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In Part 3 of the essay, glass appears again in the form of a weapon in the hands of white people. The narrator is hit with an empty whisky bottle by drunk white men who at first appear helpful. Here the element of glass once again depicts injustice and cruelty, as well as the helplessness experienced by the victims. Wright once again submits to the humiliating cruelty of white people.
In Part 9 the narrator is once again employed by an optical company. This time however it is a much larger and more urbanized place of work. Having now learned all the "Jim Crow" lessons he needed to survive in an environment ruled by white people, Wright fits in well. His learning however continues towards a more active rebellion against being treated badly simply because of the color of his skin. It appears then that this final depiction of the glass element is also Wright's moment of greatest growth and learning. Here glass becomes the symbol of an education not ruled by the white supremacist system, but by the beginnings of...
It depicts the narrator's growth from a victim to a person who is aware of his right for respect not only for himself but also for and from others:
In this fashion I evaded having to acknowledge his service, and, in spite of adverse circumstances, salvaged a slender shred of personal pride." (Part 9).
Glass in this work therefore represents a progression of themes: the dual theme of oppression and white supremacy is finally balanced by the theme of black empowerment and self-worth.
Bibliography
Lauter, Paul. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, fourth edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Wolff, Karen. "From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown v. Board of Education: The Supreme Court Rules on School Desegregation. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/pubs/A5/wolff.html
Wright, Richard. "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch" in the Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
Bibliography
Lauter, Paul. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, fourth edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Wolff, Karen. "From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown v. Board of Education: The Supreme Court Rules on School Desegregation. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/pubs/A5/wolff.html
Wright, Richard. "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch" in the Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
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