Becky

Referencing Wednesday's class, I one piece that I thought was interesting was Arna Bontemp's "Becky," which has an interesting connection with Harriet Wilson's "Our Nig." In "Becky" we learn about the persecution of a white woman, Becky who has two black children. Similarly in "Our Nig" the audience becomes aware of Old Mag who marries a black man and has children as well. Although one is fictional and the other autobiographical, one can see the similarities through white society's perception of a relationship between a white woman and a black man. In "Becky" the reader is enticed through a neutral narrator, but he or she intentional illustrates the town's curiosity with Becky through a white perspective. On the other hand, Old Mag is depicted through the eyes of her abandoned child, which influences the narrator's perception of her mother. Something that is new in "Becky" is the fear instilled in society through her supposed death, which the narrator believes will happen through her return as a ghost. I find this striking because although people don't respect Becky, they fear her because of their behavior towards her. This leads me to believe that white society did know what they were doing and even though they knew it was wrong continued to look down upon Becky and her family. I find myself frustrated by the lack of morals that white society had because even though they knew what they were doing was wrong, they continued their persecution of Becky.