The Portrayal of Racial Prejudices and their Destructive Consequences in William Shakespeare’s Othello (1603-04) and Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy (2017) – A Comparative Analysis

Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

vorgelegt von Mag. phil. et iur. Astrid Monetti

am Institut für Anglistik

Begutachterin: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. phil. Maria Löschnigg

Hart bei Graz, Februar 2021

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...... 4

2. Definitions of the Terms: ‘Identity’, ‘Race’, and Associated Terms ...... 6

2.1. Identity ...... 7

2.2. Race ...... 12

2.3. Racism ...... 15

2.4. Structural Violence ...... 16

2.5. Slow Violence ...... 18

3. Historical Overview ...... 18

3.1. The Abolishment of Slavery and the Successive Legislation ...... 22

3.2. The Era after the Civil Rights Movement ...... 29

4. The Renaissance Tragedy Othello (1603-04) ...... 32

4.1. Historical Background and Its Influences on Playwright William Shakespeare ...... 33

4.2. Selected Themes in William Shakespeare’s Othello (1603-04) ...... 34

5. Postcolonial Repositioning of the Shakespearean Tragedy: Intertextual Interconnectivity and Semantic Surplus against the Backdrop of Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy (2017) ...... 39

5.1. Repositioning ...... 39

5.2. Interconnectivity ...... 42

5.3. Semantic Surplus ...... 57

6. Conclusion ...... 74

7. Bibliography ...... 76

7.1. Primary Literature ...... 76

7.2. Secondary Literature ...... 76

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8. Webbliography ...... 81

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1. Introduction

1 The main black character in Tracy Chevalier’s young-adult novel, New Boy2 (2017), Osei states, “I [the new black boy] will be lucky to get through the day without getting beaten up” (Chevalier 2017: 122). Later in the book, he wonders, “[w]hy does being black have to hurt so much?” (Chevalier 2017: 174). A reader might now immediately think of the times of slavery and the occurring atrocities during the times of European imperialism3 and colonialism4. However, the sad truth is that – even in the 21st century – a black5 skin colour might still constitute a reason for physical and psychological pain. On a frequent basis, news reports about institutional racism6 and

1 The picture visualises “the disparity between the police presence at the Black Lives Matter protests and the riots at the Capitol building” on 6th January 2021 (Online “Riots – Capitol building”). 2 For the sake of correctness, the following shall be stated: the novel was published in 2017, however, the story is set in the 1970s. By choosing the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, Chevalier shows that black people living in the 21st century encounter the same racial prejudices as black Americans at the end of the last century. 3 Edward Said defines imperialism as “the practice, theory, and the attitudes of a domination metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory” (Said 1993: 8). 4 Colonialism is defined as “the implanting of settlements on a distant territory […] for economic, strategic and political advantage” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 108). 5 Cornel West writes that “blackness has no meaning outside of a system of race-conscious people and practices” and continues that “the differentiation between black and white refers to people living in Europe on the one hand and in Africa on the other hand” (Online “Race Matters”). Woodward adds the notion of “inferiority” of black people to Cornel West’s definition (Woodward 2002: 11). 6 Presidential candidate Joe Biden refers to institutional racism by giving an example of how black parents teach their children the ‘life-saving’ behaviour encountering a police officer or walking the streets (cf. Online “Presidential Debate” 01:00).

4 police brutality7 in the United States of America are broadcast. In Austria, the situation might not be as bad as in the New World, but people with a black skin are also discriminated against8. Having a partner, who comes from Rwanda, Africa, and experiencing racist situations with him, I have caught myself thinking that being black hurts. This conclusion made me question, “why?”, “why has mankind not learned from history?”. I have decided to investigate the roots of and reasons for discriminatory behaviour and the impact of racial prejudices on an individual’s life. This research has led me into a breath-takingly interesting, but also sad and cruel ‘world’.

The field to be explored covers the ‘real world’ as well as the ‘literary world’ and how the latter not only reflects sentiments of the former, but also offers novel insight into issues of race and how these issues are more tangible. Consequently, the present diploma thesis shall be divided into two sections. The first, theoretical, part shall be dedicated to the definitions of the terms used in the following analysis, and shows a brief historical survey regarding issues of race. The analytical part shall first analyse the time and circumstances that might have influenced William Shakespeare. This investigation shall be followed by an elaboration of selected topics, namely ‘race’ and ‘otherness’ as well as jealousy triggered by the ‘Othello complex’9. The most comprehensive part of this diploma thesis constitutes the fifth chapter. After briefly introducing the reader to the terms ‘repositioning’ and ‘rewriting’, the intertextual interconnectivity between Othello (1603-04) and New Boy (2017) shall be expanded upon. The last part of this section shall be dedicated to the semantic surplus in the 21st-century young-adult novel. In the concluding chapter, the used terms shall be discussed, followed by a summary of the findings concerning the notion of racial prejudices and its impact on the lives of Shakespeare’s and Chevalier’s characters.

7 Haley writes in Malcolm X‘s biography, “black people were long since sick and tired of police brutality” proving that this type of violence has been around for decades (Haley 2015: 239). 8 According to the head of the anti-discrimination office, Daniela Grabovic, it is incredibly hard for people with a black skin colour to find a flat. After finally succeeding, they are frequently bullied by their neighbours, who even sign petitions to make them move out. Finding a job also constitutes a challenge. Africans have to send 80 times more letters of applications than their white fellow applicants (cf. Online “Antidiskriminierungsstelle”). 9 The “Othello complex” functions as an “anthropologized” racial construction, in which the “assimilated savage”, predictably, “relapses into primitivism under stress” (Cartelli 1999: 3; Neil 1999: 123).

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The following shall be stated: firstly, the investigated development stretches over more than two centuries and applies to people coming from different continents. Consequently, when it comes to speaking about people with a dark skin, the attitude of what is ‘politically correct’10 has also changed. In order not to cause any confusion, the term to call people of African descent will be ‘black people’. However, in the case of quotations, I shall apply the terms used by the respective author. Secondly, as far as spelling is concerned, British spelling is used. Exceptions constitute quotations drawn from the American authors. Therefore, the reader will encounter British as well as American spelling depending on the source.

2. Definitions of the Terms: ‘Identity’, ‘Race’, and Associated Terms

The term ‘identity’ is omnipresent. In connection with the internet, we might use ‘S Identity’ to access our bank account, implement safety measures in order to prevent identity theft, or play a multi-player online role game called ‘Identity’. The Cambridge Dictionary lists examples such as, “I cannot reveal the identity of my source.”, “In prison people often suffer from a loss of identity”, or “I think my job gives me a sense of identity” (Online “Cambridge Dictionary – Identity”). The afore- mentioned examples show that the word ‘identity’ can be used in various contexts. The exact meaning might not always be entirely clear. Consequently, the first part of this chapter shall be devoted to the clarification of the term ‘identity’.

The word ‘race’ constitutes a multi-faceted word. One might come across the term ‘Arab race’ referring to a linguistic group, ‘Jewish race’ used to categorize one’s religious way of thinking, or the ‘French race’ meaning an ethnic group “with few or no physical traits that distinguish them from their neighbours” (Online “Race”). Last but not least, the term might also be applied in order to speak about “geographically

10 According to Rosa Parks, in the middle of the 20th century, “Negro was the polite, preferred word for black people” (Parks 1992: 53). Since 1969 ‘African American’ has been the preferred way to call a “U.S. black citizen” (Online “African American – Etymology”).

6 separated populations” and refer to visible markers regarding an individual’s identity (Online “Race”).

In the third sub-chapter, the notion of racism and its various forms shall be detailed. The Civil Rights Movement, which started at the end of the 1950s and continued throughout the 1960s, aimed at guaranteeing equal rights and chances for everyone. However, unfair treatment has emerged and continued in the form of ‘structural violence’ and ‘slow violence’, which shall be discussed in the final two sections of this chapter.

2.1. Identity

When it comes to identity, a new-born resembles a ‘tabula rasa’. Its mind, unaffected by experience, is exposed to contact with its family. In his seminal book, Black Skin, White Masks (1952/2008, translated 1968), Martinique-born psychiatrist Frantz Fanon (1925–1961) explains that each single experience constitutes “a component of reality”, which shapes the growing child’s identity (Fanon 2008: 48). During its development, the infant is further confronted with language, culture11, and values. Acquiring its mother tongue does not only mean that the child learns to “use a certain syntax, […] grasp the morphology of this or that language”, but also and “above all to assume a culture” (Fanon 2008: 17). It carries “values”, which constitute “the basis of a people’s identity” and “their sense of particularity as members of the human race” (Ngugi 1981: 15). Through communication, “experiences are handed over to the next generation”, values and “their conception of what is right and wrong, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, courageous and cowardly” are taught (Ngugi 1981: 14). In short, language constitutes the “carrier of culture” (Ngugi 1981: 13).

11 Ngugi writes that culture – among other components – is composed of “moves, rhythms, habits, attitudes, experiences, and knowledge” (Ngugi 1981: 14). Griffin defines culture by calling it “learned behavior patterns so deeply engrained they produce unconscious involuntary reactions” (Griffin 1992: 68).

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Later, school respectively education constitutes an impact on the child and adolescent. Being challenged by all these experiences, as well as being exposed to science, technology, art, writing, religion, and the political, economic, and judicial system, “context-dependent” identities develop (Norton 2014: 66). Fanon speaks about “two dimensions” 12 of identity13 (Fanon 2008: 17). One dimension reflects the behaviour “with his fellows”, and the other one his contact “with the white man” (Fanon 2008: 17). Being with his fellows, no issues have to be tackled and the “internalised picture of society and people stay unchallenged” (Fanon 2008: 149). However, on contact with the white man, problems that have been non-existent before arise (cf. Fanon 2008: 153). In other words, attending school, the young black child “little by little[,] […] takes in the prejudices, the myths, the folklore that have come […] from Europe” (Fanon 2008: 191f). This development is called “colonial alienation” 14 (Ngugi 1981: 17).

Last but not least, the colonial child is confronted with various types of media. First, through books and newspapers15, which spread racism, as they are published “by

12 James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) writes in his book, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912), that he has “a sort of dual personality” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). He describes the change in his behaviour when being with the white man as follows: “I grew reserved, I might say suspicious […] constantly more and more afraid of laying myself open to some injury to my feelings of pride” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). He, further, explains that “the change […] came into my life at school [,] […] a radical change [,] […] though I did not fully comprehend it” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). In the middle of the 20th century, the white American author John Howard Griffin (1920–1980) investigates racism in the South of the Unites States of America. With the help of medication and ultraviolet rays, the writer darkens his skin (cf. Griffin 1992: 6). He experiences first-hand the hardship of an African American’s life. ‘Regaining’ his white skin colour, Griffin is treated in an entirely different way. The waitress at a restaurant is friendly, he faces no molestation, and does not perceive the slightest attention from police force (cf. Griffin 1992: 123). 13 Griffin also perceives a change in his identity during the experiment. He becomes aware of this ‘transformation’ when he is about to call his wife. Since he has already internalised “the chains of his blackness,” forbidding him contact with white women, he hesitates to call his wife, a white woman (Griffin 1992: 68). Another proof of the internalisation of his black identity is his feeling of embarrassment when riding “in the front seat of the car with a white man”, which constitutes the violation of a “Southern rule” (Griffin 1992: 72). 14 The colonised child is only introduced to “imported literature”, such as “Shakespeare, Goethe, Balzac, Tolstoy, Gorky, Brecht, Dickens”, and only perceives “the world as seen in the literature of his language of adoption” (Ngugi 1981: 17f). Consequently, learning is – as Ngugi calls it – a “cerebral activity and not an emotional felt experience” (Ngugi 1981: 17). The reason for this rather ‘unpleasing’ experience is the fact that “the language of the books” is “divorced from his spoken language at home” (Ngugi 1981: 17). In other words, language and literature alienate the colonial child from themselves and take them away from their world into other words (cf. Ngugi 1981: 12). 15 In his book, Notes of a Native Son (1963), James Baldwin (1924–1987) describes the “great indifference and frequent hostility of the American white press” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”).

8 white men” (Fanon 2008: 146). Later, printed materials are supplemented by radio and television, for instance minstrel shows16, shaping the “view of the world” (Fanon 2008: 152).

From early childhood on, the idea is internalised that “the little white boy becomes an explorer, an adventurer, a missionary, […] the bringer of civilization” and the little black boy becomes ‘the evil’, which might feast on his white opponent (Fanon 2008: 146f). I shall close this section with Muhammad Ali’s questions to his mother, when he was a child, wondering why everyone and everything good is white, and everyone and everything bad is black:

“Why is Jesus white with blonde hair and blue eyes?”, “Why is the Lord’s Supper all white men?!”, Why is Tarzan talking to the animals and the African’s been there for centuries and he yet can’t talk to the animals. […]. Then you got some stuff called White House cigars, White Swan soap, White Cloud tissue paper, White Rain hair spray, everything was white. And the Angel Food cake was the white cake and the Devil Food cake was the chocolate cake! And Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow and Snow White and everything was white Santa Claus was white. And everything bad was black! The little ugly duckling was a black duck and the black cat was the bad luck and if I threaten you I’m gonna blackmail you!, or “Mama why don’t they call it whitemail they too lie?” (Online “Why is Jesus white?”, my transcription).

An essential component contributing to identity development is recognition17. If an individual experienced non-recognition as a member of society or if they created distorted images that are internalised, their identity might suffer serious damages. Consequently, the person might implement ‘white-approved’ behaviour. The better

He, further, writes that “[t]he Negro press, like the Negro, becomes the scapegoat” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). During his experiment, John Howard Griffin learns about the conduct of the press and elaborates later in his book, “Southern newspapers print every rape[,] […] but outstanding accomplishment [of black people] is not considered newsworthy” (Griffin 1992: 94). ‘#Black Lives Matter’ founder, Patrissa Khan-Cullors, reports in her book that media teach them [black people] to hate themselves (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 156). She continues that her most favourite TV-show, Beverly Hills, 90210, presents the world of rich white kids and their problems, a world, where black people and their problems do not exist (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 25). 16 The Minstrels created a romanticizing, exaggerated picture of plantation life depicting friendly, simple-minded, smiling slaves, who were willing to sing, to dance, and to enchant their masters (cf. Alexander 2016: 240). Minstrel shows, broadcast by Black Entertainment Television (BET), were used to satisfy white racism and to erase remorse in connection with racial oppression and, last but not least, they were aimed to entertain (cf. Alexander 2016: 239f). 17 John Howard Griffin thematises the longing for recognition when he explains how “hard” black people “work […] to please whites whose attention flatters” (Griffin 1992: 32).

9 a person fits in, the higher is the likelihood of recognition. At this point, the concept of mimicry18 and/or what sociology calls the ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’ comes into play. Mimicry refers to the notion that “encourages the colonized subject to ‘mimic’ the colonizer, by adopting the colonizer’s cultural habits, assumptions, institutions and values” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 124). Ngugi mentions the pitfall of this concept as “it makes them [colonized people] want to identify with that which is furthest removed from themselves and this is the white man” (Ngugi 1981: 3). A detailed analysis shall be provided in the analytical part of the diploma thesis, where the focus will be on the main black character, Osei.

On the eve of the Civil War, Harriet Becher Stowe (c. 1811–1896), who “did not believe in the de facto inferiority of the blacks”, writes her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), (Stowe 1995: xvi). The main black character, the slave19 Tom, is portrayed to have a “grave and steady good sense”, “much kindliness and benevolence”, is “self-respecting and dignified” and all these characteristics are “united with a confiding and humble simplicity” (Stowe 1995: 21). Furthermore, the black man excels in praying. The omniscient narrator describes Tom in the following way: “[n]othing could exceed the touching simplicity, the childlike earnestness of his prayer, enriched with the language of Scripture” (Stowe 1995: 29). Through the distinct way, in which Stowe creates her main character, the author gives rise to the term ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’ for the patient, non-violent20, pleasing behaviour of black

18 In the book, Native Son (1940), by Richard Wright (1908–1960), the main character, Bigger Thomas, invites his friends to “play white […] referring to a game of play-acting[,] in which he and his friends imitate the ways and manners of white folks” (Online “Native Son”). 19 In his autobiography, The Interesting Narratives of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African (1794), which Döring classifies as a book that “offers the adventurous account of a diasporic life across three continents and many cultural frontlines”, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797) describes his abduction at the age of 11, his experiences as a slave, and his life as a freed slave (Döring 2008: 42). In his book, he reports that slaves are “branded with the initial letters of their master’s name, and a load of heavy iron hooks hung about their necks” or “letting a pot boil over” is punished with beating till their bones break (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). Equiano also discusses the white man’s intention to “stupefy them [slaves] with stripes, […] keep them in a state of ignorance, […] assert that they are incapable of learning” (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). Equiano’s “genuine narrative” also covers attempts of escape stating, “[t]hey run away from their masters at the hazard of their lives” and “a reward is often offered to bring them in dead or alive” (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). 20 Decades prior to Martin Luther King Jr.’s claim for non-violent resistance, Harriet Becher Stowe already preaches peaceful comportment (cf. Stowe 1995: xiv).

10 people towards white ones, combined with deep and humble religious beliefs21. For some black people, the book has constituted a kind of ‘guide’, a life perspective and an idea of the picture white people had in mind (cf. Online “Ex – Colored Man”). In the 20th century, James Baldwin describes what is called the ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’ as a black man’s talent comprising of three components: firstly, the skill “to gauge precisely what reaction the alien person facing him desires” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”); secondly, to produce exactly this reaction (cf. Online “Notes of a Native Son”); thirdly, “to hide his bitterness” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”).

This character trait of seemingly endless patience and forgiveness towards his tormentors is not met with approval by everybody22. In the Collins Dictionary, for instance, this ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’ is classified as “derogatory” and “offensive” (Online “Uncle Tom Attitude”). It is also stated that it expresses disapproval when used by black people (Online “Uncle Tom Attitude”). Calling a black compatriot ‘Uncle Tom’ articulates the opinion that their behaviour is “obsequious and servile,

21 Weldon Johnson calls the ability “to laugh heartily[,] […] the salvation of the American Negro” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). One of the 20-year old main black character’s friends, Gus, is characterised as “good-naturedly” whose way to cope with racial injustice is to “get drunk and sleep it off” (Online “Native Son”). Bigger Thomas explains which rules his mother has taught him, “bend your knees and head and drop your shoulders to appear shorter than you really are and avoid creating the impression of posing a threat and – most importantly – do what the white people tell you to do, no matter if you feel like it or not” (Online “Native Son”). On various occasions, in her book, Rosa Parks: My Story (1992), Rosa Parks (1913–2005), who is called “the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement and the Patron Saint of the Civil Rights Movement”, also addresses the topic of how black people are supposed to behave towards white ones (Parks 1992: 185). The author expresses the assumption that this ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’ might also be the explanation why “white people refused to believe that black people in Montgomery had the courage to stand up for their rights“ (Parks 1992: 59, 135). She continues that some black people “had accepted favors from the white people and didn’t want to offend them” (Parks 1992: 136f). In his book, John Howard Griffin, too, elaborates on the notion of the ‘Uncle Tom Attitude’. He writes,[w]e were Negroes and our concern was the white man and how to get along with him; how to hold our own and raise ourselves in his esteem[,] […][w]e’re old Uncle Toms”, who “think that every Negro should bury his head in the sand and pretend he is not there” (Griffin 1992: 24, 32, 146). Griffin explains that the black man knows by the white man’s look of disapproval that he is “stepping out of line” (Griffin 1992: 42). The author also critically addresses the view of the white man, who displays astonishment realising that a black man could do anything but say, “yes, sir” (Griffin 1992: 89). Ta Nehisi Coates (1985-) describes in his book, Between the World and Me (2015), the behaviour black people are supposed to display as follows: “[o]ne must be without error out here. Walk in single file, Work quietly. Pack an extra number 2 pencil. Make no mistakes” (Coates 2015: 95). 22 In his book, Race Matters (1993), Cornel West (1953-) calls a black man behaving in an ‘Uncle Tom’ way “spineless” (Online “Race Matters”).

11 too respectful or friendly”23 (Online “Uncle Tom Attitude”). In a nutshell, the acquired “identity signals the way a person understands her or his relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (Norton 2014: 60f).

