An Analysis Of Emerson's Narration

The whole narration is written informally as the narrator describes the events he went through in the course of a few years. As if indicating his comparatively high level of education compared to other African Americans, the narrator uses sophisticated diction that exposes his level of knowledge. However, when he describes conversations with African Americans, he uses colloquial diction of African American English (Black English) to characterize the characters and enhance the understanding of the setting. There is a difference in pronunciation, spelling, mechanics, and even different words to describe a specific thing. For example, in the conversation where the narrator first meets Mary Rambo, Mary says “… hep me git him up the steps and inside, …show more content…
“The Robin bearing this letter is a former student. Please hope him to death, and keep him running. Your most humble and obedient servant, A. H. Bledsoe…” Sure, that’s the way it was, I thought, a short, concise verbal coup de grace, straight to the nape of the neck. And Emerson would write in reply? Sure: “Dear Bled, have met Robin and shaved tail. Signed, Emerson.” (End of Chapter 9, pg.194) This passage is of major significance as this is the first time that the narrator understands that his perception does not match reality, and that he had misunderstood what he was as an individual. Instead of a potentially successful individual who would bring honor and glory to his people, he was deceived for the benefit of the whites and people like Dr.Bledsoe. This passage uses a mocking tone where the narrator boldly and somewhat impertinently expresses his anger against his new understanding of the situation. The Robin, which is a reference to an earlier song, is used as a metaphor to himself. By describing his situation to the Robin as hoping death and shaving his tail, the narrator creates a stronger tone of detest towards such cruelty as the audience vision an weak, innocent bird being tortured by smirking, evil figures. The narrator also refers to this information as being a short ‘coup de grace’ to the nape of the neck, which means that this information was a final “deathblow administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded (Merriam-Webster).” This reference, along with the previous metaphor of the Robin, establishes a clear image of the narrator’s emotions by enhancing the brutality of the scene. The deathblow also indicates that the narrator’s hopes of experiencing many things in Harlem and returning back to his hometown successfully after achieving the “American Dream” has shattered. This passage, therefore, highlights the self-reflecting diction by noticing the abrupt stop of his dream journey while building towards