Preview

BLM Theme Argument

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
640 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
BLM Theme Argument
BLM Theme Argument

The book „Black like me“, written by John Harold Griffin in the late 1950s, deals with the problem to live a life as a Negro in South-America. The main theme in this story is of white men who destroy the souls and bodies of black men, and in the process, destroy themselves.
Firstly white people don’t tolerance black ones. They treat the blacks like they are nothing and blacks don’t even have the chance to show white people that they are different. When the black people are trying to be normal and somehow try to act like a white one they receive bad looks and mean words for it. That’s why many blacks stopped trying. For example when Griffin is riding the bus and he smiles at this pretty woman, she reacts very angry and says that Griffin would be impolite and how he dares to stare at her. When Griffin would have been a white man still, this would have never happened to him.
Secondarily black people are on the lowest level in society and don’t have the same possibilities in life as white people have. White people don’t think they deserve any better than having jobs the white people don’t want to do. In the story, the author says that they barely have a chance to get a good job even if they were pretty smart and got good grades in school and college. Many black people tried so hard but still failed and as a result many ghettos developed.
Another point is, because of all this intolerance for black people, the whites are creating more and more fights and discrepancies in society what leads to an unsafe world for everyone. White people fight and destroy themselves by judging the black peoples way of living. This way of living is namely a characteristic, not the way someone looks like. That means that blacks and whites are the same group of people. In “Black like me” the sexual life of blacks is known as a better thing than the whites sexual life. But then Griffin meets this one white guy and tells him the truth about it. There is no

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Black Like Me there are numerous sociological concepts and illustrations used. On the very basis of sociological concepts is the spectrum of macro structural and micro interpretive structure. Black Like Me is a perfect example of a micro interpretive sociological study. What better way to experience and get a feeling of how it is to beblack than to become a black person yourself. While doing this, Griffin allowed himself to truly gain…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    For long, the black Race has existed in America but being prejudged by the white race has caused loss of many black lives and created a feeling of insecurity in the black society.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Black Like Me Book Report

    • 2124 Words
    • 9 Pages

    What he found was, as a black he would receive the "hate stare" from whites and be treated with every courtesy by the blacks. As a white man, it would be the exact opposite, he would get the "hate stare" from blacks and be treated wonderfully by the same people who despised him the previous day. After a few days of zigzagging across the color line, Griffin decided that he had enough material from his journal to create a book and enough experience as a black man so he reverted permanently into white society. Crossing over into the white world was unsettling to him, if only because of the way he was treated by the same people who despised him previously due to his pigmentation. The sudden ability to walk into any establishment and not be refused service was also a shock after having to search for common conveniences days…

    • 2124 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    White like me is a documentary tracking Tim Wise detailing the history of racism in America and how it still affects us in the present. Tim Wise attended a school where the teachers and students were mostly black, and he said he had learned to respect the “black authority figures” from a young age. During college Tim realized he was privileged as a white person: by having the choice to speak out against racism from a distance and not doing anything about locally. The white privilege included having favorable opportunities in jobs, housing access, and education. Other inequalities between races were the incarceration rate where mostly poor black people were arrested for nonviolent drug related offenses. At the same time where middle class white people were doing and distributing drugs at relatively the same rate and were not arrested. Other inequalities that were hidden racially motivated actions included the G.I. Bill and demanding tax cuts. All actions that primarily affects the black community.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lee provides a vivid explanation of the flawed opinion of those who dislike the colored community, based on skin color. Lee uses logos by providing logical evidence that most don’t want to accept as a result of society’s judgemental views. Nearing the end of his exquisite closing argument, Atticus claims, “ You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men cannot be trusted around women -- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. (Lee 273).” The repetition Lee uses conveys the emphasis that makes the reader understand that there is some people who do these actions, but not all. It makes the reader feel as though they are learning new information themselves. Colored men are seen as the enemies of everyone. They are described to be horrible, vile monsters who don’t deserve respect. Lee describes many colored men to be respectful, sympathetic, and the opposite of the stereotypes they are labeled as. As a member in society, it is unfair to label a group of people based on one or few people pertaining to that group. There is no two people alike in a group. Everyone has different lifestyles, morals, knowledge, and goals. A group’s reputation shouldn’t based solely on those who commit the good and bad decisions, but each individual member of the group should have their…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, throughout the novel of Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin includes scenes of chilling reality to accurately display the harsh life of being colored in the south, gain support for the Fourteenth Amendment, and arouse sorrow in the…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sociology: Black Like Me

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A lack of education led the blacks to poverty and they struggled every day just to survive. They were limited in the paths they could take, forcing many to hustle on the streets or worse. It was not that they chose this, but due to society’s lack of choices for them.…

