Erasure, a satirical novel by Percival Everett, reveals the misunderstanding of African-American life through the exploitation of stereotypes and usage of stock characters. Morgenstein, the novel’s example of a white character blinded by wealth, reinforces the growing rift between upper middle class whites and African-Americans through his hesitation when he says, “More…” and his tone when he says, “I don’t know, tougher or something.”.
The word, “More…” is the most succinct representation of the theme of white naïveté that can be found in the novel. The ellipsis in the word, “More…” indicates that Morgenstein is uncomfortable discussing race, and is completely removed from African-American life. The fact that Monk is an African-American and happens to be articulate and educated is inconceivable to him. The ellipsis shows that Morgenstein has a rigid schema for African-American males, as uneducated brutes, but he feels he will face ridicule if he voices it. His wealth deludes …show more content…
The speaker, Morgenstein, is a film producer whose wealth has clearly secluded him in his upper class haven. His myopic view of society leads him to believe that black people are supposed to be tough, ghetto, and “street”. “tougher or something.” illustrates how little he knows about African-Americans. His confused and ignorant tone led him to believe that Fuck was a genuine depiction of African-American life. Naturally, he was confused when he met Monk, who happened to be scholarly and erudite rather than ghetto. His misunderstanding of African-Americans is disturbing. His socioeconomic status has instilled a veil between him and African-Americans. There is great diversity among African-American life, but Morgenstein’s tone when he says, “I don’t know, tougher or something.” indicates that all black people reside in the lower
The word, “More…” is the most succinct representation of the theme of white naïveté that can be found in the novel. The ellipsis in the word, “More…” indicates that Morgenstein is uncomfortable discussing race, and is completely removed from African-American life. The fact that Monk is an African-American and happens to be articulate and educated is inconceivable to him. The ellipsis shows that Morgenstein has a rigid schema for African-American males, as uneducated brutes, but he feels he will face ridicule if he voices it. His wealth deludes …show more content…
The speaker, Morgenstein, is a film producer whose wealth has clearly secluded him in his upper class haven. His myopic view of society leads him to believe that black people are supposed to be tough, ghetto, and “street”. “tougher or something.” illustrates how little he knows about African-Americans. His confused and ignorant tone led him to believe that Fuck was a genuine depiction of African-American life. Naturally, he was confused when he met Monk, who happened to be scholarly and erudite rather than ghetto. His misunderstanding of African-Americans is disturbing. His socioeconomic status has instilled a veil between him and African-Americans. There is great diversity among African-American life, but Morgenstein’s tone when he says, “I don’t know, tougher or something.” indicates that all black people reside in the lower