The Mask In Charles Chestnutt's The Passing Of Grandison

The Mask The mask is a form of deception or illusion. Sometimes, it can be worn as both. It hides the true emotions of slaves, keeping the slave master from knowing what is going on in their minds. The mask also allows the slave to have an identity without the master's detection. The mask gives the illusion that the slave is exactly how the masters believe, ignorant, incapable of true emotion, and unable to think for themselves. A perfect depiction of the mask can be found in Charles Chestnutt's The Passing of Grandison. Colonel, Grandison's master, believed that he would never try to escape if allowed to go on a journey with his son, Dick. The colonel recommends to Dick that he bring Grandison along on his travels. "What's the
He seemed pretty far gone-he could hardly talk above a whisper,- and I had to give him a mouthful of whiskey to brace him up so he could tell his story." (543)
Dick refers to the kidnapping as "a little improbable". The Colonel, however, is so blinded by the mask that he deems it as being " the gospel truth". The ultimate display of the mask is when the Colonel discovers Grandison, the slave that would never run, was missing. Not only Grandison, but his family as well. " The colonel saw Grandison point him out to one of the crew of the vessel…the latter shook his fist impotently- and the incident was closed." Grandison had no other choice but to wear the mask to hide his actual plans. Had they been revealed, not only could it have cost him his life, but his family's as well. The mask in this sense, serves as a tool for survival. Chestnutt's use of vernacular in his writing also masks the true knowledge and identity of the slave. His style of writing, itself was a mask. Because the whites of that day honestly believed blacks to be ignorant, Grandison had to