Monday, December 7, 2015
Short and Sweet
In Citizen, Claudia Rankine uses repetition to create powerful lines. One that sticks out to me is "What do you mean?" While this line is relatively simple, it carries a lot of weight behind it. The line is symbolic of how people are starting to call out racism. When Rankine uses this line the reader's stomach drops a little, and it is clear that the part of the book is getting serious. I like how Rankine can convey so much meaning in such a small amount of words. This line is an example of that, but so is the whole book. The majority of the pages make it barely halfway down the page, but still leave me in awe. I think Rankine is definitely equipped with the writing skills to tackle racism, using every word to her advantage.
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I totally agree, Will. I like that Rankine asks this question. She gives the person she's confronting the opportunity to explain themselves, even though she already knows what they meant. I like that she gives them the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you Will. One can tell that Rankine carefully chooses her words in order to tackle the tall task of exposing racism. Her word choice is exactly what Perrine was talking about when he said multidimensional language.
ReplyDeleteI think the simpleness of the statement also shows us how easy it is to make stereotyped and racist statements without even thinking about it. Just by saying "what do you mean" she stops them in their tracks.
ReplyDeleteI think the simpleness of the statement also shows us how easy it is to make stereotyped and racist statements without even thinking about it. Just by saying "what do you mean" she stops them in their tracks.
ReplyDeleteI think the simpleness of the statement also shows us how easy it is to make stereotyped and racist statements without even thinking about it. Just by saying "what do you mean" she stops them in their tracks.
ReplyDelete