Self-respect A reoccurring theme of self-respect care introduced in the following poems, “Battle Royal”, “Tableau”, and “How to be colored me” when each speaker proves themselves and accepts who they are. In the poem “Battle Royal” a chapter from the “Invisible man” the main character shows his self-respect in a boxing match. When other boxers compared the narrator to animals, showing racism, the narrator doesn’t let any of the hate bother him, instead he kept fighting to prove himself. ‘i felt superior to them in a way” (line 63) The narrator explains how he feels “superior” because he knows he is intelligent and wants to show he is an equal. At the end of the boxing math, the winner is aloud to give a speech ,very determined to win the
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In the end he was given a scholarship, after dealing with racism and hate, his self-respect had paid off. Racism and self-respect are also shown in the poem “Tableau” when two young boys of different races are seen holding hands. Other people would stare at the two boys, judging, because them being friends was unusual. The boys do not care about what people say behind their back, they continue holding hands and showing off how proud they are to be friends with one another. These boys have too much self-respect to be bothered by “normal” people and their views on relationships. In the last poem “How to be Colored me” a young girl named Zora learns how to defeat discrimination and be proud of her skin color. At first, Zora didn’t feel accepted in her new hometown Jacksonville because it was full of white people and she stood out. “sometimes it’s the other way around. A white person is set down in our midst, but the contrast … with a white person, my color comes.” (sec. 10 line 2) She realized she was different but also that she was equal to everyone else and given the same opportunities as her fellow white classmates. Zora noticed that the white kids stood out around her just like she did with them and that’s when she truly started embracing her skin color and learned to love herself
In the end he was given a scholarship, after dealing with racism and hate, his self-respect had paid off. Racism and self-respect are also shown in the poem “Tableau” when two young boys of different races are seen holding hands. Other people would stare at the two boys, judging, because them being friends was unusual. The boys do not care about what people say behind their back, they continue holding hands and showing off how proud they are to be friends with one another. These boys have too much self-respect to be bothered by “normal” people and their views on relationships. In the last poem “How to be Colored me” a young girl named Zora learns how to defeat discrimination and be proud of her skin color. At first, Zora didn’t feel accepted in her new hometown Jacksonville because it was full of white people and she stood out. “sometimes it’s the other way around. A white person is set down in our midst, but the contrast … with a white person, my color comes.” (sec. 10 line 2) She realized she was different but also that she was equal to everyone else and given the same opportunities as her fellow white classmates. Zora noticed that the white kids stood out around her just like she did with them and that’s when she truly started embracing her skin color and learned to love herself