The Goopherd Grapevine - Book Report/Review Example

Chesnutt: W'en she got de goopher all ready en fix', she tuk 'n went out in de woods en buried it under de root uv a red oak tree, Du BOIS: Almost every law and method ingenuity could devise was employed by the legislatures to reduce the Negroes to serfdom,--to make them the slaves of the State, if not of individual owners; Washington: Men may make laws to hinder and fetter the ballot Chesnutt: en den come back en tole one er de niggers she done goopher de grapevimes,. Du bois: while the Bureau officials too often were found striving to put the "bottom rail on top," Washington: but men cannot make laws that will bind or retard the growth of manhood. Chesnutt: en a'er a nigger w'at eat dem grapes 'ud be sho ter die inside'n twel' mont's Du Bois: and gave the freedmen a power and independence which they could not yet use. Washington: We are to be tested in our patience, our forbearance, our perseverance, our power to endure wrongto be great and yet smile, learned and yet simple, high and yet the servant of all. Chesnutt: I have always thought there is undoubtedly a hope of freedom for us blacks in the future but this hope has constantly in my mind and in society, been tainted with a certain clout, I call it 'the goopher' in one of my stories. This indescribable hindrance seems to be caused by both blacks and whites and it obscures our African-American progress. However, if it is just 'a goopher' as in my story, then why is it so difficult to exterminate or to ignore Why are we to a certain extent still influenced by this indefinable unswerving obstruction, not just throughout our struggles as slaves but also as freedmen Washington: Of course laws are manipulated to hinder our progress and advancement. But we as blacks, in our own hunger and impatience also endeavor to regulate and manipulate perhaps too much and all at once. Nonetheless, in this social tug of war, we have already managed to strive and attain a compromise with the powers that be. Du Bois: A compromise is not enough. As Chestnutt says, the persistent funk of the matter still exists. This idea about obstructions and obstacles has already been established and understood in all of humanity; it is an absolute truth of all struggles, as in the Greek and Roman tragedies. Obstacles caused by the enemy as well as by the protagonist are inevitable in all epics and in all realities. Such 'evil' powers have always existed to obstruct the advancement of any race, of any people C: Now, beyond fairytales and myths, if we are truly emancipated should not all of society take up the responsibility of our emancipation Should not all of society, black or white, be held accountable for such manipulations of power that continue to degrade and oppress our progress W: Such responsibility and accountability take time. We as blacks have to accommodate ourselves to our newly acquired rights and we need to pacify the fears of the whites to establish a dialogue and a trust. D: Just as much as the whites have to accommodate to us being free, to us being educated, respected and held among the great intellectuals of society. We cannot humble ourselves too much or we'll be slaves again, brother. W: Yes but absolute emancipation will never happen over night. You cannot merely change white to black by adding in a completely new color which has never existed. The desired shades of grey or any color for that matter must go through their process to reach a compromise. C: Maybe you're right. We don't want white or black, we want white and black, and that is what black folks and white folks do not understand. The war is over. Perhaps it's time for an understanding- D: Well, I think what there needs to be is a sincerely desired resolution by both parties. The blacks need to establish themselves wholeheartedly and maybe even a little forcefully with their God given rights- W: Yet sensibly- D: To an extent. Whereas the whites need to earnestly acknowledge that yes, there must indeed be an acceptance of our rights and not a fear. One cannot try to outsmart the other. W: In this case I agree. One should not try to 'goopher' the other, as you so cleverly put it Chesnutt, but in our realist society, in our society that claims to fear God but pays more homage to the dollar, it is naively idealistic of you to think that black and white will be marching up the same path hand in hand, wanting the same thing without compromise and an earned trust exhorted by both parties. C: One relentlessly has fear of the other and vice versa. There is so much history riddled with pain and hate. You cannot just forget. The pain, the toil and the injustice is embedded even in our genes, and will continue to spring forth, in desperate moments and even in unexpected moments D: But Gentleman, brothers, it needs to be us. It needs to be the educated black to influence the knowledgeable white. To remind all men, that with education, with a union reaching into politics, economics and spirituality; with a steadfast perseverance we need to remind all men and women, of our God given human rights. In doing so, we will in fact acquire all our God given and indisputable rights. We cannot be considered as compromisers of injustice, whether the injustice is caused by white or black, but the victors of injustice. We can no longer consider ourselves and our situation of injustice a problem. Otherwise, that is what we will be perpetually viewed as- a problem. A problem of injustice carried out by others, when we were slaves, and a problem to ourselves, as freedmen not knowing how to correctly conquer our newly acquired justice. Therefore, with the unnecessary unassuming nature, as you propose Washington, the 'goopher' of the matter will by no means cease to exits. W: But desegregation my brother, and all the rights that are given to us by God at birth, will neither be culminated with force nor with pride but with a total understanding of the justice system and in turn with a dexterous influence upon the justice system. C: I always envisioned a fair dialogue between whites and blacks as inevitable in the distant future, but I never envisioned it to be peaceful. Nor should it be, once a slave is free he will want to enjoy his freedom, he will take advantage of it as much as he can. If a man has been denied water, and once it is presented before him, will he not drink until he is plentifully satisfied and even take some for his fellows W: Yes and that is why we have tribulations with our