THEME 1--Your Blues Ain't Like Mine: RACISM
How is RACISM explored in the work? Consider the following elements for possible discussion:
- Role of the perpetrators
- Victims' perspectives
- Specific actions that can be considered racist
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Pritchett, J
ReplyDeletethere was alot of perpetrators because the way they set him up after they released him the first time was completely off gaurd if they knew it was going to cause more problems they should have handled it then not wait til he leave to chase him and beat him to death.from the victims perspective he was caught off gaurd and had no answer as to why they beating him the way they did it was very disturbing the way that played out and touched deep in my heart. the specifics of that being racist becausen the words and the actions that was taking place during the beaten"get on your knees nigger" "nigger peeing his pants""i hate niggers"(CAMPBELL)
(CORRECTION TO THE EXISTING POST)
DeletePritchett, Jesse
There were a lot of perpetrators because the way they set him up after they released him the first time was completely off guard.If they knew it was going to cause more problems they should have handled it then,not wait until he left to chase him and beat him to death.From the victim's perspective he was caught off guard and had no answer as to why they were beating him the way they did. It was very disturbing the way that played out and touched deep in my heart.The situation is racist because of the words and the actions that were taking place during the beating. "Get on your knees nigger," Nigger peeing his pants," and "I hate niggers." (campbell p39).
The racism was evedent in this piece it stuck out like a red apple in a field of green grass. Armstrong was a proud black man that displayed his confedence boldly. He valued being good at somthing such as pool this gave him a way to express him self. Racism is all over and even brought on by each other in such ways that promote violence between one another. Jack displayed this racism toward Armstrong by telling him that all the talking he was doing was a waste of time that he was going to nothing.We have to encourage each other to strive for more.(Anthony W).
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Armstrong was being himself, because that's all he knew. There was no orientation presented to him on dealing with his new environment after leaving his mothers home. All Armstrong could do was do what he knew. Likely where he came from, he didn't have to deal with the burden of racial etiquette. His ignorance to his surroundings and confidence in himself sparked a fury in the southern white men which pursued him. Jack was attempt to gain validation is horrible and the fact that he was racist towards his own kind is as well
Delete^^ L. Nero
ReplyDeleteRacism is this piece of literature is evident is several areas. While reading, I was reminded of the tragic and horrific story of Emmitt Till. In both instances we have young men, wrongly accused of actions that weren’t even judicial crimes. These accusations ultimately and unfortunately led to their untimely deaths. Jakes character reminded me so much of Samuel Jackson character Stephen in the hit movie Django. We see a black male attempting to gain validation from the ‘white superior’ by manipulating an innocent situation to get another black male in trouble. Floyd’s racism is fueled by a perceived threat self-consciously that Armstrong, with his masculine and appealing self, was making a pass at his wife. When Floyd stated “Nigger, I don’t want to hear anything you got to say…” It could be interpreted that not only was he annoyed with the present situation, but as a white man, he easily disregarded any defense a black person who have tried to extend. When I read “Whatchu running fer, nigger?” and “Go get him. He’s yourn”, it caused me to clench up because these people were literally on a hunt to kill Armstrong. It was as though he was a wild game or wild animal being hunted for his life, when in all actuality he was a human being, no lesser or greater than either of them. (Dante W.)
ReplyDeleteRacism was one of the most prominent themes in this novel. The entire story centers around the destruction that racist acts can cause. Straight from the beginning of the novel we see how such a cruel act of racism can cause the loss of a life. Armstrong was not brutally attacked and then murdered merely because he spoke french to Floyd's wife; it was because he was black. Even small things like the use of the word "nigger" is so degrading yet used throughout the novel by whites. Furthermore, we witness racism in the courthouse when the judge does not find Floyd guilty. This was a clear example of racism because he chose Floyd's side simply because he was white and finding a black person guilty was easier during these times. Another example of racism is seen in the New Plantation. They work for long hard hours with no medical protection or benefits. When Doreen sees Fannie get hurt and then asks if she's gonna have a job when she gets back, we see racism when they do not allow her to come back even though she says she's going to get a lawyer and sue. This story exemplifies many acts of racism to prove to the reader the horror of it during this time.
ReplyDeleteAfter beginning reading, I began to see there was a lot of racism in the piece of work.A prime example of this is when the two women are on the train to see the great grandmother Cecile, each are treated very differently from the white passengers that are aboard the train. The mother is told very rudely from the train employee to move to the back of the train where the colored car was. We begin to see even more of this racism as the story goes on as the two are not allowed to use the same bathroom as well as the white people. You can begin to sense there is a strong depiction of the differences. The women are strong though and handle the misuse quite well.
