In the story “Peaches”, Reginald McKnight introduces his main characters, one being Marcus. Marcus is a good guy, but he is described in many different ways, due to his bad temper and immaturity level. Throughout the work, author Reginald McKnight takes great care to illustrate situations and describe feelings and personalities that many men experience. This way, even though Marcus is having trouble controlling himself around other people and arrogant at times, he still tries to be a better person for Rita and for himself. He does this by going out of the country to experience other cultures and enhance his morals. Although Marcus is strong and eager, he is actually an easily irascible, impatient, immature, manipulative, unstable man whose …show more content…
Even in realizing that he is being a complete neurotic, one can see that Marcus actions are a sign of his impatience. He has habits of always unknowingly insulting himself and exclaiming, “I’m the one who needs to change,” (73) two practices that reveal his insecurity and contradict his belief that, “If anything, I can give you more because my world is so different from yours” (74) which he stated to Rita. Even when Rita re-assures Marcus that “It’s got nothing to do with your beliefs. Really. I’m just preoccupied…..we can talk about this tomorrow, at dinner?” (74) His first concern is himself and asks Rita “Is it because you think I got no soul or some crap like that, isn’t it?” (74). He feels that his race is the reason Rita has been avoiding him. He reasons that the tension existing between him and Rita is because Rita disagrees with his beliefs and upbringing. In spite of that thinking, he also reasons that Rita prefers black men, insisting “I just can’t give you what a black guy can give you, right?”(74). Marcus’ money seems to be the only asset recognized by Ritas parents, so in his defense, Marcus clings to Ritas parents’ “Oscar winning politeness” (75). When analyzed in this way, one can start to understand Marcus not as a manic-depressive, but as an unstable man who attempts to gain Ritas recognition and …show more content…
It is ironic that Marcus resorted to going to Liberia when all he wanted back home was to be with Rita. Marcus saying, “he wouldn’t come back till he knew, till he really, really understood what blackness was” (75-76). Apparently, Rita was aware of Marcus’ characteristics long before they become invested in one another, but she said, “Sometimes It made me fear him. Sometimes I think it made me love him more” (74). “He hugged me, kissed me longer than I could stand, said goodbye, promised, he’d change, we’d get it straight, he’d return reborn, we’d marry and raise fat, tan, unrarified babies” (76). Rita was able to create an image of the ideal man she would have liked Marcus to become, and convinced herself that was the man she was going to settle with. Marcus was initially drawn to Rita, not for her “frizzy, uncombable black hair, or burdensome breasts, but the face that he insisted no guy on campus could forget, and the legs he insisted were not birdlike” (73). Due to Marcus’ personality traits he did not seem to notice that he was sabotaging any possibility of ever having anything serious with
Julian's discription of his relationship with his mother, in his mind, was he viewed himself as the savior that must teach her a lesson about her outdated veiwpoints. He feels as though he needs to treat her like a "little girl" because of her ignorance of the changing times. It seems that the new generation always seems to know more about "everything" than the one before. Meaning, the old generations are not nessasarily ignorant to the changes, but they might not know any better becuse of the way they were brought up. "They (blacks) don't give a damn for your graciousness", Julian explains to his mother. The condescension of "enlightened" whites towards blacks and the resentment of blacks towards well-meaning whites will never change because "knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now ...
The novel The Garies and their Friends is a realistic examination of the complex psychology of blacks who try to assimilate through miscegenation and crossing the color barrier by “passing as white.” Frank J. Webb critiques why blacks cannot pass as being white through the characters Mr. Winston and Clarence Jr.
Tatum examines what “Blackness,” means in a predominately white society and explores reasons why black adolescents begin to believe that they are inferior or in other words “not normal” in society, especially in academics where some black adolescents claim that “doing well in school is often identified as being White” (para. 30) which leads them to not give their education their maximum effort in the fear of being labeled as “too white” or simply just “not black”. She uses her son’s personal experiences as well as typical stories of how blacks are misunderstood in order to educate the reader as to how black people eventually develop a self-identity based on the implications of society and the situations that surround them. This can be seen when she says, “The stereotypes, omissions, and distortions that reinforce notions of White superiority are breathed in by Black children as well as white” (para. 10). In this quote Tatum further examines what “Whiteness” means in the same context and explains that since American society associates White people to be the normality, they are not able to create a well-balanced self-identity without it being based off of racial
In creating a character so confident, insecure, manipulative, and unstable, Reginald McKnight also creates a character we can sympathize with. McKnight created a sense that Marcus was a confident individual, who set himself apart from society, but in doing so, he set himself up for failure. Where the one woman who could make all the difference began to fear him. Once that happened, everything went downhill as soon as Marcus began to dismiss Ritas response at any given point. Whether or not he was fully aware, Marcus built walls around him and avoided speaking about his personal life with any sort of depth. This, if anything, makes us aware that negative remarks and statements can lead to a very negative result. We are forced to form our own conclusion and conform to the fact that no matter how many miles away, one person may never change.
