Say Yes Tobias Wolff

"Say Yes" by Tobias Wolff tells the story about a couple disputing over the ethicalness of the white Americans and African Americans that were marrying each other. In this portrayal of the white American husband's and wife's views of African American people, it is apparent that the Civil Rights Movement was able to persuaded masses of white Americans to provide more freedoms to African Americans, even though some white people remained unaffected. In "Say Yes," Tobias Wolff's representation of the couple's discussion depicts the attitudes that men and women had towards African Americans, revealing how the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s had affected Americans in the 1980s. The Civil Rights Movement sought to bring independence and justice

A common used justification for segregation was distinguishable when the husband from "Say Yes" explained that "'a person from their culture and a person from our culture could never really know each other'" (Wolff par. 8). White Americans believed that the difference in culture was a reason to segregate against African Americans. Many stereotypes were generated about African Americans giving them an appalling impression. One asserted that African Americans "were unclean and shiftless, unintelligent and oversexed" (Sokol par. 3). A white women's attitude towards African Americans often appeared to be more compassionate and kindhearted than a white American man's aspect. In the story the wife demonstrates this concept when she states, "'I just don't see what's wrong with a white person marrying a black person'" (Wolff par. 7). She does not understand the reasoning as to why interracial marriage is considered indecent and impure. She portrays the typical attitude that a white American woman was thought to have during this moment in history. Yet the truth is that "[women] might seem nicer because they have less power, because they seem to hide their feelings more and are less direct than white men" (Brewer par. 9). Many white Americans had insisted that interracial marriage was unreasonable and