The Marrow of Tradition by Charles Waddell Chesnutt uses inequalities related to the era of the American South where the 1898 Wellington Uprising occurred as a result of rising racial tensions along with the growing economic divide opportunities among the locals and the relationships between these inequalities and divisions to paint a hyperreal portrait of the post-Civil War South in terms of aesthetics and those who populated it, who represent ideas and different motifs that existed in Chesnutt's time. Among these types of inequalities, the three important ones to consider are racial, shown through the relationship between black and white castes in history, social, through socioeconomic differences between the black community itself, and gender, through emasculation. of man and the fetishization of women who suffer as martyrs due to violence and unjust retaliation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Racial inequality is an important factor in The Marrow of Tradition to illustrate a brutally realistic depiction of the tensions felt during Chesnutt's time in the South and reactionary to the real-life Wellington Riots. These inequalities between races are clearly expressed through the different relationships that the novel's white citizens have with blacks. One of the most significant figures in this dynamic is Major Carteret, one of the first major characters the reader is introduced to. In this scene, Mr. Delamere, upset that the Major appears not to trust his servant Sandy, who Delamere insists is an honest man, points out the Major's hostility toward race. Major Carteret retorts to him by saying that he is mistaken “in imagining him hostile to the negro” and that rather his predisposition is simply to simply oppose “being governed by an inferior and servile race” (Chesnutt, 25). By introducing Major Carteret in this way so early to others who might share somewhat different ideas about race in such a drastic and prejudicial way, the stage is soon set for a long and singular commentary on racial inequality. Despite this characterization, Carteret is perhaps not entirely guilty. The narrator later describes Carteret as having "a narrow but logical mind, and, except when confused or blinded by his prejudices, had always tried to be a just man" (320), which suggests that, despite everything, he is still a good person, but he is the victim of a larger prejudice, that Carteret is simply a man imprisoned in the cultural dominance of the Reconstruction-era South. This is a significant break from other racially motivated works that paint white people as hateful monsters, here Chesnutt makes Carteret a tragic figure who has been robbed of his potential to be a truly just and logical person due to the oppressive environment in which he grew up. realizing how great the gap is between his society and the black South, he retreats from his previous sense of justice and now receives "pure elemental justice" (321). Racial inequality in The Marrow of Tradition affects not only oppressed blacks, but oppressed whites as well, and Chesnutt's decision to portray it as such victimizes everyone beneath the veil. Chesnutt uses social inequality to make his African American cast fully dimensional, and rather than resorting to Stowian sentimentality with a broad brush stroke, he creates divisions and flaws among them by illustrating the class separation that breaks down America's old pre-Civil War mentality black. This is shown more clearly indifference between the Miller family and Manny Jane and his nephew Jerry. The Millers represent the potential of African Americans not tied to their past and instead create for themselves a future of happy middle-class life while Mammy Jane and Jerry, still in their pre-Civil War mindset, are content with what has already been provided for them I count. This social difference is made evident by the way both groups communicate. The Millers are refined and eloquently versed in the English language, while Jane and Jerry are much rougher and more pidgin. Consider how Jerry speaks: I know who wants damnation, there are many who deserve it; but if the one-eyed Captain McBane has anything to do, whatever it is, it doesn't mean anything good to the niggers, - damn it they'd better that Captain McBane! Look at the lack of a nigger that could even eat him alive." (Chesnutt 38) Now regarding how Dr. Miller speaks: "How much I can accomplish I don't know, but I'll do what I can. There are eight or nine million of us, and it will take a great deal of learning of all kinds to make that mass rise... we will get there, slowly and laboriously, perhaps, but we will win in our own way. If our race had made the same progress everywhere that it has made in Wellington, the problem would be well on its way to solution" (51) The difference between the two is made very clear, showing the gap within the African American community between the Mammy Jane also has a moment to interact with one of the Millers, Jane, and this interaction sheds further light on their social inequality After seeing Jane arrive in her wagon, Jane proclaims in awe "fo'ty yeah fa who." I never expected to see a Negro girl riding in her buggy" (106). This further distances Jane, this time with a clear date, from the modern middle-class African American scene. Finally, there are themes of gender inequality among the characters by The Marrow of Tradition Although it is an unconventional way of shedding light on this, it can be seen in the character of Tom Delamere Tom, although a respected man and proud of his family, is consistently characterized as feminine. He is described as conveying "no impression of strength" and an air that "subtly denied the idea of ​​virility". (Chesnutt 16) Chesnutt uses Tom to show how Southern men were eroding into something weaker and less than what was expected of a man. Tom as a male character is considered inferior to other males in the story such as Major Carteret or General Belmont due to his possession of feminine traits, this leads to the conclusion that the former faux-aristocratic southern male ideals are being emasculated and fall into degeneracy . In addition to this, gender inequality is also expressed through the character of Polly Ochiltree, a fragile and maniacal woman who no one in the story seems to really care about. However, as soon as she is killed, the entire white male population of Wellington takes up arms to avenge her, and their suspects are all the black men in the city. This connects to the idea that it was a duty to preserve the purity of the white woman against the brutality of the black males. Although there was no evidence of rape, the men claimed she had been sexually assaulted by a black man before her death. In this world we only care about female sexuality when we believe it has been abused by a member of the black race. Polly has ironically become a martyr, with no real care or attention to how she was killed and by whom it might have been committed, and her murder is fetishized and distorted by men to suit their racist desires. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document now come on.