--Webb's novel touches on a couple of unusual topics of early African-American fiction: mixed-races couples and urban life.--How does the novel address racial mixing, mixed-race couples and the possibility of "passing" (the practice of a African-American person passing for white)?
--How does it imagine the life of African-Americans in northern cities? Compare the vision of city life to the many we have studied previously.
In the novel the Garies and their friends Mr. Winston passes as a white, even though he is mulatto. Neither African Americans nor European Americans can detect him as a black and thus, he has a lot of privileges other freed slaves do not have. One exception might be Emily, however, because she was bought as a slave by Mr. Garie who then married her. Mr. Garie has a rather accepting opinion of blacks because he understands that even black men can be gentleman, but he seems to be almost alone with this opinion.
ReplyDeleteMr. Thomas, on the other hand, a friend of Mr. Garie’s on the other hand boasts himself with his ability to always detect the smallest traces of blacks in a person, which clearly shows that generally, blacks are not accepted in mainstream society. This interpretation is supported when Mr. Ellis – a former slave himself – tells Winston that if he wants to live in the South he has to decide what side of society he ants to be part of. He either has to live with the African American society (which he legally would belong to) or he has to choose living among whites. It is not possible for anyone to be part of both worlds. The exception to this rule seems to be Mr Garie, who still seems to be friends with Mr Thomas, for example, even though he does not approve of Garie’s marriage to Emily.
To a certain extent, the story claims that blacks can be just like whites (e.g. Winston meets the highest families and even the Belgian minister on his trip) but their advancement is only possible through whites. Blacks can only have a career through the benevolence of other whites (see early Winston) or if they are not detected as blacks. The Ellis’s, for example, are a respectable family, but they clerarly are subordinated to whites. Accordingly, Charlie can work a job as a servant in Mrs. Thomas’s house. Even though the Ellis’s stand above the normal black family (this is what I assume, at least) and eve though Mr. Ellis wants his son Charlie to learn Greek and Latin, these skills are not asked of African Americans. They can learn much more from being around the more refined and more educated whites. (Quote Mrs Thomas)
Furthermore, the opinion white Southerners have of blacks is portrayed in the behavior of the waiter Ben toward Winston. Because he thinks that Winston is white, Ben dumbs down his English (at least he speaks heavy dialect) and says that he, as a former slave, wishes he could go back to slavery, because that work suited him better. He hopes that by supporting the whites’ belief in the benefits of slavery and the blacks’ inability to live in freedom, he will get some money to keep up the underground –railroad to free slaves from the South.
It's very strange to read a book that deals with miscegenation, if only because it's a concept I've only heard white supremacists mention (the only reason I know what the word means is because Schillinger on Oz talked about it). I think Webb is generally against the practice of miscegenation and to a degree the desire of many blacks to assimilate to white culture. There are many instances where the idea is put forth that you cannot live in both black and white society, whether directly or indirectly. Winston, who passes as white, cannot capitalize on his similarities to both cultures simultaneously, but instead must pick a role within one culture and stick to it. His racial ambiguity so far proves to be more polarizing than beneficial. Also, up to this point, Webb's depiction of white culture is one that treats being black like a disease. There is no difference between being very dark or passably white, black is bad to any degree. I would be surprised if we see a change in this attitude regarding white culture through out the book. Even free blacks are subservient to whites in this book, former slaves do not see themselves as being capable of joining white culture and in fact curb their behavior around whites in an effort not to challenge the status quo. The attitude from Webb at this point seems to be, do not try to assimilate yourself into white culture if you are black, you will always be sen as a second class citizen. Instead, unity among blacks in America is the key to societal success (or perhaps unity among black families?). I think Webb views miscegenation as a form of failed assimilation, thinking that a mixed race individual will be more alienated from societal groupings then individuals of one dominant race, and thus forced into further subservience. Passing is possible, but the cost is your true identity. I think Mr.Garie is an interesting lens through which Webb views the subject of race mixing. Mr.Garie is an abolitionist who marries a slave, an extremely uncommon practice among abolitionists. Mr.Garie is a rather unrealistic view of abolitionists, many abolitionists of the period had moral objections to slavery, but didn't really view blacks as equals. They recognized that black people were human just as they were, but weren't particularly interested in integrating with them for the most part. A large portion of abolitionists supported the movement to send blacks back to Africa. Mr.Garie is the polar opposite of a free black trying to assimilate into white culture. He is white man, the most powerful demographic in society, who tries to integrate himself into black society by marrying a black woman. He has deliberately lowered his social status and through his character I think we are offered an additional perspective on race mixing by Webb. I think Mr.Garie is further proof of Webb's philosophy that race mixing within American society is not a particularly effective strategy.