The scene at the end of chapter one and its implications, while early in the novel, is nonetheless a major turning point in Johnson’s life and the story. Johnson first realizes that he was colored on that pivotal day at school. He states that “From that time I looked out through other eyes, my thoughts were colored, my words dictated, my actions limited by one dominating, all-pervading idea which constantly increased in force and weight until I finally realized in it a great, tangible fact” (14). Johnson imposes a self-isolation when he realizes he is part black. It is interesting that, while he is not for the most part treated differently by his friends or classmates, he nonetheless begins to identify with black culture.
This scene is very similar to the pivotal naming scene in Our Nig. Jack classifies Frado, who was fair skinned mulatta, definitively as a black individual when he refers to her as “Our Nig.” Likewise, in The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man, it is the school teacher, not the similarly fair skinned Johnson, who performatively names him as colored. It is ironic that it is a white individual each time that classifies the characters, once and for all alienating them from white society. These moments for the characters pivotally change their lives and change the way others, and they themselves, see themselves. Had this seen not occurred so early and Johnson found out later in life about his heritage, would the story have possibly been along the lines of The Autobiography of an Ex-white Man? I think this event early in Johnson’s life allowed him to fully immerse himself in black culture, and grow into the proud character he is in the story (well, thus far up to chapter V). What do you think about this “naming” scene, and the further implications it has on Johnson’s life? And what does this say on a deeper level about the institution and idea of race? Is race a societal invention or a natural characteristic? Is race more about inherent color, culture, self-identification or a combination of several?
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4 comments:
I agree with Katie that the scene is a major turning point in the narrator's life, but I think that such a reversal of what is thought to be fact stands an even more influential performative than the naming of Frado in Our Nig. In a single moment, the teacher snatches the narrator's belief that he is white, a notion that he had retained his entire life.
Up until chapter V, I don't believe that he has been fully immersed in either of the two cultures, but his role reversal is crucial constant analysis (analysis even of himself) through the white man's eyes. At an early age he instilled in himself the white perspective, which seems innate to him throughout his teenage years.
This naming scene is certainly pivotal, not only for Johnson but for the reader. Up until that point, we are also not sure of his race beyond the implications in the title. Thus, not only is Johnson forced to look at his life and his position differently at this moment, but we the readers now cannot help but look to this story in a different way.
The naming also goes both ways: the narrator gives names to every character of any importance: his mother is, well, mother, his friends are "Red" and "Shiney," and in essence, he sees people only as he labels them. I guess the moral is that labels breed labels, and hate breeds hate.
I find that this particular scene signifies the power that race has over every single aspect of our lives - particularly its ability to shape the way we perceive our everyday lives. Notice however that the title of the book is the Autobiography of an "Ex-Colored" Man. Although I haven't finished the book yet, I find that this particular title signifies the main character's ability to both "pass" between being black and white and in addition the main character's ability to surpass the stigmas associated with both races.
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