Monster and Incognegro are similar because they both highlight racism in America. Monster shows present day racism. The jury look at Steve as a young black criminal and he is looked at as guilty from the start. Incognegro shows racism in the south when there was still a lot of hatred towards African Americans. The hate is more noticeable in this book because there are lynchings in this book as opposed to silent prejudices. In Monster, Steve's lawyer says that his race might sway people to think he is automatically guilty. In Incognergo, the sheriff knows that Zane's brother is innocent, but it doesn't matter because he is African American.
Both books create conversation about the topics we discussed in class. White privilege is shown in Incognegro because Zane can easily maneuver through the town when the people think he is white. He can deceive the powerful people in the town because they see him as a white man. If Steve would have been white he wouldn't have been labeled as guilty from the start. Power is shown in both books because the white men are the most powerful. Years ago and present day in both books, the African Americans have less power than the white people. Zane and Carl gain power when they pretend to be different races and Steve gains power when he separates himself from the young black criminals.
I liked the point you made about how Zane and Carl gain power when they disguise their race and how Steve gains power when he seperates himself from the black criminals facing the same situation as him. It is horrible that that is the case but that really stood out to me in your blog.
ReplyDeleteI also liked how you talked about how Incognegro was based more on older white views and how their hatred was more noticeable, wheras in Monster it is based on more present day racism and how the prejudices were more silent.
I like how you point out that racism is apparently more harsh in Incognegro because of the graphic lynchings and not like the silent prejudice in Monster. It is also interesting to think that if Zane's skin color was a little bit darker, he would not have the same privilage that he does in the book as acting as a white reporter.
ReplyDeleteIt is very evident that white power is seen in both books. I like how you point out that Steve gains power, in a way, when he seperates himself from the black criminals in his trial.
i like how you pointed out how Monster and Incognegro shows racism in different parts of time, Monster is present day and Incognegro is in the past. I also like how you said how Zane and Carl gain power pretending to be white, and Steve gains power by separating himself from the criminals.
ReplyDeleteI like the point you made about how Monster shows modern day racism and Incognegro shows early historic racism in our country. Various aspects have changed regarding racism over time but I believe that it will always resist regardless. In Incognegro black were able to walk the streets as a regular citizens in Harlem, NY without a problem. When Zane and Carl travel south to Mississippi the first thing they see when they get off the train is a black man being harrassed by three white men. In addition, whites were overbearing with power and held lynchings and KKK clan meetings like it was a holiday. Even though racism is still evident in society today, these such actions could never happen compared to the past. It was a big shock to me how much more respect Carl gained by disguising his true identity. He was praised by the whites in Mississippi because they believed he was a wealthy white man. When Mr. Huey revealed that he was black their views completely change solely based on his skin color and he was beaten and lynched. I found that to be very eye opening
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