The "Other"

From the beginning of the book, we can tell that something strange is going on in 124. Sethe's dead baby daughter haunts the house and her ten year old daughter Denver seems to be connected with her in some way. All of the community also knows that something is not quite right with the house and the family. As a result, drivers "[whip]" their horses "into the gallop local people felt necessary when they passed 124" (5). In addition, Denver later says that she "can't live [there]" because "nobody speaks to [them]" (17). From these quotations, we can assume that everyone in the community knows about their issue with the house and the ghost of Sethe’s dead baby and that they are the reason why no one talks to the family. When Paul D arrives, Denver is upset because she believes that everyone has been abandoning her. She resents her mother for reuniting with Paul D and jumping right back into a life that they had shared all those years ago. Then, when the house begins to move and shake due to the baby’s ghost, Denver is described with “terror” in her eyes, but a “vague smile” on her lips (21). Later on, Denver was coming back to the house that she viewed as a “person” rather than a “structure” when she saw a “white dress” next to her mother who was praying/talking in Baby Suggs’ old room (35). Although the other’s differentiation is not necessary race in this instance, we are able to see that because of a small and relatively insignificant difference, they are treated completely different. In more than one way, the family can be seen as the Other, especially Denver.

I found that the book and the quotations above especially connected to the foreword by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In the foreword, he talks about the process of “Othering” (xii). His argument suggests that colored people were/are considered as other beings, below human. Coates argues that to come to the conclusion that one is so inferior that ill treatment is justified takes a high degree of psychological work by the mind (xii). When we talk about racism in history, specifically between white and black, it is always told as African Americans being discriminated against with the justification being that they are inferior beings. When we study slavery, common opinions are that slave owners were incredibly cruel, racist, and unjustified in their actions. I find it kind of ironic that Coates argues that African Americans were seen as not even human while present day, people often refer to extreme radicals and the way that they treat others as inhumane. Both the oppressor and the oppressed are called the other. We learn about the ways in which African Americans and other colored people were discriminated against, but we focus on actions rather than thoughts and beliefs. To me, that section was one of the most powerful parts of the foreword because it suggested a totally new way to look at the long historical story of racism and slavery. 

Lastly, another part of Coates’ foreword that stood out to me was when he pointed out the use of the words race and racism. He said “racism precedes race” and that many common phrases such as racial segregation, chasms, divides, profiling, etc. are proof that society has combined the two words together to be practically the same thing, which they are not. I thought about it and I have no doubt that there have been times where I've used "race" and "racism" interchangeably, not intentionally, but used them nonetheless.