2.2. Race

Race does not only constitute a key factor, when it comes to the development of identity, but also in connection with the concept of racism. Immanuel Kant coins the term ‘race’ in order to categorize human beings according to their skin colour24 (cf. Larrimore 2009: 7f). Ashcroft et al. do not only focus on the skin colour of a person. They take a more general approach by classifying human beings “into physically, biologically and genetically distinct groups” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 180). They also state that race determines “the mental and moral behaviour of human beings, as well as individual personality, ideas and capacities” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 180). Angela Onwuachi-Willig, who calls race a “social construct”, provides even more details by discussing that race is based on

23 This more critical position is assumed by W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963). In his book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903/1994), which “is an outcry against the sadness, the injustice, the waste of potential talent caused by the separation of the races in America”, the author characterises the fictitious character of Uncle Tom as a person displaying “deep religious fatalism” (Du Bois 1994: x). This fatalism is also expressed by the slave Jim, who utters, “’[t]is my fate to be always ground into the mire under the iron heel of oppression[,] […] I am alone in the world – let me suffer; I can bear it” in Mark Twain’s (1835–1910) book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), (Twain 2010: 122). The book presents the problems of the South and tries to provide the reader with a means to overcome “prejudices” (Twain 2010: vi). By creating the white character of Huckleberry Finn, who “develops a close friendship” with Jim, a slave who has run away, the book contains a lesson for white people as well as for black ones (Twain 2010: vi). A white reader is supposed to learn “to discard their prejudices” and the conclusion black people can draw is “that white people can be trusted” (Twain 2010: vi). Thematising this difficult and conflict-laden topic, Mark Twain opts for “a child’s perspective” and, in this way, “gives the prose a quality of naivety, honesty and charm” (Twain 2010: v). Two centuries later, in Playing in the Dark (1992), Toni Morrison (1931–2019) also writes about the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). She states that “the critique of class and race is there, although disguised or enhanced by humor and naiveté” (Morrison 1993: 54). 24 Griffin, too, experiences that people’s behaviour towards him is determined by his “skin color” (Griffin 1992: 115). In his book, Black Like Me (1961/1992), he writes, “the skin pigment, marked them [black people] for inferior status” and continues that his dark skin “was sufficient reason for them [white people] to deny me those rights and freedoms without which life loses its significance and becomes a matter of little more than animal survival” (Griffin 1992: 115).

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“biologically, culturally, materially, phenotypically, and ontologically rooted difference and distinction” (Online “Race – Racial Identity – Social Constructs”). With the rise of colonialism, this classification facilitates “hierarchization” by distinguishing between ‘civilized’ and ‘primitive’ people (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 180f).

One’s skin colour usually also triggers certain images. As these – frequently distorted – images influence human behaviour, they shall now be examined more closely (cf. Shaw/Wright 1990: 221). Firstly, an answer shall be provided to the question, “why the sight of a black person triggers – more or less – the same distorted pictures in people’s minds” (Fanon 2008: 190). Afterwards, the frequently implemented terms ‘stereotypes’ and ‘prejudices’ shall be detailed.

The answer to the question why a black person is associated with more or less the same concepts in the European mind is “the human collective unconscious” (Fanon 2008: 190). Based on direct, as well as indirect experiences with black people, a specific image of the African people has developed in the European conscious (cf. Toudoir-Surlapierre 2018: 183). Reading the accounts created by various explorers of the Black Continent, blackness becomes associated with “savagery” and “heathenism” (Fredrickson 1988: 191). Due to a lack of civilization, the black man is considered an “uncivilized savage”, a “brute”25, respectively an animal-like creature influenced by “lower emotions” and therefore troublesome and rebellious (Fanon 2008: 190f; Finkenstaed 1994: 157f). Besides his “physical dirtiness”, the African is also associated with “moral dirtiness” and “the lowest values” (Fanon 2008: 189). In a nutshell, the black man constitutes “the equivalent of sin” (Fanon 2008: 139).

Fanon wonders about the ‘phenomenon’ that “Europeans were [mostly] welcomed with open arms” and “the European foreigner was never thought of as an enemy” (Fanon 2008: 98). Césaire explains this behaviour by describing Africans as “old

25 “The brute stood for unregenerate, non-Christian, non-European man. He incarnated the wilderness, the libidinous chaos of nature in its rawest and most hideous state” (Finkenstaedt 1994: 157).

13 courtly civilizations” 26 (Fanon 2008: 99). As a consequence, these “non-Europeans” could be characterised as “docile and noble savages27 eager to embrace the Christian empire” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”).

Walter Lippmann is the first to coin the term ‘stereotypes’ and defines them as simplified pictures in our heads (cf. Online “Stereotype”). In the Collins Dictionary, the aspect of “a particular type of person” is also included in the definition (Online “Collins Dictionary – Stereotype”). DeLamater et al. follow this concept and draw the conclusion that all members of the concerned group show the same traits (cf. DeLamater 2015: 221).

Following Stangor’s discussion of the term ‘prejudice’, the difference between the notion of ‘stereotypes’ and that of ‘prejudices’ lies with the negativity, which is inherent in the latter term. Stangor characterises prejudices as negative attitudes that arise without considering facts (cf. Stangor 2000: 22). In other words, a prejudice stems from “an antipathy based upon a faulty and inflexible generalization” (Stangor 2000: 22). This negative image “may be felt or expressed” and may aim at “a group as a whole, or toward an individual because he is a member of that group” (Stangor 2000: 22f). Prejudices – as well stereotypes – “predate colonial contact, although the specific forms and effects […] were transformed by colonial relation” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). To sum up, colour prejudices28 range “from a doubt

26 In his book, with the telling title, Things Fall Apart (1958/1994), the Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe (1930-2013), takes his reader to Igboland, Nigeria, inhabited by peaceful Africans, in the early 1900s. From the perspective of Okonkwo, the leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia, the arrival of the white man is described. The encounter between the white man and the inhabitants of Umuofia is largely peaceful. The stories they hear about white man, who produces “powerful guns and strong drinks”, are dismissed arguing they cannot be true (Achebe 1994: 123). Towards the end of the book, it is stated that “[t]he white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (Achebe 1994: 155). 27 The best-known expression of the idea of the ‘noble savage’ can be found in Rousseau’s A Discourse on Inequality (1755). “The concept arises in the eighteenth century as a European nostalgia for a simple, pure, idyllic state of the natural, posed against rising industrialism and the notion of overcomplications and sophistications of European urban society […] to preserve and maintain the natural innocence, freedom, and equality of man in a ‘natural’ state” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 192). 28 The consequences of colour prejudices are described by Griffin as follows: “I must walk through a land hostile to my color, hostile to my skin[,] […] [t]he silent onrush of hostility frightened me [John Howard Griffin]” (Griffin 1992: 10, 20). The author explains to his reader that the way white people

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[…] to a frenzied hatred” (Du Bois 1994: 130). Nunn states that colour prejudices might also ‘materialise’ in the ‘guise’ of “fear”, which he calls “the chief ingredient in racism” (Nunn 2002: 435).

2.3. Racism

Research into the definitions of racism, provided by The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, the Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam – Webster, the Collins Dictionary, and the anti-hate organization ADL,29 has shown that one feature is included in all definitions, i.e. the notion of superiority respectively inferiority (Online “Oxford – Racism”; online “Cambridge – Racism”; online “Merriam – Racism”; online “Collins – Racism”; online – “ADL”). The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary also explicitly mention “unfair treatment,” which has been triggered by the feeling of superiority (Online “Oxford – Racism”; online “Cambridge – Racism”). The Collins Dictionary takes a more general approach by defining it as “behaviour which is the result of this belief [of superiority]” (Online “Collins – Racism”). Merriam – Webster and ADL discuss an additional aspect, namely that race determines “a person’s traits” (Online “Merriam – Racism”; online “ADL”). In a nutshell, racism can be defined as any unfair treatment that is triggered by the feeling of superiority and skin colour.

Racism can present itself in the form of “overt racism” or “covert racism” (Zack 2015: 72; online “Race”). “[O]vert racism” is called any “unfair or unequal handling of a person or a group on racial grounds”, which is detectable through “conscious and deliberate acts of intolerance and hatred” and expressed in “beliefs, attitudes and practices” (Online “Race”). “[C]overt racism”, which is the “most common form of

look at them is called “the hate stare”, and also describes a black man’s reaction, i.e. [y]ou [as a black man] feel lost, sick at heart before such unmasked hatred” (Griffin 1992: 50f). Some lines down, Griffin portrays a white person seeing the author as follows: “[t]he white man continued to stare, his mouth twisted with loathing as he turned his head to watch me move away” (Griffin 1992: 52). 29 ADL was founded by “Chicago attorney Sigmund Livingston” in 1913. “[H]e envisioned an America where those who seemed different were not targets of discrimination and threats, but were equals, worthy of shared opportunity and a place in the American dream. This vision remains relevant today, its call to action as urgent” (Online “ADL”).

15 racism” in today’s society, takes the form of “indirect behaviour”, and involves “racist ideas, attitudes or beliefs in subtle, hidden or secret forms” (Online “Race”).

Since the Civil Rights Movement, racist behaviour has officially been forbidden30. Whereas, reality proves that ‘covert racism’ is still prevailing, its form has changed. In 1969, the Norwegian sociologist and principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies, Johan Galtung (1930-), has created the term “structural violence” for circumstances that are determined by “unequal power” and “unequal life chances” (Online “Structural Violence – Kent”).

2.4. Structural Violence

In his article "Violence, Peace, and Peace Research" (1969), Johan Galtung defines structural violence as violence, which “is built into the structure and shows up as unequal power and consequently as unequal life chances” (Online “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research”). In other words, “resources are unevenly distributed”, be it education31, accommodation, job opportunities32, medical services or food (Online “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research”). The pitfalls of this type of violence are that it “is often invisible”, “can seem so normal […] within a given society” and has “no clearly identifiable perpetrator” (Online “Structural Violence – Vorobej”). This “social hostility” can, therefore, “easily escapes our [society’s] attention”, but it impacts “the quality of life of certain groups of people” (Online “Structural Violence – Vorobej”; online “Structural Violence – Kent”).

30 For detailed information, please refer to the third chapter of this diploma thesis. 31 “The conditions of black schools were substandard due to over-crowding, lack of supplies, poorly constructed schoolhouses and poorly trained teachers” (Online “Jim Crow – Segregation”). It can be stated that the situation at the end of the 20th century – after the Civil Rights Movements – still resembled the situation black children faced when the Jim Crow Laws were still in force. 32 This involves, for example, lower job prospects, as Cornel West states in his book, “[y]ou are not hired as a professor because you are black” (Online “Race Matters”).

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The ‘War on Gangs’33, the ‘War on Drugs’ as well as a crime prevention and detection method called ‘racial profiling’34 constitute forms of ‘structural violence’. Seemingly meant to decrease the crime rate, these law enforcement techniques enable the disparate treatment of white and black people, allegedly suspicious of a crime. Black people are the victims of “mass incarceration”35 and face “more severe sentences”36 than their white compatriots (Nunn 2002: 391, 397). These law enforcement methods impact the feeling of security, which is defined by Kent as “freedom from fear of violence”, experienced by black people (Online “Structural Violence – Kent”). This sentiment of fear, which is triggered by authorities, poses a “risk to mental health”, and is a form of slow violence (Zack 2015: 59).

33 Between 1990 and 2010, 10,000 young people were killed under the pretext of involvement in gang activities in Los Angeles (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 71). 34 The term ‘racial profiling’ means that, due to their skin, African Americans are more likely to be subject to stop and frisks or considered suspects for a crime (cf. Zack 2015: 47). Even though this tool of law enforcement constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which is supposed to protect American citizens against arbitrary searches and seizures, it is frequently experienced by black people. When a police car stops, young men immediately put their hands on the roofs of their cars and wait in this position to be searched (cf. Alexander 2016: 178). Additionally to the fact that these stop and frisks are in themselves unconstitutional, police officers frequently conduct these means of law enforcement in a very humiliating way by using “rude language, shoving, hitting, knocking [the suspect] to the ground” or ordering them to take their “clothes off in winter weather” (Zack 2015: 60). In numbers: being black means a 30%percent higher likelihood of being arrested and after a stop, a 14%percent increased probability of being sued (cf. Zack 2015: 50). Khan-Cullors sees her brothers and their friends being searched by the police when they are not much older than 14 years old. The author, further, describes the police officers’ degrading behaviour as follows: they pushed the teenagers against a wall, pulled up their shirts, made them empty their pockets and grabbed – even their intimate parts – in a very brutal way (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 26). Author and university professor Cornel West writes that when he “was stopped on fake charges of trafficking cocaine”, the police officer did not believe that the black driver he had stopped “was a professor of religion”. Mentioning his profession, the officer replies, “Yeh, and I’m the Flying Nun. Let’s go, nigger!”. West, too, reports that his son Clifton was also only fifteen years old when he was searched by the police (cf. Online “Race Matters”). 35 “The majority of African American men age thirty-five and under are within the grip of the criminal justice system. Nationally, more African American men go to prison than to college, and African American males are incarcerated at a rate that is almost eight times higher than that for white males” (Nunn 2002: 381f). 36 Research proves that black people are “eleven times more likely to receive a death sentence” (Nunn 2002: 398). After Hurricane Katrina, grocery stores were plundered and these deeds were covered in the following way: if white inhabitants committed these crimes, it was said that they had found bread and beverages. However, when it came to black inhabitants, it was said stores had been plundered (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 161). Disparity when it comes to court sentences was already detectable in the 17th century. In 1640, the negro, John Punch, who was charged for his attempt to escape, was sentenced to lifetime slavery. The two white indentured servants, who escaped with him, received much milder verdicts (Online “Virginia - John Punch”).

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2.5. Slow Violence

Griffin calls racism “the least obvious but most heinous of all race crimes” as it “kills the spirit and the will to live” (Griffin 1992: 114). This extinction of the desire to live can be considered a good example of the consequences of ‘slow violence’. Rob Nixon defines this term as follows: “[v]iolence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space” (Nixon 2011: 2). In other words, no direct correlation to one specific act is detectable (cf. Online “Slow Violence”). Its consequences are located more within the mental field in the form of “depression”, “anxiety”, “feeling of rejection”, “shame”, or “guilt” (Online “Slow Violence”). However, ‘slow violence’ might also realize itself in the form of “anger” or aggression (Online “Slow Violence”). Anger, as a consequence of ‘slow violence’, surfaces when police brutality or “police killings of unarmed young black men”, for instance37 Georg Floyd38, Mike Brown39, Tamir Rice40, or Trayvon Martin41, are not prosecuted at all, or when police officers are “acquitted in criminal trials” (Zack 2015: xi, 18). I will close this chapter with a quote from the black American author, Cornel West, “[t]he major enemy of black survival […] is loss of hope and absence of meaning” (Online “Race Matters”).

3. Historical Overview

In his book, Notes of A Native Son (1963), James Baldwin emphasises the importance of an investigation into historical events: “I don’t think that the Negro problem in America can be even discussed coherently without bearing in mind its context; its

37 The following choice is entirely random and is narrowed down to four examples even though many more have occurred. 38 On 25th May 2020, George Floyd died when being arrested for the alleged use of a counterfeit $ 20 bill to buy cigarettes (cf. Online “George Floyd”). 39 On 9th August 2014, 18-year-old unarmed Mike Brown was shot while kneeling on the ground (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 27f). 40 On 23rd November 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot because he “was playing with a fake (toy) pistol” (Zack 2015: 39). 41 On 26th February 2012, seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was wearing a hoody, was shot because he looked suspicious (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 189f).

18 context being the history, traditions, customs, the moral assumptions, and preoccupations of the country” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). This historical overview shall only focus on events in relation to black people in order not to go beyond the scope of this diploma thesis. Firstly, the time period from the discovery of Africa, as a source of manpower and other raw materials shall be detailed, followed by an analysis of slavery in the New World and its abolition. The period after the Civil War, which was shaped by segregation, shall then be discussed. The emerging Civil Rights Movement and the new legislation after the Civil Rights Movement shall constitute the next period of time to be investigated. Last but not least, the reader shall be provided with information concerning the situation at the turn of the 20th to the 21st century and the ‘birth’ of the ‘#Black Lives Matter Movement’ (short ‘#BLM’).

3.1. The Black Continent – A Source of a Labour Force and Raw Materials

Due to European exploration, they “found a rich and flourishing country”, “Africa quickly became an object of European attention” (Fanon 2008: 131; Owomoyela 1993: ix). The first fort was established by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century, and more of them as well as trading posts followed (cf. Online “European Activity – Africa”). Woodwards states that the “beginning of relations between the races” represents the start of the “exploitation of the Negro by the white man” as well as “the injustices and brutalities that accompany exploitation” (Woodward 2002: 11). Quickly, Africa was regarded “a source of slave labor42 for the new plantations in the

42 The 1517-“trading concession” between Charles V and “a Flemish merchant” arranging “to import 4,000 black slaves per year” constituted the beginning of “European slavery”. “[D]uring 300 years of its operation, over 12 million blacks were forcibly shipped in chains across the infamous Atlantic ‘Middle Passage’ to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 195). “The ‘Middle Passage’ was called [that way] because it formed the central section of the euphemistically termed ‘triangular trade’, whereby goods were bought from Europe to exchange for people at ‘factories’ on the African coast. On arrival in the Americas, slaves were sold and products such as indigo and sugar were transported back to Europe, the ‘hypotenuse’ of this triangle” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 195).

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Americas” as well as the provider of “raw materials43, markets for finished goods, and career opportunities for European civil servants” (Owomoyela 1993: ix).

Owomoyela calls this “abduction of millions of Africans for enslavement in the Americas”, the start of the history of the African American (Owomoyela 1993: 5). Future slaves came from all parts of Africa, even from the interior of the Black Continent, supplied by “black slave traders”44, who established trade relations with the white foreigners (cf. Online “Olaudah Equiano”).

“The continued history of Africans in the United States started” in the colony of Virginia in 1619 (Martins 2020: 12). Since “cotton45 was America’s primary export” and “some sixty thousand pounds” of it were transported back to England every year (Coates 2015: 101). The workforce provided by African people was required by the white settlers and consequently, the number of unfree workers was continuously increasing (cf. Martins 2020: 24f). Even though their workforce was highly required, black people were treated with violence and suppressed through fear, and being lynched46 for various reasons, among them to stop them running away, was common practice (Woodward 2002: 4). Black lives did not matter.

This discriminatory comportment towards black people did not even change after their release. “The so-called free Negro” was still “denied full rights and privileges

43 In this context, Equiano writes in his autobiography, “in all the places where I was, the soil was exceedingly rich, pumpkins, different gums, tobacco, cotton, plenty of red wood” (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). 44 Tracy Chevalier refers to this practise by writing, “there were chiefs of tribes who made deals with the white traders and handed over some of their people in order for the rest of the tribe to be left alone” (Chevalier 2017: 123). The former slave Equiano explains, “when a trader wants slaves, he applies to a chief for them, and tempts him with his wares […] he [a chief] falls on his neighbours” by declaring war or simply by kidnapping children (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). James Baldwin also mentions “chiefs who sold Africans into slavery” in his book (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). Similarly, Coates writes in his book that “for millennia”, black people have practised slavery and have “sold slaves across the Sahara and then across the sea” (Coates 2015: 54). 45 Du Bois states that “cotton is the currency of the Black Belt”, which is made up by “those areas of the South where the plantation system, with its large number of black slaves, predominated before the Civil War” (Du Bois 1994: 114; online “Black Belt”). 46 The reader of Mark Twain’s book is also confronted with this type of punishment. The run-away slave Jim is meant to be lynched for supposedly having killed Huck Finn (cf. Twain 2010: 57, 139).

20 of citizens, deprived of equality in the courts, and restricted in their freedom of assembly and freedom of movement” (Woodward 2002: 13). In other words, the free black man still had more in common with a slave than with his white compatriots (cf. Woodward 2002: 13). For this reason, many freed slaves crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, which separated the slave states from the slave-free states and headed north in the search of a better life (cf. Online “Mason – Dixon Line”). Even “at this early stage […] northern colonies evolved into much more industrialized and urbanized communities” (Martins 2020: 22f). Consequently, their demand for slaves was rather low and “the population of blacks remained relatively low” (Martins 2020: 22f). Black people were treated in a better, more respectful way47 and over the decades, slowly, a population of free black people emerged (Martins 2020: 27).

In the South, despite the Puritan’s advocacy of love between neighbours, plantation owners defended their implementation of slavery as follows: “God almighty in His most holy and wise providence, that so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission” (Online “John Winthrop”). Fanon writes that this segregation continues in the Kingdom of Heaven, because the white people are “’the chosen’ ones” and that due to their “sins”, “the others are black or yellow” (Fanon 2008: 30). These arguments paved the way to legalisation of slavery. Finally, in 1641, Massachusetts was “the first colony in America to legalize” slavery (Martins 2020: 14). Other colonies48 followed its example and “enforced laws that automatically transferred slavery on to the offsprings of slaves” (Martins 2020: 15). In 1655, in the court case Johnson vs. Parker, for the first time in the history of the New World, ownership was granted to the slaveowner (Online “Johnson vs. Parker”). The

47 Not only in the 19th, but also in the 20th century, Northerners behaved in a more humane way towards black people. In their books, Rosa Parks and John Howard Griffin refer to this comportment as follows: “a few times in my life, […] white people” treat Rosa Parks “like a regular person” (Parks 1992: 2). “The whites, especially the tourists, had no reticence before us, […]. We learned to spot these [with no reticence] […], for they were immediately friendly and treated us with the warmth and courtesy of equals” (Griffin 1992: 26). Griffin, further, writes that in the North, “[a] white man can show you courtesies without fearing some neighbor will call him a ‘nigger-lover’ like they do in other places” (Griffin 1992: 32). 48 “1642: Massachusetts becomes the first colony to legalize slavery. 1650: Connecticut legalizes slavery. 1661: Virginia officially recognizes slavery by statute. 1662: A Virginia statute declares that children born would have the same status as their mother. 1663: Maryland legalizes slavery. 1664: Slavery is legalized in New York and New Jersey” (Online “Legalisation of Slavery”).

