A Party Down at the Square
A Legacy of Racism: Humanity vs. Race The United States boasts a paradigm of the "American Dream", whichincludes the ideal of equal opportunities for all. And indeed, thisappears to finally show some vestage of truth. However, human rightsabuses still continue to pervade the lives of many even today. Because ofsocial and racial factors for example many families are forced to live inconditions not even deemed fit for an animal. In the colonial periodespecially there was a tendency among white Americans to treat African-Americans as less than animals, and to derive entertainment from it. This sad fact is shown in "A Party Down at the Square" by RalphEllison, "Night, Death, Mississippi" by Robert Hayden and "Jasper Texas1998" by Lucille Clifton. The title of the short story by Ellison suggestsexcitement, and indeed so do the opening lines of the story. It is howeversoon revealed that the "party" referred to is no dancing, singingcollection of individuals. A "nigger" is involved.
Here the implication is that black people are on the same level ashunted animals, with the "advantage" that they know the reasons for thehunt. Lucille Clifton also prominently addresses the assumption ofinnocence on the part of white perpetrators in "Jasper Texas 1998". Again, the assumption of innocence is evident in stanza 5: the wifeorders the children to help the father wash his hands clean of the bloodthat he has spilled. White innocence is implied in line 13,where the townspeople sing "we shall overcome", yet denying the murderedman either a dignified grave or any last vestage of hope. Literature like the piecesdiscussed above then serve not only to expose these violators, but also toraise public awareness. Instead, it is seen as exciting entertainment. It is at this time when Ellison makes his most significant commentabout white American inhumanity. Thespeaker is a murdered black man, apparently killed for no better reasonthan having the wrong skin color. The same excitement is implied in Part II of Hayden's "Night, Death,Mississippi". The crowd loses their humanity not only with regard to the black man,but also their own kind. The people in the crowd are cold,but show no sympathy towards the black man who is trying to stop hisshivers. In conclusion, it is clear that many human rights violations havebeen committed, and are still being committed. Withregard to the fate of the black man, there is no guilt related to theincident.
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Acceptance Essays
