Within the conclusion of the story I would like to touch upon a line that occurs on page 200. Toward the bottom of the passage he states, "I am sure I should have found it easier to take the place of a gladiator, no matter how fierce the Numidian lion, than to tell that slender girl that I had Negro blood in my veins."
This line sums up the entire book. Our narrators inner fears are addressed in their entirety. Above all else he is afraid to share his inner secret with the one person in the world that he does not feel alienated from. Everyone in his life that meant anything to him are no longer in the picture. He is completely alone, besides this one girl. He would rather take his chances and risk death than to turn away the only person in his life that he feels love for.
This aspect of his character shows that he is ashamed of bieng of his natural race and is afraid of other people finding out. This is not becuase he does not honor people of color, but that he is afraid of the uncontrolable action of others upon himself due to having black blood in his veins.
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I agree with what you said in your last paragraph. It is not due to the color of his skin or who he is but the reactions of those around him. I also feel that it has something to do with the fear of being alone. It seems as though everyone in his life that he cared most about has in some way hurt or abandoned him after finding out his secret. I cannot say as though I would be too willing to say any secret of mine if I was met with the same reactions he did.
I also agree with what you have written in your last paragraph. It was a huge decision that the narrator took to pass as a white person. However, it wasn't because he hates African Americans,it is simply because of the circumstances of the time. If he hadn't chosen to pass as white, he could have possibly been burned alive, or just rejected altogether.
I agree. Yet, I think part of his fear was that he accepted society’s constrains and deeply believed that a white woman, especially one of the upper class, would not be able to accept marring a man with even one drop of colored blood in his veins no matter how much she may love him. It seems his girlfriend felt this also, as she obviously struggled with her answer for a little while. Still, she truly loves him and deep down wants to be his wife regardless. I guess proving that anything is possible in a time when that certainly wasn’t the case.
I agree with your post 110%. I believe the narrator passing as white could have a big impact on his children. I feel as if the narrator is so wrapped up in this whole white & black world that it's all he focuses on rather then focusing on his life. I felt bad for him when he first got rejected from the girl for being honest, but than I was happy that they ended up getting married.
You bring up a very good and significant point. Throughout the novel, the narrator deals with shame about his lineage. We see this especially in the beginning of the book when he discovers the truth. Over the course of the book, he becomes more comfortable as an African-American, but the lynching he witnesses brings back that fear and shame of being black.
Youre absolutely right. That line truly does sum the book up and shows that complete shame that he felt that he counldn't (or didn't want to) even tell the one person he loved.
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