21 belonging to the black race or the white one was getting increasingly important (cf. Online “Johnson vs. Parker”). “The legal status of black people deteriorated while the rights of white European Americans increased” (Online “Johnson vs. Parker”). The tension between the black and the white race – especially in the South – intensified and finally accumulated in the largest slave uprise, the Stono Rebellion, in South Carolina in September 1739 (cf. Online “Stono Rebellion”). The Negro Act 1740, which was enacted after the Stono Revolution, “made it illegal for slaves to move abroad, assemble in groups, raise food, earn money, and learn to write English[,] […] owners were permitted to kill rebellious slaves if necessary” (Online “Negro Act 1740”).

Around 1775, a racial class system was finally implemented, justifying the inferiority of Africans with their belonging to an uncivilized and therefore lower class (cf. Alexander 2016: 49). Even though Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America (1801-1809), and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, also held “on average, about 200 slaves at any point in time, and slightly over 600 over his lifetime”, he said about slavery, “if there is a just God, we gonna pay for this [institution of slavery]” (Online “Thomas Jefferson”; Online “Thomas Jefferson – Slavery”).

3.1. The Abolishment of Slavery and the Successive Legislation

In the middle of the 19th century, the mindset of President Abraham Lincoln (1809- 1865) and the Abolition Movement (1830-1860) allowed for the assumption that the days of slavery were numbered. In his “House Divided Speech” in 1858, the 16th president of the United States of America stated that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” and continues, “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free” (Online “House Divided Speech”). In other words, “the racial divisions created in the era of slavery seriously weakened American society” (Miller 2016: 18).

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John Brown (1800-1859), an abolitionist, organised the raid on Harpers Ferry49, Virginia, and “sought to abolish slavery” respectively aimed at “the immediate and full emancipation of all slaves” (Online “History of Slavery”). Another member of this movement was Harriet Beecher Stowe50 (1811-1896), who was accused of failing “to understand that blacks were inferior to whites and that the Bible justified and the American Constitution supported slavery” (Stowe 1995: viii). The escaped slave and writer Frederick Douglass51 (1818-1895), who aimed at “assimilation”, Booker T. Washington52 (1856-1915), a “compromiser between the South, the North, and the Negro”, who “came forward with a submissive philosophy for the Negro” as well as W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), who claimed “integration and civil rights”, belonged to the Abolition Movement, just to name a few examples (cf. Online “History of Slavery”, Du Bois 1994: viii, 39; Woodward 2002: 82).

“The Civil War ended with a Union victory over the Confederate states” (Parks 1992: 13). The South was destroyed, and four million slaves suddenly became free, “roamed the highways” and “congested in towns” (cf. Alexander 2016: 52; Woodward 2002: 23). The “disappointment and frustration” caused by the defeat in the Civil War, created “aggression” against the black man and the need for “a scapegoat” (Woodward 2002: 81). As “white [people] feared that black southerners

49 In October 1859, “an armed band of abolitionists led by John Brown” attacked “the federal armoury located at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. It was a main precipitating incident to the American Civil War” (Online “Harpers Ferry Raid”). 50 With her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), she “forced people to think about the evil and immoral nature of slavery” (Online “Harriet Beecher Stowe”). In her book, she denounces slavery and recommends considering “the law of conscience” higher than “the law of the land”, and thereby incited the industrialized North “to interfere in Southern affairs”, a ‘comportment’ “that could only end in civil war” (Stowe 1995: viii). When President Abraham Lincoln was introduced to Stowe in Washington, D.C., in 1862, he said, “[s]o this is the little lady who started this Great War” (Online “Harriet Beecher Stowe”). 51 His autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1882), became “a primary source about slavery from the bondman’s viewpoint” (Online “Frederick Douglas”). 52 Booker T. Washington, who Maya Angelou calls in her book “our great leader”, founded “Tuskegee Institute”, “a school for blacks”, in 1881 (Angelou 1969: 60; Parks 1992: 6). The students of his high school, among them Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., are taught to become “ambitious” people “with dignity and self-respect” who would no longer lower their sights because of their skin colour (Parks 1992: 49; cf. Parson 2015: 2). “Booker T. Washington […] justifies an accommodation with white supremacy that would leave the Negro free to build up the black community by self-help and thereby foster race pride and cultural autonomy” (Woodward 2002: v). According to Du Bois, Washington’s ‘policy’ resulted in “the disfranchisement of the Negro, the legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro and the steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro” (Du Bois 1994: 40).

23 would overpower them and demand resources and rights”, they frequently accused black people of stealing, committing arson or other crimes (Parson 2015: 3f). Consequently, from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century, “jails and prisons began to fill up with black southerners” and “three-quarters of the executed in the South were African Americans” (Parson 2015: 3f). Rumours about riots triggered anxiety within the white population and led to an even more distorted picture of black people (cf. Alexander 2016: 53). In that way, the already deeply rooted image of an aggressive and wild predator was intensified (cf. Alexander 2016: 53).

To keep black people under control, the 17th President, Andrew Johnson (presidency 1865-1869), enacted the notorious Black Codes in 1865 (cf. Alexander 2016: 53; cf. Woodward 2002: 23). Weldon Johnson also stated that the situation of black people changed, but not for the better and wrote, “[w]e hit slavery through a great civil war” and now we experience “hatred between two sections of the country”, “unjust laws”, and “unfair and cruel treatment” (Online “Ex – Colored Man”). After the Civil War, a government agency, The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, or short the Freedmen's Bureau, was established. From 1865 to 1872, the agency aimed at “the social uplifting of four million slaves to an assured and self-sustaining place” (Du Bois 1994: 23). “One of the strongest demands of the Freedmen […] was for civil rights laws that would protect their rights” (Woodward 2002: 27). This silver lining on the horizon faded in 1872. No funds could be raised to continue the work of this government agency (cf. Online “Freedmen’s Bureau”).

The growing tension between the two races called for a “radical solution”, the strict separation of the races53 (Woodward 2002: 96; cf. Alexander 2016: 52). The

53 In his book, Richard Wright explains how segregation was supposed to work with the help of a concrete example. He writes, “[c]rimes such as the Bigger Thomas murders could be lessened by segregating all Negroes[,] […] such measures tend to keep them as much as possible out of direct contact with white women and lessen their attacks against them” (Online “Native Son”). Regarding segregation, Martin Luther King Jr’s autobiography reads as follows: “[s]eparation did something to my sense of dignity and self-respect[,] […] [j]ustice and equality, I saw, would never come while segregation remained, because the basic purpose of segregation was to perpetuate injustice and inequality” (Parson 2015: 12, 70). Rosa Parks recounts her life in the South – shaped by segregation – as follows: ”[p]eople didn’t treat little black children the same way as little white children” (Parks 1992: 4). She continuous, “[b]lack

24 thereupon enacted Jim Crow54 Laws55, which were in force from 1877 to 1954, stipulated the segregation56 of Black Americans from White Americans in all public places and in all areas of the political, social, and economic life (cf. Alexander 2016: 7). These laws constituted the consistent and omnipresent reminder for black Americans of their inferiority. The constitutionality of this social segregation57 was

people couldn’t stay in the downtown hotels or white boarding houses. There were black boarding houses” (Parks 1992: 39). In the context of public water fountains she writes, “[l]ike millions of black children, before me and after me, I wondered if ‘White’ water tasted different from ‘Coloured’ water. I wanted to know if ‘White’ water was white and if ‘Colored’ water came in different colors. I took me a while to understand that there was no difference in the water. It had the same color and taste. The difference was who got to drink it from which public fountain” (Parks 1992: 46). Referring to medical services, the author reports, “most hospitals and doctors were for whites, most black people were cared for in the home by black women” (Parks 1992: 49). Having darkened his skin with the help of medication, Griffin experienced first-hand what segregation meant, namely the ban from concerts, theatres, museums, public lectures and even the library (cf. Griffin 1992: 92). Griffin learns that segregation even intrudes into such private affairs such as using the bathroom. He describes the situation: “[y]ou’ve got to plan ahead now […], […] [y]ou can’t do like you used to when you were a white man. You can’t just walk in any place and […] use the rest room” (Griffin 1992: 25). 54 The origin of the name Jim Crow is a black “minstrel show character. Minstrel shows were popular musical stage shows from the 1830s to the early 1900s. The performers, their faces artificially blackened, played the roles of ignorant, lazy, joyous blacks. The name, Jim Crow, became a kind of shorthand for the laws, customs, and etiquette that segregated and demeaned African Americans primarily from the 1870s to the 1960s” (Online “Jim Crow”). 55 “Jim Crow Laws refer to any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s” (Online “Jim Crow Laws”). 56 ‘Segregation’, as the word is used here, “means physical distance, not social distance – physical separation of people for reasons of race” (Woodward 2002: xi). By 1890, black people were “excluded from saloons, restaurants, parks, public halls, and white cemeteries” (Woodward 2002: 42). 57 This social segregation was experienced differently depending on the person and the state. James Baldwin, for instance, writes: “I knew about jim-crow [sic.] but I had never experienced it” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). Contrary to James Baldwin, Maya Angelou describes in her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), successful segregation: “In Stamps[,] […] a small town in Arkansas, in the United States, in the 1930s[,] […] the segregation was so complete that most black children didn’t really know what whites looked like […] [.] I remember never believing that whites were really real […][,] there was very little contact between the two races. Their houses are in different parts of town and they go to different schools, colleges, stores, and places […][.] [W]e knew only that they were different, to be feared, and in that fear was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the employer, and the poorly dressed against the well-dressed” (Angelou 1969: v; Angelou 1969: 12). “On April 4th 1968, on Maya Angelou’s birthday, Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee. It was because of her grief at his death that Maya wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). The title of the book comes from the poem “Sympathy”, by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1924). He was the son of escaped slaves and wrote about a bird in a cage which has beaten the bars until its wings are bruised. Its song is not a song of joy, but a prayer for freedom” (Angelou 1969: vii). Growing up in the South, Maya Angelou’s story can be called “the story of a black girl and a black woman’s victory over racism” proven by the invitation to read her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s Inauguration Ceremony in 1993 (Angelou 1969: vii).

25 provided through the ruling of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case58 by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 (Online “Plessy vs. Ferguson”).

With the expansion of the Jim Crow system, “Negroes were subjected to ever more humiliation” (Woodward 2002: vii). For white Americans, “the negro race” was considered “a source of cheap labor” (Woodward 2002: 95). Consequently, the call for the return to slavery, as “serfdom” was “the negro’s predestination”, was perceivable (Woodward 2002: 95). Against this backdrop, Booker T. Washington’s so-called “Atlanta Compromise of 1895”59, which can be summarized as “the notion of shared responsibilities”, “seemed more and more hollow and false” (Online “Atlanta Compromise”; Woodward 2002: vii).

In the first decade of the 20th century, “a small group of African Americans and Caucasians60 who believed in democracy” founded “a national organization with headquarters in New York”, called National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or short NAACP61 (Parks 1992: 80). The main focus was the “protest against racial discrimination, lynching, brutality, and unequal education” (Parks 1992: 81). “Passive resistance” was the key element of the NAACP and is described by Griffin in the following way: “[h]e [the black man] will go to jail, suffer any humiliation, but he will not back down. He will take the insults and abuses stoically so that his children will not have to take them in the future” (Griffin 1992: 120).

58 The Supreme Court ruled in its decision that public facilities such as schools, hospitals and public means of transport should be “separate but equal” (Online “Jim Crow”). 59 “In all things that are purely social we [African Americans] can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. In return for African Americans remaining peaceful and socially separate from whites, the white community needed to accept responsibility for improving the social and economic conditions of all Americans, regardless of skin colour” (Online “Atlanta Compromise”). 60 A Caucasian person is a “white person” (Online “Collins Dictionary”). Richard Wright includes the NAACP by letting one of the white characters state, “I [Mary Dalton]’m a supporter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People” (Online “Native Son”). 61 Du Bois “established and edited the NAACP’s monthly magazine, the Crisis,” (Du Bois1994: viii). In the 1940s, Rosa Parks became a member of the NAACP and worked as a secretary (cf. Parks 1992: 80f). She had “to keep a record of cases of discrimination or unfair treatment or acts of violence against black people” (Parks 1992: 84). The NAACP also had white members whose numbers were lower in the South as those followers “would be ostracized by the white community”. As their commitment proved to be “very dangerous”, “more help” was provided “from northern whites” (Parks 1992: 83).

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A decisive victory in the fight against segregation, “the destruction of the Jim Crow system and the regaining of civil rights”, was achieved by two NAACP lawyers in 1954 (Parks 1992: 97). The “U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Brown (in Topeka, Kansas) v. Board of Education decision declaring segregated education unconstitutional” (Parks 1992: 97). Based on this ruling, the segregation in all other areas of life was being questioned. The next far-reaching battle was fought in Montgomery62, the capital of Alabama, which was characterised by the “degradation” of its black citizens (Griffin 1992: 120). The situation, which Rosa Parks experienced in Montgomery in December 1955, is detailed as follows: on Montgomery buses, “[t]he white people were sitting in the white section” and black people in the “colored section” (Parks 1992: 1). When no seats were available in the white section anymore, then “black people were supposed to give up [their] seats63” (Parks 1992: 1). The author further writes, “[i]t was very humiliating having to suffer the indignity of riding segregated buses twice a day, […] to go downtown and work for white people” (Parks 1992: 109). In their books, Rosa Parks and John Howard Griffin, on various occasions, report about vexatious behaviour64 by bus drivers65.

62 Rosa Parks describes the segregated life prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott as follows: “[m]ost blacks were afraid. Those who were in good favor with the white folks didn’t want to lose their privileged position. The rest didn’t think anything could be done. There really wasn’t any activist, public civil-rights movement that masses of people participated in until the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Until then only a few people were activists, and of course they were not on good favor with the whites” (Parks 1992: 72). 63 “There were thirty-six seats on a Montgomery bus. The first ten were reserved for whites, even if there were no white passengers on the bus. […] Blacks were required to sit in the back of the bus, and even if there were empty seats in the front, we couldn’t sit in them. Once the seats in the back were filled, then all the other black passengers had to stand. If whites filled up the front section, some drivers would demand that blacks give up their seats in the back section” (Parks 1992: 77). 64 “Black people had special rules to follow. Some drivers made black passengers step in the front door and pay their fare, and then we had to get off and go around to the back door and get on. Often, before the black passenger got around to the back door, the bus would take off without them” (Parks 1992: 77). Bus drivers “carried guns and had what they called police power” (Parks 1992: 77). Griffin elaborates on his experiences with bus drivers. The bus driver “left it [the door] open until I reached it. I was ready to step off when the door banged shut in my face. […] A woman watched me with sympathetic anger, as though she in no way approved of this kind of treatment. However, she did not speak. At each stop, I sounded the buzzer, but the driver continued through the next two stops. He drove me eight full blocks past my original stop and pulled up then only because some white passengers wanted to get off” (Griffin 1992: 44). 65 In the “garage”, when queuing to get on the bus, “the Negroes” had to get “to the rear”, “the whites to the front” of the line (Griffin 1992: 52). In the same way as white people did not want to sit next to black people, black people refused seats next to their white compatriots. Griffin narrates such a situation in the following way: on a bus, “I [John Howard Griffin] half rose from my seat to give it to her [a middle-aged woman], but Negroes behind me frowned disapproval. I realized I was ‘going against the race’ and the subtle tug-of-war became instant clear. If the white would not sit with us, let them stand” (Griffin 1992: 20). Conduct on segregated buses is also a topic in Martin Luther King,

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Fighting “against disrespectful treatment”, on Thursday, 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks66 refused to give up her bus seat to a white man (Parks 1992: 2, cf. Parks 1992: 113). In her book, she elaborates on her nonviolent resistance as follows: the notion of “nonviolent protest”, ‘preached’ by Martin Luther King, Jr.67, “was something new and very controversial” (Parks 1992: 174f). Some people mistook it “for cowardice”, others “thought it was too risky and would invite more violence. No one had tried it before in the United States”68 (Parks 1992: 175). Her tiredness “of giving in” resulted in Rosa Park’s arrest (Parks 1992: 116; cf. Parson 2015: 50). On the day of her trial69, Monday, 5th December 1955, the bus boycott commenced (Parks 1992: 130f). For the next year, the black citizens of the Montgomery city “stayed off” the buses, and thereby “protested against segregation of the buses” (Parks 1992: 130f). Finally, on 13th November 1956, the United States Supreme Court “ruled […] that segregation on the Montgomery buses was unconstitutional” (Parks 1992: 155). The day, namely 20th December 1956, which followed the ‘arrival’ of “the written order from the U.S. Supreme Court”, the one-year boycott ended and the black people of Montgomery “returned the buses” (Parks 1992: 157). “African Americans in other cities, like Birmingham, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida, started their own

Jr.’s autobiography. A situation is described when an “elderly man” being offered a seat “in the rear” responds by saying, “I would rather die and go to hell than sit behind a nigger” (Parson 2015: 98). Parson portrays another situation: “[a] white woman unknowingly took a seat by a Negro. When she noticed her neighbor, she jumped up and said in a tone of obvious anger: “What are these niggers gonna do next?” (Parson 2015: 98). 66 Rosa Parks was influenced by Referend Martin Luther King, Jr., who, on his part, was influenced by Mohandas Gandhi (cf. Griffin 1992: 120). “Ghandi had said not to fight back, and Dr. King said not to fight back” (Parks 1992: 174). 67 Rosa Parks writes: “Dr. King used to say that black people should receive brutality with love, and I believed that this was a goal to work for” (Parks 1992: 178). The nonviolent attitude of Martin Luther King, Jr, was well observed by his audience at a speech in Birmingham, Alabama. A white man, “a member of the American Nazi Party”, which is “a very racist organisation”, leaped “on the stage and hit Dr. King in the face with his fist”. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s reaction was to order not to “touch him”, but “to pray for him” (Parks 1992: 164f). For Rosa Parks, this incident shows that his belief “in nonviolence […] was even stronger than his instinct to protect himself” (Parks 1992: 165). 68 Johnson’s narrator also states in the context of non-violence: “[i]t is a struggle; for though the black man fights passively, he nevertheless fights; and his passive resistance is more effective at present than active resistance could possibly be” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). 69 To fight segregation on buses, the conviction of an appellate court was required in order to change segregation laws (cf. Parks 1992: 134). For this reason, a plaintiff “found guilty of violating the segregation laws” was required. Rosa Parks, who “had no police record” and “had worked all her life” was chosen (Parks 1992: 125). The reader might wonder about the “criteria” of a plaintiff. Rosa Parks provides the explanation by stating, “the white people couldn’t point to me and say that there was anything I had done to deserve such treatment except to be born black” (Parks 1992: 125).

28 boycotts of the segregated buses. The direct action civil-rights movement had begun” (Parks 1992: 160).

The bus boycott in “Montgomery marked the psychological turning point for the American Negro in his struggle against segregation” (Parson 2015: 98). The Court’s decision ‘caused’ the birth of a “courageous new Negro” (Parson 2015: 99). He was, no longer, willing to assume the role of an ‘Uncle Tom’, but “acquired a new sense of somebodiness and self-respect, […] freedom and human dignity” (Parson 2015: 99). However, similarly to the abolition of slavery, the court decision did not immediately – and in some people, especially in the Southern States, not at all – change their mindsets70. Maya Angelou explains in this context that “laws were passed in Washington, D.C., and had little effect in Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas” (Angelou 1969: vi). The “lack of action” by the government to ensure black people’s civil rights “led to black protests on the streets, which were stopped with great violence by the police” (Angelou 1969: vi). In the course of the following weeks, hundreds of “racial demonstrations” took place (Woodward 2002: 179). “The greatest of all was […] the March on Washington of 28 August” (Woodward 2002: 179). The ‘March of all Races’ ended in front of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C. (cf. Woodward 2002: 179). There, Dr. King “made his most famous speech ‘I Have a Dream’ […] about his dream of racial equality” 71 (Angelou 1969: vi f; Parks 1992: 165f).

3.2. The Era after the Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement resulted in the abolishment of the Black Codes, the implementation of the 13th and 15th Amendment to the Constitution and added new

70 In her book, Rosa Parks describes the situation as follows, “[i]ntegrating the Montgomery buses did not go smoothly. Snipers fired at buses, and the city imposed curfews on the buses, not letting them run after five p.m., which meant that people who worked from nine to five couldn’t ride the buses home. […] The homes and churches of some ministers were bombed” (Parks 1992: 159). 71 “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” (Online “Dr. King Jr.- Speech”).

29 legislation, for example the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting72 Rights Act, and the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (cf. Online “Civil Rights Movement”). Their common ground constituted the prohibition of “discrimination against individuals on the grounds of race, religion, or creed”, “to vote and to use public accommodations, and to provide for the federal government to prosecute those who did not obey the law” (Zack 2015: 42; Parks 1992: 167). These laws claim the United States of America to be “a color blind society with equality under the law” (Zack 2015: 77).

