Throughout Oreo, Christine Clark is represented as a rambunctious, authoritative feminist character. Unlike other female characters in the novel, she exceeds male dominance. Conversely, Christine represents racial diversity, as she is a combination of African-American and Jewish ancestry. Her appearance is described as “the ideal beauty of legend and folklore – name the nationality, specify the ethnic group. Whatever your legends and folklore bring to mind for beauty of face and form, she would be it, honey,” (Ross 37). Her physical appearance surpasses traditional Greek standards of beauty and introduces a nuance in biracial depictions. Her ethnic diversity allows her to defy stereotypical racial characteristics and the confinement of the
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In Fran Ross’s Oreo, the author handles the complexity of racial identity through the representation of Christine Clark. Through satirizing the Greek myth of Theseus and his search for his father, Ross reinverts a traditionally white narrative with powerful, racially diverse character. Oreo is larger than life and societal constraints. She epitomizes racial diversity as a result of her mother’s African-American heritage and her Father’s Jewish ancestry. By redefining “blackness” and racial identity throughout the novel, Ross establishes an alternative narrative space for African-Americans and other misrepresented races. Through the analysis of Ross’s variant representation of black characters, such as Parnell the Pimp and Sam Schwartzes, in comparison to Oreo, it becomes racial identity is complex. Additionally, conventional institutions such as paternal connections and the male patriarchy are destabilized by Ross’s feminist protagonist. Furthermore, racial identity becomes a tool of inversion as Ross reclaims the treatment of black identity through satirizing a white cultural myth. Ultimately, this novel creates a discourse for Black people beyond racial stereotypes and polarized concept of
In Fran Ross’s Oreo, the author handles the complexity of racial identity through the representation of Christine Clark. Through satirizing the Greek myth of Theseus and his search for his father, Ross reinverts a traditionally white narrative with powerful, racially diverse character. Oreo is larger than life and societal constraints. She epitomizes racial diversity as a result of her mother’s African-American heritage and her Father’s Jewish ancestry. By redefining “blackness” and racial identity throughout the novel, Ross establishes an alternative narrative space for African-Americans and other misrepresented races. Through the analysis of Ross’s variant representation of black characters, such as Parnell the Pimp and Sam Schwartzes, in comparison to Oreo, it becomes racial identity is complex. Additionally, conventional institutions such as paternal connections and the male patriarchy are destabilized by Ross’s feminist protagonist. Furthermore, racial identity becomes a tool of inversion as Ross reclaims the treatment of black identity through satirizing a white cultural myth. Ultimately, this novel creates a discourse for Black people beyond racial stereotypes and polarized concept of