ReplyDeleteTony G.
At first glance there should be little doubt in the readers mind in regards to what the main conflict of interest is in "Blues". That would be the issue of racism. The murder of Armstrong Todd can be seen as the pendulum that progresses the story forward into the late 1970s. Floyd Cox had killed Armstrong in cold blood just to prove a point regarding race. While this is the most evident source of racism that can be found in the novel, there was another instance that occurs much later on in the novel that caught my attention. Racism can also be seen in the 1970's when you look at Lily and Floyd's daughter Doreen. Doreen works at New Plantation Catfish Farm. At the plantation the working conditions are not great and the work is very arduous and exhausting. One can view Doreen's work at the plantation as an indirect representation for slavery. Doreen does not get paid very well for the work she does. In a post Jim Crow era one would think that everyone should have equal opportunity at a job that pays well, yet this seems to be all the work she can find. The racial tensions are not strictly amongst two different characters of a different race however; we are also able to experience interracial colorism through the relationship between Armstrong and Jake. Armstrong and Jake do not get along in the slightest bit largely in part to Jake’s obedience to the white men of his town. Armstrong claims that he thinks that there is something wrong with Jake for acting the way he does toward Floyd and his company. “That’s what’s wrong with the colored people down here; they’re so scared of these crackers” (18). Through this quote we can see Todd label the black people of Mississippi in a negative way. By classifying them as “wrong” Armstrong creates a negative perception to the black people in the town. Although racial tensions have seemingly come to a halt towards the end of the story, it still seems as though the motives behind racism are far from gone.
ReplyDeleteMike P.
Carolyn B.
ReplyDeleteI was really upset with Jake in this novel because I feel like he betrayed not only his self but also his own people. What he failed to realize was just because he was the eyes and ears of Mr. Floyd in the pool shop when he was not around, Mr. Floyd still looked at Jake as being a "nigger" in his eyes Jake was just obidient a good ol' boy. Granted Jake may have had some self esteem issues with his self since everyone ran around calling him ugly black Jake look like a snake. That never gave him the right to go and tell that lie on Armstrong that got that young man killed.
I agree, I saw Jake as 'Scar' in Lion King. There to betray for their own benefit. Betrayal is so common where struggle occurs. (JoeDean)
DeleteRacism is like a disease with no cure and unfortually it will always be apart of our lives. No one can excape racism because people where born into it. Racism is what families had taught their off spring in one way or another. In the story "Your Blue Ain't Like Mine", the author used race as a form of racism, but just to let people know there are different types of racism. When Floyd Cox screamed and I quote "I hate niggers", (38) he really meant those words. As long as niggers (is what he called black people) obeyed him, he could hire one of them to work for him at his bar in which Jake, a black man worked for Mr.Floyd at his bar(17-18). Jake fell victim to the white man way of life and in a way was scared to show it, but Armstrong was not scared to let his feeling show. Armstrong felt and I quote "that's what's wrong with the colored people down here; they're so scared of these crackers" (18). Racism is a very scary thing to go through being judged by your color of your skin, but it does not only happen with black and white people, it also happens with the same race of people. It just breaks my heart to know people still see color and not the fact that we are all still human beings.
ReplyDeleteCanesha B.
While reading Your Blues Aint Like Mine, there were many instances in where racism came about. Throughout the exceprt there was many instances in which many characters experienced some way shape or form of racism. This story took place in the 1950's where racism was still very present and open especially in the Deep South. From the beginning of the excerpt we see racism towards Darnell as Floyd Jr. confronts him after talking to his wife with saying, "Nigger, what's all that voully voully dance? You saying something crazy to my wife?"(20) As I continued to read i saw more and more examples of racism towards the African American Characters especially Darnell. During the trial, the lawyer Waldo gives a prime example as he asks Darnell,"Why do you think a white lady would enter a business establishment with nothing but nigra men inside?"(115). Even today we still experience racism even though it is not out and open as it was during this time frame. Its a serious issue that is going to be a tough one to accomplish until we reach a point of everyone accepting each other for who they are based on thier character and not by the color of their skin. I beleive that we will reach this goal as long as we the majority continue to promote equal opportunity and to not be judgmental towards people based on the color of thier skin.
ReplyDeleteZack L.
