Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Charles Chessnutt
I think that slaves are shown as a commodity in both stories. I think it really shows in The Sheriffs Son. He talks about how he sold the lady and her son (which was the prisoner) for a good deal of money. Even though it was his own son he was part African American and new he could make some money since African American and "white" races were not acceptable. In Goophered Grapes he talks about how he pays Julius and it out weighs what Julius was making. I think he bought the land and saw Julius as a commodity to tend to the grapes because he knew them well. I think Chessnutt feels like people downgrade black/white relationships and are not socially acceptable. I think he tried to counteract a lot of the stereotypes by making the once enslaved seem like good guys and helpful educated people. He made them see like they are friends and try to help out. In Sheriffs Son the one African American character went and warned the sheriff so that he could prepare for the mob.
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Wes,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there are a lot of stereotypes in both short stories. The reader is made to think that the white sheriff is a good and honorable character by trying to save the prisoner from death until he has had a fair trial. We then find out that the prisoner is his son that he sold into slavery for money. Then the perspective completely changes. I feel like the sheriff tried to cover up his sins or misdeeds by trying to tend to his son's wound from the bullet, but never truly offers to save him from the trial that will eventually lead to his death. Also, in Goopherd Grapevines we see the stereotypical African American character that is used in that setting and time to provide entertainment for the white man. We see that his story was only entertainment for the narrator, and that after hearing the story the narrator knows that he can use the man to help him with the grapes. We see that both the sheriff and the prospective landowner have no respect towards the African American race, or their feelings.