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually very interested to see how the plot of this novel pans out, because I recently finished Philip Roth's "The Human Stain." Astrid seems to have mentioned most of the instances of racial mixing, the two main advocates of it being the Garie family and Mr. Winston, but I'm curious to see if Mr. Winston moves to Philadelphia alongside the Garies and the Ellis family, because that's where I foresee Mr. Winston having to choose which idea he is a bigger fan of, racial mixing or passing. The ideas are almost at odds with one another, because racial mixing implies that the idea of race is either disregarded or overlooked in favor of something else being more important (in the case of the Garies, this is something like love or sex). To me, it seems like there’s some level of acceptance that those who are mixing are of different races, but both parties (or perhaps the one that has more power over the other) decide to base their judgment of one another on something else, i.e. how much they both love fishing. Passing, on the other hand, involves the rejection of one’s own race in favor of passing as a member of another race. At a most basic level, it implies that the person who's "passing" rejects the identity that he or she has grown up with for a more favorable one. While both ideas seek to disregard race, racial mixing seems to have more acceptance of the individual than passing does.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that Mr. Winston decides that he wants to pass; I think it’ll make the dynamic of the novel much more interesting. He might snub Mr. Garie on some level by doing it, and then things would really get interesting, because as much as Mr. Garie seems to think that he’s not racist, the way he responds to hearing that Mr. Winston passed (“...a great triumph for me,” pg. 5), makes me think that he considers himself at least marginally better than Mr. Winston.
The novel The Garies and their Friends, addresses racially mixed couples casually. When we first meet the Garies, it is noted that its not a big deal that Mr. and Mrs. Garie are of different race. However attention is drawn to the appearance of their children. Their daughter looks entirely white with chestnut hair and blue eyes , while their son could pass as white; with no detection of African blood, but if one looked closely they might notice his dark eyes and full lips. Through the descriptions of the children, the reader gets a first peek at this idea of ’passing’. The ‘passing’ in the book refers to an idea that a black person can appear and be recognized as white.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel physical descriptions of each character are closely noted. In the conversation between Mr. Winston and Mr. Garie, the reader learns more about ‘passing’. Mr. Winston is introduced in the beginning of the novel alongside the Garies. Mr. Winston is a black fellow, who appears white physically and in intelligence and manner. Mr. Winston and Mr. Garie talk about Mr. Thomas and how he claims he can detect any African blood in a person; however he doesn’t suspect Mr. Winston is black and treats him with the utmost respect. In the second chapter, the reader learns more about Mr. Winston and the opportunities he was given because of his appearance and learned manners. In the book, there seems to be a notion that if a black person appears white and has manners than they can be accepted into society, and the more white a black person looked the better off they were.
-Jatelle
The novel deals with the mixed race family in a really interesting manner. The Garies talk about it so lightly, and Mr. Garie is so proud of his wife and family. His opinions in reference to Mr. Priestly sound very modern to me, in that he can't understand the prejudice Priestly feels. Garie talks about the situation rather openly and plainly considering it was such a controversial subject.
ReplyDeleteHowever, despite Garies dialogue, the family is still described in very specific terms, drawing attention to the fact that they are mixed race repeatedly. As many people have pointed out, the physical descriptions of each family member (and most characters in the book) are long and drawn out, drawing contrasts between what the person would be characterized as based on parentage and what they actually look like. These descriptions give the sense that the narrator still thinks that race is important, but not for the sake of judging one's morality. The physical descriptions also describe the character of each person, including how gentlemanly they are, or how clever.
The other odd detail about the description of the Garies is in the title of the chapter: "In which the reader is introduced to a family of peculiar construction." The narrator is once again drawing attention to the fact that the family is not "normal" despite Mr. Garies' confidence and pride. The narrator does not seem to oppose the make up of the family, but draws attention to it almost constantly, suggesting that something about it is of interest to the reader.
This novel seems to address acceptance of racial mixing although it is skewed to some extent. Mr. Garie is married to an African-American woman, Mrs. Garie, who he bought for two thousand dollars then made her his wife. As described in the story, Mrs. Garie was well sought after when she was being sold in Savannah. It also explains how Mr. Garie was the "envy of all the young bucks in the neighbourhood who had competed with him at the sale" (Webb 2). However, this sort of act seems demeaning to me. Although Mr. Garie is giving Mrs. Garie a better life, he takes pride in having bought her and making her his wife, almost because she has inherited the tendencies of a wealthy white woman that Mr. Garie has thrust upon her. As the story describes other peoples depictions of racial mixing, it can be said that the act is mostly accepted. "Passing" on the other hand, seems much more controversial. As Katelyn said, passing leads an individual down a path of denying their heritage in order to achieve something, in their minds, more favorable. Mr. Winston is obviously the prime example of passing. He is described as a "dark-complexioned gentleman" (Webb 2). Mr. Garie is greatly pleased to find that Mr. Winston has passed as a white person and applauds himself for helping. This seems controlling, in my opinion. As I said before, Mr. Garie seems to be taking pride in the fact that he has stripped Mrs. Garie and Mr. Winston of their heritage and planted a new mindset or lifestyle upon them.