When you look at racism from the victims point of view, particularly from Armstrong Todd's, I think because he was so used to living in a northern state where African Americans were not treated nearly as bad as the people who lived in the south, he kind of had that cockiness about him when it came to the words he used while talking in front of the southern white folks. For example when he continuously repeated "voulez-vous danseur Alec mois ce soir? Vous Etes belle, mademoiselle." and campbell even states right after "the words pranced out of armstrongs mouth like so many high stepping show horses." so to me Armstrong's lack of understanding and addition to his cockiness towards racism really leads to eventual downfall via the cox family
ReplyDeleteBin Chen
ReplyDeleteAs I read the novel, I realized there are allot of “ism” in the novel, however the title of the novel “blues” is obvious related to racism. One of the most significant racism victim Armstrong Todd was really proud of where he from and who he is, killed by Floyd Cox due to racism. The incident has happened for one reason, Lily’s curiosity and she is certainly a racist as she steps into the pool hall to just look at a colored boy. As Floyd Cox said “I hate niggers” (39), the situation would be much different if Floyd did not have these feelings of hatred toward colored people, since he has been in such mental state whatever Armstrong said would not have made a different ending for him. Just from this incident, we should be able to tell how strong one race felt against the other during that period of time, and of course I think even in today’s society there are still plenty of people having this kind of feelings against certain race. Doreen who worked in the New Plantation was being treated just like niggers; she was scared of not having medical benefits and had to carrying a sign to protest around the fish processing plant with mostly black people. It was ironic because both of Doreen’s parents hate black people, and their daughter on the other hand ended up in the same boat with the race.
Beneeka J
ReplyDeleteYour Blues Ain’t Like Mine
They were singing the second verse of “We Shall Overcome” (Campbell 296). The motivational song has been sung to give hope to blacks. That one day we as hard working, builders, teachers, mothers to our children and white children of our former slave masters, would shed the nasty skin of prejudice. While doing so, hoping that we would understand that we are truly all equal no matter, if you have been educated from generations that because you white your supreme or better.
“Your BluesAin’t Like Mine” is a beautiful novel by Bebe Moore Campbell that deal with the generational curse of racism. Armstrong Todd was not accustomed to the yassuh, nahsuh, obedient behavior that blacks had for whites in Mississippi. Armstrong never knew that showing off his knowledge of French, and the curiosity of a white woman would get him killed. Lilly was a perpetrator by letting an innocent man get killed, due to her curiosity to see what the beautiful, strong, forbidden black men were doing in the pool room. Had Lilly had the courage to stand up to her husband and confessed the truth and nothing less, Mr. Todd would not have been beaten to death.
Lilly also didn’t want her daughter to march with the other workers of, The New Plantation Company. Dorren expressed to her mother that she was marching to get better pay and to teach her daughter to have the courage to stand up for herself. Lilly couldn’t bear “The thought of her daughter carrying a sign and marching around the fish processing plant with a bunch of niggers made her dizzy. (Campbell 325)
What’s so sad is that this generational curse still dominates how we as blacks are perceived. This curse is shutting doors of communication and relationships before even given the chance to show that we are beautiful human beings inside and out.
Sometimes when we think back to the racism and slavery that took place towards African-Americans we may say that I could have never lived back during that time, but what choice would we really have had. In the novel "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine", by Toni Morrison, what I think back to was when Floyd said "I shoulda hit that boy. You always gotta hit a nigger what steps outta line; keeps the other ones respectful", that really bothered me. If that wasn't racism I don't know what was, you have to set an example with one "nigger", so that the others don't step out of line and think that it's okay, we are not objects, we are human beings with feelings and a beating heart and bleed red blood just as they did, WE DESERVED RESPECT! The way that Floyd, his brother and father, beat and killed Armstrong Todd was terrible, no one deserves to die like that or be treated with such disrespect, it was inhumane. Racism still occurs to this day not only between caucasians and African-Americans, but between African-Americans as well. We don't respect each other, so how can we expect other races to respect us? Not that we don't deserve it, but we have to respect ourselves first!
ReplyDeleteDasha Butler
ReplyDeleteLooking at racism in the novel "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine", you notice that Armstrong, Jake, and the rest of the black men and women had it hard in the time that they were in. Being black and not really understanding and taking the the responsibilites of being black and what that entitlement meant led Armstrong Todd to his death. One misinterpretation of a situation led to three white men beating, torturing, and murdering a young innocent black male. " I should have hit that nigger", quoted by Floyd Cox this thought was the trigger that set off Floyd to please his father so to speak and diliberately kill a defenseless boy. I feel as though what Floyd, his father, and brother did was outrageous and disgusting no human being should be treated the way Armstrong was treated up until his last breath. In this novel Armstrong was abused physically but also mentally because of the cruel names and words that they used to belittle him.