People throughout their lives experience numerous obstacles that might persuade them to abandon hope. Conflict can seem like a negative experience, but without conflict, people wouldn’t be compelled to make changes or actions. The characters in these stories have many pros and cons that relate to them passing in society. In both, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson and Hunger by Roxane Gay: contradiction, conflict, and self-reflection are all present. The narrator has problems with who he wants to be(come) and whether he is okay with losing his identity in the process, while Roxane Gay is trying to solve her issue of being humiliated by binge eating and making herself overweight, which is what she was intending to
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Her plan to pass in society and fly under the radar is contradicted by the fact that she in hindsight has made herself a “bigger” target. She expresses this when she says, “When I move around I feel every extra pound I am carrying” validating to herself she has surpassed her true reason for becoming overweight. Her initial objective to binge eat her way to an external monstrosity started to possess her internally to where she felt “My body is a cage,” she then elaborates it’s of “her own making” (19). Incomparable to the Ex-Colored Man his passing is much more dramatic because it affects him both physically, psychologically and culturally. Pretending to be another race long term is very paradoxical in the sense that once people find out they will undoubtedly not allow you back into either group. He acknowledges his feelings by talking about “It is difficult for me to analyze my feelings concerning my present position in the world” (11.10). The narrator is conflicted with his decision to pass in society because it can cause a person to lose their culture and identity. He also sees that by passing as white he can get further in life and have more opportunities for him and his …show more content…
She thought that by passing and covering up her past that life would change for her and in some ways, it did. Gay now doesn’t have to worry about men trying to get with her or violate her, but she now has numerous health and psychological problems. However, the narrator in ex-colored man has issues of his own because his passing has made him somewhat of an outsider. He feels alive when he states, “My blood ran quicker, and I felt that I was just beginning to live,” this quote reiterates that he wants to be allowed to live his life to the fullest and in his mind passing as white will permit him to achieve that. In the back of his mind he knows that by passing as white, he will slowly start to lose his culture. A man’s identity is the most important characteristic that people will notice and it can be very dangerous to lose
Her plan to pass in society and fly under the radar is contradicted by the fact that she in hindsight has made herself a “bigger” target. She expresses this when she says, “When I move around I feel every extra pound I am carrying” validating to herself she has surpassed her true reason for becoming overweight. Her initial objective to binge eat her way to an external monstrosity started to possess her internally to where she felt “My body is a cage,” she then elaborates it’s of “her own making” (19). Incomparable to the Ex-Colored Man his passing is much more dramatic because it affects him both physically, psychologically and culturally. Pretending to be another race long term is very paradoxical in the sense that once people find out they will undoubtedly not allow you back into either group. He acknowledges his feelings by talking about “It is difficult for me to analyze my feelings concerning my present position in the world” (11.10). The narrator is conflicted with his decision to pass in society because it can cause a person to lose their culture and identity. He also sees that by passing as white he can get further in life and have more opportunities for him and his …show more content…
She thought that by passing and covering up her past that life would change for her and in some ways, it did. Gay now doesn’t have to worry about men trying to get with her or violate her, but she now has numerous health and psychological problems. However, the narrator in ex-colored man has issues of his own because his passing has made him somewhat of an outsider. He feels alive when he states, “My blood ran quicker, and I felt that I was just beginning to live,” this quote reiterates that he wants to be allowed to live his life to the fullest and in his mind passing as white will permit him to achieve that. In the back of his mind he knows that by passing as white, he will slowly start to lose his culture. A man’s identity is the most important characteristic that people will notice and it can be very dangerous to lose