Charles W. Chesnutt: life and literary contributions

¶ … Chesnutt Works

Charles W. Chesnutt was an American author and essayist who explored themes of race and society in his many works. In addition to these themes, Chesnutt explores the themes of ignorance in the short story "The Passing of Grandison" and in the essay "The Free Colored People of North Carolina." Although "The Passing of Grandison" is an allegorical/moral tale and "The Free Colored People of North Carolina" is an essay based upon statistics based upon the number of freedmen in North Carolina before the Civil War and their contribution to society, Chesnutt is able to demonstrate that ignorance on the part of whites in the South lead to a loss of laborers, both skilled and enslaved.

In "The Passing of Grandison" there are two types of ignorance that are displayed by the characters. In the story, Col. Owens believes that he has treated his slaves so well that they would never dream of running away even if they were given the opportunity. He loathes abolitionists and believes that what they are proposing -- freedom -- tears people apart. Col. Owens remarks, "What cold-blooded, heartless monsters they were who would break up this blissful relationship of kindly protection on the one hand, of wise subordination and loyal dependence on the other! The colonel always became indignant at the mere thought of such wickedness" (Chesnutt). This statement is ironic because the Colonel's own son, Dick, planned to "free" Grandison during his trip to the North and Canada. What is even more startling is that Dick was not motivated by abolitionist beliefs, but rather he sought to free Grandison in order to get Charity Lomax to marry him, which means that he freed Grandison not because it was the right thing to do, but rather he freed him because he wanted to prove to Charity that he was not lazy.

Col. Owen and Dick's ignorance is also evident upon Grandison's return to the plantation. When Grandison returns to the plantation, not only is Col. Owen overjoyed, but he also exclaims, "Grandison had no notion of running away; he knew when he was well off, and where his friends were. All the persuasions of abolition liars and runaway niggers did not move him" (Chesnutt). Not only is Col. Owen mistaken about Grandison's return, but he does not know the impact that abolitionists and the tales of runaway slaves had on Grandison. Furthermore, Col. Owen is delusional in believing that Grandison returned because he was loyal to the Owen family. On the contrary, Grandison was loyal to his own family and returned because he was promised Betty's hand in marriage. Upon his return, Col. Owen kept his work and Grandison and Betty were married, however, "about three weeks after Grandison's return the colonel's faith in sable humanity was rudely shaken, and its foundations almost broken up" when he woke to discover that Grandison had runaway. What is more, is that Grandison was not alone and "not only Grandison, but his wife, Betty the maid; his mother, aunt Eunice; his father, uncle Ike; his brothers, Tom and John, and his little sister Elsie, were likewise absent from the plantation" (Chesnutt). By returning to the plantation for his family, Chesnutt -- through Grandison's character -- demonstrates why it was difficult for some slaves to leave their plantations. Not only did they run the risk of being caught and sent back to their respective owners, but they also risked losing their families forever.

On the other hand, "The Free Colored People of North Carolina" provides much needed knowledge to the reader regarding the social atmosphere in which freed men and women lived in before, during, and after the Civil War. Not only does Chesnutt provide statistical information that includes the population of whites as compared to slaves and as compared to freedmen, but he also comments on the impact that restrictive legislation had on the community and how it affected the work environment.

One of the areas that were affected by a shift in manufacturing were trades that were learned through apprenticeships. Chesnutt comments, "The general decline of the apprenticeship system which has affected black and white alike, is also in some degree responsible for the dearth of trained mechanics in the South. Even in Northern cities the finer grades of stone-cutting, bricklaying, carpentry and cabinet work, and practically all the mosaic and terra-cotta work and fine interior decorating, is done by workmen of foreign birth and training" (Chesnutt). Not only are these trades dying, but they are being overtaken by people of other nationalities, who may or may not be subjected to the same social and legal restrictions as former slaves and freedmen.

It can be argued that the legislation, social constructs, and industrial advancements that were created and established during the Reconstruction severely limited what blacks could and could not do. This, in turn, led to a dying off of specialized trades and skills that caused people to become ignorant about the history and traditions that came to be represented through apprenticeships and other specialized trades. Chesnutt argues, blacks "in large part through the operation of social forces beyond any control on their part, they have lost their hereditary employments, and these have only in part been replaced by employment in tobacco factories and in iron mines and mills" (Chesnutt).