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism In Black Like Me

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    America has grown and developed exponentially positive throughout the past centuries. We have won two world wars and expanded basic human rights to all females and colored people but one brutal fact remains, racism is still very alive. Although it is nowhere near as bad and cruel as it was during the 1950’s (as “Black Like Me” depicts so accurately) racism is absolutely unacceptable even if it is miniscule. John Howard Griffin courageously went against the overwhelming wave of popular racism in America and dissected the truth and made it public for all people to know about. He used a special medicated dye that temporarily changes his skin the brown just as the Negroes. He proved that most whites only discriminated against Negroes merely and ignorantly because of their skin color and not because their quality as a human being. I have completely understood the parallels that lie in between this book and today’s society by reading and comparing “Black Like Me” to modern society and pop culture. I understand that although racism has been cut down immensely over the past few decades it is still very alive and its ignorance and hypocrisy is a plague to the developing human race.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Black Like Me Reflections

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Howard Griffin pivoted in and out of an African American life for no more than 2 years, yet he was called upon to speak for the blacks on problems they have suffered their whole life. At lectures, Griffin is respected and praised for telling the truth, something that would not be accepted if the same words came out of an African American's mouth. The whites see it as "submitting" their superiority to the blacks if they (believe it or not) actually listened and took opinions from a colored man, an idea they are not comfortable with. Therefore, they place Griffin in a uncomfortable position where he tells the white men exactly what the black men would have said. In other words, he becomes a bridge between white and black communities and speaks on their behalf. From these experiences, Griffin is able to solidify his belief that whites are largely prejudiced towards blacks; in fact, they would rather hear a testimony from a relatively inexperienced white man, than have to suffer the humiliation of hearing the same testimony an African American. The credibility of a person's word depended wholly on their pigmentation, and in this case, a colored person's opinion was questioned, critisized, and rejected. Unfortunately, this was just another instance of racial…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Defending Slavery

    • 2485 Words
    • 10 Pages

    This paper will summarize the first part of book taking as a main topic racial aspects of the slavery. After the introductory summary , this paper will focus in two specific sections found in the second part of the book: “Religion and Slavery” and “Racial Theory and Slavery”.…

    • 2485 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    1960s Racial Inequality

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The jobless rate among black males has increased sharply since 1969 in the large central cities of the Northeast and Midwest,” affirms William Julius Wilson in the article, “The Truly Disadvantage: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy.” Even when blacks find jobs, racial discrimination is visible because they don’t have the equal opportunity to succeed within the area they are in, as whites do. Racial discrimination has created a segment of labor market where whites are more likely to be promoted and…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Black Men and Jail System

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Imagine waking up every morning hungry. Rather than just driving down to your local fast food spot, you can not even afford a dollar hamburger from McDonald’s. Imagine falling asleep to the sound of gunfire, rather than the sound of crickets. These conditions sound like the middle of a war zone or third world country, but to the contrary, this is the environment that many black high school students live in. It may seem a little inappropriate to start a paper off with rap lyrics, but to properly represent the voice of young black males, it is extremely appropriate. The fact is that the young black male in today’s society is angry and resentful towards white people. The main reason is for the treatment of their slave ancestors. Seeing successful whites while they are struggling in the slums of America is not fair to the African-American community. Although there have been numerous pleas from black support groups like the NAACP for fair and equal treatment have fallen on deaf ears for these young men. As a result of this many of them have turned to crime. The rate at which black makes are being trapped in the prison system is very alarming. Today African Americans make up 62% of imprisoned drug offenders, although they are only 13.5 of the national population. One out of every 115 black makes enters prison each year on a felony drug conviction, compared with one out of every 1,150 white men…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    They had to overcome institutional structures like economics education and social before they could attain reach their dreams. As mentioned previously, education was played a major role in the African American community; without education, African Americans would never have a chance at success. Because education opportunities were available predominately for White American, it wasn’t uncommon for African American got live their lives uneducated. Seldom, African Americans who worked exceedingly hard were able to access higher education (Bryan). Since a large number of African Americans lacked a formal education, they were limited to service position such as maid services or factory worker. Because they were limited to certain position, many were unable to surpass a particular socioeconomic class. However, there were rare occasions where African Americans had careers as professionals (Bryan). Aside from education and economic structures, African American dealt with socials structures that created obstacles within their daily lives. It goes without saying that discrimination shaped the experiences of African Americans. Because of the socio-historical foundation of slavery, African Americans were always viewed as inferior to White Americans. Although African Americans dreamed of living the American Dream, they were unable of achieve success because of the establishment of inferiority by…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    how to write an annotation

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sula is an "engaging and illuminating book about pain and estangement" (p.61) as those devastating emotions shape the lives of the black community in the Bottom. There the citizens may seem at a glance to be entirely ordinary, but the fiction shows us their complexity and their ability to endure under staggering burdens. The quality of engagement which readers experience through the book is a result of TM's lyrical yet spare and visionary language.…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even before the time of Columbus slavery of ‘blacks’ has persisted throughout human history, almost to the twentieth century . The struggle of the black man’s during this time is portrayed in a number of poems such “Steel Boot Action – Whup!” and “Make Me A Sixties Movie” which were both written by Michael C Pintard.…

    • 578 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics