African Americans in Literature - Essay Example

05 March African Americans: Packer is a of immense talents which is obvious from the way she digs with acute intelligence into the life of Dina in her short story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.” Dina is an African American student admitted to the Yale University. Though life seems to be going fine for her on the surface, it is the twisted reality of things underneath the surface which bothers Dina to no end. This is because she is a grownup person and well-aware of her surroundings which can be characterized as white elitist environment. Packer’s portrayal of chief African American concerns is remarkable in this short story. It is described with great emotional acuity how tedious life journey can become for a dark-skinned person in an environment ruled by white elitists. The story unleashes this fact to the readers that struggling through life is an ongoing process for Dina. It is seen how throughout the story Dina has to put up a fight to maintain her integrity in the face of racial discrimination. Finding a name for herself in a world where racial equality is unheard of is a hard achievement, but she manages to admit herself into Yale somehow. Despite her academic achievements, the time finally arrives when Dina caves in to her emotions in the story. Her sufferings after encapsulating so much rebellious rage for such a long time finally transform into an uncontrollable outburst of emotion. This is because after being made to feel so bad for such a long time, Dina jumps at the opportunity to do the same to others. During orientation games at Yale, she admits openly that she wants to be a revolver so she could take revenge from the unfair world in which she lives. Her answer scares the authorities and they commit her to one year of psychiatric counseling. The collection’s title story based on Dina is a very educational and riveting take on the concept of “otherness.” Many sensitive issues are touched by Packer from assimilation into antagonist cultures to African American concerns which are often misunderstood to cultural stereotypes. The story and its main character are actually based on exploring African Americans and their lives. It also tries to answer some major concerns like why these people have always remained poorly understood and why their life journeys are filled with endless stories of struggle and strife. The issue of otherness has a lot of depth and intensity to it. There are many examples present in the story to support this issue. We see from the analysis of main characters who are African Americans that the surface image of these people is very stereotypical. This image is created by the white elite forces and it generates unmitigated hatred for all black people. There are major power inequalities between blacks and whites as is evident from the story. Whites certainly appear to be more privileged than African Americans which creates resentful feelings in Dina and causes her to blurt a revenge seeking answer later. Dina says in the story, “until that moment I’d been good in all the ways that were meant to matter...Suddenly I was hard-bitten and recalcitrant, the kind of kid that took pleasure in sticking pins into cats” (Packer 126). This confession proves that after bearing bad treatment for a long time, the desire to do the same to others takes birth inside her heart. “Every Tongue Shall Confess” is another interesting short story in Packer’s collection. It also has an African American as its main character. Sister Clareese is the protagonist in this story who is a choir member of Greater Christ Emmanuel Pentecostal Church of the Fire Baptized and she also happens to be a nurse. One of the most important themes embedded in the characterization of Sister Clareese is also related to struggle on a daily basis which makes her quite similar to Dina. It is expressed by the writer how Sister Clareese has to put up with the exhausting challenges of religious hypocrisy and sexual exploitation of her religious faith. It is told in the story that she also gets molested by one of the self-proclaimed righteous holy men named Deacon McCreedy. This traumatic experience makes her hate hypocritical men like Deacon endlessly. Packer attempts to convey this message through her informative stories that the combustible younger generation of African Americans including females can very easily rebel against discipline of the society like an avalanche causing enormous damage unless the racial stereotypes and the hate they spawn are effectively addressed. Such probable damage can take a long time to heal. Moreover, such incidents may very well remain as permanent blots in the books written on racial history of America. Both Dina and Sister Clareese are portraits of innocence but the former suffers from the consequences of neglected upbringing among other disadvantages, while the latter is a victim of circumstances. Julie Myerson writes commenting on Packer’s main characters that “they’re grafting away on the edge, struggling to fit in, to decide or define for them who or what they are. They may be wayward but they are essentially good - honest and funny and scathing” (Myerson). In the story “Every Tongue shall confess”, Sister Clareese is willing to forgive Deacon even after suffering abuse at his hands which serves as a strange paradox of her characterization. This is because at one hand, she is candid enough to forgive Deacon for she understands “that an unmarried man might have needs” (Packer 32), but on the other hand, she also resents him for his act of ignoring her. This depiction of the personal boundaries versus religious dictions is cleverly articulated by Packer. Sister Clareese is clearly a religious woman and yet, she is willing to forgive those who trespass the moral boundaries. Both the collection’s title story and this other story showcase a world from the standpoint of a woman of color. By touching myriad problems which haunt the main characters on account of their African descent, these stories elucidate the churning African-American experiences. They also reflect Packer’s real-life experiences as an African American woman which she could not avoid. The stories deal with the coping strategies engineered by Dina and Sister Clareese to survive. They make many conscious efforts to distance themselves from the tormenting experiences of their lives. Concluding, Dina’s overall relationship with the society is her main problem. This is because assimilating into an antagonist culture for a woman of color is not a simple process. So, in the course of the story, she resigns to her fate and becomes cynical. She finds it difficult to trust anyone unconditionally which makes her suspicious about everything. As for Sister Clareese, trust issues generate for her as well after being sexually abused. Her innocence is challenged by such a demeaning experience. Both Dina and Sister Clareese attempt to counter their disadvantageous positions, but Packer describes how their ineffectiveness in challenging the odds shapes their lives consequently. This is a proof of the fact that the agonies of living in a society where the marginalization of other races is common are not conducive for the virtue of innocence to take root and flourish. The fire of revenge wins and controls minds of both main characters rendering them incapable to seek peace with their inner worlds. This is why we see them getting overpowered by their desperate reactions at the most unexpected time. This shows the fragile manner in which their heads and hearts react. It also mirrors the heavy load of atrocities inflicted on the black race by white elitists. Works cited: Packer, ZZ. "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere." Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. 117-147. Print. Packer, ZZ. "Every Tongue shall confess." Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. 32-53. Print. Myerson, Julie. Review: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer; 6 March 2004. Web. 25 Feb Read More