In this chapter, Janie meets Mrs. Turner, a strange-looking woman of mixed heritage who associates herself primarily with her white half and despises black people. Mrs.
Turner is extremely racist; she
sees white people as gods and black people as worshippers. She
"worships" Janie because Janie has more white
features than she does. She thinks of "whiteness" as a sort of salvation that she can achieve by worshiping people with white features.
"White people create the dominant images of
the world, and don’t quite see that they thus construct the world in their
image."
Richard Dyer
Do
you agree with this quote? Why or why not? Do you think this leads to Mrs.
Turner’s worship of and desire to be like a white woman? Also how does this white image lead to “all other believers [building]
an altar to the unattainable”? Who else in the book does this?
Unfortunately, I think the quote is true. "Ideals" in the modern world right now are always constructed by what the "power" or the ones at the top of a social hierarchy would say is "ideal". For example, what is considered "beautiful" can be different for various people, but the generally accepted consensus of what is "beautiful" seems set in stone because the most people with power believe it to be… Those they view as subordinate are forced to believe the same idea of "beautiful" in a false hope to become equals/rise above subordination. Therefore the "ideals" are artificial and they are generated by people in society. For Janie, in her time period, the dominate group in society was the white population. So, I think this leads to Mrs. Turner's worship of a white woman. Mrs. Turner desire to be separated from a lower group, and she believes that in order to do that, she must become like the dominant group. This leads to other believers worshipping something they can't reach for the same reason; out of a natural instinct to be on top. I think to some extent, Jody does this as well. He tries to gain as much power as he possibly can, in order to get closer to top of the social hierarchy and be a dominant person in the society. He becomes the mayor and dictates the citizens of Eatonville.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was true for a while but as of recent has started to shift. From the time of imperialism all the way up to the Civil Rights Movement I think this was without a doubt true and accepted by everybody. However, nowadays I feel the tables have turned a little, for example Martin Luther King Junior and Ghandi. I think that this does lead to the worship and desire to be like a white women because she wants to be dominant and powerful, so being white seems to be the fast track in her eyes. Also, as we have hinted at in class being white was the standard for everything desirable; beauty, power, wealth, wisdom. This white image leads to "all other believers building an altar to the unattainable" because black people sometimes would try to make themselves whiter in any way possible to give them more confidence and prowess. Thus, worshiping whiteness when it could not be achieved by them. Jody also does this in the way he dresses and his craving for power. He is not confident in himself being black so he does all he can to go against it and act & seem like a white man.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Gardner on the application of the time period of this quote. I think it is beginning to shift towards a more balanced image. That will take time though. I think it is true that we, white people, did create the world in our image. However, that image isn't constant, but it has remained the same for a long time. I think people that worship the unattainable would be people that aren't white that aspire to look white. That is not possible. Ms. Turner would be the example. I do agree with this quote, but I think the image may be slowly changing.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote is definetely true becuase by designated what is superior and inferior they inadvertantly decree that anything not of their culture is inferior. This may be one of the reasons that Mrs. Turner worship white people, but I think it might have to do more with the fact that she is infertile and as she feels inferior, she wishes to raise herself up by demeaning the blacks and exalting the whites. I think what this second quote means is that those who aren't part of the "superior" white race and who worship whiteness can never attain it becasue they can't simply change the skin color they were born with. I think Jody does this in addition to Mrs. Turner. He spends his entire time in Eatonville amassing wealth and power in hopes to equal the white man, but he cannot for the simple reason that he is black. Blacks back then could amass a decent amount of wealth and power in their own communities, but in the world of the whites they have nothing; this is why his dream of equal wealth and power is unattainable.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, the first quote is true. Since they construct the image, they are fine with the ideal image. But, they cannot see the perspective of those who don't like it and are hurt by it. I do not believe that this is part of what makes Mrs. Turner desire to be a white woman per se. I think she just sees white people as better in general and wants to be like them. I don't think it really has much to do with setting standards. In regards to an "altar to the unattainable," I think that it can be true, depending on the standard. For something like hair, where Black and White people differ biologically, then yes, White people hold an unfair advantage, assuming they have set the standard.
ReplyDelete