Racist Socialization in Tar Baby - Literature review Example

Essay: Racist Socialization in “Tar Baby” Introduction In her novel, Tar Baby, Toni Marrion describes the kind of discrimination that was prevalent among the blacks in America in the early 1960s. By use of characters such as Jadine and Son, Marrion has brought a better understanding of the effect of assimilation of the races at the expense of one. This has helped reduce the severe violence of the blacks in the country as some of the blacks gained fame in the country that made them fight for their civil rights and dignity. In reminiscence, the discrimination and human rights violation against the blacks led to the formation of civil rights movements that were geared towards ending the long discrimination. These changes brought diverse opinions among the blacks with some claiming that they could be too passive while others held that they could help change the negative perception of the whites on blacks and bring about mutual assimilation between the two races (Morrison 35). (Morrison 36). In this light, the author illustrates the theme of racist socialization among the black community in Tar Baby. The author dramatically uses characters of Jadine to illustrate explicitly the theme of racial socialization disguised as a myth, that black community use it to evade self- confrontation. Novel Analysis: - Tar Baby by Toni Morrison Tar Baby, an audacious and mesmerizing novel, is awesome in its blending of tones of yearning and caution, of urbanity and a primal, mythic drive in which the scene itself gets to be animate, bursting at the seams with a wild, dull complicity in the destinies of the individuals whose show unfolds. It is a novel suffused with a strained and enthusiastic request, uncovering an entire range of feelings fundamental the connections between dark men and ladies, white men and women, and high contrast individuals (Morrison 88). The novel illustrates the effect of culture clash between the two races and how the racist socialization helps bring the understanding of the different cultures. This is shown by the marriage between the black African, Son and the American, Jadine who amidst numerous misunderstanding between them due to the difference in cultures, they try to reduce their misunderstandings by refraining from any form of conflicts and social discrimination. The most significant Themes in the novel, Tar Baby are urbanity and myth concerning ones idea of personality and the black skin color, nature and its relationship to people, connections between men and women and blacks and whites and in addition the contentions emerging from keeping ones myths in affability to evade self-confrontation (Morrison 88). Each of the mentioned characters in this novel grapples with defying the myths that they have built in self-confrontation keeping in mind their end goal to survive. The novel additionally investigates white and dark connections in the manner regarding the history and myth and also class. In the novel, Son’s enthusiasm for Jadine shapes a significant topic of the novel on how vita is racist socialization. The novel therefore deeply delves in illustrating the lives of the characters bringing about a clear understanding of the relationships between blacks and whites (Morrison 101). The other themes in the novel is the notion that the characters have in what it means to a black African in the foreign land, the relationships that the blacks have in their community and how they view it amidst the American cultures and the influence of the past black culture on the present setup. It is noted in the novel that most of the black characters have the conception on how their “blackness” varies and brings conflicts amongst themselves and with the whites (Morrison 105). The novel uses different moods that tend to relate to nature and human so as to highlight the effect of racist socialization. These dispositions include romance that brings the mutual relationship between the races and poetry to bring about the criticisms, as well as a sense of adaptability of the blacks. Racist Socialization Black Africans slavery on American soil can be traced back in the early 1863s where most Africans both men and women were forced into hard labor. Amidst the severe slavery, the blacks were highly discriminated against on the basis of their skin color, and this discrimination led to most of the Africans being affected by racist socialization. This is the act where most Africans viewed themselves in the European eyes hence evading confrontation of oneself. According to Dr. Joy De Gruy, racist socialization is the process in which the Africans instill in themselves and their children the knowledge of their values, spiritual beliefs, and cultural confrontations while living among the whites in America (Morrison 67). This according to Dr. Joy De Gruy acts as insulation from the acts of discrimination and also helps them cope with that absurdity. The effects of this internalized racism have been felt by the Africans in the 21st century, and Dr. Joy De Gruy describes this as Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. According to De Gruy, the black’s behavior changed following the effects of the Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Most