Before the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, overt discrimination in the form of public signs stating, “No Blacks”, “No Colored”, and “White Only” was omnipresent (Zack 2015: 43). The newly enacted laws forbid racism by law. Consequently, “racist forms of discrimination” did not disappear but became “more covert” (Online “Race Matters”). Many Americans did not change their minds and the previously – discussed prejudices and white supremacist thinking still dominated the subconscious of many people73 (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 106f). While African Americans and some white people were celebrating the victories, of the Black Human Rights Movements and Black Power Movement74. The American president and his administrators and other white Americans were seeking ways to put a stop to “interracial interaction” (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 160; Online “Race Matters”). The key appeared to be “the criminal justice system”, which was turned into “an instrument of racist oppression” and has become the “greatest protector” of structural violence (Nunn 2002: 436).

72 Black people had to meet many requirements to be allowed to vote. They had to prove “property or literacy qualifications” (Woodward 2002: 83). Furthermore, they “had to have white people to vouch for them” (Parks 1992: 71). And last but not least, black voters had to ensure that they managed to know and be present at the registration time. This constituted an obstacle, as “it was usually set at a time, when whites […] knew most black working people couldn’t get there” and secondly, there was no “public announcement” regarding the time and not knowing about this time meant ‘missed chance’ (Parks 1992: 73f). 73 “Dr. King used to talk about the fact that if a law was changed, it might not change hearts but it would offer some protection” (Parks 1992: 187). 74 “The Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was a political and social movement whose advocates believed in racial pride, self-sufficiency, and equality for all people of Black and African descent” (Online “Black Power Movement”).

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At the end of the 20th century, in a “cultural climate of race”, the ‘War on Gangs’ was declared, conveying the underlying message to the law enforcement agencies to arrest as many “Niggers” as possible (Online “Race Matters”; cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 67). In 1971, President Richard Nixon (presidency: 1969–1974) proclaimed the ‘War on Drugs’75, which intensified “migrant crises and the mass incarceration of minorities in the US” (Online “Nixon Advisor”). President Nixon’s adviser, John Ehrlichman, stated in this context:

“We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war [Vietnam War (1955-1975)] or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did” (Online “Nixon Adviser”).

However, the 37th President Richard Nixon was not the only president following this policy of “ethnic cleansing” (Khan-Cullors 2013: 149, my translation). During his presidency (1981-1989), Ronald Reagan intensified police force in the cities (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 56). The anti-drug rhetoric of the President skilfully cherished the “deeply held cultural attitudes about people of color and their links to drug use and other illicit behavior” (Nunn: 2002: 390f). Consequently, the number of black people that were incarcerated kept constantly increasing (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 56).

On 9th August 2014, at “around midday”, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot by a police officer (Online “Michael Brown”). The decision of the St. Lois Grand Jury not to indict the officer triggered demonstrations, and placards began appearing with the

75 The ‘War against Drugs’ was started by Ronald Reagan and intensified by Bill Clinton (cf. Khan- Cullors 2013: 20). “In the minds of the criminal justice system's managers, planners and workers, drugs are frequently associated with African American citizens and their communities” (Nunn 2002: 382). This association dates back as early as the 1890s. At that time, cocaine was widely available in the United States of America, particularly in the South, in the form of patent medicines and soft drinks. While cocaine use was then acceptable for whites, it was considered dangerous to allow African Americans access to the drug (cf. Alexander 2016: 78ff). “It was thought Blacks used cocaine to fortify themselves for criminal activities. Whites believed cocaine would make Blacks bolder, more aggressive, and oblivious to pain. Rumors stated that Blacks under the influence of cocaine were more inclined toward crime and harder to catch” (Nunn 2002: 415). Furthermore, from the point of view of white people, drug trade constituted a threat, as “through the drug trade, African Americans and other people of color could earn money and develop channels of wealth and power that were not controlled by whites” (Nunn 2002: 422).

31 wording, ‘Black Lives Matter’ (cf. Zack 2015: 25ff). Patrisse Khan-Cullors reacted to a Facebook post by her friend, Alicia Garza76, with ‘#Black Lives Matter’ (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 196). Together with Alicia und Opal Tometi77, Patrisse Khan- Cullors founded the ‘#Black Lives Matter Movement’ in 2013 (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 267). Martins describes the movement as follows: “[b]’lack lives matter is a protest against the unjust discrimination and unfair treatment of blacks all over the world, most especially the black Americans in the United States” (Martins 2020: 2).

4. The Renaissance Tragedy Othello (1603-04)

At the beginning of the 17th century, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote a masterpiece that – among other topics – deals with racial prejudices and their destructive consequences. With the main protagonist, Othello, the playwright created a character that portrays the features of a nobleman, but deep in him, a ‘murderous black beast’ is lying dormant. This brute is awoken – due to Iago’s influence – by the general’s jealousy and causes monstruous sorrow. In order not to go beyond the scope of the present diploma thesis, apart from Othello’s jealousy, triggered by the ‘Othello complex’, the discussion shall be limited to ‘race’ and ‘otherness’. However, prior to the elaboration of the circumstances and influences that render the control of the ‘uncivilized savage’ impossible, the historical background of the Jacobean78 tragedy shall be examined. This analysis is essential in order to fully comprehend the underlying meaning of Shakespeare’s work, and shall provide a cultural context as well as an insight into the British people’s mindset (cf. Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”).

76 Garza is an avid organiser, who runs the ‘Black Alliance for Just Immigration’ with their headquarters in Brooklyn, New York (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 196). 77 She handles the webpages and accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr aiming at publishing the basic ideas of the ‘#Black Lives Matter Movement’ (cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 197). 78 The reader might wonder why William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (1603-04) is called ‘Jacobean’ tragedy, even though it was written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The reason for this is the fact that the cultural influence of the Jacobean era is dominant in this play.

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4.1. Historical Background and Its Influences on Playwright William Shakespeare

The Renaissance, in general, and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in particular, were shaped by “increased trade and communication” with “countries of the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Middle East” (Cartelli 1999: 130). “Histories of contact”, for instance “travelogues and other writings” as well as the “Renaissance theatre” had already shaped the ideas of Europeans about the inhabitants of the Black Continent (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”; Cartelli 1999: 130). In the eyes of the European travellers, African people displayed features of “constancy”, “guilelessness”, and “nobility” or they were considered uncivilised savage79, a “threat”, “godless, bestial, and hideous” beings that might display “sudden violence”, “vengefulness”, and “unrestrainable rage” (Cartelli 1999: 130f). This contact with other cultures paved the way for the definition of “Englishness” and the concept of “otherness” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). The most prominent feature, a person’s skin colour, became the central ‘measure’ constructing “Englishness” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). This “colour-consciousness” resulted in a concept that connected a black skin “with inferiority” (Brunsma 2004: 78).

Before William Shakespeare began to write Othello (1603-04), the playwright encountered non-Europeans when Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, the ambassador of the King of Barbary, arrived in England in August 1600 (Online “The Moor – Elizabeth I’s Court”). Sojourning in London for half a year, the ambassador and his attendants attracted attention due to their Muslim costumes and strange attitudes (cf. Online “The Moor – Elizabeth I’s Court”). Influenced by their ‘otherness’ and the short story “Un Capitano Moro”80, taken from Hecatommithi (1565) by Giraldi Cinthio, the author created his third black character and named him Othello. To an Elizabethan audience, Moors were thought to come from Mauretania81, which is now

79 For more detailed information please refer to the second chapter of this diploma thesis. 80 The translation of the title reads as follows: “A Moorish Captain”. 81 Iago mentions Mauritania by ‘predicting’ that, “[h]e [Othello] goes into Mauritania, and taketh away with him the fair Desdemona, unless his abode be lingered here by some accident” (Act 4, Scene 2, lines 221-23).

33 known as Morocco and Algeria and to be Muslims (cf. Online “Moors of Europe”). In other words, for this society, the term ‘Moor’ represented exoticism ranging from appearance to religion to customs and triggered fascination, curiosity, and fear in his audience (cf. Online “Elizabethan London”; cf. Online “The Moor – Elisabeth I’s Court”).

Other African characters are the Prince of Morocco, who can be described as a ‘benign, elegant’ character, in The Merchant of Venice (1596-1598), Aaron, the stereotype of an ‘evil’ black man, in Titus Andronicus (1591-92), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1606-1607) and Caliban, who is half human and half monster, in The Tempest (1611). The characterisations of the Prince of Morocco and Aaron, the characters Shakespeare had created prior to Othello. Allow for the conclusion that after presenting either the ‘noble savage’ or the ‘uncivilized savage’. The playwright wanted to equip one ‘dramatis persona’ with both characteristics. With the protagonist, the Jacobean author intended to portray how one or the other quality dominates depending on external influences, for instance society, in general and people, in particular. At the beginning of the tragedy up to the change in Othello’s conduct, which culminates in the monstrous murder of Desdemona, the audience might have been inclined to think that William Shakespeare aimed at the extinction of some “racial stereotypes” (Cartelli 1999: 140). However, from the ‘Temptation Scene’ onwards to “the closing scene”, existing distorted pictures in the audience’s minds are confirmed and intensified (Cartelli 1999: 140). In a nutshell, by including a black character into the ‘dramatis personae’, the playwright provides himself with the opportunity to ‘play’ with existing racial prejudices.

4.2. Selected Themes in William Shakespeare’s Othello (1603-04)

Subtitling his work The Moor of Venice, William Shakespeare alludes to the central topic of the Renaissance tragedy, i.e. race. The five-act tragedy evolves along two

34 discourses. One of them is Othello’s skin colour82 and the notion of ‘otherness’, and the other one, jealousy83 and its destructive consequences, being significantly influenced by the first notion. Racial prejudices, held by the Venetian society as well as Othello himself, determine the behaviour of the characters in this tragedy.

The 17th-century playwright holds up a mirror that does not show the British and European society in a favourable way. The Venetian society are willing to benefit from the black general’s service, which he fulfils with all his “heart” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 279). The image that Iago84, with the help of an explicit figural characterisation, creates about the protagonist, before the latter even sets foot on stage, is the one of a skilful general of the armies of Venice, who has spent much of his life at war (cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 84). Othello is portrayed as physically powerful, respected by the Venetian society around him (cf. Act 2, Scene 3, line 125; 181), and a converted Christian85. However, for Brabantio, Iago, and Desdemona, Othello’s homeland is associated with “the black Other to the white norm, the demonic opposite to the angels of reason and culture” (Ashcroft/ Griffiths/ Tiffin

82 Colonial and postcolonial authors as well as black people themselves attribute “the apparent inferiority of an African […] to his complexion” (Online “Olaudah Equiano”). Baldwin writes that “[b]lackness” triggers “degradation” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). In his book, John Howard Griffin provides the reader with many examples that make a black man’s feeling of inferiority even more understandable: “Negro sections” have “cluttered residences”, hotel rooms are “desolate, windowless cubicles”, lunch is cooked “on the sidewalk” and “catfish heads” are eaten as they are free, and food is retrieved “from the market waste-bins” (Griffin 1992: 7, 14, 19, 27, 29). Malcolm X says about himself, “I had joined the multitude of Negro men and women in America who are brainwashed into believing that the black people are inferior – and white people superior “(Haley 2015: 56f). The extent to which already children indoctrinate the picture of inferiority is expressed by Muhammad Ali talking to his mother. Seeing a picture of white angels, he asks if black people also go to heaven. His mother’s positive answer triggers the question, “well, what happened to all the black angels when they took the picture?”. The young Muhammad answers his question himself by uttering, “the black angels were in the kitchen preparing the milk and honey!” (Online Why is Jesus white?). 83 Harris explains the notion of jealousy as follows: “jealousy is based on envy but involves a relation to at least two people; it is mainly concerned with love that the subject feels is his due and has been taken away from him by his rival. In the everyday conception of jealousy, a man or a woman feels deprived of the loved person by someone else” (Harris 2010: 88). 84 Iago, too, is aware of Othello’s value for the state due to his success on the battlefield and the fact that he will be asked “[t]o lead their business”, i.e. fighting the “Turkish fleet” (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 145; Act 1, Scene 1, line 151; Act 1, Scene 3, line 8). 85 Othello, himself, communicates his faith by replying with “[a]men” (Act 2, Scene 1, line 190), when Desdemona thanks heaven for protecting her husband in the thunderstorm on his way to Cyprus. Prior to her murder, Othello asks Desdemona whether she has prayed as “I would not kill thy unprepared spirit” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 31).

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2002: 157). Whereas this ‘otherness’86 triggers Desdemona’s interest and love87, the other members of the Venetian society react in a derogatory way, considering Othello an outsider and a stranger.

The characters in Othello (1603–04) implement the term ‘Moor’ to express a positive or negative attitude towards the general. When it comes to Iago (for example in Act 1, Scene 1, line 55; or Act 2, Scene 1, line 174), Brabantio88 (for instance in Act 1, Scene 1, line 162, line 165; or Act 1, Scene 3, line 193), and Roderigo (for example in Act 1, Scene 1, line 124; or Act 1, Scene 2, line 56), it is beyond any doubt that their usage of the term ‘Moor’89 is meant in a negative way. The two-faced utterance, “[h]ere comes […] the valiant Moor” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 47), from one of the senators, clearly shows his racist mindset. The general is praised for his service, but his origin is still mentioned. When Desdemona calls her husband, “the Moor” (for instance Act 1, Scene 3, line 189, line 249), she expresses her fascination for his ‘otherness’, but does not consider herself superior. Emilia calls him, “dull Moor” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 232), after learning how her husband, Iago, managed to lead the general astray.

Iago resorts to racial prejudices, for instances, he exclaims, “[t]hieves, thieves, thieves!” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 77) and continues towards Brabantio, “you’re robbed” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 84). With these utterances, he expresses his conviction that people with dark skins are criminals. The transmitted notion of the uncivilised savage

86 This feeling of being the ‘other’ is also described by postcolonial authors, as the following examples will show: Cornel West states that black people are viewed as a “them” (Online “Race Matters”). The main character in Native Son (1940) states, “[w]e live here and they live there. We black and they white (Online “Native Son”). 87 The general explains to the Duke and Senators that Desdemona’s love was triggered by his accounts about his “life” and “the battles, sieges, fortunes” he had encountered (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 129-131). Othello makes it clear that these reports were the only “drugs”, “charms”, “conjurations”, in short “magic”, he had implanted (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 92-93). He reenforces this statement by saying: “[s]he [Desdemona] gave me for my pains a world of kisses” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 159), “[s]he loved me for the dangers I had passed” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 167), and admits his love, “I loved her that she did pity them [dangers]” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 168). He finishes his ‘defence’ by stating: “[t]his only is the witchcraft I have used” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 169). 88 Brabantio’s feeling of superiority is also expressed by his choice of word when he calls Othello “thing” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 70). 89 Regarding the examples of the implementation of the term ‘Moor’, it shall be stated that only two respectively three instances are mentioned in order to provide the reader with an idea of what is meant, and not to go beyond the scope of the present diploma thesis.

36 might ‘push’ Iago to call Othello “devil” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 88). He, further, articulates his opinion that “Moors are changeable in their wills” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 344). The Moor’s gullibility, a character trait that proves beneficial to Iago, is expressed by “[t]he Moor is of a free and open nature, [t]hat thinks men honest” and can easily be “led by the nose” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 393-95).

Racial prejudices also covered miscegenation. The monstrousness of their marriage90 is explicitly expressed by Brabantio, who calls the union a “treason of the blood” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 166). The father is convinced that his “unhappy girl” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 161) has been forced into this relationship. The only way he manages to explain his daughter’s decision is by Othello’s supernatural power (cf. Act 1, Scene 2, line 63; cf. Harris 2010: 132). In the desperate father’s opinion, Desdemona is a victim of “charms” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 169), as this relationship is against “all rules of nature (Act 1, Scene 3, line 101). He regards the Moor a “practicier of arts inhibited and out of warrant” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 78), who must have “corrupted” his daughter “by spells”, “thou hast enchanted her” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 62), and continues, “[t]hou hast practiced on her with foul charms” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 72). The desperate father explains Desdemona’s lack of resistance by the use of “drugs or minerals” (Act 1, Scene 2, line 73). In front of the Duke of Venice and the Senators, Brabantio summarises the Moor’s ‘crimes’ as follows: “[s]he is abused, stol’n from me, and corrupted [b]y spells and medicines bought of mountebanks. For nature so preposterously to err, [b]eing not deficient, blind, or lame of sense, [s]ans witchcraft could not” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 60-65).

90 Onwuachi-Willig writes in her book, According to Our Hearts: Rhinelander V. Rhinelander and the Law of the Multiracial Family (2013), that “[b]lack-white marriages” still constitute “the ultimate taboo in American society” and “people in interracial marriages are punished in our society” (Onwuachi-Willig 2013: 20f). Until the “US Supreme Court’s 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia, which held that anti-miscegenation statutes violate citizens’ rights”, interracial marriages were punished by law (Onwuachi-Willig 2013: 7). Black men were frequently “penalized with death through lynching or lengthy and harsh prison sentences” and women were punished “through ostracism and imprisonment” (Onwuachi-Willig 2013: 138f). The argument was to “protect white women from ‘bestial’ black men” (Onwuachi-Willig 2013: 140). Richard Wright also includes this racial prejudice in his book, Native Son (1940). The main character, Bigger Thomas, is aware of the racial stereotype that a black man might be considered a “mad and mean predatory craver of white women” (Online “Native Son”). During his experiment, Griffin is told by a white man, “[y]ou [the black man] don’t want to even look at a white woman[,] […] you look down at the ground or the other way” (Griffin 1992: 59).

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Othello, shaped by his “commitment to absolute determinations of right and wrong, guilt and innocence” seems to be a black man, who does not suffer from the inferiority complex that is described in the theoretical part of this paper, even though he is aware of his ‘otherness’, which alienates him from the Venetian society (Cartelli 1999: 132; cf. Act 1, Scene 2, lines 18-25; online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). In other words, the general has successfully developed his “identity within the self- Other division91 imposed by imperialism” and – falsely – considers himself an accepted member of the Venetian society (Ashcroft/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2002: 158). The Moor is convinced that his service outweighs his skin colour, even when being ‘attacked’ by Desdemona’s desperate father (cf. Act 1, Scene 2, lines 13-18, line 54). In short, the general is self-confident and not afraid of anyone or anything (cf. Act 1, Scene 2, lines 29-31).

Whereas, at the beginning of the tragedy, Othello is only “the slave” of the Venetian society, he becomes more and more “the slave” of “his own appearance” and adopts the idea of being inferior (Fanon 2008: 116). The reason for this tragic development is Othello’s “insecurities as stranger, proselyte and racial Other” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). His inferiority complex prevents him from thinking critically. The more he feels alienated from the Venetian society and his “self-doubt” is increasing, the more his suspicion towards his wife is growing (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”). Due to Iago’s influence, Othello’s suppressed “savagery” slowly ‘starts its way to the surface’ (Vaughan 1999: 142). This is perceivable in the crumbling nobility of the Moor and his loss of Christian values. At the end of the tragedy, the “dull Moor” / “murd’rous coxcomb” / “fool” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 224-32), as Emilia calls him, labels himself a “cursèd slave” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 275). Othello attempts to justify his deed, “[f]or naught did I in hate, but all in honor” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 294). He finally commits suicide (cf. Act 5, Scene 2, line 187). Iago’s jealousy has ‘created’ a “tragic loading” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 362), the couple, Othello and Desdemona, lying dead on the bed.

91 Othello is living in a world of “binary oppositions”, for instance, “centre/margin”, “colonizer/colonized” or “civilized/primitive” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 19). The “binary oppositions are structurally related to one another”, for example, “colonizer : colonized”, “white : black”, “civilized : primitive”, “advanced : retarded”, “good : evil” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 19).

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5. Postcolonial Repositioning of the Shakespearean Tragedy: Intertextual Interconnectivity and Semantic Surplus against the Backdrop of Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy (2017)

It was at the Berlin Conference on Africa (1884-85) that “the capitalist powers of Europe” divided the Black Continent with its “multiplicity of peoples, cultures, and languages into different colonies” (Ngugi 1981: 4). What followed was “cultural imposition”. In other words, the colonizers “imposed their values and patterns of behaviour” onto the colonized (Fanon 2008: 194). One major ‘carrier’ of British culture were Shakespeare’s plays. The 17th century playwright “became […] the quintessence of Englishness” and was considered “a prime signifier of imperial cultural authority” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”; Löschnigg 2013: 17). One might wonder why this part of European history is relevant. The answer is called “postcolonial discourse” (Ashcroft/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2002: 196). Starting in the late 1870s, the term ‘postcolonialism’ “has been used by literary critics to discuss the various cultural effects of colonization”, covering “literatures that emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 168; Döring 2008: 17).

