Racial identity: Who benefits?

Throughout Pudd’nhead Wilson, Twain makes a point of demonstrating how African-American identity was seen as being inferior to white identity during the times of slavery, and  because of this, the fates of both Tom and Roxy are determined.  From the beginning, not only do white slave owners take on a demeanor of degrading black slaves, but the slaves themselves speak in a derogatory way towards eachother.  When Roxy is speaking with her friend Jasper, she claims that she has better things to do than “’sociat’n’ wid niggers as black as you is.” (Twain 63).  Even though this comment was made in jest, it suggests that even among black people themselves, there existed a stigma that the more black you have in you, the less of a human being you were.  This also puts into question the one drop rule, that even having a small familial history with African American blood places you lower down on the hierarchy even though it is realistically impossible to scientifically prove the difference between white descendence and black.

            The narrator makes a point to explain that Mr. Driscoll (the owner of Roxy), “was a fairly humane man towards slaves and other animals” (Twain 66).  This statement in itself blatantly describes African-Americans as being some sort of animal, completely separating them from the human race.   They are held to the same standards as animals that can be sold and kept as working units or servants, and as not being able to uphold the duties and responsibilities of being human.  Liberty is defined as the quality that individuals have to control their own actions.  Roxy explains how her master robbed the slaves of their liberty, suggesting that they have no ability to conduct their own actions and are forced to be basically ‘pets’ of their master who can force them to do whatever he choose (like animals in a circus).

            There is also evidence that Roxy and other slaves somewhat admires the power and beauty that comes with being a free white person.  When she makes the switch between Chambers and Tom, she claims that white folks had done it before so it must be ok.  This suggests that white people are of the most elite moral standards and that if they can do then it must be ok.  She exclaims “T’aint no sin—white folks has done it! It ain’t no sin, glory to goodness it ain’t no sin! Dey’s done it—yes, an dey was de biggest quality in do whole bilin’, too—kings.” (Twain 72).  This statement kind of puts white people on sort of a pedestal as the most righteous and morally good, and claims that if the white people are as pure and as virtuous as they portray themselves to be, and they can commit such a sin, then what Roxy had done should be OK in the eyes of God.  Little does Roxy know however, that the act that she committed would backfire and her slave son would encompass all of the values that she aimed to prevent.

            Another example that shows how much the blacks were placed on an inferior level to whites is how Tom sees himself after he finds out that he is actually part black and a slave.  He goes as far as to say that the curse of Ham was upon him (The curse of Ham being the curse of black skin).   Roxy makes claims about Tom having black blood in him and that this is what accounts for his cowardliness—the stigma about being black is so engrained into blacks’ minds by the whites that even blacks truly believe that having black in you makes you inferior.  When Roxy confronts Tom about not stepping up in the duel, she states “Pah! It make me sick! It’s de nigger in you, dat’s what it is.  Thirty-one parts o’ you is white, en on’y one part nigger, en dat po’ part is yo’ soul.  ‘Tain’t wuth savin’; tain’t wuth totin’ out on a shovel en throwin’ in de gutter” (Twain 157).  This statement shows how much Roxy believes that it’s the black part of a person that makes them cowardly and that this is shining through all of the white parts of Tom as he makes such a cowardly move. 

Finally an overarching theme throughout the story once Tom finds out his true identity, is that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that the secret does not get out.  This shows that he knows how much of a disgrace it would be on his reputation and his entire life would be flipped upside down, and he does not wish to risk losing what he has become—even though all he has become is a mean, immoral white man.  Tom would rather sell his own free mother into slavery then to risk losing his liberty and becoming what he really is—a slave.  My point in all this is that the portrayal of African- Americans during this time is that of a species that is less than human, and the stigma behind this idea really dictates the decisions that are made and how the story unfolds.  I believe that the irony behind the freed woman (Roxy) being sold by her (technically) slave son Tom is meant to demonstrates the problems both within slavery and racism.

In the end who really benefits from the segregation of race and of the treatment of one race as inferior to another when we struggle to identify and define race itself?

Works Cited

Twain, Mark.  Pudd’nhead Wilson. New York: Penguin Group Ltd., 2004. Print.   

The video I found and linked below, though vulgar and very inappropriate, makes a very intriguing point about racial identity.  As a warning, although this video was made for the ‘Chappelle Show’ and so is supposed to be comedy, it is pretty offensive.  However, I feel that it brings up a controversial dilemma that if one was blind, how would they define their race?  In this portrayal, a blind black man was raised along with blind white children and neither of them ever knew the difference; the black child even learned to hate those of his own skin tone because that is what he was taught.  The nature vs. nurture controversy is highlighted and it also puts into question the idea of placing one race as inferior to another because we are all technically of the human race.  If you didn’t know better and couldn’t see the outward visible differences, you would really not ever know that there was a difference between black and white.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/7nnosh/chappelle-s-show--frontline----clayton-bigsby-pt--1---uncensored?xrs=share_copy_email