of the blacks were characterized by distorted self-concept and they felt helpless amidst the Americans. Morrison, through the character of Son, demonstrates how a racial socialized individual can get to survive among the white majority. Son, from his behavior, had no much fear for the white community as could have been expected from a black individual at the very pick of racial segregation (Morrison 123). He, Son, defies the odds and gets into a white family’s home unwelcomed and then goes to find his path around with a white lady-Jadine. In her book, Toni Morrison, uses De Gruy’s pattern of behavior, racial socialization more than as a myth that characters can use to avoid self- confrontation. Toni uses race socialization as a reality, a protective buffer that the characters in the book had to construe in order to survive the tearing canines of racism and discrimination especially in the black community. Son, though black African was adequately socialized and prepared to become an active, functioning member of the society and so was able to survive and prosper in a society that devalued “blackness”. From the story, he gets involved and more so liked by the white females to the extent that he becomes romantically involved with Jadine. The relationship between Son and Jadine especially in the beginning had little to show in the prevalence reality of racism and discrimination (Morrison 99). Cultural Authenticity of the Black Community The longevity of black slavery subjected the blacks to suffer from spiritual and psychological injury centuries after what Dr. DeGruy describes as Post Traumatic Syndrome. Most arcane were not accessed to some societal benefits during the slavery, and this made them adopt some adaptive features to survive in the present American soil. This is manifested in several ways such as self-hatred and inferiority complex. In order to be like the whites to avoid oppression, some blacks have resolved to the use of chemicals to bleach their skins so that they can be like the whites because they view American culture to be superior (Morrison 115). The history of the past has brought numerous sad memories making the blacks evade self-confrontations so as to accept themselves, and it has also influenced their personal vision of who they are and what they can achieve. This has made most blacks to amass most of their material property in exchange of their dignity in order to outturn the demon of shame due to their skin color. In a traditional setup of any community, the parents are viewed as the primary agents of socialization as they instill in their children the rules on social norms that make them understand themselves and their culture. This applied to the black parents in America where besides giving the children the rules, the children are given adaptive tips to make them survive amidst the whites who disregard their color. Racial socialization enabled the blacks to understand their culture and real membership in the foreign land entirely, and this helped them thrive amidst the whites (Morrison 100). Through racial socialization, the blacks pass cogent messages to their kids on beliefs and values on their identity as the blacks and what it takes to live in American society where racial bullying and oppression is the order for the blacks. These lessons enabled the blacks to adapt to the discriminations they faced in schools, health care, and workplaces. Most blacks feared self-confrontations and belief of their real identities and through racial socialization, they were able to feel the emotional attachment of whom they really. Most blacks felt that their skin color undermines their status among the whites, and this made them feel that their culture is inferior. Both Morrison and DeGruy have tried to give a deeper understanding of how the prolonged silvery of the blacks in America brought several repercussions that made the blacks adopt adaptive features that could make them withstand the racial oppression. One such evident method is racial socialization that is illustrated by DeGruy and highlighted by Morrison in her novel Tar Baby (Morrison 133). Conclusion In her book, Tar Baby, Toni Marrion illustrates the theme of racist socialization among the black community. In the novel, the author uses characters like Jadine and Son to illustrate the idea of racial socialization disguised as a myth explicitly, which black community use to evade self- confrontation. The black community, having been subjected to the trans-generational trauma of slavery adopted racial socialization more as a defensive mechanism to sustain their self-esteem, self –identity and as a way of coping with discrimination. In the novel, the use of the characters in the novel has given a deeper understanding of racial socialization and how it has enabled the blacks to survive the Post Traumatic Syndrome. Evidently, the blacks’ slavery brought about several repercussions that made the blacks have both negative and positive perceptions of themselves. As such, the black community defined survival ways to ensure they thrive despite the discriminations among a white majority. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. Tar Baby, New York, Knopf Publishers; 2014 Read More