Every time I read a story, I immediately think the character is white, until proven otherwise. That may just be me, but that's how I usually view literature. The main character is white and for the most part so are the supporting characters, as in the ones that aid the protagonist (in many cases). I'm not upset by this or surprised, I don't expect a white offer to write about the lives of a black person, well not in today where everything can be misinterpreted and skewed. However, during the rare times black people are used in literature, I find it interesting to see where they fit into the story.
So far in class we have completed three books, Brave New World, The Handmaid's Tale, and 1984. My memory of these novels is already failing, so feel free to correct me in the comments, but as far as I can remember, black people were only majorly brought up in The Handmaid's Tale. They were turned into slaves for the Republic of Gilead, because the way the people in charge interpreted the Bible, turned black people into sons/daughters of Cain. That means if I was sucked into the world of Gilead, I would either be a slave or dead for fighting back. What I find interesting about the other two novels, is that there isn't much of religious undertones, its more like the government is empowered to do what it wants. I can only assume that black people in those worlds live the same lives as everyone else and are just background characters minding their own business.
Honestly, Parable of the Sower surprised me a bit when I found out the main character was a black girl. Before she revealed it the only hint the reader would've had was the cover of the novel, which on my book is of a black girl holding an old looking journal. In the year of 2025, it still seems like there is racial tension, but Lauren (the black little girl) says that everyone in her neighborhood couldn't afford to play like that, because it was so small. It was uncommon for black and white people to walk in groups, which is kind of true of the real world... however, I feel like this might hold some deeper meaning in this book. The main character could've just been white, so there must be a reason for her being black (which is kind of messed up, but seems to be a pattern in most of the books I've ever read).
Anyways, have any of the books we've read so far given you an idea of where you would be in their society based on your race, class, or gender?
I find it especially interesting that it seemed like race mattered so little inside the neighborhood. Though Lauren said that relationships seemed to be only between people of the same race, otherwise the families would get mad, it seemed like people really relied on each other inside the neighborhood and that came above racial issues. Outside of the neighborhood, race seems to be more of an issue. Lauren was worried that others would attack their small group at the beginning because Harry is white, which Zahra and Lauren are black.
ReplyDeleteI think I also characters in a book are white unless there is evidence that says otherwise. I think Parable of the Sower is interesting in that it brings up the topic of race, more so than the other books we've read. Race plays a role in this story, which adds another interesting dynamic to the plot and the characters.
ReplyDeleteI agree that characters in books tend to be predominantly white unless otherwise specified. It's kind of sad. I found a lot of the racial issues brought up in Parable of the Sower to be realistic. For instance, Lauren having to disguise herself as a male with Zahra in place of Harry since interracial couples faced harassment or worse. It was interesting to see how these racial issues were basically nonexistent in the neighborhood, where people relied on each other.
ReplyDeleteTypically, Indian people are not included in American literature or entertainment, and so, like yourself, I don't go into things like books expecting a character similar to myself in terms of appearance. However, this doesn't really bother me much. The works we work with are typically written by white people, and therefore the worlds within them are predominantly white. That only makes sense. If I was to write a book, I would set it up exactly how I imagine it. The way you imagine your own world depends on everything you mentioned (race, class, gender), and so, everyone's is a little different. I don't think it is anything to be upset over. But, I will also say in cases like some of these books, making a character a certain way only to play to negetive sterotypes is not justified.
ReplyDeleteI also automatically think a character is white unless I am specifically told so otherwise. I was honestly surprised when the main character of Parable of the Sower was black because the other books we read all had white main characters. That said, I was glad that Parable of the Sower was bringing up topics of race because I feel that, in the modern day, the idea of groups with both blacks and whites is fairly common.
ReplyDeleteYeah, whenever I read a book I also automatically think the character is white, which is kind of odd now that I think of it because most of the people I interact with on a daily basis are not white. I think this also explains the lack of diversity in movies because if we are automatically thinking that the characters are white, casting directors must also be gravitating to white actors. I wonder how people in other countries imagine their characters when reading books, because I think that our initial imaginations of our characters reflect a subconscious message our society pushing.
DeleteI think because I had some background on Octavia Spencer and had previously read Kindred, I sort of assumed Lauren was black from the beginning. But, like you said, there really wasn't much indication of race early on in the text. Like you, I've been trying to figure out the role of race in this book, and I'm honestly still not completely sure - it seems to be significant in Lauren's everyday life, but past that, I can't tell if it's supposed to create some greater meaning or message.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I am pretty used to the lack of representation in many of the books I read so it is really easy to just assume. In parable of the sower race plays an interesting factor. Everytime we meet a new character now Lauren describes their race. I am not sure why this is, I guess it could just be part of their physical description but it feels like more.
ReplyDeleteActually, black characters do show up in Brave New World. Huxley kept mentioning "epsilon-plus octoroons," perhaps as a demonstration that your race doesn't define your caste. There's also that whole paragraph about the ginger, brunette, pale, tan Betas (?) and other classes, implying an inversion of genetic stereotypes. However, there's no indication that any of the Alphas we meet are anything other than white.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I agree that when I open a book, here in America in English class, I expect the main character to be white until proven otherwise. And if they're not white, it means somethings up usually. But I thought of 1984 especially, and I think there isn't much racial tension (at least not mentioned, although we only look at Winston's life story). But I'm enjoying the complexity and diversity in Parable of the Sower.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that with the books we have read, it is pretty safe to assume that the main character, and pretty much most characters, are white until proven otherwise. It does seem like when characters are of a different race, that choice was made by the author for a reason (this is often true). Sometimes I do like to imagine myself in the worlds of these books, which is why I sometimes seek out books involving Asian people. Do you know of a book which includes minorities without suggesting some racial-cultural undertone? Is this even worth pursuing?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the main characters are in all likelihood white(expect in "Parable of the Sower"), but I don't believe that it matters as much in the context of these stories. I don't believe that there would be a difference to how the characters in interacted in Brave New World based on race, class, or gender since every person is crafted in a lab. In the Handmaid's Tale (the book), they speak about the "children of Ham," which we automatically assume to be black, being deported. Is it possible that they could have been of a different religious sect (not far enough away from Gilead's religion to be deported, but not exactly the same) or disabled in some manner? Maybe my judgement is clouding me due to the fact that I watched the Television Program before reading the book. In 1984, I don't just assume that everyone is white, simply because Oceania includes many African countries, so therefore he could be black, white, or whatever. Therefore, I do not believe that I would be, in any case, any higher than the normal citizen.
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