White, Walter. "The Fire in the Flint." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David L. Lewis. New York: Viking Penguin, 1994. 351-62. Print.
The treatment of the main character in this story is frustrating to read about. It seems that no one, not even his fellow black men, think he is capable of being a good doctor. Even after being proven correct in his diagnoses and saving a woman’s life, other doctors do not recognize him as an equal. It’s sad to think that this was really, at one time, the way of society.
I’m not sure what to think about Kenneth’s philosophy on racial equality. On one hand, he is absolutely correct to live his life as if racism wasn’t an issue and make the best of it. Those who wallow in self-pity get no brownie points from me, anyway. On the other hand, though, he doesn’t seem to have any inclination to make the racial situation better, for himself or anyone else. It’s a tough situation, and there isn’t really a good answer. I think that, were I in the same situation, I would behave in a way similar to Kenneth. That is, transcend racial limitations as much as possible, especially in your own mind. To fall back on the race-crutch whenever something doesn’t work out for you, like the main character in Quicksand does, is weak and asking for others to treat you as such.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment