What Is The Relationship Between Coleman Silk And African American

Coleman Silk held different power with each relationship. During the 1950’s, white privilege was the norm among races. This enabled white individuals to gain extra privileges, causing other races such as African Americans to feel inferior. Coleman Silk used his skin color as a means to become a white man in his own mind. Silk may have been African American physically but he felt being white was empowering. This gave him the notion of having to have different types of relationships with the people he engaged with during his life. In Philip Roth’s novel, The Human Stain, Coleman Silk sought to fit into an everchanging society. Coleman’s secret hobby growing up was competitive boxing. This was something Silk enjoyed and Doc Chizner, his coach,

Nathan, the narrator states, “Coleman had by then been at Athena almost all his academic life, an outgoing, sharp-witted, forcefully smooth big-city charmer, something of a warrior, something of an operator, hardly the prototypical pedantic professor of Latin and Greek” (4). Silk felt as though he was an untouchable being. In addition, he was one of the few Jews to work at Athena. However, his perfect life would soon come crumbing down. During a lecture as Silk was taking attendance, Nathan claims, “there were still two names that failed to elicit a response by the fifth week into the semester, Coleman, in the sixth week, opened the session by asking, “ʻDoes anyone know these people? Do they exist or are they spooks?’’’ (6). Silk was then called into the Dean’s office because someone reported his racial spook comment. Coleman brought this on himself. He was forced to resign, a devastating blow, on the same day he discovers Iris, his wife, had passed away. Silk felt as though Athena College murdered his wife, Iris. Iris was his equal and she had been good for Coleman. She gave him children, Jeff, Michael and the twins Lisa and Mark. Coleman grieved and was devastated until a person named Faunia Farley came

Lisa, was Coleman’s favorable child. He admired her willingness to teach illiterate children how to read. This was a difficult job, yet he always tried to encourage her. One day Lisa was not picking up his calls and he was wondering what was going on. She then calls her father and asks if he is okay. Silk was confused, Lisa then goes on to ask him about Faunia and the attempted suicide because of an unborn child. This was a rumor started by Delphine to make Coleman look bad once again. Silk realized that this was all a lie. He never had heard about this and it made him upset to think that his favorite daughter was ignoring him due to this. Mark, his other child told him to go away. They never had a healthy relationship with each other. During Coleman’s funeral Mark was weeping and praying, since he felt so ashamed about the pain he caused his father. Silk’s death caused all his children deep regret about their unsteady relationships with