Analysis Of Chester Himess If He Hollers Let Him Go

In Chester Himes’, If He Hollers Let Him Go the racial tension between blacks and whites was perfectly portrayed by protagonist Bob Jones and white counterpart, Madge. The relationship between the two was a great example of the advantage that was taken of African Americans in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. Being friends with someone opposite of your race was frowned upon. With that in mind, for a white woman and a black man to be in a relationship was completely unacceptable. There were exceptions for any interracial couples. The memoir by Lillian Smith, â€Å"Killers of The Dream† also discussed the sexual tension between blacks and whites. In the 1940’s sex was already taboo to begin with. Since racial tension was also a†¦show more content†¦Back in that time, it only took the word of a white man or woman to convince a jury, mostly comprised of all white men and woman, that a black man rapped a woman for them to be killed. For Bob , to even think about wanting to pursue any type of sexual relationship with Madge involves enough risk that he cannot take because it could easily compromise his relationship with Alice and most obvious, his life. Lillian Smith explains in her memoir that in order to move forward in societal change, something needs to be done about the treatment of interracial marriage and how it is seen in the United States. In order for that change to occur, first we need to recognize the way African Americans are being treated in our society. There is a tremendous stigma of having sex before marriage in the deep south back in the 1940s as well as today. Being that Smith was raised in a conservative town with values reflecting that notion, it would be extremely hard to get away with Rules against exploring ones body went as far as saying that certain parts were segregated saying that you cannot associate freely with them any more than you can associate freely with colored children (Smith 87). The se principles were specific to the person and their own body and one can only imagine the limitations on interracial relations. As a young child, Smith