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  • Essay / Beyond Appearance: The Deep Meaning of Griffin's Change in "Black Like Me"

    John Howard Griffin's memoir, Black Like Me, attempts to examine the exclusively physical transformation of a man from white to black. Griffin seeks to better understand racial issues in the 1950s by changing his skin color and "nothing else." Her native white identity enjoys a strong sense of identity, demonstrated by consistent personal pronouns, and a distinct separation of races, demonstrated by simplifying articles. The moment Griffin looks in the mirror and sees a black man, he not only changes physically, but his own identity experiences a shocking confusion. His use of pronouns often becomes depersonalized in the third person, as his identity also becomes depersonalized as he loses his comfortable white identity. However, he eventually becomes at peace with his new black identity and his pronouns begin to become personal again, as they relate to both his black and white self. As Griffin sets out to change only his external experience, he inevitably changes his identity, revealed by an increasing fluidity in pronoun use, and ultimately invalidates his argument because he changes much more than his physical appearance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay Griffin's original, unchanged self employs intentional blurring and separation of the black race from his own race through The clear use of pronouns embodies his originality and unchanged white identity. Griffin does not further specify the “idea” that motivated the entire project (1). By simplifying and condensing the racial issue, he transforms the racial issue into something that can be easily referred to. This is because he is ignorant and detached from the “real problem” due to his deeply white identity (2). Yet Griffin clearly and succinctly identifies “the Negro problem”; a question which clearly sets its own limits as exclusively "negro", and therefore distinct from the white Griffin. The use of articles before these big abstract ideas demonstrates Griffin's misconceptions about white people. By imagining “a” single problem facing the black community, he remains ignorant of the countless social injustices that every black person faces. Continuing this trend toward discernment, clarity, and ignorance, Griffin asserts his role as a “white man assuming a nonwhite identity” (3). “a”’s succinct and singular article condenses Griffin’s astonishing transformation into something savory and depersonalized in relation to his identity. The article allows him to discuss himself without making any reference to himself. He succeeds in completely disconnecting this future self as a black man from his current white self. A consistent and almost exclusive pronominal use of "I" reveals Griffin's strong sense of his white identity and self (5). He succeeds in asserting himself as distinct from the white race and the black race. By depersonalizing his discussion of racial issues and his future experience, Griffin successfully asserts his own identity as a white man. After Griffin comes to terms with his black appearance, his strong sense of being white begins to fade with the ambiguous use of pronouns as his black physical appearance begins to fade. affect his identity. Immediately after assuming his black appearance, Griffin refers to himself as a “negro” (10). Removing any personal connection with his reflection, he consciously separates his self-perception from his physical appearance in the mirror. He remains unable to connect to his reflection and refers to himself with the.