Claudia Rankine’s book Citizen: An American Lyric redefines our understanding of the presence of racism in everyday life by writing about it in several personal stories, and poetical lines. Prevalent throughout the novel is the theme of “white and black” that represents not only a difference in skin color, but also the visibility of those two colors. One of her most compelling points is about a consequence of the ongoing fight against racism: loss of individual identity. The presence of “white and black” symbolizes the presence of racism, and the transition between the two represents the inability to preserve the individual identity from the conflicts of racism.
In order to present this idea, Rankine writes about very personal stories and …show more content…
Fading from black to white, the listed black men are forgotten because there are so many, ironically, despite the existence of the message, “In Memory of…” These individual names are grouped together as “black men unjustly killed by the police” and their names vanish into the white background. As they disappear into the white background, they lose their identities and return to nothingness. The message that Rankine includes next to this image is rather simple, but the simplicity adds another layer of truth to her point. Acting as a conclusion to part V of the novel, the message here is meant to solidify Rankine’s stories from part V with a lasting impact. Ending the chapter with the line “black people are dying” creates a sense of urgency and realization because of the difference in writing style between Rankine’s other, more abstract ideas and this simple, honest, and powerful one. Looking at this sentence, the logical and more efficient way of phrasing it would have been “Black people are dying because white men can’t police their imagination.” However, Rankine wants to emphasize the raw truth of the statement “black people are dying,” so she decides to end with it, thus creating a grander impact that leaves the readers with the message or image of black people dying. When amassing the deaths of several black men and assigning a cause for each of them, it is not their individual identities that are remembered, but the purpose of their deaths, to fight against
In order to present this idea, Rankine writes about very personal stories and …show more content…
Fading from black to white, the listed black men are forgotten because there are so many, ironically, despite the existence of the message, “In Memory of…” These individual names are grouped together as “black men unjustly killed by the police” and their names vanish into the white background. As they disappear into the white background, they lose their identities and return to nothingness. The message that Rankine includes next to this image is rather simple, but the simplicity adds another layer of truth to her point. Acting as a conclusion to part V of the novel, the message here is meant to solidify Rankine’s stories from part V with a lasting impact. Ending the chapter with the line “black people are dying” creates a sense of urgency and realization because of the difference in writing style between Rankine’s other, more abstract ideas and this simple, honest, and powerful one. Looking at this sentence, the logical and more efficient way of phrasing it would have been “Black people are dying because white men can’t police their imagination.” However, Rankine wants to emphasize the raw truth of the statement “black people are dying,” so she decides to end with it, thus creating a grander impact that leaves the readers with the message or image of black people dying. When amassing the deaths of several black men and assigning a cause for each of them, it is not their individual identities that are remembered, but the purpose of their deaths, to fight against