Black like me Essay

A old snow-covered man from Mansfield Texas named John Howard gryphon is the principal(prenominal) character and cause of corrosive resembling Me. He was a man deeply commit to the cause of ending racial discrimination. In 1959, wire-haired pointing griffon decided to recognise a pertinently extreme measure just to understand the pursue of the black people. He underwent medical goodyment to change the color of his shinny and temporarily become a black man. griffons bed was funded by George Levitan, the owner of Sepia, a black oriented magazine in return for an article ab aside it. gryphon sets out for New Orleans. He recalls a contact- Sterling Williams, an articulate, soft-spoken, and engaging s till shiner. Along the way, Griffin experiences oppression, hardship, and prejudice. It is hopeless to find a job, he is forbidden from ordering a soak up at the soda fountain and he wasnt allowed to use a restroom used by etiolateds. Clerks refuse to cash his checks as wel l. Griffin travels to Alabama and into the Deep South and Mississippi and finds that the condition is even worsened for blacks.He finds their condition alarming. Black communities seem defeated and run down. all told day long, the word nigger seems to echo everywhere he goes. after(prenominal) two months of a depressing life as a Black man, Griffin stops taking his medication and lightens his skin back to its authorized color. He notices that when he is a white man, whites treat him with respect and blacks treat him with suspicious fear when he is a black man, blacks teat him with benignity and forgivingness and whites seem to learn at him with contempt and hostility.The article is make in 1960 and he was called to do interviews. The article is published around the introduction and he receives both congratulatory mails and hateful reprisals. Mansfield consists of many racists so Griffin and his family moved to Mexico in August of that year. Griffin issues a plea for permiss iveness and understanding between the races so as to avoid the possible volcanic eruption of terrible violence. II. A critique on the book Black equivalent me is more of a memoir rather than a novel it is an autobiographic memoir in particular.It springs out from the authors real experiences as well as his personal opinions rather than from mere imaginations or dainty creativity. The book itself st ared from a research project. Griffin ostensibly desires to experience hoe it is to be like a black man so that he may understand firsthand the hardships and obstacles that they encounter in their daily lives. The books main theme is racial discrimination. Griffins quest for equality and genial justice led him to temporarily change his identity from a white man to a black one.This transition is one clear consequence to the crucial importance of ones skin color as a featureor in determining ones arrange in this world. Griffin writes about the hardships of finding shelter and food as a black man the difficulties of cashing a check despite the fact that he didnt change his identity riding a passenger car or even just finding a restroom where blacks are allowed to use. Blacks and whites behave polarly when in one an early(a)s company. Whites look at blacks with contempt and hostility and blacks treat whites with suspicious fear.This behavior is different however when they are with their groups and just among themselves. They treat each other with respect, kindness and generosity. Neither race has an understanding of the other. Griffins Black like Me explores the themes of segregation, racism and the capacity of humans to love their fellowmen. In this novel, there is the mien of men who made a different stand. P. D. East, Sterling Williams, George Levitan, Adele Jackson, and Sam Gandy fight Griffins advocacy A proof that there is some goodness in this world.Black like me is a short book, but considered one of the finest pieces of literature ever produced. The social message of the authors experience is all the way advocated through the narrative structure of the book. III. 3 incidents that I personally find interesting and why? When Griffin underwent a medical treatment the invisible radiation combined with oral medication to darken his skin pigmentation. I find it personally interesting because it is a rare occasion that a person will consider doing the same experiment as Griffin did.He did a pertinently extreme measure just to detect exactly how it is to be like a black man. The medical unconscious process that Griffin underwent is neither tested nor safe. He experienced pain and other side effects from his exposure to the ultraviolet as well as with the medication. When Griffin spends the day working on the shoe shine stand together with Williams and Joe and that they only have raccoon meat and rice eaten out of a tin can for their repasts.This spells the gap between a white man eating in a luxurious restaurant and a black ma n who regards having enough to eat, no matter how crude the meal is, as a mark of dignity. When a white bully follows Griffin around, calling him names and threatening him. This incident only proves the material discrimination between whites and blacks. This incident portrayed the constant threat of violence, prejudice and oppression. In this particular scenario, he is treated like an animal being go after away just because the color of his ski is black.