ReplyDeleteThe first mixed-race couple we are introduced to is the Garies, and before the chapter even begins they are described as a family of "peculiar construction."The couple seems like any normal loving couple, other than the fact that Mr. Garie owns his wife, Emily, as a slave as well as their two children. She isn't attempting to pass, which is apparent when she says "I know they look down on me and despise me because I'm a coloured woman." She is well educated, which she says keeps her from intelligent conversations with black women.
ReplyDeleteThe reader is first introduced to the idea of passing on the second page in regards to the Garie's son. I think it's interesting that the phrase "critically learned" in detecting African origin is used, because it makes it seem like an art form or practice (2). The ability to pass is addressed as being taken for white. The chapters of our reading suggest characteristics such as appearance, intelligence, fashion and money. Mr. Ellis suggests that passing in the north is a great risk because one must either fully associate with whites or blacks but not between. And that if it is discovered, one would be shunned. It is possible to pass according to dialogue from characters inside the text, and also Mr. Winston's ability to fool people early on.
What I find interesting is how it's implied in the text that children with education and capability for passing are geared to either pass or not like in the instance with Charlie. He works at the Thomas' home as if he is preparing to be a server. Mrs. Ellis is on edge about this and tries to assure a critical Mr. Walters that it is just temporary. I don't think we are far enough in the text for me to say that it is for sure that Charlie will either pass or not because he could very well be a successful black like Mr. Walters.
Racial mixing is presented in a positive light, especially since the Garies live in the south and do not get too much slack for their behavior. However there is still an air of superiority when it comes to Mr. Garie. It's obvious he loves his family, but he is not officially married to her, only saying they are practically married. Also Mrs. Garie still carries an extreme subservient attitude. Yes in that day women were supposed to be subservient to their husbands, but the exchange between the Garies in chapter five when they talk about moving to the north show that there is still a clear master-slave relationship going on.
ReplyDeleteThe race mixing may not be a huge deal in this case since Mrs. Garie is very light skinned, much like Mr. Winston. Since they are so light, they are accepted into society as almost being legitimate citizens. Mr. Winston is so light he can actually pass for white and does so in order to be integrated into white society, even though that society has prejudices against race. However Mr. Winston is warned that he cannot float between the two societies if he ever wishes to settle. He has to choose to be either black or white. So while race mixing is tolerated if African Americans are light skinned, there is still a definite distinction between the two races.
What annoyed me about the text was the lightness of African Americans. It seemed to portray only light, almost white, blacks as better than others. Not only are they the most educated, but they also act the most like white people with no vestiges of another culture. The darker African Americans are portrayed in a poorer light, such as Aunt Rachel and Mr. Moyese's servant. I feel like the message of the book so far is that if African Americans act and look as white as possible, that will almost make them members of society. The only exception to my perception of the novel could be Charlie and the Ellis family. Charlie is displayed as clearly more intelligent than the whites at the party, talking of Chaucer and showing his classic literary knowledge (when I myself had not read Chaucer until last semester). Yet I cannot find in the text if it ever describes the relative lightness or darkness of the Ellis family. For a while I did not know they were African American as they acted completely as whites, furthering my current theory of assimilation.
--Heather Hobbs
The Garies and Their Friends has such an interesting story line, and I am really fascinated with Mr. Winston because he is of mixed decent, however people never question his race, thinking he is purely white. I find this particularly interesting because Mr. Winston never stops to correct any person’s assumptions about his race.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mr. Winston reconnects with his old friend Mr. Ellis, Mr. Ellis comments that he mistook him for a white man. Mr. Winston seemed to joke around that everyone mistakes him for a white man. I feel like this was really degrading to Mr. Ellis because he and his family do not, by any means, live a luxurious lifestyle. The Ellis family seems to do fine for themselves, but they do not get to live the way the “other side”, aka the “white folk” gets to live. Mr. Winston seems to mean so well, and he visits the Ellis family often and shares excitements with them, and helps them out with business, however Mr. Winston seems to want to be a white person. When Mr. Winston and Mr. Ellis first reunited, Mr. Ellis told him that he had to pick one side or the other, and once he chooses, he cannot go back. I cannot decide if I think Mr. Winston is too wrapped up in this pretend life to think about his future and the consequences of not being honest about his race and past, or if he legitimately does not think race matters in his situation—as if the people he is meeting will respect him no matter the color. I do think Mr. Winston is a little too invested in living a luxurious lifestyle (because he has worked for it since he was a young slave) that he forgets who he really is, and I think Mr. Ellis is going to make him see that throughout the novel.