This chapter – which also constitutes the main part of this diploma thesis – shall first elaborate on how Tracy Chevalier appropriates the Renaissance tragedy Othello (1603-04). This discussion shall be followed by a detailed analysis of the interconnectivity between William Shakespeare’s tragedy and New Boy (2017), which is set in the 1970s Washington D.C., but published in 2017. Last but not least, the focus shall be laid on the young-adult novel investigating its semantic surplus against the backdrop of the late 16th and early 17th century tragedy.

5.1. Repositioning

Now and then, writers have included the topic of race into their works, which proves that “[r]ace continues to be relevant” (Ashcroft/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2002: 207). Colonial

39 writers, such as William Shakespeare, frequently displayed “non-European characters […] in stereotypical and degrading ways”, which has induced “post- colonial writers”, among them Tracy Chevalier, ”to respond to fictions of this sort” by choosing “an identifiable previous text” and reiterating “some aspects” (Döring 2008: 81). Their reactions have emerged in various shapes for instance adaptation, appropriation or transformation.

Tracy Chevalier “grew up in an integrated neighborhood in 1960s and 1970s Washington DC and went to a school where the majority of the students were black” (Online “Tracy Chevalier”). Consequently, she was familiar with the sentiment of being among children, whose skin colour was different from hers and the tension this could cause (cf. Online “Tracy Chevalier”). Her experiences and daily news reports about violence between the white and the black race have convinced the American author that ”no significant change in attitude towards black people” is perceivable, even two centuries after Othello (1603-04) (Cartelli 1999: 123). Nowadays like in Shakespearean times, race, racial prejudices, and miscegenation are still omnipresent and might cause tragedies.

With the underlying literary device of intertextuality, the American author aims at destabilizing the still prevailing racism after the end of the Jim Crow era. In order to achieve this objective, Chevalier chooses various aspects, for instance the ‘Othello complex’, or “a horizon of expectation whites maintain about blacks” and equips her characters with them (Cartelli 1999: 3, 123). The author transfers the Jacobean tragedy to the United States of America, or to be precise into a 1970s-Washington DC neighbourhood. This setting allows for more accessibility and authenticity. The reader can identify more easily with the Westernised World than with the Venetian society. Furthermore, a school playground meets all requirements in order to correspond with the tight timeframe of the tragedy. The fact is well-known that first love, bullying, jealousy, and violence might happen on a playground. Another factor that plays into Trace Chevalier’s hands is the fact that everything happens very quickly on a recreation ground, “a field of tempestuous emotions and lightning romances” (Online “Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy”).

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Implementing multi-focalization, the story is ‘narrated’ by the four main characters, Osei, Dee, Ian, and Mimi, who are 11 respectively 12 year olds. Three of those four characters are white. The choice of children as characters constitutes a brilliant decision, especially with regards to the fact that they have been created to express criticism. Mark Twain (1835-1910) also opted for this ‘disarming effect’. Comparably to the readership of Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), a white reader as well as a black reader can draw a lesson from New Boy (2017), namely that keeping one’s temper and sorting “out a problem with measured words and deeds” is by far more challenging than getting angry92 and aggressive (Chevalier 2017: 143)93.

As mentioned above, many postcolonial writers have decided to use the Renaissance tragedy to highlight the still prevailing race problems or other issues. In order not to go beyond the scope of this diploma thesis, only five dramatic Othello-Rewritings shall be mentioned. “Mostly concerned with the issue of race” are the plays, Desdemona (2012) “by Toni Morrison (in collaboration with Rokia Traoré), Harlem Duet (1997), a prequel to Shakespeare’s Othello by Caribbean-Canadian author Djanet Sears, and Not Now, Sweet Desdemona (1969) by African playwright Murray Carlin” (Löschnigg 2013: 21). Paula Vogel’s Desdemona: a Play about a Handkerchief (1987) and Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (1990), however, “are mostly feminist rewritings which reposition Desdemona’s role while leaving out the issue of race altogether” (Löschnigg 2013: 21).

92 “O was surprised with himself when the anger began to well up in him like water rising steadily in a river […] it had begun with Dee feeding Casper strawberries, had risen as she defended Casper to him. But the tipping point, when the water suddenly broke the banks and overflowed, was seeing the strawberry pencil case in Blanca’s hands” (Chevalier 2017: 143f). 93 For further information regarding the narrative effects of multi-focalization, please refer to sub- chapter 5.2.1..

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5.2. Interconnectivity

This chapter shall provide the readership, firstly, with general information about the similarities regarding the structures of the two pieces of writing. Secondly, this part shall elaborate on the common features of the characters and the ‘ocular proof’ in Othello (1603-04) and New Boy (2017). For the reader who might wonder about the plot of Chevalier’s novel, it can be summarized as follows: the main character, Osei, an eleven-year old Ghanaian is attracted to Dee, a white Italian girl. Their fondness for each other leads to destructive jealousy and violence. Anybody that is acquainted with the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello (1603-04), will immediately perceive similarities. Common features constitute the choice of names94 respectively the characters themselves, the timeframe, and the themes. Before plunging into the analysis, for the sake of correctness the following shall be stated regarding literary terms: due to the close structure of the novel, which reminds the reader of the Jacobean tragedy, the terminology to analyse plays shall also be applied to this narrative text.

The Jacobean tragedy is very ‘blinkered’, with a rather forward action and no real side-plots. The tragedy ends – like it starts – during the night. In the first act, Othello and Desdemona leave for Cyprus. How much time between the departures from Venice and the arrival in Cyprus passes, is not indicated, neither in the primary nor in the secondary text. In the course of the tragedy, the reader might gain the impression that the events follow each other even more quickly, the further the play evolves. A similar ‘dynamic’ is detectable in the novel. The narrative is divided into five parts, alluding to the five acts of the Shakespearean work, covering one school day, from “Before School” (Chevalier 2017: 1), over “Morning Recess” (Chevalier 2017: 41), to “Lunch Break” (Chevalier 2017: 83), followed by “Afternoon Recess” (Chevalier 2017: 127), to the tragic events “After School” (Chevalier 2017: 157). One inconsistency catches the attentive reader’s eye, namely when Tracy Chevalier writes that “Mimi and Ian had only been going together for three days” against the

94 Osei represents Othello, Dee Desdemona, Ian the Shakespearean villain Iago, Mimi Iago’s wife Emilia and their fellow student Casper Cassio. The two teachers, Mr. Brabant and Miss Lode, clearly stand for Desdemona’s father Brabantio and Lodovico, who is related to Brabantio.

42 backdrop that the narrative is supposed to cover only the period of one day (Chevalier 2017: 48).

When it comes to the setting of the tragedy, two locations are to be mentioned, namely Venice and Cyprus. More generally speaking, it could be said that the ‘place of action’ is the Venetian society in Cyprus. In the novel, the ‘places of action’ are not geographically divided like the ones in Othello (1603-04). Tracy Chevalier takes her reader onto the playground of a suburban elementary school respectively into the school building but not any farther away. For both characters, Othello as well as Osei, the places constitute a challenge and will impact their way of thinking and behaviour, as they are both confronted with the same issues, namely racial prejudices.

The racist mindset of the Venetian society is represented by Iago and the wealthy Brabantio (cf. Art 1, Scene 1, line 68). Whereas Brabantio displays open racism, Iago conceals his true mindset from Othello and only reveals it towards the audience. From the general’s perspective, Iago is allegedly an adjuvant adviser, since he knows the Venetian society well. This familiarity not only turns Iago into a ‘valuable friend’, but also enables the villain to “locate and activate his community’s fears” (Online “Postcolonial Shakespeares”; cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 8; Act 3; Scene 3, line 203). Even though Tracy Chevalier sets her novel into “Chocolate City”95, racism is omnipresent and affects teachers and students alike (Coates 2015: 40). Mr. Brabant shows ‘overt racism’, whereas Ian hides his true feelings. “Keep your friends close, your enemies closer” is the name of his game (Chevalier 2017: 24). Following this motto, he is attempting to befriend Osei.

Othello’s and Osei’s status as outsiders is only ‘suspended’, when they are ‘of benefit’ to their compatriots. Iago considers the Moor “good as a hired 'mercenary' to ward off their enemies”, but not worth to be a Venetian upper-class husband. Osei becomes the “shiny new hero on the playground” when his team wins due to his skills

95 “The District of Columbia became the first majority Black major city in the United States in 1957. Over time, as the Black population grew, it subsequently became known as the nation’s ‘Chocolate City,’ a name conferred by a popular funk song shortly after the passage of the District of Columbia’s Home Rule Act in 1973 and proudly embraced by Washingtonians” (Online “Chocolate City”).

43 in kickball (cf. Chevalier 2017: 59ff). After being celebrated for his good performance and during lunch, the black boy perceives a change, when the team captain, Casper, leaves the table. The other team members immediately move away from Osei as if they feel scared and watch him warily (cf. Chevalier 2017: 103). In short, the black characters are ‘allowed’ to experience acceptance, as long as they are of advantage for their peers, other than that they are considered outsiders.

A significant difference exists between the two main characters of the Jacobean tragedy. Right from the beginning, Iago addresses the audience, and thereby establishes a relationship, which is intensifying in the course of the play. The impression gained is that the antagonist considers them “co-conspirators”96 (Online “Shakespeare – Misogyny”). Othello, on the contrary, “is set at an affective and epistemological distance from his audience” (Cartelli 1999: 126). The distance between Othello and the audience is increasing the more he is turning into “the savage or uncivil or African Other” (Cartelli 1999: 126). Implementing multi- focalization, Tracy Chevalier kills two birds with one blow. Firstly, the reader is provided with an insight into not only the attitudes, thoughts, and feelings of one character but of various ones. The decision-making process and reactions are more comprehensible, as background information that might influence the decisions and the reactions are presented. Secondly, it supports the didactic purpose, as the events, which trigger different emotions and reactions in the students, are narrated from various perspectives. The reader learns about the characters, with one exception, that of Osei’s sister, Sisi. Her character is only portrayed by her brother. This authorial decision could be explained with the focus the American author wants to implement. The reader can draw more ‘didactic benefit’ from Osei’s teachers, peers as well as Osei himself, than from his sister. The second black character might have been created by the author in order to appeal more to a black reader, especially female ones. The creation of Sisi’s character enables the author to show a different facet of a black mindset, respectively a different stage in the development of racial identity. Hence, a more complete picture of the challenges of developing one’s identity is

96 Iago takes the audience “into his confidence, assuming that they share his views, understand his reasoning and admire his ingenuity. He […] implicates them in his hatred and entrapment of Othello, whether they like it or not” (Online “Shakespeare – Misogyny”).

44 provided. Osei’s observation proves sufficient to achieve this objective. In a nutshell, the effect that William Shakespeare achieves by implementing soliloquies, Tracy Chevalier manages by using various focalizers.

The first act, which has a depositary function, is dominated by racism, be it in ‘overt’ as well as ‘covert’ form. Danger is already lingering in the dark and the premonition might emerge that “Othello is always fated to fail” (Cartelli 1999: 124). The fact that the general has favoured Cassio (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 37) constitutes the beginning of the complication. Iago is convinced97 that he deserves this position (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 8), not Michael Cassio, the Florentine, who he considers “[m]ere prattle, without practice” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 24). His anger, is further, intensified by the fact that he, as a white man, has to take orders from a Moor, who he regards inferior, expressed by the term ‘his Moorship’ (Act 1, Scene 1, line 51). It also conveys the opinion that Othello’s status is inappropriate to his ethnicity98.The Moor’s marriage to the white Venetian Desdemona fuels Iago’s jealousy and anger. He calls their relationship “a gross revolt” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 132), which makes Desdemona “a sexual pervert” in the eyes of the Venetian society (Harris 2010: 132). Iago is convinced that as soon as Othello’s ‘otherness’ loses its spell, Desdemona will leave him: “[i]t cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor […] nor he his to her” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 340-42). He continues, “[s]he must change for youth” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 347). He adds, “[w]hen she is sated with his body, she will find the error of her choice. She must have change, she must” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 348-49). In the second act, Iago wonders, “[w]hat delight shall she have to look on the devil?” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 219-20). He repeats himself, by stating, “[w]hen the blood is made dull with the act of sport” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 220-21), Desdemona will change her mind and leave the Moor, as – among other things – her husband “is defective” in “manners and beauty” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 222-24) and “her delicate tenderness will find itself abused” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 225-27).

97 “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 10). 98 “Ethnicity is a term that has been used increasingly since the 1960s to account for human variation in terms of culture, tradition, language, social patterns and ancestry” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 75).

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As he hates Othello (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 152; cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 362; cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 379), Iago concocts a plan to take revenge (cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 40; Act 1, Scene 2, line 364). However, in order to achieve his goals, the Venetian ‘nobleman’ is aware of the fact that he has to pretend to be an honest and loyal ‘subordinate’99. He knows, the more the general trusts him, the easier it will be to ‘bring him down’100. The villain intends “to abuse Othello’s ear” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 389), without getting into the centre of attention101.

In the expository part of the young-adult novel, the events are first described by Dee, as the focalizer. The Italian girl introduces the reader to life at her elementary school and provides them with an overview of the characters. It is also from her perspective that the reader learns about the racist attitude of her teachers and her friends. Focalization then switches to Ian102. From the beginning, the playground bully, who harasses and blackmails the younger students, considers the black boy a threat (cf. Chevalier 2017: 16; cf. Chevalier 2017: 22). His jealousy and anger are triggered by the attention Osei receives, especially from Dee (cf. Chevalier 2017: 25). When Osei acts as a focalizer, the reader learns a lot about the African boy’s life, what it is like to be the new black boy, and his attraction to Dee.

Analysing the character of Othello, it becomes obvious that his hamartia is his race. Othello’s ‘otherness’ nurtures his inferiority complex, which constitutes the Moor’s tragic flaw. Iago uses the Moor’s “unstable” personality for his benefit (Harris 2010:

99 Cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 50; cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 58; cf. Act 1, Scene 1, line 65; cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 295; cf. Act 2, Scene 1, line 202, cf. Act 2, Scene 3, line 152; cf. Act 2, Scene 3, line 7; cf. Act 2, Scene 3, line 231; cf. Act 2, Scene 3, line 239; cf. Act 3, Scene 3, line 119-21; cf. Act 3, Scene 3 line 243; cf. Act 3, Scene 3 line 258; cf. Act 5, Scene 1, line 31. 100 “He holds me well, [t]he better shall my purpose work on him” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 383-84). 101 Since he wants to pull the strings from the margin, he utters, “[i]t seems not meet, nor wholesome to my place to be produced, as if I stay I shall, against the Moor” (Act 1, Scene 1, lines 144-45). 102 He ensures that he always knows what is going on “the angle that would benefit him” (Chevalier 2017: 17). Ian is characterised as jealous “She’s done this before […] a thought he did not like much” (Chevalier 2017: 20). In italics, Ian thoughts are expressed underlining the reader’s assumption that Ian is very egocentric and does not want to share. Ian is always trying to gain privileges (Chevalier 2017: 22). He blackmails other students (cf. Chevalier 2017: 22). Everybody is afraid of Ian, “relieved not too be the focus of Ian’s attention” (Chevalier 2017: 23). Ian can easily made angry respectively furious (cf. Chevalier 2017: 24). Ian approaches Osei, “he was very black […] keep your friends close, your enemies closer” (Chevalier 2017: 24). “He would have to do something about it” (Chevalier 2017: 25).

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90). The general falls prey to “Iago’s deceptive exterior” (Harris 2010: 91). The latter feigns loyalty and states, “I am not what I am” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 63). Due to his black skin colour, Osei lives in two worlds and displays what Du Bois calls a ‘double consciousness’. Consequently, he is “already on guard” (Fanon 2008: 76, 145). Even though, the Ghanaian boy tries to be vigilant, he does not perceive the threat, which Ian poses.

In the second act, Iago’s starts to implement his ‘devilish’ plan. He tells Roderigo to “[p]rovoke” Cassio (Act 2, Scene 1, line 263), so that the Florentine is replaced (cf. Act 2, Scene 1, line 266). Iago, for his part, focuses on ‘igniting’ the fire of “jealousy so strong [t]hat judgement cannot cure” in Othello (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 289-91). Desdemona is also ‘planned’ to be a part of the fuel to light this fire. Cassio is advised to ask the general’s wife to be his ‘spokeswoman’103 (cf. Act 2, Scene 3, lines 294- 98). By fulfilling this task, Othello is supposed to become distrustful, influenced by Iago’s ‘poison’. His ‘overall’ objective Iago describes as follows: “[m]ake the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me [f]or making him egregiously an ass” and to drive him “to madness” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 297-300). At this point of the tragedy, the conclusion may already be drawn that Iago can be characterised as the type of villain, who is ‘just bad’ or to be precise ‘malign’104. He does not display any trace of sympathy, but is fully immersed in his jealousy and rage.

As the school day evolves, the reader learns more about Dee’s friends, Blanca, Mimi, and Casper, Osei’s pride towards his homeland and school routine, always from different perspectives (Chevalier 2017: 43ff). Mimi and Ian share some feelings of jealousy towards Dee and Osei. Her envy and being Ian’s girlfriend induce the girl to support Ian with his plan. The boy aims at turning “him [Osei] against her [Dee]” and “break[ing] them up” (Chevalier 2017: 77). Due to Casper’s and Dee’s attention

103 Cassio “[p]lies Desdemona to repair his fortune, [a]nd she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear [t]hat she repeals him for her body’s lust, [a]nd by how much she strives to do him good, [s]he shall undo her credit with the Moor” (Act 2, Scene 3, lines 330-37). 104 “The famous phrase, ‘The motive-hunting of motiveless Malignity,’ occurs in a note Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in his copy of Shakespeare, as he was preparing a series of lectures delivered in the winter of 1818-1819. The note concerns the end of Act 1, Scene 3 of Othello in which Iago takes leave of Roderigo” (Online “Motiveless Malignity”).

47 towards Osei, he feels everything is destabilizing (cf. Chevalier 2017: 79). Osei has Casper’s respect and the most popular girl of the school as his girlfriend (cf. Chevalier 2017: 79). When it comes to himself, Ian is neither “popular” nor “respected”, but “feared” (Chevalier 2017: 79). Even Miss Lode is afraid of Ian (cf. Chevalier 2017: 80).

In the Jacobean tragedy’s case, the climax is the ‘Temptation Scene’, which is in the third scene. It constitutes the turning point in the tragedy and the beginning of Othello’s downfall. Iago, himself, is convinced that all Venetian women cheat on their husbands. In his opinion, Desdemona does not constitute an exception. He considers Desdemona’s deception of her father, a proof of her disposition. Therefore, throughout this act, Iago, “the agent” and “the medium of transaction”, is convincingly nurturing Othello’s doubt, by continuously alluding to something, but not saying anything explicitly (Cartelli 1999: 124f; cf. Act 3, Scene 3, lines 95-44). His words are open to interpretation and call on Othello to image what he is seemingly unwilling to say. By echoing Othello’s utterances, Iago creates the impression of unwillingness to share his suspicion, respectively the secret he knows105. He also recounts what Cassio has allegedly said while sleeping (cf. Act 3, Scene 3, lines 415-21). Othello’s mistrust and anger are unwittingly ‘nourished’ by Desdemona’s recurrently speaking for Cassio (cf. Act 3, Scene 3, lines 1-2, lines 21- 28, lines 53-85; Act 4 Scene 1, line 223).

Towards the end of the third act, Iago’s efforts bear fruit, expressed by Othello’s question, “[w]hy did I marry?” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 243). Othello, who is ‘attacking’ Iago, demands an “ocular proof” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 360). The ‘unstable’ husband claims evidence of his wife’s infidelity two more times (cf. Act 3, Scene 3 line 386; cf. Act 3, Scene 3, line 409). Seemingly concerned, Iago speaks about his own flaws, namely “[t]o spy into abuses” and “jealousy” (Act 3, Scene 3, lines 147-48). He warns the Moor, “[o], beware, my lord, of jealousy, […] the green-eyed monster” (Act 3, Scene 3, lines 166-67). However, the seed of suspicion, Brabantio ‘planted’

105 “Alas, thou echo’st me, [a]s if there were some monster in thy thought [t]oo hideous to be shown” (Act 3, Scene 3, lines 107-09).

48 into Othello’s mind at the beginning of the tragedy (cf. Act 1, Scene 3, line 294) cannot be stopped from flourishing anymore. Even Desdemona’s plead to heaven, “Heaven keep that monster from Othello’s mind!” (Act 3, Scene 4, line 161) fails in its affect.

Questioning his marriage, in general, and Desdemona’s fidelity, in particular, Othello attempts to retrieve positive feelings from his heritage, “[h]haply, for I am black” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 263). However, his striving for happiness is ‘undermined’ by the continuously intensifying longing for revenge. Othello’s vow, “[a]rise, black vengeance, from thy hollow hell!” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 447), symbolizes a rejection of Christianity and the colour black an association with evil. The Moor’s deep and sincere love has turned into hatred. He curses their marriage and his wife (cf. Act 3, Scene 3, lines 267-68, line 396, line 445; cf. Act 3, Scene 3, line 475), longs to “tear her all to pieces” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 431) and even calls Desdemona “fair devil” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 478).

