Blog # 5

Both Monser and Incognegro portray the issue of being black in America. While Monster has more hidden undertones of racism and prejudice, it is obvious nonetheless. In Incognegro, racism is very prevalent when Zane and Carl arrive in Mississippi. The first thing they see when they get off the train is a black man getting harassed for no reason by a group of white people. The Conversation that Monster creates about race or privilege, is that would Steve have even been on trial if he were a white sixteen year old male rather than a black male? I think that is would be the same case for the white kid too, considering the witnesses and little bit of evidence that linked him to the scene of the crime, it would have been a crime if he hadnt been on trial, guilty or not. The conversation that Incognegro brings up is what makes white people think they're so much better than black people and why do they consider themselves the law above black people? They treat black people as if they were a race of subhumans rather than what they are, which is completely human. For instance, Zane's brother Alonzo is being held in prison for being accused of a crime he didn't committ. The prison guard even knew that he didn't do it yet he still keeps him there and questions him. They also lynch Zane's friend Carl for claiming to be the "Incognegro". The Incognegro was a disguise that Zane made no attempt to create, it was simply because he was a white skinned black man. This allowed him to infiltrate  clan rallies and lynchings and do reports on them in his column in a harlem newspaper. Incognegro also brings up an issue with gender identity, in the case of Francis Jefferson-White. She was a female from a racist Mississippi family who realized early on that she would get nowhere as a woman so she disguised herself as a man and was eventually killed by a woman simply for walking in the woods. The Themes shared between these two books are racism, privilege, and suspense. Both books are very suspenseful and keep you on the edge of your seat. They relate to our discussion in class on privilege because in the books the White people have the power. And while Zane may technically be black, his skin is white which probably helped him get his job and it definately allowed him to do something nobody else could do. Zane is the only privileged black man in either story, and its because his skin is white.