The novel’s main couple, the Garies, is an interracial family. They have children together, and they clearly are in love. Mr. Garie wants to make his wife, Emily, as happy as possible, and she wants to move to the north so their children will be free. Mr. Garie has little hesitation about it, and they plan their move. I think this is a very interesting relationship. The couple lives in Georgia right now, which is a slave state. Mr. Garie used to be Emily’s master. What I am confused about is if they are actually married, and if he is still her master because if she were a free black woman, wouldn’t their children be free also? I understand where Emily is coming from, why wouldn’t she want to move to the north? I think it is a logical desire, and I am really glad Mr. Garie is okay with it because I really don’t want him to wind up being a bad guy (which I don’t think he will be, but you never know).
One interesting aspect of the issue of race in the novel is a narrative that is still seen often and is still controversial today. Just within the first two chapters there are three instances where a white man or woman becomes responsible for a disenfranchised black man or woman. Similar to the tradition expressed in the sitcom Webster or the movie The Blind Side, the orphaned, poor, or enslaved black person is essentially saved my the good grace of white people willing to take them in. The first instance of this still prevalent narrative in The Garies and Their Friends occurs in the relationship between Mrs. And Mr. Garie. The second instance is in the story of Mr. Moyese’s purchase of George Winston. The third occurrence is Mrs. Ellis’ attempt to have Charlie Thomas work for her.
ReplyDeleteOf the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Garie, Webb writes that Mr. Garie had purchased his wife and the evolution of their relationship is described, “as time developed the goodness of her heart, and her mind enlarged through the instructions he assiduously gave her.” This is a notable characteristic of the tradition of a white person coming to the rescue of a black person. It is also a characteristic of one way that beautiful women are represented. In both narratives, the uncivilized, uneducated, naïve minority is taken under the wing of someone who is infatuated in one way and understands their superiority as the civilized, white man who can take on this project.
The story of Mr. Moyese and George is another example of this motif and the most blatant. George is bought as a young boy, but with a new suit, a kind master, and a white education, he becomes “almost as white as you or I,” which is then associated with being a gentleman and acceptable member of society. The idea of a black person becoming white because they grew up in a white family is one that is prevalent in the black community today. Controversy still surrounds white families adopting black children and the portrayal of this in Webster or The Blind Side would never outright call the black characters “almost as white as your or I,” but the concern that these characters have been striped of their black culture and identity remains. In the Garies and Their Friends, the ability to blur race lines and “pass” as a white person is celebrated and taken lightheartedly.
Mrs. Ellis also cites the justification of teaching Charlie real manners and how to be a gentleman as to why she wants him to work for her. The translation in this novel of the existence of a polite, well-mannered, former slave seems to be that they are the product of a willing, white person.
From what I've read so far, the novel has an unusually nonchalant attitude about racial mixing and passing—it seems to be an everyday way of life for the characters in the book, but at the same time, they do realize that there is a definite danger to passing and mixed relationships (as evident by those in mixed relationships with white-looking Blacks)
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was this small community of individuals, but I personally was surprised to see racial-mixing (especially during this time) regarded as the norm, especially given the possible consequences for passing. I'm aware that many people did it, but was dangerous—and the being found out could result in death.
What I did find interesting, (and had to comment on) were the definitions of "white". Not only did it mean the typical physical description of a person, but certain mannerisms. It seemed as if being fair skinned was only half the battle—one also had to have distinguished manners, and be well spoken, clearly something the average, savage negro was thought to be incapable of at the time. The undoubtedly "Blackest" character in the book so far, Aunt Rachel, (whom I picture as this Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in Gone With the Wind-type) speaks in a broken English, pidgin-like language, reflective of her "beastly" nature. The fact that Charles is taken out of school, and sent to work as a servant because he isn't worth the same lessons in grooming and etiquette as Winston (probably because he's too dark to pass for white, I'd imagine) is also interesting to me—as whites of this times obviously seemed to believe that the darker a person's skin color was directly indicative of their capacity to learn, so it was purposeless to teach someone who would never amount to anything substantial in society (because of their skin color) how to function in society.