Ian’s jealousy106 forces him to concoct a devilish plan. His ‘psychological warfare’107 concerns Casper, who is the most popular boy at school, and is also friends with Dee, and her new friend Osei (cf. Chevalier 2017: 8). The villain wants “to take them all down – not just the black boy, but the golden boy and golden girl of the school too” (Chevalier 2017: 114). To put his ideas into operation, he requires Mimi and Rod’s assistance. Mimi needs to get something108 that Casper has given to Dee (cf.

106 “Ian considered O and Dee, holding hands under the tress as she fed him another strawberry; and Casper, watching Blanca with a proprietary air as she jumped double dutch” (Chevalier 2017: 114). 107 Ian’s plan is based on creating allusions that are open to interpretation, which the bully knows how to influence in his ‘desired’ way, for instance, “[h]uh, […] [d]on’t like that […] [n]othing, [...][w]ell – I don’t know. No, it’s nothing […] I thought I saw something, that’s all. But I may be wrong” (Chevalier 2017: 107). Later he continues, “I don’t want to say anything, since it’s none of my business” (Chevalier 2017: 109). Feeling he has ‘accomplished his mission’, “Ian made as if to back off” by uttering, “[f]orget I said anything”. However, Ian cannot resist ‘pouring more poison’ into O’s ear and adds, “it is strange, though, that she didn’t come straight to you when she got back to school.” He finally brings it to a pressure point by asking, “are you sure you’re going together?“ (Chevalier 2017: 111). The high pitch in Osei’s voice reveals to Ian that he has been successful and adds his final remark, “[s]ure he acts nice, but that does not mean he is nice.” (Chevalier 2017: 112). 108 Hurrying home for lunch, Dee loses the pencil case (cf. Chevalier 2017: 89). Mimi walks over to pick it up and later hands it over to Ian (cf. Chevalier 2017: 129). This coincidence happens for Mimi in support of Ian’s plan.

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Chevalier 2017: 87). Rod’s ‘mission’ is to goad Casper109. Osei is the weakest link of the chain. Ian applies his full attention to the African boy. The playground bully knows that Dee is “too smart” to be deceived (Chevalier 2017: 77). Ian instigates a possible relationship between Dee and Casper. She disapproves of Osei’s ‘friendship’ with Ian, which makes her feel “uneasy” (Chevalier 2017: 121). Consequently, the girl keeps talking about Casper with Osei, which instils the idea in Osei that “Dee is two-timing him with Casper” (Chevalier 2017: 115; cf. Chevalier 2017: 121ff).

The African boy is entirely aware of his ‘otherness’. This difference in appearance is reinforced by the fact that Casper, his alleged competitor when it comes to Dee’s affection, represents Englishness by having “blond hair and sky-blue eyes” (Chevalier 2017: 47). In other words, the boy constitutes the entire opposite to Osei, who has black hair and brown eyes. Contrary to Othello, who shows streaks of jealousy in the third act for the first time, first signs of jealousy with Osei are already displayed during the kickball game (cf. Chevalier 2017: 63). The climax of Osei’s and Dee’s relationship, their first real closeness110, coincides with the first act of violence (cf. Chevalier 2017: 117).

In the first scene of the fourth act, Iago paints graphic pictures of Desdemona and her lover, Michael Cassio, making love (cf. Act 4, Scene 1, lines 3-5, lines 33-5, line 164, lines 168-70). They do not fail to have the desired effect as Othello proves by saying, “[a] hornèd man’s a monster and a beast” (Act 4, Scene1, line 61) and keeps calling his wife “devil” (Act 4, Scene 1, line 231, line 235). When his wife speaks for her alleged lover again, Othello becomes overpowered by his jealousy, loses all his nobility, and slaps her111. His jealousy seems to have turned ‘infinite’. Neither

109 Rod benefits from the fact that Blanca has a crush on Casper, “the most popular boy in the sixth grade” (Chevalier 2017: 8). He offends Blanca by stating that she is “trashy” and has “let Casper go all the way with” her (Chevalier 2017: 119). Casper, being a ‘gentleman’, has to defend Blanca’s honour. It all ends in a fight and Casper’s suspension from school (cf. Chevalier 2017: 117ff). 110 “Dee had just finished taking her hair out of its braids for Osei” (Chevalier 2017: 117). 111 Lodovico is stupefied with horror by Othello’s behaviour and wonders if this is “the noble Moor whom our full senate [c]all all in all sufficient? Is this the nature [w]hom passion could not shake?” (Act 4, Scene 1, lines 257-59, line 262). Iago adds fuel to the flames by stating, “[t]hat stroke [of Desdemona] would prove the worst” (Act 4, Scene 1, line 267).

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Desdemona’s tears (cf. Act 4, Scene 1, lines 236-37), nor Emilia’s assertion of Desdemona’s fidelity (cf. Act 4, Scene 2, lines 1-18) can convince Othello, blinded with jealousy and anger, who calls his wife a “whore” (cf. Act 4, Scene 2, lines 115- 17; Act 5, Scene 2, line 120). The general, blind to Iago’s manipulations, is ‘preparing’ the death of his unfaithful Desdemona.

The common ground in act four is music. In the tragedy, Desdemona and her servant, Amelia, sing “The Willow Song”. It is a song about a woman who is betrayed by her lover (cf. Online “Willow Song”). She was taught the song by her mother’s maid, Barbary (Act 4, Scene 3, line 25), who suffered a misfortune similar to that of the woman in the song; she even died singing “Willow” (Act 4, Scene 3, line 29). The song’s lyrics suggest that both men and women are unfaithful to one another (cf. Act 4, Scene 3, lines 40-58). To Desdemona, the song seems to represent a melancholy and resigned acceptance of her alienation from Othello’s affections (cf. Online “Willow Song”). Singing it makes her question Emilia about the nature and practice of infidelity (cf. Act 4, Scene 3, lines 60-105). Waiting for the school nurse, Mimi and Dee listen to Roberta Flack’s song “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, and they start singing along (cf. Chevalier 2017: 153ff).

After handing the pencil case over to Blanca, Ian proceeds with his plan (cf. Chevalier 2017: 134f). During the kickball game, he draws Osei’s attention to the object, laying in Blanca’s lap (cf. Chevalier 2017: 137). With satisfaction, the playground bully perceives that the green-eyed monster112 of jealousy is taking more and more control over the black boy (cf. Chevalier 2017: 137). His poison has successfully ‘numbed’ Osei’s ability to think clearly, and he “is a toy” in Ian’s hand (cf. Chevalier 2017: 138; Fanon 2008: 140). Dee also notices a change in her boyfriend’s behaviour113 and wonders whether she has done anything wrong (cf. Chevalier 2017: 139). Ian takes advantage of this moment of ‘self-doubt’. Seemingly

112 Deeply contended, Ian perceives that his “poison was taking hold” (Chevalier 2017: 138). 113 “Her friend was being strange with her: not mean, or angry, but distant” (Chevalier 2017: 141).

51 helpful, the boy again attempts to convince her that a friendship between Osei and Casper might be of benefit114 to the three of them (cf. Chevalier 2017: 140).

Being the focalizer, the reader learns how anger is ‘boiling up’ within Osei, fuelled by “Dee feeding Casper strawberries”, defending him and lying about his pencil case (Chevalier 2017: 143). His anger erupts and becomes visible in his pushing of Dee (cf. Chevalier 2017: 145). This second act of violence constitutes the peripetia in the novel (Chevalier 2017: 145). This ‘point of no return’ simultaneously signifies the starting point of a downward spiral. Osei cannot go back. All the stereotypical notions, for instance the concept of the “Brute Nigger“, which is “primitive” and more “ape-like”115 than human, are confirmed by his deed (Hawkins 2009: 39; Feagin 2009: 169, Miller 1990: 11). With the notion of an uncivilized116 human, teachers and students around him manage to explain his fit of anger and a black person’s failure of controlling their emotions (cf. Hawkins 2009: 39f).

The last act is dedicated to the dénouement. Othello still convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity and Iago’s honesty (cf. Act 5, Scene 1, line 31). Hence, at the beginning of the second scene, Othello enters their bed chamber. Even though Desdemona reaffirms that she has not given the handkerchief to Cassio, her husband does not believe her (cf. Act 5, Scene 2, lines 46-66). Before being murdered, Desdemona figures out that “he [Othello] is betrayed” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 76), but is not able to elaborate on further details. It is her maid, Emilia, who “would speak a word with” the general (Act 5, Scene 2, line 90), and thereby constitutes the beginning of the anagnorisis117. Iago, who has so far managed to stay on the margin, is now torn into the centre of attention. He ‘plays everything down’ and attempts to present himself in an innocent way118. His wife, Emilia does not ‘hold her peace’, but says, “[y]et I’ll

114 “It’s hard having a black boyfriend, […] [m]ost girls wouldn’t do that. You need all the help you can get. If Casper and Osei became friends, it would be easier for you” (Chevalier 2017: 140). 115 In Montgomery, Alabama, for example, black Americans are sometimes still called “black apes” (Ford Jr. 2017: 42). 116 Hawkins writes that being “uncivilized” makes black people “prone to committing violent acts” (Hawkins, 2009: 39). 117 “[T]he point in the plot […] at which the protagonist recognizes his or her or some other character's true identity” (Online “Anagnorisis – Merriam”). 118 “I told him what I thought, and told no more [t]han what he found himself was apt and true” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 175).

52 speak”. The villain attempts to stab his wife. However, neither the verbal nor the physical attack prevents her from revealing everything (cf. Act 5, Scene 2, lines 218- 33).

Othello realises it was wrong to believe and trust Iago, despite the ‘ocular proof’ the latter has provided him with (cf. Act 4, Scene 1, line 166). Prior to his death, despite his struggles, Othello meets all the expectations that the Venetian society have always had. The noble general has turned into an uncivilised savage that kills his white innocent wife in a fit of jealous rage (cf. Cartelli 1999: 147). This is expressed by Desdemona’s cousin, Lodovico, uttering, “[o] thou Othello, that wert once so good, [f]allen I the practice of a cursèd slave” (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 290-91). To sum up, the miscegenated marriage119, which venomed the general’s “sight” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 373), ends in his “self-degrading suicide” (cf. Act 5, Scene 2, lines 350-354) and proves “Iago’s indisputable manipulative genius” (Cartelli 1999: 126f).

The dénouement in the young-adult novel New Boy (2017) is – like in the Shakespearean tragedy – provided by Dee’s friend, Mimi. Osei, who is still struggling to keep his anger under control, is convinced that his rage is justified. All day, his classmates have treated him “differently from how they would treat another new student” (Chevalier 2017: 161). From Ian, being the focalizer, the reader learns that Osei is totally under his control and would “believe anything” he tells him (Chevalier 2017: 171). Osei, torn apart between trusting and mistrusting Dee, seeks advice from Ian (cf. Chevalier 2017: 171f). In this way, the playground bully is still given the opportunity to ‘feed’ the “green-eyed monster”, which is taken more and more control over the black boy120 (Chevalier 2017: 171).

119 “Miscegenation, the sexual union of different races, specifically whites with negroes (OED), has always haunted European colonizers and their settler descendants” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 127). 120 Ian pours oil into the flames by uttering, “[t]he pencil case, remember? How did Casper get it?” and adds, “[w]hat did Dee say about the case when you asked her? […] [w]hy is Dee lying to you? Is it because she thinks it doesn’t matter if she lies to you because you won’t get it? Because you’re stupid?”(Chevalier 2017: 172).

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A change of the focalizer, from Ian to Osei, enables the reader to find out what the emotional status of the black boy121 is. When Osei catches Dee with a second lie, his ‘otherness’122 and Ian’s poison123 win, over Osei’s trust in Dee. Similar to Desdemona, Dee finally understands that her friend has been deceived, perceivable on her face, which changes “from incredulity to a sudden understanding” (Chevalier 2017: 177). Like Othello, however, Osei does not believe Dee, who warns him not to “believe what Ian says” (Chevalier 2017: 177). The final straw is the Italian girl’s attention, which shifts from their conversation to “the pirate ship, where Ian and Rod” are (Chevalier 2017: 178). His rage124 is now ‘boiling over’ and erupts in the exclamation, “[w]hore!” (Chevalier 2017: 178).

Up to this moment, even though he has been pulling the strings and watching his victim’s reaction closely, Ian has been able to stay at the margin, seemingly “detached” and always prepared to “deny any involvement” (Chevalier 2017: 137f). Now, Mimi reveals the truth125, namely Ian’s involvement. She is not afraid of him anymore, but ignores him, even when “Ian was also shaking his head” and mouthing, “[d]on’t” at her (Chevalier 2017: 185).

Before turning to the semantic surplus, which Tracy Chevalier has interwoven into her young-adult novel, “the ocular proof” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 360) of Desdemona’s respectively Dee’s infidelity shall be discussed in detail. The handkerchief in William Shakespeare’s tragedy constitutes a multi-faceted item. First and foremost, it is a token of love, “her first remembrance from the Moor” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 290). Othello explains that the handkerchief is of ‘extraordinary’ value, as “twas [his] first gift” (Act 3, Scene 3, line 436), and, at the same time, constitutes a family heirloom (cf. Act 3, Scene 4, lines 53-66). Othello explains that his mother ordered him “to

121 “He was angrier at himself than at Dee. For a brief time – a morning – he had let his guard down, allowed himself to think she was different, that she liked him for himself rather than for what he represented – a black boy, exotic, other; an unknown territory to be explored” (Chevalier 2017: 174). 122 “[I]t is so funny how you are lying to the black boy” (Chevalier 2017: 177). 123 “For a brief moment Osei believed her [Dee]. He wanted to, and she seemed sincere, and sorry. Then from the corner of his eye he caught a movement – Ian” (Chevalier 2017: 176). 124 James Baldwin writes in his book,“[t]here is not a Negro alive who does not have this rage in his blood” (Online “Notes of a Native Son”). 125 “I gave the case to Ian because he wanted it” (Chevalier 2017: 185).

54 give it [handkerchief] her [his wife]” (Act 3, Scene 4, line 62), which “[his] father gave to [his] mother (Act 5, Scene 2, line 216). As far as the ‘origin’ of the handkerchief is concerned, Othello claims that his mother got it from “a charmer” (Act 3, Scene 4, line 55) to “make her amiable and subdue [his] father” (Act 3, Scene 4, line 57).

Another facet of the handkerchief is its colours, red dots on white linen, which display a stark contrast. The colour red of the fruit could be interpreted as blood and might also be associated with “love, passion, desire, […] longing, lust, sexuality” (Online “Colour Red – Meaning”). Considering the white background of the strawberries, it stands to reason that they might symbolise blood, respectively bloodstains from a virgin’s hymen after a wedding night. This assumption is emphasised by the fact that William Shakespeare lived in a society where “much store was placed on the wife being a virgin on the wedding night” (Online “Symbolism in Othello”).

It has been noted that Othello, to assimilate into the Venetian society, converted to Christianity. With this fact drawn into consideration, it might also allow for the following interpretation: in the Catholic faith, the strawberry signifies the Virgin Mary (cf. Online “Strawberry – Symbolism”). Consequently, the loss of the handkerchief might symbolize Othello’s loss of his faith. In the Christian religion, the number three carries meaning. It symbolizes the holy Trinity, namely God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and is frequently found in various books of the Holy Bible126 (Online “Number 3”). The examples in footnote 128 show that this number can be found in ‘challenging’ and ‘positive’ situations. Reading Othello (1603-04), the impression is gained that William Shakespeare attributes a negative connotation or to be precise magical connotation to the number. The playwright places the turning point into the third act and even the third scene, to emphasize the number three. It is in the third scene of act three that “Iago tries to convince Othello that Desdemona has broken their marriage vows” (Online “Symbolism in Othello”). In the third scene,

126 For instance, in the book of Matthew, chapter four, Jesus is tempted three times by Satan, in Luke chapter 22, Peter denies Jesus three times, in chapter 24 of the same book, Jesus is resurrected on the third day, and in John, chapter 21, Jesus reaffirms reaffirming his love three times.

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Othello utters the word ‘blood’ three times (cf. Act 3, Scene 3, line 446), “which alludes to a curse” (Online “Symbolism in Othello”). This utterance might also be regarded the proof of “the start of Othello’s descent” and his return to “barbaric behavior” (Online “Symbolism in Othello”). Othello demands to see the handkerchief three times (cf. Act 3, Scene 4, lines 89-94). Learning about the monstruous murder, Emilia exclaims three times, “villainy” (Act 5, Scene 2, line 189). Right before he dies, in his soliloquy, Othello curses himself a “fool” three times (cf. Act 5, Scene 2, line 317).

When rewriting the 17th century tragedy, Tracy Chevalier also has to decide what the ‘ocular proof’ should be. To match her age group, the author considers a pencil case127 more suitable than a handkerchief. As far as the ‘body of evidence’ is concerned, the common ground is the pattern, namely strawberries, which constitute an important intertextual motif. Following William Shakespeare’s ‘path’, the pencil case also represents a ‘family heirloom’ and the last good memory with his sister (cf. Chevalier 2017: 34, 40). Consequently, this piece of “family history” is of the highest value for Osei and Dee is entirely aware of it128 (Chevalier 2017: 39f). Due to his – formerly – close relationship with his sister, Dee’s lie, respectively loss of the pencil case is even harder to bear for Osei (cf. Chevalier 2017: 126). This appreciation plays into Ian’s hands and fuel’s Osei’s suspicion.

The fruit themselves play a pivotal role, as they constitute an essential aspect in creating Osei’s mistrust. The playground bully uses it to trigger Osei’s jealousy129. He draws Osei’s attention to Dee, who has returned from lunch at home, and is now sharing strawberries with Casper130. Ian turns this ‘innocent’ gesture of sharing into something ‘sinful’, an indicator of Dee’s infidelity. To achieve this objective, he

127 Tracy Chevalier describes it as follows: “a pink plastic rectangle, studded with red knobbly strawberries […] which had belonged to Sisi” (Chevalier 2017: 33). 128 Dee’s awareness is expressed as follows, “ohhh,” Dee breathed. “Are you sure?” (Chevalier 2017: 39). “Now Dee was running her fingers around each strawberry, just the way Sisi had. O liked to see her doing that” (Chevalier 2017: 40). 129 Ian is surprised “how one word [i.e. strawberry] could rattle the black boy ” (Chevalier 2017: 108). 130 Ian emphasises, “[t]hat’s the second strawberry she’s given him” (Chevalier 2017: 108f).

56 omits the information that “Dee brought some in for her class every year” (Chevalier 2017: 109).

5.3. Semantic Surplus

Having discussed the interconnectivity between the Renaissance tragedy and the 21st- century young-adult novel, the last part of this chapter shall be dedicated to the semantic surplus in New Boy (2017). Firstly, the character of Osei, who is at the “pre- encounter”131 stage of Dr William Cross’s, Five Stage Model of Racial Identity Development, shall be discussed. The African boy can be considered a good example of successful mimicry, which plays a vital role in the context of the establishment of one’s identity. In order to assimilate, the colonized child mimics the colonizer’s, for example, “dress” and/or “language” (Online "Mimicry and Hybrid”). In other words, the following analysis of the Ghanaian boy will show that even in the 21st-century traces of former colonial times are detectable. The influence of the “imperial culture” and “cultural imposition” is portrayed through Osei’s clothing, hairstyle, behaviour, handwriting and last but not least, use of the English language132 (Ashcroft/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2002: 199; Fanon 2008: 194). Having analysed the black character in detail, various discriminatory situations, which Osei experiences, shall be described, followed by an analysis of his white friend, Dee.

Homi Bhabha (1949-), the Indian English scholar and critical theorist, coins the term ‘hybridity’ and describes it as “the complex mix of attraction and repulsion that characterizes the relationship between colonizer and colonized” (Online “Concept of Hybridity”). Osei’s sister mirrors this complex relationship. She is struggling with various emotions that are typical of the second stage of William Cross’s model,

131 The young person aims at being part of the white community “by acting, thinking, and behaving in ways” their white peers do, but thereby decreases “the value of being black” (Online “Cross’ Five Stage Model”). 132 Ghana was occupied by the British who ran “missionary and other church schools […] staffed by British teachers” and ‘forced’ their language onto the Africans (Barnett 1983: 12).

57 namely the “encounter”133 stage. He states that in this stage, a change in identity134 takes place, as the individual sees themselves in different ways. Apart from distancing herself from her family, Sisi also alters her physical appearance, the way she speaks135, her circle of friends and taste in books.

