Roots up, stem down

Either write about whatever you want or... respond to the following passage:

"White people are unnatural. As a race they are unnatural. And it takes a strong effort of the will to overcome an unnatural enemy"(Morrison 156).

Morrison does easily identify this fact. But I find the way that Morrison points out the unnaturalness of the whites is to choose a prominent (not liked) figure from the Black Community to identify the entire white-race with. Morrison uses Macon Sr. as the White Race. She allows Macon to commit acts of violence, to focus on the materialistic, to be somewhat unpredictable, to completely remove any sanity from the Macon household. In fact when the reader learns of how Milkman was born we find that in fact Ruth had to endure so much to keep herself and the Milkman alive. That effort is the "strong effort" that Morrison was talking about. The way Morrison estranges Macon is Morrison's way of explaining his unnaturalness. The car ride that Macon forces his family to endure through the streets, was awkward, odd, completely "white." Just the fact that Macon is rich, owns homes, and collect rent like a madman, identifies Macon as the white representation in Morrison's novel.

The strange unnatural enemy in Morrison's book is obviously "White". Pilate is not driven by money, she is driven by family, by the relationship she has with her daughter and granddaughter. Pilate is odd--evident by her lack of a navel--and because she is odd she seems to have enough willpower to fight her brother. Milkman (against his father's will) spends time with Pilate and her family (Hagar).

I always think of Ghandi when I think of discrimination. I think of the Point of View from where Ghandi was. He inspired crowds and throngs of people that were entirely opposed to the government at the time. But at the same time I can picture a commander in the military rallying his troops, telling them that it is going to take something more than there best to defeat this "unnatural enemy." In fact we know from history that the White had similar organizations and thought patterns that opposed that of the Seven Days--the strong effort of the blacks.

To some extent I feel that Morrison chose the extreme to write her book. (Only the extreme is worth writing about) Because in the Macon Dead family there is no black except the skins. In Pilates house there is no White. No White lifestyle, no white tradition, no white culture. I think most families have that unnaturalness, but are not consumed by it. Each thought pattern, race, culture, tradition, has its bit of unnatural.



(Will be finished)