black brothers being viewed as criminals. It is because they do not yet possess the knowledge of true freedom, true humility and true responsibility. D: Every man possesses a knowledge of freedom, it is the root of all existence itself brother. "Crime among [blacks] is a symptom of wrong social conditions." Everyone in a reformed society should take it upon themselves to abide by the reforms, especially those that call themselves the reformers. Each individual government must take extensive responsibility for the newly freedman and insist that it be a crime if a black brother is mistreated just as it is considered a crime when a white brother is mistreated. We either have absolute rights or non at all. The laws have not done us a favor by freeing us. The laws of desegregation are in fact a service to society and to all mankind. C: Yes I do imagine it difficult for me to humble my head and give thanks to a legislature for deeming me with rights that have for eternity been absolute. Given to me by God and therefore should have never been manipulated by man in the first place. D: No, in fact in this day in age, it should be our legislature to come humbly in forgiveness and in compromise; to mourn their ungodliness, injustice and immorality and to make all necessary accommodations for their fellow citizens. Are we or are we not free W: Of course we are free. We, as the offspring of slavery have come so far. From forced 'unskilled' laborers, as we were perceive, to knowledgeable skilled men of industry; from being pagan to Christian; from being illiterate to establishing universities; from being chained to preaching behind pulpits; influencing presidents and audiences of not only black and white Americans but also international societies. We, the offspring of slavery are esteemed hard working citizens and intellectuals; revered by those who once looked upon our ancestors as merely labor mules. Look at us now, we are honored and we are in fact free. But, if we maintain a hard headed stubbornness, suspicions or fantastical ideologies, nothing in essence will change; neither in the core of our societal consciousness nor in the core of our souls. Such things take time, willingness and education. (There are footsteps approaching) C: Who's that Oh, well hello there Dr. King. What a surprise. What a pleasure to have you in our midst, we were just talking Dr. Martin Luther King: Yes, I have heard you talking and I felt a strong need to come over and tell you that yes, the powers that be, either black or white, may at times try to 'assassinate' our goals towards progress. I mean, look at me shot down for even thinking the ideological dream. Yes, look at us, brothers. If it were not for our progress to be able to speak behind pulpits to multitudes of people, if it were not for our progress to defeat the powers that be with our minds and hearts, we would not be here today, we would still be picking cotton, beaten and battered. There has definitely been progress and it had been attained by persistence towards absolute freedom and justice for the black man as you have attempted Dubois. It has also been attained with an understanding of the system, which till this day, we still have little power in governing, but with your help Washington we have managed to influence it on economical and political levels never before accessible to the black man. So yes brothers, it takes perseverance and it takes compromise. I got shot down, but I did not get defeated. You know I have frequent discussions with another pacifist named Mahatma, and we both agree that truth and love won despite the unforgivable act of my assassination. It is after all my birthday that all of white and black America celebrates. America, a land once defined by slavery and toil, takes an entire day from their toils. Both the whites and the blacks have a day of rest to think about my dream, in which yes, the white man and the black man walk hand in hand down the same path along with all the other races that created what we know today to be the American dream. So this demonstrates brothers, that even when confronted with unjust obstacles, 'goophers' as we have been calling it, we and our entire race, are not 'negro' victims but martyrs and victors of absolute truth and triumph and not only for our interests but for the interests of mankind, as Washington so eloquently puts it. W: Yes, it is our ideologies that educational institutions all around the world refer to when wanting to know about struggle and victory. Real struggle, not fantasies about fictional gods from the minds of men, but actions of real men and women. An existent race, the African race, that has already overcome so many 'goophers' put in our path. C: Yet, haven't you noticed brother that even in injustice we consistently manage to embrace our white brothers' laws in a compromise, whether it be a desired one or not, and all we want is some compromise in return, not the wool being constantly pulled over our eyes. W: Don't you think that we already know quite well the texture of this 'wool' the hocus-pocus of this 'goofer'. We are already well equipped to know who we can trust and who we can form real bonds with. White sisters and brothers, who sincerely care for our welfare; yet at the same time we also know quite well when to be wary of those who may still want to cause us unnecessary harm. We are equipped now with more power than we think and with perhaps more influence than we imagined we could ever have. C: Well, I always knew it. I knew that there would come a time when our race would be pulled out of slavery and into freedom. But there's still something missing D: Good point, there's a lot still missing. We may be turned down and out and may face obstacle after obstacle, but the future is already here, and you are right, Dr. King, we have never yet seen defeat. W: Our history, our story, is what great epics are made of, both ancient and new. D: The full victory however, has not yet come to its fruition King: Yes, the epic still continues brothers, but the innumerable lights of triumph have already been abundantly ablaze. Bibliography Chestnutt, Charles. "The Goopherd Grapevine" The Atlantic Monthly 1887. Du Bois, WEB. The Souls of Black Folk. Project Gutenberg. 1996 Gandhi, Mahatma. My Experience with Truth. India: Navajin Trust Publishing, 1927. King, Martin Luther. "I Have a Dream". 1963 American Rhetoric Website. . Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery. Project Gutenberg. 2000 . Read More