W.E.B. Du Bois states in his book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903/1994), that there are “two souls, two thoughts […] in one dark body” (Du Bois 1994). Although Osei tries to assimilate, he only feels a “sense of belonging” in Ghana, where nobody “stares at him or passes judgement on his skin color” (cf. Chevalier 2017: 60; Chevalier 2017: 58). Osei is not only proud of his name, as he is “named after Asante kings”, and which translates to “noble”, but also of his country (Chevalier 2017: 60). This sentiment is detectable in his body language, as he straightens up when speaking about his homeland and his accent, which “becomes more African” (cf. Chevalier 2017: 69; Chevalier 2017: 71). His father fuels this pride by upholding African culture136 and values in his family, for instance respecting one’s elders137 (cf. Chevalier 2017: 14, 31). Furthermore, his traditional education does not allow Osei to “argue with his mother” (Chevalier 2017: 34). He must take his sister’s pink pencil case to school (cf. Chevalier 2017: 34). His father does not accept Osei’s contradiction when the boy does not want a new haircut “for a fresh start”. His father “[c]ut[s] in. ‘Son, you will do what your mother asks, and you will not question her judgement. She knows what she is talking about’” (Chevalier 2017: 38). The ‘second soul’ in Osei wants to assimilate and displays ‘trace’ of colonialization.

One way to express British influence is Osei’s clothing. The new boy is dressed in “gray flared pants, a white short-sleeve shirt, and black shoes” (Chevalier 2017: 4).

133 The young person “experiences mixed feelings” due to their loss of identity (Online “Cross’ Five Stage Model”). This range of feeling might include “confusion”, “hopelessness”, “anxiety”, “depression”, “anger” or “euphoria” (Online “Cross’ Five Stage Model’). 134 Osei reports that “she [his sister, Sisi] began to pull away from her brother and her parents […] shut herself up in her room and stayed on the phone for hours” (Chevalier 2017: 35). 135 First Sisi attempts to mimic Americaness by trying “to sound more black American than African, with a higher tone, looser grammar” and long-drawn-out vowels (Chevalier 2017: 53). 136 “[His] mother is wearing a dress made from kente cloth” (Chevalier 2017: 14). 137 Achebe also writes that “age was respected” (Achebe 1994: 6). He elaborates that “[t]he elders, or ndichie”, decide everything in the village like a court (Achebe 1994: 11). This court is described as follows: “the titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin” (Achebe 1994: 77).

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This invokes a picture of a British school uniform in the reader’s mind. The author then puts it into words, “a uniform a private school student would wear” (Chevalier 2017: 4). In addition to clothes, hair or to be precise one’s hairstyle portrays a lot about the wearer’s personality. Anthony Synnott considers hairstyle maybe the “most powerful symbol of individual and group” (Online “Shame and Glory”). Byrd even places hairstyle over skin colour138 (cf. Byrd 2001: 17). He writes that hair constitutes “the most telling feature of Negro status” (Byrd 2001: 17). Consequently, it does not come as a surprise that black people who aim to be accepted by a white community, also mimic the hairstyle of white people. One way of achieving this is to straighten their “kinky” hair139, as it is regarded “equivalent to negative attributes such as ‘savage’ or ‘uneducated’” (Byrd 2001: 26).

British politeness is detectable with the young Ghanaian on three occasions. The way the new boy addresses his teachers proves British influence. Osei uses “Sir” or “Miss” in a conversation with his teachers (Chevalier 2017: 31). Secondly, he displays ‘gentleman-like’ behaviour towards Dee. The young African offers to carry the ropes for Dee (cf. Chevalier 2017: 15). Thirdly, Chevalier describes Osei’s handwriting as “European” (Chevalier 2017: 163).

“Ever since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America has manifested a schizophrenic personality on the question of race” (Parson 2015: 106). Martin Luther King Jr. also referred to the opposing concepts, on which America is based, namely freedom on the one hand and slavery, on the other hand, “[s]egregation and discrimination are strange paradoxes in a nation founded on the principle that all men

138 The author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, refers to the practise of attempting to look white as follows: “[b]lack is beautiful – which is to say that the black body is beautiful, that black hair must be guarded against the torture of processing and lye, that black skin must be guarded against bleach, that our noses and mouths must be protected against modern surgery. We are all our beautiful bodies and so must never be prostrate before barbarians, must never submit our original self, our one of one, to defiling and plunder” (Coates 2015: 36). 139 In Malcom X’s biography, it is stated that black people “conked” themselves, meaning a procedure to straighten their hair (Haley 2015: 55f). It, further, reads, “[h]ow ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand there simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking ‘white’” (Haley 2015: 56). The author Maya Angelou dreams of long blonde hair, while, in reality, she has kinky hair (cf. Angelou 1969: 2). In her book, she also mentions Louise, a black girl, whose hair is considered “good” since it is more straight than kinky (Angelou 1969: 54). Griffin also reports in his book that black people had “their hair conked and all slicked out” (Griffin 1992: 32).

59 are created equal” (Parson 2015: 107). This means, even though the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution stipulate that all men are created equal and should, therefore, be treated in that way, inequality prevails. Including the “Pledge of Allegiance” into her book, Tracy Chevalier, too, addresses this contradiction (Chevalier 2017: 52). Osei is completely aware of the fact that he or any other member of his race are not equal. Nevertheless, he starts reciting “the words along with the others” in order to avoid any confrontation (Chevalier 2017: 52).

With the help of Osei’s way to use English, the author makes the reader aware of the fact that colonialized people had to learn the mother tongue of the respective colonial power, which was English for Ghana. By uttering “full sentences”, omitting contraction, and “exaggerat[ing] […] vowels”, it becomes obvious that English is a foreign language for the black boy (Chevalier 2017: 14). The author draws a parallel to the French lessons of Dee and her classmates. When they speak French, they also use full sentences, no contractions and pronounce vowels in the wrong way.

Tracy Chevalier also thematises how racism is perceived by a concerned person. For this, she distinguishes between ‘overt racism’ and ‘covert racism’ and explains that – for Osei – “[i]t was almost a relief to hear the prejudice out in the open” (Chevalier 2017: 61). Fanon explains that is hard to fight racism, since it is “something unreasoned”, and “[p]olitical correctness and polite conversations” are used to conceal racist actions and attitudes (Fanon 2008: 118; Coates 2004: 8). However, the concerned person still manages to detect, even, ‘covert racism’. In Osei’s case, he experiences it in the form of missing invitations to birthday parties, stopping conversations in his presence or remarks such as “Oh, I don’t mean you, Osei. You’re different” (Chevalier 2017: 173). Osei knows that he is no ‘parent pleaser’, and that visits at other boys’ homes always cause a shock to their parents, followed by “silence and then the over-politeness from the parents”, but no invitation to stay for a meal (Chevalier 2017: 96).

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A German saying can loosely be translated as follows: [s]tealing and Lying use the same set of stairs140. The message to be conveyed is that if anybody is telling lies, the assumption is that this person might also steal seems natural. In a similar way, one could say, if a person is black, it is assumed that this human is also inclined to commit crimes. Following this line of thought, Hacker states in his book that African people are associated with a high crime rate (cf. Hacker 1992: 32). Nunn describes the white culture's view of African American males as follows: "black males are overly aggressive, violent, involved in drugs, dishonest, shiftless and lazy, desirous of white women, lacking in work ethics, and are often rapists and criminals” (Nunn 2002: 433). Tracy Chevalier, too, refers to the idea that black people are frequently associated with crime141 (cf. Chevalier 2017: 174). Osei states in this context, “it was like they were waiting142 for me to do something […] steal something, or mug someone, or throw a rock” (Chevalier 2017: 68). This racial prejudice is also discussed by Zack, when he writes that the presence of “a black male” automatically triggers “defensive precautions like locking car doors or clutching purses” (Zack 2015: 23).

140 „Stehlen und Lügen geht über a Stiegn“. 141 Mr. Shelby, Tom’s owner, praises the black man and describes him as “steady, honest, [and] capable [of] manag[ing] [the] whole farm like a clock”. The slave trader, Haley, replies, ”[y]ou mean honest, as niggers go” (Stowe 1995: 4). “[T]hey [people of the town] changed around and judge it [murder of Huckleberry Finn] was done by a runaway nigger named Jim” (Twain 2010: 57). On another occasion, Mark Twain again refers to this racial prejudice, by writing, “[a]nd we reckoned the niggers stole it! (Twain 2010: 196). Zack and Khan-Cullors state the following: “black men are automatically criminalized“, and black women might be considered crack-whores and welfare queens (Zack 2015: 26; cf. Khan-Cullors 2013: 38). Griffin writes in his book that “[t]hey [shop owners when John Howard Griffin as a black man wants to cash a traveller’s check] implied clearly that I had probably come by these checks dishonestly” (Griffin 1992: 50). He, further, describes that white people conveyed their thinking that they expected black people to „steal or commit acts of violence” and for his reason “studied [black people] with suspicion” (Griffin 1992: 92f, 106). Richard Wright elaborates on the distorted pictures that black man are criminals in the following way: “’[t]hey [white people] said I was stealing!’ he [Bigger Thomas] blurted defensively. ‘But I wasn’t’. […] He was black and he had been alone in a room where a white girl had been killed, therefore he had killed her. That was what everybody would say anyhow, no matter what he said. […] Britten’s eyes [the detective] held him guilty because he was black. […] To me [Mr. Britten], a nigger’s a nigger. […] White men were looking at something with which they would soon accuse him” (Online “Native Son”). 142 Fanon describes the mistrust of white people as follows: “I am being dissected under white eyes” (Fanon 2008: 116).

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Dee, Osei’s white friend, can be considered a role model and feminist143, who Tracy Chevalier’s young reader can learn a lesson from. Although the American author uses “Chocolate City” as the setting of her story, the Italian student is growing up in a “suburban neighborhood” without “black residents”, and her school has no “black students” (Chevalier 2017: 10). The author explicitly hints to the fact that America is a “melting pot” 144, by writing, “Dee’s last name was Benedetti” and by mentioning other “immigrant names” such as “Fernandez, Korewski, Hansen, O’Connor” (Chevalier 2017: 39). However, among these foreign names, the suspicious sounding African name, “Kokote”, still stands out and highlights the new boy’s ‘otherness’ (Chevalier 2017: 39). His alienness does not frighten the Italian student but fascinates145 her. The point that she has always been “with the same friends” and is growing up in a racist, old fashioned home146 makes her openness towards the black boy even more inspiring (Chevalier 2017: 12). Dee’s fascination causes tension147 between her and Mr. Brabant, whose “teacher’s pet” the Italian girl is (Chevalier 2017: 4). Tracy Chevalier also equips her with some stereotypical images, for example, concerning cannibalism, African rituals and ways of housing, or wildlife (cf. Chevalier 2017: 69ff). With the help of this character, the author wants to ‘teach’ her reader how to deal correctly with such ideas, which have been planted into their ‘collective conscious’148. The decisive aspect is whether one allows these pictures to

143 Tracy Chevalier’s novel is also a “feminist re-writing” (Löschnigg 2013: 18). Dee is portrayed as a character that knows exactly what she wants and does not fear confrontation even with her most favourite teacher, Mr. Brabant, and her peers (cf. Chevalier 2017: 125). 144 “A place or situation where the people and cultures of many different places mix together” (Online “Melting pot”). 145 Being the focalizer, Dee explicitly mentions the opposite skin colour of the new boy (cf. Chevalier 2017: 5). Black people have always fascinated the Italian girl, which is also confirmed by the fact that she watches Soul Train on TV “at Mimi’s house” and she has “a crush on Jermaine Jackson” (Chevalier 2017: 10). Towards the end of the book, the reader learns that, “she herself found him interesting because he was black” (Chevalier 2017: 161). 146 Contrary to her daughter, Dee’s mother is very old-fashioned, which manifests itself in the fact that her mother makes her change “her top for something looser” and her hairstyle, namely “tight pigtails”(Chevalier 2017: 3). The mother, further, holds the conviction that “girls should be buckled in for as long as possible” (Chevalier 2017: 28). Dee respects and fears her mother, mirrored by her pale complexion “at the mention of her mother” (Chevalier 2017: 50). Nevertheless, the young girl takes a step further in her development and states, “I don’t care what other people think – or my mother. And I like him because he’s different” (Chevalier 2017: 50). Dee’s mother highly appreciates punctuality and so Dee loses the pencil case when hurrying home (cf. Chevalier 2017: 88f). Mimi, as the focalizer, explains that Dee and Osei might “never go to Dee’s house – her mother would kill her for meeting any boy, much less a black one” (Chevalier 2017: 93). 147 Mr. Brabant is “aghast at her new attitude [i.e. holding hands with the black boy]” and “he [does]n’t know what to do about it [Dee’s rebellious behaviour]” (Chevalier 2017: 75). 148 For further information, please refer to sub-chapter 2.2..

62 influence one’s behaviour or not. Dee acts in an exemplary way, as she speaks with Osei about them. In a nutshell, Dee never displays any of the typical behaviours149 or utters racial prejudices150.

Even though the opposite might be expected, the teachers at this suburban school hold various racial prejudices, which are expressed more or less explicitly. The headmistress, Mrs. Duke, who conveys authority with her “gray hair cut like a helmet”, makes Osei feel inferior (Chevalier 2017: 55; cf. Chevalier 2017: 57). Miss Lode attempts to be ‘politically correct’ way, in contrast to her male colleague (cf. Cheavlier 2017: 6, 76, 146,ff). Mr. Brabant’s remarks are scattered with racism (cf. Chevalier 2017: 6, 38, 74, 76, 124, 146ff, 187). Osei’s Art teacher, Mrs. Randolph, displays ‘covert racism’ (cf. Chevalier 2017: 162).

Osei’s self-esteem is challenged by the headmistress of the elementary school. Mrs. Duke, who radiates authority, displays “attitudinal racism”151, when she calls the new boy a “less fortunate”152 student (cf. Chevalier 2017: 55; Chevalier 2017: 57). Following Wolfenstein, the word ‘fortunate’ can be interpreted in two ways, namely related to the standard of living153 or to education (cf. Wolfenstein, 1977: 164). Osei does not come from a poor family. His father is a diplomate, Osei has always gone

149 With Osei being the focalizer, the reader learns what the black boy appreciates about Dee, namely her “attraction, curiosity, and acceptance” and the fact that “[s]he asked him a lot of questions, and really listened to his answers. […] Dee would never giggle with her friends at him, […] or stare at him in a funny way. She managed to balance curiosity about the things that made Osei different from her with an acceptance of him that was flattering” (Chevalier 2017: 99). 150 His black skin does not prevent Dee from trusting Osei. This fact is presented when the white girl confides “the precious class jump ropes” to the Ghanaian (Chevalier 2017: 28). Osei is also convinced that Dee would never “say he smelled” (Chevalier 2017: 99). 151 “Attitudinal racism concerns itself with negative attitudes towards racial groups” (Yang 2000: 145). 152 “The fact that their physical appearance used to be an indication for a lower socioeconomic status, as well as the fact that African Americans obtain a lower level of education, foster the stereotype of the impoverished race” (Miller 2016: 14). This picture might be confirmed when analysing reality as Millers states, “the majority of black Americans have historically belonged to an underclass” (Miller 2016: 14). 153 Richard Wright describes the life of black people with the help of an ‘inner monologue’ of his main character, Thomas Bigger: “[w]hy they [white people] make us [black people] live in one corner of the city [called ‘Black Belt’]? Why don’t they let us fly planes and run ships? He knew that black people could not go outside of the Black Belt to rent a flat; they had to live on their side of the ‘line’. No white real estate man would rent a flat to a black man other than in the sections where it had been decided that black people might live. Almost all businesses in the Black Belt were owned by Jews, Italians, and Greeks. Most Negro businesses were funeral parlors; white undertakers refused to bother with dead black bodies” (Online “Native Son”).

63 to private schools, and his description of their last accommodation in New York154 also implies their wealth (cf. Chevalier 2017: 68). “[T]he principal”’s words mirror studies showing that “African Americans obtain a lower level of education” (Chevalier 2017: 55; Miller 2016: 14). Anthropologist Franz Boas explains that due to their lower cranial capacity, African Americans are less intelligent (cf. Online “Boas, Bones, and Race”). Regarding black people’s less fortunate position when it comes to education, Malcolm X’s biography reads as follows: “among America’s 22 million black people so relatively few have been lucky enough to attend a college” (Haley 2015: 272). The black rights activist also provides the reader with an explanation, i.e. slavery, and explains, “an educated slave always begins to ask, and next demand, equality with his master”, a development that slave masters tried to nip in the bud (Haley 2015: 273). Osei, however, proves that there are exceptions since he is “a solid B student” (Chevalier 2017: 54). The new boy experiences suspicion155 when performing well in quizzes, tests, or exams (cf. Chevalier 2017: 54). The black boy, who “has never been a teacher’s pet”, observes “the teachers nodding to themselves, secretly pleased”, when he is “messing up” (Chevalier 2017: 55). This mistrust towards their black student also involves the assumption of lying rather than expecting to be told the truth156 (cf. Chevalier 2017: 123f).

The racial prejudice that black people are considered criminals respectively thieves is also detectable within Miss Lode. After seeing Osei, she checks whether her earring is still there (cf. Chevalier 2017: 6). Tracy Chevalier attempts to ‘mitigate’ this negative picture by calling her gesture “a nervous habit”; but the reader is made suspicious that the teacher might be racist (Chevalier 2017: 6). The reader might also

154 The boy tells Dee: “[s]o every time I walked past a doorman[,] he would watch me closely, and whistle so the doorman at the next building would notice, and he would watch me, and whistle. This whistling would happen all the way down the block. […] They said it was a joke, […] but it never felt like a joke to me” (Chevalier 2017: 68). This behaviour could be considered a clear example of racial prejudice. In connection with the doormen, the African provides another example of racist behaviour by reporting: “[h]e [a doorman in New York] would never hail us a taxi, […] not even when we could see empty ones driving by. He would say there were none, or that they were going to other jobs” (Chevalier 2017: 69). 155 “Sometimes they [the teachers] were taken aback by O scoring 100 percent on a pop quiz […] [.] They [the teachers] shot him looks that revealed suspicions he was cheating somehow” (Chevalier 2017: 54). 156 A teacher at his former school in New York assumes that the Ghanaian boy is rather lying than telling the truth (cf. Chevalier 2017: 123f). This mistrust and unwillingness to acquire information from a black student is reflected in Osei’s grade, i.e. “a D” (Chevalier 2017: 123).

64 gain the impression that Miss Lode is entirely unfamiliar with black people and unwilling to cope with Osei, expressed through, “[h]e’s yours, isn’t he? Better you than me” (cf. Chevalier 2017: 6, 76; Chevalier 2017: 6). She is obviously not the type of person that appreciates diversity and makes the same assumptions for her students. For this reason she wonders whether it might be good to “say something to the students […] [t]o encourage them to welcome him” (Chevalier 2017: 6). However, Miss Lode is also aware of her status of a role model, and therefore, reprimands Rod, when he calls Osei “black bastard” (Chevalier 2017: 146). Later she even feels pity for the black boy and wonders if they were “a little hard on him” (Chevalier 2017: 148). She is trying to put herself into Osei’s shoes by uttering, “this can’t be easy for him, being all alone in the school” (Chevalier 2017: 148). Appalled by the events of the day and disgusted by her colleague’s outburst, “Nigger”, she exclaims, “[s]top that! […] Stop that right now! You do not use that language, Richard. You do not” (cf. Chevalier 148; Chevalier 2017: 187).

The only male teacher, Tracy Chevalier incorporates into her book, obviously holds many racial prejudices. He expresses his racist mindset right from the beginning of the book. “I think I hear drums”157 is his first utterance when acknowledging the black student’s presence (Chevalier 2017: 6). His narrow-mindedness is expressed by his lack of interest in Osei’s homeland, by replying to Miss Lode, “Guinea, I think. Or was it Nigeria? Africa, anyway” (Chevalier 2017: 6). The teacher’s attitude is also ‘betrayed’ by a slip of the tongue, when he states, “[h]e [Osei] doesn’t need special treatment just because he’s bl- a new boy” (Chevalier 2017: 6). The teacher trips over his tongue again when he finds out that Osei pushed Dee. Addressing Osei, he says, “I didn’t expect much from a bl- […] from you. And I haven’t been surprised today” (Chevalier 2017: 147). The teacher is referring to his racial prejudice that black people cause trouble158, a conviction he already utters when seeing Osei for the first

157 The American author alludes to the stereotypical image of white people that black people always play the drums. Chinua Achebe explains in his book that there were drums made from wood and called “ekwe” and drums made from pottery and called “udu” (Achebe 1994: 5). Later he describes a village as follows: “[t]here were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wood basket. Three men beat them with sticks, working feverishly from one drum to another. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums” (Achebe 1994: 41). 158 “I’ve seen your kind before. You planning to be a troublemaker at this school, boy? Mr. Brabant muttered” (Chevalier 2017: 147).

65 time159. This negative attitude ‘surfaces’ again, when Mr. Brabant immediately assumes that Osei has hurt Mimi160 (cf. Chevalier 2017: 186). In his rage, he calls the black boy, “Nigger”161 (Chevalier 2017: 186f). The monstrousness of this term is portrayed in the students’ reactions162.

The metaphor ,“like a whip”, describing the teacher’s voice, supports the developing impression that Mr. Brabant acts more like a slave holder than a teacher (Chevalier 2017: 74). He displays ‘aversion’ when seeing Osei and Dee holding hands. This conduct reminds of the ban of interracial relationships implemented by white people ‘to protect’ their race and status of superiority. His conceited supremacy is expressed in the following utterance, “[m]aybe things are different where you come from and you don’t know any better, […] but at this school, boys and girls don’t touch each other like that” (Chevalier 2017: 74). He does not back off from openly threatening Osei, “[w]atch yourself, boy” (Chevalier 2017: 75).

