing of his tales. By doing this, Chesnuttdiscretely satirizes whites in general.In the first story, The Goophered Grapevine, Uncle Julius tells of aconjure woman putting a goopher on the grapevines, causing tout ensemble(a) blacks that eatthe grapes to die within one year. This story is relayed upon the first run acrossof the northern white touch (John and Annie) and the native South Carolinian.After telling his tale of Henry and the others that suffered from this spell,Uncle Julius concludes that these northerners should not buy this vineyard,adding conveniently that he is not afraid to eat the grapes because he know the ole vimes fum de noo ones.John de cides to buy the promote in spite of Uncle Juliuss warnings, but hedoes offer him employment as a coachman. It seems as if Uncle Julius had been severe to guarantee his usefulness on the plantation even after its sale. Waswhite man tricked into believing Julius knowledge would be useful in therenewing of the vineyards? Chesnutt lets the reader wonder, but regardless ofhis tale being ... ... of blacks, especially her own blackheritage. When scolding her son turkey cock for refusing to challenge the twins, Roxyblames his cowardice on de nigger in him. After noting all of the predominantwhite members of his pedigree, she concludes that de nigger is his soul.Twain seems to have some assumptions of his own that blacks have no pridein their own heritage.Twain and Chesnutt twain satirize whites, but in different ways. Twain,being a white, satirizes the slave holding south, rather than whites in general.Chesnutt, on the other hand, uses a couple from the north in a story set in thefree south. Chesnutt also is more descrete in his satire, while Twain pokes fundirectly. Twain also displays some of his own prejudices, being a white tryingto explain the black culture. On the contrary, Chesnutt honestly portraysblacks from an inside perspective. Roxy was ashamed of the black blood in her,while Uncle Julius seemed to be a proud old man, happy to tell of his blackfriends and past. From the analysis these literary selections we can elucidate agreater understanding of racial views but, one may secernate that everything is not assimple as black and white