Blog #5

Monster and Incognegro are both books that deal with cultural identity, racisim, and stereotypes. Both books are very similar because both main characters are black. Steve Harmon, in Monster, is on trial because he is falsely accused of being an accomplice in a felony murder. When Steve is first in the courtroom, the first stereotype occurs. This stereotype is that black people are automatically guilty of a crime because of their skin color. Many of the jury members think that Steve is already guilty before they even hear the what the case is about. In Incognegro, Zane is the main character, and he is a lighter skinned African American. Because of this, he can go undercover as a reporter in the white world, and get stories without being known about.

Both books definitely create a "conversation" about cultural identity and privilage because it is very evident that in both books, white privilage prevails. If Steve Harmon were a white male on the stand being accused of a crime, the story would most likely not work or be a much shorter story. Likewise, in Incognegro, if Zane was a true white American he would be able to get stories about what happens in the white world much easier, and the book would probably have a different title as well. In the books, it is obvious that racism exists and causes the lives of the main characters to be much harder.

Incognegro and Monster have similar themese because they both deal with someone trying to live their normal lives, but having a difficult time doing so. Zane wants to be an undercover reporter, but his brother is spending time in jail down in Mississippi. When Zane goes down there to try and free his brother, he sees that the south is a much different place than where he is from. It takes a big deal of time before Zane can officially free his brother from jail. In Monster, Steve is just living a normal life until he is accused of being the look out for a conveniant store robbery. Another theme is that both books deal with white supremacy. The main characters of both books deal with white supremacy in two different ways. Steve cannot help that he is a darker skinned African American, so he has to rely on his defense attorney, a white person, to help him out to bring the verdict of "not guilty." On the other hand, Zane is a lighter skinned African American, so he goes with the white society and does not try and expose himself.

Both texts relate to the discussion we had of power and privilage because the white people have the most power in both books' societys. The blacks have pretty much no privilages, and Incognegro is slightly more brutal than Monster because of the violent lynchings. Both books definitely show that because white people have all the power, race becomes a very important factor in the lives of anyone who is not white. If both main characters were white, the books would simply not be as effective in teaching about racism being prevalent in society today.