The experience of living under the Jim Crow laws in America shaped the black perspective during the time period in many ways. Jim Crow laws were racial laws that enacted after the Reconstruction period in Southern areas of the United States. under these laws it changed the way black people lived during that time period. During this time period, black people had to watch how that talked to white people. If something was said in the wrong way or was to be disrespectful diffusely or not on purpose they would be killed.
If you were a “nigger” in this time period, you were automatically guilty of any sort of crime. The lynching of black people was done by the white people to send a message to African Americans not to provoke them or there would be consequences. The idea of Jim Crow was born in 1836; Jim Crow was created by white people to amuse other white people. it was an era of racism and discrimination. The idea alone started a racial movement. White supremacy, also known as “KKK“, was the power behind Jim Crow. The organization was set to keep the freed slaves from having freedom.
These laws had black people scared for their lives until they found ways to survive by staying together. During the late 1880-1890s however, the black people began to fight against Jim Crow laws. Reading the short story “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” is useful because it helps people understand the affects of Jim Crow through the eyes of a black person that lived during this terrible time. This man is a firsthand source of living under Jim Crow. He is an example that can be used to understand the effects of Jim Crow on an individual. This man is Richard Wright.
During this time period every black person went through the same thing but it was just a different experience. Richard Wright is a brown skin man with a short haircut. He can be seen as a skinny young adult and tall. Richard is respectful. He knows how to treat a woman, especially in the time period he lived. He was also a very hard working. Richard is often frightened and worried being a black young man in this time period. Throughout the story, Richard had many thoughts that cross his mind. One of them came from the beginning of the story when Richard got into a fight with the white boys.
During the fight he was cut on his ear. After the fight he went and told his mom thinking that she would show him sympathy but, she didn’t. His mother beat him because she didn’t want him to grow up and fight the white people then die. Later on that night Richard thought to himself “all that night I was delirious and could not sleep. ” Richard had many fears while living in that time period. He was afraid of being picked up by a white person. He didn’t want to live up to the stereotype of being an uneducated “nigger”.
He was afraid of being “poor”, that’s
why he always and a job or was always looking for one. In the short story Richard faced a lot of obstacles that he needed to pass. In the beginning of the story he feels that it is hard to live being a black person. The first event that occurred was when he got into an altercation with the young white kids. He got a cut behind his ear. He felt like a thug. When he got home he realized that his mother was mad at him for fighting the young white boys. He felt outraged because he thought he was betrayed by his mother.
Another major event was when Richard was transferring to an optical company in Memphis from Arkansas. This event made him feel proud and strong he felt like he had a brighter future there and that he had more opportunities there. Richard got another job while in Mississippi. An incident occurred at the job where he witnessed his coworkers best on a woman. He felt regretful for watching it happen but he couldn’t do much about it. Living under the Jim Crow laws in America shaped the black perspective during the time period in many ways.
Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws that enacted after the Reconstruction period in Southern United States. Living under these laws changed the way black people lived during that specific time period. This was exactly what was spoken about in the short story, “The Ethics of Jim Crow”, and throughout Richard Wright’s life. Jim Crow laws were one of the main reasons for segregation. Yet in the late 1880-90s the, the black people found a way to overcome and start fighting back. The fighting back is the reason why Jim Crow laws no longer existing in the United States.