Mr. Brabant, obviously, shares Mrs. Duke’s opinion that black students are less fortunate (cf. Chevalier 2017: 57). Firstly, he asks the new student, “[d]o you have pencils and pens and a ruler and eraser?” (Chevalier 2017: 38; cf. Chevalier 2017: 52). Evidently, the teacher assumes that Osei’s parents cannot afford the required school equipment. Secondly, by telling the black boy, “you can take it [the test] too, though I won’t record your grade. It will show you where your gaps of knowledge are”, the interpretation is standing to reason that the teacher is convinced of the black boy’s lack of knowledge (Chevalier 2017: 125).

159 “I don’t foresee problems” (Chevalier 2017: 6). 160 Mr. Brabant ‘spits his poison’ at the black boy, “Osei, what have you done to Mimi? Come down at once! I warned you! (Chevalier 2017: 186). 161 In Montgomery, Alabama, black Americans were called “black apes” or “nigger” (Carson 2000: 52). Malcolm X calls a “nigger […] a victim of American democracy” (Online “Race Matters”). James Weldon Johnson’s mother reprimands her son,“[d]on’t you ever use that word [nigger] again” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). Griffin noticed during his experiment “that among colored men the word ‘nigger’ was freely used in about the same sense as the word “fellow”, and sometimes as a term of almost endearment; but I [Griffin] soon learned that its use was positively and absolutely prohibited to white men” (Online “Ex-Colored Man”). Bigger Thomas’ friend, Gus, calls Bigger Thomas “nigger” (Online “Native Son”). 162 Perceiving this word, Mimi twitches her head and the other students are “still and silent, rigid with shock of hearing the word aloud” (Chevalier 2017: 187).

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With the help of Mr. Brabant’s character, Tracy Chevalier also covers ‘affirmative action’ and ‘reverse discrimination’163. The teacher complains, “he [the black man] has it too easy. He’ll grow up and walk right into a good job, thanks to affirmative action164. A good job that someone more qualified should have done” (Chevalier 2017: 148). This utterance implies that – as mentioned above – he considers black people less educated, but also expresses the attitude of many white people. In other words, after implementing the policy of ‘affirmative action’, ensuring “employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women”, many white people claimed to be “discriminated against, based on their race” (Online “Affirmative Action”; online “Reverse Discrimination”).

Mrs. Randolph expects Osei to prefer working with his hands instead of using a pair of scissors. She asks, “[d]o you want to tear them [strawberries] out?” (Chevalier 2017: 162). Osei, however, proves her preconceived idea wrong by replying, “I am using scissors” (Chevalier 2017: 162). Mrs. Randolph’s nervously shrilled “of course, course” could be interpreted as an indicator of discomfort because her racist thinking has been revealed (Chevalier 2017: 162).

The Italian girl can only suffer inwardly165 when experiencing racist behaviour in her teachers. She vehemently opposes this conduct, especially when displayed by her friends. Simply the gaze at a black person creates a feeling of uneasiness in Blanca and Mimi, and other classmates, such as Patty or Duncan (cf. Chevalier 2017: 8ff, 40, 52). Blanca’s exclamation, “Oh my God, who’s that?”, mirrors her outrage, but also perplexity concerning the fact that their new classmate is black (Chevalier 2017: 8). The ‘italic writing’ is, presumably, used by Tracy Chevalier to stress Blanca’s astonishment and confirms the assumption that the elementary student is afraid of

163 “The term ‘reverse discrimination’ is used to describe a type of discrimination wherein members of a majority of historically advantaged group (such as Caucasians or males) are discriminated against based on their race, gender, age, or other protected characteristics” (Online “Reverse Discrimination”). 164 “Affirmative action was initiated by the administration of President Lyndon Johnson (1963-69) in order to improve opportunities for African Americans while civil rights legislation was dismantling the legal basis for discrimination. The federal government began to institute affirmative action policies under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an executive order in 1965” (Online “Affirmative Action”). 165 “Dee felt her chest tighten” (Chevalier 2017: 6).

67 people with a dark skin. Her next remark shows clearly that a black classmate is beyond her comprehension, “[a] black boy at our school – I can’t believe it!” (Chevalier 2017: 9). This way of thinking follows up with her conclusion that Mr. Brabant might be punishing Dee for something, as she is supposed to “look after” the new boy (Chevalier 2017: 10). Dee’s task earns her Blanca’s sympathy, in the form of the utterance, “[p]oor Dee” (Chevalier 2017: 11). The idea to consider such an encounter an enrichment, is beyond the young student’s imagination. Blanca does not hide her disbelief regarding the ‘existence’ of their new classmate, which is also perceivable for Osei, as she openly stares at him166 (cf. Chevalier 2017: 13, 28). In a nutshell, Blanca does not manage to cope with ‘otherness’ as well as Dee does (cf. Chevalier 2017: 45, 46).

Mimi is irritated by the feelings Dee expresses for Osei and cannot believe that his skin colour does not matter to Dee in any way (cf. Chevalier 2017: 49). Mimi, however, highlights his ‘otherness’ “because he’s different from us. He stands out” (Chevalier 2017: 50). She has a word of warning for her best friend, “people will make fun of you. Going with a monkey167, they’ll say” (Chevalier 2017: 50).

168

166 The reader learns through Osei, being the focalizer, that he notices when being “star[ed] at” by “white kids” and awkwardly looked at by teachers (Chevalier 2017: 31). Osei notices “Mr. Brabant’s cool gaze”, which is not in the slightest way “welcoming, but wary” (Chevalier 2017: 52). 167 At the beginning of the book, Osei’s classmates utter, “hoo-hoo-hoo” expressing their association with a monkey (Chevalier 2017: 11). On that day, Osei does not experience this racial prejudice for the first time. “In the past kids […] left bananas on his desk or made hooting noises like monkeys” (Chevalier 2017: 173). This racial prejudice is also included into his book by Richard Wright, “You laugh like monkeys” Bigger Thomas said (Online “Native Son”). “ ‘He [Bigger Thomas] looks exactly like an ape!’ exclaimed a terrified young white girl” (Online “Native Son”). 168 The picture shows the advertisement of hoodies run by H&M UK in 2018. The outrage that was triggered by this picture (a black boy wearing a hoody with the words “Coolest Monkey In The Jungle” and a white boy in a hoodie ‘saying’ “Survival Expert”) proves that black people might still be

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Mimi is totally aware of the fact that what she has just said is racist and wrong. Therefore, she wants to distance herself from this idea, by uttering, “[n]ot me, of course, but others” (Chevalier 2017: 50). Advising her best friend is obviously a matter very close to Mimi’s heart, as she repeats her message, “you’re gonna get a lot of hassle if you go with him. And what would your mom say? She’d have a fit” (Chevalier 2017: 50). Disappointed by Dee, the black boy seems to ‘hunker down’ on the jungle gym, a kind of behaviour that might remind the reader of Mimi’s association with a monkey. Choosing this place could be interpreted as a ‘withdrawal’ from the ‘white world’169. In Mimi’s eyes, “Osei[,] still atop the jungle gym”[,] is turning more and more animal-like (Chevalier 2017: 184). This perception is reenforced by the choice of words, namely “swaying”, for describing his movement (Chevalier 2017: 188).

Whereas Osei – until his jealousy overwhelms him – attempts to assimilate170 to his surroundings, his sister acts the opposite way. Sisi drops her American slang to use “the singsong Ghanaian accent” in order to create a “sense of belonging”, but not to the white people (Chevalier 2017: 36, 58). Osei, further, notices that his sister starts “wearing bright tunics made of kente cloth” (Chevalier 2017: 36). A person’s identity is not only mirrored by their clothes, but also by their hairstyle. Hence, in order to complete the picture of an African teenager, Sisi also “grow[s] her hair out into an afro” (Chevalier 2017: 36). She surrounds herself with “a group of young black teenagers[,] […] dressed similarly to Sisi, in dashikis or other tops made of kente cloth, […] [with] big afros[,] […] [and] “neo-African names […] like Wakuna, Malaika or Ashanti” (Chevalier 2017: 37). The African youth “sprinkle their

associated with monkeys and white people are the ‘experts’, even in the Jungle. (Online “Coolest Monkey”). 169 “Osei began pulling himself up the bars of the jungle gym” (Chevalier 2017: 175). 170 In order to reach this target, the black boy – for instance – uses the greeting „hey” and an American accent and decides he “he would have to find out more about them [Sonny Jurgensen, in particular, and the Washington Redskins in general] if he wanted to get along with these boys [Casper and the other boys]” (Chevalier 2017: 100; cf. Taylor 2009: 24; Chevalier 2017: 102).

69 conversations with references to Malcolm X171, Marcus Garvey172, the Black Panthers173, slogans like “Black Power” and “Black Is Beautiful” (Chevalier 2017: 37). Her African identity is shaped by books, such as Things Fall Apart174 (1958) by Chinua Achebe, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings175 (1969) by Maya Angelou (Chevalier 2017: 36). In a nutshell, observed and commented by Osei, his sister develops into a proud young black woman.

With the help of the black girl’s character and her illuminating conversations with her brother, the author, implicitly, teaches the reader a history lesson. Corresponding with her rather rebellious behaviour, the historical hints refer to the ‘more aggressive

171 In the biography of Malcolm X, it is explained, “[t]he slavemaster forces his family name upon” the black person (Haley 2015: 165). Concerning the letter X in Malcolm X’s name, it is stated, “[t]he Muslim’s ‘X’ symbolized the true African family name that he never could know. For me [Malcolm X], my ‘X’ replaced the white slavemaster name of ‘Little’” and emphasises again, “[y]ou are wearing a white man’s name!” (Haley 2015: 203, 258). “Malcolm Little became known by his street name Detroit Red, then renamed himself Malcolm X” (Miller 2016: 104). He “converted to the Muslims while in jail”, a decision that proved to alter “his whole life” (Parks 1992: 177). Travelling to “Mecca in Saudi Arabia”, “he learned that Muslims in other parts of the world weren’t racist and did not preach hatred of white people. He left the Black Muslims. When he was shot in February 1965, he was trying to build a new organization that did not preach hatred” (Parks 1992: 177). 172 “Jamaican born Marcus Garvey assumed a central role in the American struggle for self- determination. The ‘Back to Africa’ movement that he initiated, and which has affinities with the modern West Indian movement of Rastafarianism, supported the various movements to return African Americans to Africa. The national flag of Liberia, which was founded specifically to facilitate the return of freed black slaves to their ‘native’ continent, still bears the single star of Garvey’s Black Star shipping company” (Ashcroft/ Gareth/ Griffiths/ Tiffin 2007: 5). Marcus Aurelius Garvey was the head of the U.N.I.A. (Universal Negro Improvement Association) (Online “U.N.I.A.”). He “exhorted the Negro masses to return to their ancestral African homeland” (Haley 2015: 1) Garvey was convinced “that freedom, independence and self-respect could never be achieved by the Negro in America, and that therefore the Negro should leave America to the white man and return to his African land of origin” (Haley 2015: 2). 173 “The Black Panther Party used the clenched fist as a symbol of resistance” (Online “Clenched Fist”). “Its original name was Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, this African American revolutionary party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, in Oakland, California” (Online “Black Panther Party”). Even though common grounds with the Nation of Islam and Universal Negro Improvement Association, founded by Marcus Garvey, are detectable, the party was more critical for instance by not considering all white people racists and all black people oppressed (cf. Online “Black Panther Party”). 174 In his book, Achebe narrates “the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community, from the events leading up to his banishment from the community for accidentally killing a clansman, through the seven years of his exile, to his return” and he also describes “the intrusion in the 1890s of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society” (Online “Things Fall Apart”). 175 In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), Maya Angelou elaborates on “her life from age 3 through age 16, recounting an unsettled and sometimes traumatic childhood that included rape and racism” (Online “Caged Bird”).

70 wing’ of the Civil Rights Movements, which is represented by Malcolm X176. The black human rights activist and spokesman for the Nation of Islam177 rejects W.E.B. Du Bois approach of ‘double consciousness’. Rather, Malcolm X aims at an African American community that is shaped by solidarity but distinctly separated from the white one. He prompts his black fellows not to view themselves through the eyes of white people, but to focus on their African culture and their values, in short on “nationalist identity” (Miller 2016: 104). “Like Garvey, Malcolm X sees hybridity as symbol of weakness and confusion” (Online “Race Matters”). West also writes,

Malcolm X’s fear of cultural hybridity rests upon two political concerns: that cultural hybridity downplayed the vicious character of white supremacy and that cultural hybridity intimately linked the destinies of black and white people such that the possibility of black freedom was farfetched. […] Malcolm X articulated black rage in a manner unprecedented in American history[,] […] his profound commitment to affirm black humanity at any cost and his tremendous courage to accent the hypocrisy of American society made Malcolm X the prophet of black rage (Online “Race Matters”).

Sisi displays Malcolm X’s influence, expressed by descriptions from Osei, for example, “[s]he was often angry now. Over the past year she had complained about honkies, about politicians, about black Americans putting down Africans and Africans being too reliant on Western aid” (Chevalier 2017: 143). Sisi, such as other supporters, criticizes the black rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr.178 for being

176 In the biography of Malcolm X, it is stated, “[n]o sane black man really wants integration […] but complete separation” and it continues, “[t]he Honorable Elijah Muhammad is giving us a true identity” (Haley 2015: 250, 257). 177 “The Nation of Islam was a powerful organization spiritually, politically, and socially. Founded in Detroit in 1930 by the mysterious Wallace D. Fard Muhammad, it flourished in the mid-twentieth century in Chicago and other northern urban centers as a magnet for black youths looking for a positive alternative to ghetto life. The organization managed to rescue vast numbers of young black men struggling in the nation’s blighted urban neighbourhoods by providing them with a structure and a purpose, stressing sobriety, physical health, and spiritual clarity” (Miller 2016: 106f). 178 Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, “gateway to the South” (Carson 2000: 2). The pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, preached the principle of nonviolent resistance following Henry David Thoreau’s teachings in his writing “Essay on Civil Disobedience”, and Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy. Martin Luther King Jr. was convinced that desegregation and equal rights could only be gained by disobeying the widespread system of segregation (cf. Carson 2000: 54). Martin Luther King Jr.’s autobiography also describes racist behaviour, “[t]he rooms were for rent until they found out I was a Negro, and suddenly they had just been rented” (Parson 2015: 31). The reader also learns, “[t]he teaching of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement […] expressed in a sit-in at lunch counters, a freedom ride into Mississippi, a peaceful protest in Albany, Georgia, a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama” (Parson 2015: 14). In 1958, in a Harlem department store, autographing his book, Martin Luther King Jr. is stabbed by “a demented black woman” (Parson 2015: 117). Characterising the black rights activist, his autobiography reads as follows: “[t]he believer in

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“too passive” (Chevalier 2017: 143). Mentioning Marcus Garvey, the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A), the reader is reminded that “black self-love and black self-respect sit at the centre of any possible black freedom movement” (Online “Race Matters”). The black girl raises “her fist179 in the black power salute”, a gesture, which symbolizes “the struggle for civil rights” and has been used by “[t]he Black Panther Party180 […] as a symbol of resistance” (Chevalier 2017: 37; online “Clenched First”). Osei is familiar with this “gesture“, which “made him uneasy”, since he “recognized [it] from the poster […] of the athletes Tommie Smith181 and John Carlos […] at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico” (Chevalier 2017: 37).

In the course of the novel, the first diverging mindsets of the siblings, finally verge. The black boy now also expresses his “defiance and solidarity” with the oppressed black people, like his sister, Sisi (Online “Clenched Fist”). Following her footsteps, Osei utters, “[b]lack is beautiful” (Chevalier 2017: 180). Osei’s fury, which the boy has been attempting to suppress, finally emerges. “[S]taring fiercely down at Mr. Brabant[,] […] he clenched his hand into a fist and held it high” (Chevalier 2017: 187).

Whereas William Shakespeare clarifies any confusion and provides his reader with an explanation of any open questions, Tracy Chevalier’s young-adult novel has an open ending. On the last pages of the book, the reader only learns that Dee is running out of the playground, owing to Osei’s lie (cf. Chevalier 2017: 179). Caspar is – at

nonviolence is the person who will willingly allow himself to be the victim of violence but will never inflict violence upon another” (Parson 2015: 119). Miller writes that those black people who sided with Martin Luther King Jr. have always tried to “assimilate and westernise”, such as Osei (Miller 1990: 11). Cornel West writes in his book, “Martin Luther King, Jr. concluded that black rage was so destructive and self-destructive” and “his project of nonviolent resistance to white racism was an attempt to channel black rage in political directions that preserved black dignity and changed American society” (Online “Race Matters”). 179 “When South African civil rights activist Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, he and his wife both raised a fist in triumph. […] Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has often shown his fist as if to say, “‘[f]ight the good fight’”, words showing that this gesture is not only reserved to black people (Online “Clenched Fist”). 180 “[T]his African American revolutionary party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, in Oakland, California […] after the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965 [;] […] [i]ts original name was Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” (Online “Black Panther”). 181 “Smith later said that it was a human rights salute” (Online “Clenched Fist”).

72 least – temporarily dispelled (cf. Chevalier 2017: 183). Mimi is injured as Ian “grab[bed] her ankle” and pull[ed] “her from the bars of the jungle gym” (Chevalier 2017: 182). Osei, told by his “authoritative” headmistress, Mrs. Duke, to “come down”, plummets (Chevalier 2017: 187f). In a nutshell, Ian has successfully realized his plan, and has taken all of them down.

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6. Conclusion

In the real world, disparity between white and black people is still detectable, be it, for example, in the job market, finding accommodation, or in the field of law enforcement in the form of ‘racial profiling’, ‘stop and frisk’, and/or ‘mass incarceration’. This situation has influenced postcolonial authors, such as Tracy Chevalier (1962-), to thematise race and associated topics in their works. Her book, New Boy (2017), does not only constitute a young-adult novel, but also a narrative rewriting of William Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) famous tragedy, Othello (1603-04). The rewriting and the metatext deal with racial prejudices and portray their disastrous consequences. In this way, the American author holds up a mirror that does not show a favourable picture of present day society.

The first section of the diploma thesis, the theoretical part, aimed at providing the reader with an insight into relevant terms, such as ‘identity’, ‘race’, ‘racism’, ‘structural violence’ and ‘slow violence’. The analysis proved these notions to be interrelated and to influence one’s identity development. Against the historical backdrop, the emergence of the feeling of superiority, in the white man, and the feeling of inferiority, in the black man, was explained. Abolitionists, such as John Brown (1800-1859), Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), and Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), fought slavery. Black rights activists, for instance Rosa Parks (1913- 2005), Malcolm X (1925-1965), and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) claimed civil rights for black people. What all these black activists had in common was their rejection of a black person’s inferior status in society. An investigation into the situation at the end of the last century and the beginning of the 21st century showed that racism is still prevailing, but has taken on more ‘sophisticated’ forms, for example the ‘War on Gang’, the ‘War on Drugs’, new law enforcement methods such as ‘racial profiling’ and ‘stop and frisk’, ‘structural’ and ‘slow violence’. Police brutality and absent prosecution of police officers who had killed black men brought a new movement to the scene, the ‘#Black Lives Matter Movement’, aiming at protesting against police brutality and racially induced disparity.

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The second section of the diploma thesis, the analytical part, introduced some selected topics of the Shakespearean tragedy, namely race, ‘otherness’, and jealousy and its destructive consequences, to the reader. The analysis proved that Othello’s behaviour is significantly influenced by his race, which enables the protagonist, Iago, with the help of a mislaid handkerchief, to turn the former noble general into a deadly beast. After this brief discussion of the Jacobean play, similarities between Othello (1603-04) and the young-adult novel, New Boy (2017) were elaborated: both characters face discrimination and are outsiders; Othello is discriminated against by the Venetian society and Osei by his peers and teacher. Their affection to white females182 ignites jealousy within Iago respectively Ian, who display highly manipulative behaviour and malignity. The villains concoct vicious plans that ‘bring their enemies down’. By implementing soliloquies respectively multi-focalization, the authors provide their readers with insights into the characters thoughts and feelings and allow insight into mechanisms of racism that have pervaded Western societies since the Renaissance and that are still perceptible in today’s society. The final part is dedicated to Tracy Chevalier’s, New Boy (2017). In a powerful and relatable way, her novel makes the disastrous consequences of discriminatory behaviour visible.

I would like to finish my diploma thesis, with the following quotation:

“The difference between whites and blacks is that there is no difference […] black, white, or brown are merely colors and it should not come in between us, as human beings” (Martins 2020: 56f).

182 For the sake of completeness, it must be stated in this context that there is a slight difference. Othello and Desdemona have just married. The reader does not see the development of their relationship. They are already a couple the minute the reader is introduced to them. Contrary to Osei and Dee, in their case, the reader experiences first-hand how their relationship evolves.

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