Symbolism In Black Like Me
John Howard Griffin was a white man, who disguised himself as a black man to further understand the reason why Southerners were harsh to the colored. Throughout the novel, Black Like Me John Howard Griffin encompasses scenes of chilling reality to accurately portray the harsh life of being colored in the south, gain support for the Fourteenth Amendment, and evoke sorrow in the reader. The struggle of being colored in the south is a horrifying struggle that Griffin relayed in Black Like Me. For example, the text states, “’Ain’t no way you can get away from me, Mr. Shithead. You might as well stop right there’” (Griffin 34). This was said by a teenage white boy to Griffin, who was in his forties. Something like this was not frowned upon, but
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Griffin stated, “The mother sponge-bathed the children while the husband and I shaved. Each of the children went to the toilet, a zinc bucket in the corner, since it was too cold for them to go outside,” (112). This quote arouses sorrow in the reader because it shows how poor colored people were forced to live. Since employers wouldn’t hire colored men, except for hard, laborious tasks, and for very little pay, they had no way of supporting their families. Often times, there would be no running water so the toilet became a bucket because it was too cold to use the outhouse. This makes the reader depressed because they think about how hard it must have been living back then and Griffin added children to the situation to evoke more compassion. Finally, Griffin states, “The time came to take my wife and children to Dallas,” (158), brings the feeling of sorrow to the reader because Griffin was now targeted by hate in his home town. People were not supportive of his book when it was first published, which put his family in danger, so they had to move. It forces the reader to empathize with Griffin because his novel was a tool for many reasons, but not all people appreciated it at first. In conclusion, throughout the novel of Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin includes scenes of chilling reality to accurately display the harsh life of being colored in the south, gain support for the Fourteenth Amendment, and arouse sorrow in the
Griffin stated, “The mother sponge-bathed the children while the husband and I shaved. Each of the children went to the toilet, a zinc bucket in the corner, since it was too cold for them to go outside,” (112). This quote arouses sorrow in the reader because it shows how poor colored people were forced to live. Since employers wouldn’t hire colored men, except for hard, laborious tasks, and for very little pay, they had no way of supporting their families. Often times, there would be no running water so the toilet became a bucket because it was too cold to use the outhouse. This makes the reader depressed because they think about how hard it must have been living back then and Griffin added children to the situation to evoke more compassion. Finally, Griffin states, “The time came to take my wife and children to Dallas,” (158), brings the feeling of sorrow to the reader because Griffin was now targeted by hate in his home town. People were not supportive of his book when it was first published, which put his family in danger, so they had to move. It forces the reader to empathize with Griffin because his novel was a tool for many reasons, but not all people appreciated it at first. In conclusion, throughout the novel of Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin includes scenes of chilling reality to accurately display the harsh life of being colored in the south, gain support for the Fourteenth Amendment, and arouse sorrow in the