Throughout a lifetime, one can run through many different personalities that transform constantly due to experience and growing maturity, whether he or she becomes the quiet, brooding type, or tries out being the wild, party maniac. Richard Yates examines acting and role-playing—recurring themes throughout the ages—in his fictional novel Revolutionary Road. Frank and April Wheeler, a young couple living miserably in suburbia, experience relationship difficulties as their desire to escape grows. Despite their search for something different, the couple’s lack of communication causes their planned move to Europe to fall through. Frank and April Wheeler play roles not only in their individual searches for identity, but also in their search for
...ausing bitterness and disappointment. Relying on their imaginations instead of reality is something both Willy and Jay struggle with and is directly related to their ability of acquiring their unique versions of the American dream. The blatant disregard for honesty leads the protagonist into a world filled with bitter disappointment and artificiality. Thus, as a result the protagonists are susceptible to destruction Dishonesty leading to disappointment and tragedy is apparent in both literary works, "Death of a Salesman," and "The Great Gatsby." Over excessive pride, adultery, and false material security are some of the issues that our protaganists are bothered with, all eventually leading to their demise. Through the works, it is shown, example by example, how dishonesty with family, friends, and most importantly yourself, is destructive to all those around you.
The reader is introduced to an insight of Titus Andronicus’ cruel nature, after he ignores Tamora’s cry to have her first-born son saved from his sacrifice to revenge the lives of his sons that her Goth people took. This new interpretation of Titus as a ruthless murderer heavily contradicts the reader’s first impression of Titus that Marcus gave the reader. Marcus initially leads the reader to except that Titus is good and honorable man. Titus’ sudden act of violence makes the reader realizes that he has two sides to his character: the relentless warrior and the beloved hero. However as the play unfolds, an individual can realize that everything that occurs throughout the play is connected to the initial sacrifice. It is evident that Titus’ character goes through many changes, the not one but many sides of his personality are revealed.
In today’s society people are judged primarily on their looks and the amount of money that they have. As we take a look into the short story, “Wild Plums”, one can agree that the primary purpose of this short story is to illustrate how people believe they are inferior to others because of the way they look or act. The main family in the story thinks they are too good to go pick wild plums with the slumps and they think they are too good to be around them.
Statements like ‘I don’t see color’ and ‘I accept you despite your race’ conveys a major implication. These statements imply that color is a problem. I believe there is no problem with color, but there is people who have a problem with color. Walker’s encounter with a WASP-looking Jewish student that invalidates her racial identity by asking if she is “really black and Jewish” (25) and “how can that be possible” (25) makes her question if her biracial identity is a problem and if “[she] is possible” (25). Ralina Joseph, author of "Performing the Twenty-first Century Tragic Mulatto: Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self" believes the conflict that arises from the farce of “colorblindness is the reality of tragic, mixed-race blackness.”(Joesph). According to Joesph, Walker’s invocation of Movement Child, and the tragic mulatto becomes the means through which she “demonstrates the impossibility of the racial ideology of colorblindness” (Joseph). I agree with this. Walker’s biracial experiences prove that society has yet to move past race. I can only imagine Walker walking into different classrooms and everyone looking at her trying to analyze what other race she is mixed with; this other race not being the norm, which leads to the social exclusion Walker faces.
She states that, “In many instances, anti-immigrant racism today camouflages itself and goes mainline in self-presentation, which is precisely my point about Ethan Frome.” Ammon’s strongly advocates the stance that it is vital for racism in Ethan Frome and similar works to be revealed and thoroughly examined as it is this literature that unmasks the extent of white anxieties in the United States. Bernard, in a stark contrast, proposes that the heart of the novel is the weakness of Frome’s character as well as his “negation of life.” He argues that the language usage in Ethan Frome is unparalleled and allows the reader to closely read and understand the point of Wharton’s work. In order to make this understanding easier on the audience, Bernard breaks down the complex ideas and symbols represented in Ethan Frome into simple, easy to digest concepts. Step-by-step, he goes through Wharton’s integration of symbolism and imagery, two elements of fiction, and the motives behind their usage. Through his breakdown of symbolism and imagery into three components, he provides a clearer insight into the mind of Wharton and the purpose of her work, while Ammons solely focuses on the racism in Ethan Frome. Although she dissects the novel as well, she also supports her analysis using previous works authored by Wharton to prove the racist perspective of Ethan Frome. This is evident as it is present in
... improve their race: “From the outset, Morrison is interested in having the characters achieve a more authentic existence than those who submit to conventional standards, one that emerges from their personal efforts to realize their responsibility to become fulfilled individuals.”
Mobley, Marilyn Sanders. “ Toni Morrison.” The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Eds. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith, and Trudier Harris. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.508-510.
West in his book, Race Matters, he talks about the strained and damaged relationships between
Morrison provides the reader with a light-skinned black character whose racist attitudes affect the poorer, darker blacks in the community, especially the main characters, Claudia MacTeer and Pecola Breedlove. Maureen Peal comes from a rich black family and triggers admiration along with envy in every child at school, including Claudia. Although Maureen is light-skinned, she embodies everything that is considered "white," at least by Claudia's standards: "Patent leather shoes with buckles...fluffy sweaters the color of lemon drops tucked into skirts with pleats... brightly colored knee socks with white borders, a brown ...
Like many kid’s Marcus deals with bullying. As most kids do in such situations, he views the world in a way that bullies rule his world in the same way that politicians dictate our future and the world we live in. The bullying of Marcus leads to his low self-esteem and because of this he shows depressive tendencies through his thoughts presented in the book.