Inquiry II A
If given the chance at a significantly better life, would you be willing to give up your heritage and forget about your past? This was the decision faced by many light skinned African Americans, Latinos, Asians, etc. when discrimination in America was the social norm. For those minorities lucky enough to have their skin color passable as white, they had the opportunity to escape the oppression and live as a normal “white” member of society. This unique situation is a central theme in Philip Roth’s The Human Stain, a book about a light skinned black man named Coleman Silk passing as a white Jew spanning from the 1940’s to the late 1990s. To understand Silk’s story it is crucial to understand that African Americans choose to pass based on their need to find their own personal identity, wealth and education that was not offered to them during times of segregation.
One of the greatest motivators for blacks to pass as white during the age of open discrimination was the opportunity to achieve their own personal identity. Blacks were automatically placed into a social class the moment they entered the world. They had no say in how they were viewed and very little chance to change the public perception given to them. So the choice for some was easy: pass and forget about their past. This is exactly what New York Times critic Anatole Broyard decided to do when he pursued his dream of being a writer. Broyard grew up a light skinned African American in New Orleans with a passion for writing, looking for a way to make it in a society not accepting to “negro publications.” So he made the decision to go out on his own, leave his family behind and pursue his dream. Although this was no easy task for Broyard, which can be seen in his article “Portrait of the Inauthentic Negro” where he states, “The inauthentic Negro is not only estranged from whites—he is also estranged from his own group and from himself. Since his companions are a mirror in which he sees himself as ugly, he must reject them; and since his own self is mainly a tension between an accusation and a denial, he can hardly find it, much less live in it.... He is adrift without a role in a world predicated on roles” (Gates). Broyard still struggled to find his own identity because part of his life remained a lie. He could never accept who he truly was because his very self was the very thing he had to reject to attempt to achieve what he wanted. This reflection of Boyard’s personal struggles goes to prove that even after passing, blacks continued to struggle to attain their own individuality.
African Americans also made the decision to pass based on significantly greater economic opportunities. It was no secret that the discrimination against blacks caused considerable discrepancies in the wages of blacks compared to whites. In the 1940’s for example, black men’s wages were 48.4% of what white men’s wages were. This fact alone was reason enough for blacks with the opportunity to pass to make their decision and hope to attain a better quality of life. They were forced to choose to earn significantly less money for no reason or pretend to be someone else and make what they deserved. And for most this option was too good to pass up and they did what they had to do to make the most of the hand they were dealt. This was similar to the decision Coleman had to make when he was first introduced to the Pitt State boxing coach earlier in his life. His coach Doc Shizner strongly urged Coleman to tell the coach he was white because it would give him a greater opportunity at being awarded a scholarship. His ability obviously would have never changed if he had said he was black, but racial discrimination during this time was so prevalent that people were thought of as less deserving solely based on the color of skin.
This also relates to the topic of the educational opportunities that were not granted to blacks during the age of racial segregation. The education offered to African Americans was nowhere near what whites were awarded during the time. The schools themselves were in bad shape; they lacked plumbing, heating and were often in need of repairs they simply could not afford. The only books they could get their hands on were dilapidated, old editions. Elizabeth K. Cumbo, a retired teacher at a Poolesville school in Alabama, recalls in an interview the state of the textbooks her school received when she stated, “We were unable to get new textbooks; these were handed down to us from the white schools. In many cases, pages were missing from these books and pupils had to share with one another” (Clark). This injustice made it very difficult for blacks to climb their way out poverty because without knowledge they lacked the chance to acquire better jobs, which is the key to a more sustainable life.
Throughout Phillip Roth’s The Human Stain there are some themes to the novel that some people may not be familiar with, that may impede on their desire to read the novel. One of these themes is the phenomenon of racial passing in American society, which is central to the story of Coleman Silk. To understand Silk, it is crucial to understand why African Americans made the difficult decisions they had to make by exploring their reasoning. Many choose their path based on their incessant need to carve out their own individual identity, like Silk and the New York Times critic Anatole Broyard. Others made the decision based on educational and financial reasons in hopes of finding a better life. All of these reasons were made for a positive outcome, but the drawbacks were almost equally as harsh. They had to abandon their own families, forget about where they came from and lie to everyone they met in the future about whom they truly were. This was no easy decision for any human being to make, but for those willing to take a shot at happiness, they did what they thought they had to do.
