The Construction of Character in "Life Is so Good"

The Construction of Character from Life is So Good In the book Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman, the defining moments of a man’s life are revisited. Glaubman and Dawson take the reader along side a remarkable journey through over a one hundred years of history. Although George Dawson’s life was subjected to numerous accounts of racism, segregation, and prejudice, one can see that his rearing in Marshall, TX and perseverance throughout life lead to his outstanding character. The story takes the reader to a very different time to start the book off and the first encounter of racism for George is seen. “Kill the nigger boy, kill the nigger. They can’t be messing with our white women.” (6) were the words that rang through the streets and grabbed George’s attention. His light hearted mood for the day was now destroyed and looked at things very differently from this day forward. This is the turning point from George’s childhood into a very young adulthood. He is forced to realize that the separation between blacks and whites is very real. Any accusation made to a black man was basically the same thing as a conviction in those days, and if the whites wanted death, that’s what happened. When George says, “Pete was still looking at me and I knew that he always would be.” (11) the reader can tell that George is forever changed in the way he views the world. This is definitely not the only account of racism, but without a doubt the most profound. Although the undertone of segregation is prevalent earlier in the book, it is only when George goes to work for the Little family that it can be grasped fully. George explains his obviously less than adequate lodging on the Little’s property: The shed was about forty or fifty feet behind the house. It was a hot day but because it was out in the open sun and there was no windows. There was no furniture except for a wooden platform with a corn husk mattress on top. (50)
Although the Little’s