Re: Racial diversity here and possible (probable maybe,even?)
Cheryl Cline (ccline@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
Wed, 12 Aug 1998 16:23:52 -0700
patrick flaherty wrote:
>
> Would you agree that an African American would relate more to say, Toni
> Morrison than Salinger? And vise versa for a White American?
I believe I relate as much to the African American female character of
Celie in The Color Purple as much as to our beloved white male Holden in
Catcher. Sure, there are times when I want to yell, "Goddamn it,
Holden! At least YOU COULD walk alone 41 blocks through New York City
in the middle of the night! Stop complaining!" But it doesn't make his
experiences completely alien to me.
I think these authors are great because they're writing stories that one
can relate to as a person, not as a boy or a girl or a black or a
white. You don't have to be black and female to imagine the horror of
being abused by a spouse or stepfather. You don't have to be white and
male to be anguished over a sibling's death, or to build up the image
of someone you've lost.
Yeah. Can't we all just get along?
Cheryl