One of the greatest motivators for blacks to pass as white during the age of open discrimination was the opportunity to achieve their own personal identity. Blacks were automatically placed into a social class the moment they entered the world. They had no say in how they were viewed and very little chance to change the public perception given to them. So the choice for some was easy: pass and forget about their past. This is exactly what New York Times critic Anatole Broyard decided to do when he pursued his dream of being a writer. Broyard grew up a light skinned African American in New Orleans with a passion for writing, looking for a way to make it in a society not accepting to “negro publications.” So he made the decision to go out on his own, leave his family behind and pursue his dream. Although this was no easy task for Broyard, which can be seen in his article “Portrait of the Inauthentic Negro” where he states, “The inauthentic Negro is not only estranged from whites—he is also estranged from his own group and from himself. Since his companions are a mirror in which he sees himself as ugly, he must reject them; and since his own self is mainly a tension between an accusation and a denial, he can hardly find it, much less live in it.... He is adrift without a role in a world predicated on roles” (Gates). Broyard still struggled to find his own identity because part of his life remained a lie. He could never accept who he truly was because his very self was the very thing he had to reject to attempt to achieve what he wanted. This reflection of Boyard’s personal struggles goes to prove that even after passing, blacks continued to struggle to attain their own individuality.
African Americans also made the decision to pass based on significantly greater economic opportunities. It was no secret that the discrimination against blacks caused considerable discrepancies in the wages of blacks compared to whites. In the 1940’s for example, black men’s wages were 48.4% of what white men’s wages were. This fact alone was reason enough for blacks with the opportunity to pass to make their decision and hope to attain a better quality of life. They were forced to choose to earn significantly less money for no reason or pretend to be someone else and make what they deserved. And for most this option was too good to pass up and they did what they had to do to make the most of the hand they were dealt. This was similar to the decision Coleman had to make when he was first introduced to the Pitt State boxing coach earlier in his life. His coach Doc Shizner strongly urged Coleman to tell the coach he was white because it would give him a greater opportunity at being awarded a scholarship. His ability obviously would have never changed if he had said he was black, but racial discrimination during this time was so prevalent that people were thought of as less deserving solely based on the color of skin.
This also relates to the topic of the educational opportunities that were not granted to blacks during the age of racial segregation. The education offered to African Americans was nowhere near what whites were awarded during the time. The schools themselves were in bad shape; they lacked plumbing, heating and were often in need of repairs they simply could not afford. The only books they could get their hands on were dilapidated, old editions. Elizabeth K. Cumbo, a retired teacher at a Poolesville school in Alabama, recalls in an interview the state of the textbooks her school received when she stated, “We were unable to get new textbooks; these were handed down to us from the white schools. In many cases, pages were missing from these books and pupils had to share with one another” (Clark). This injustice made it very difficult for blacks to climb their way out poverty because without knowledge they lacked the chance to acquire better jobs, which is the key to a more sustainable life.
Throughout Phillip Roth’s The Human Stain there are some themes to the novel that some people may not be familiar with, that may impede on their desire to read the novel. One of these themes is the phenomenon of racial passing in American society, which is central to the story of Coleman Silk. To understand Silk, it is crucial to understand why African Americans made the difficult decisions they had to make by exploring their reasoning. Many choose their path based on their incessant need to carve out their own individual identity, like Silk and the New York Times critic Anatole Broyard. Others made the decision based on educational and financial reasons in hopes of finding a better life. All of these reasons were made for a positive outcome, but the drawbacks were almost equally as harsh. They had to abandon their own families, forget about where they came from and lie to everyone they met in the future about whom they truly were. This was no easy decision for any human being to make, but for those willing to take a shot at happiness, they did what they thought they had to do.