The Appropriation of Cultures

In this short story, Everett addresses racial prejudice shown through a character by the name of Daniel Barkley.  Daniel is taken care of through the inheritance from his mother and his mother's deceased sister and doesn't work, but he enjoys hanging out at a jazz club.  Right from the beginning, Daniel faces prejudice from some white fraternity members.He decides to play the song, however, with passion to insult the white men.  He is a strong man who is not so easily overcome by prejudice.

He accepted the song as his own, interestingly enough.  He had the anger a young, black male would have with the situation, however, he was also calm.

I love the change, where he decides he wants to buy a truck.  It is hilarious when he decides he wants to look at a truck with a big, confederate flag on it.  Reading through the text gave me one impression, a rather dull opinion of the text.  However, I found a reading from Percival Everett and his voice, tone and personality brought more life to the text.  I could sense the irritation of prejudice and I could empathize with Daniel. There is so much tension that I can feel when hearing him read the portion at Travis' house. The humor and tension presented in reference to the Confederate flag on the truck and the irritation that Sarah has seems to mock the prejudices between blacks and whites.  It almost undermines prejudices.

Daniel is a hilarious character.  I love his comment on the "Black Power Flag."  Everett does an effective job of mocking prejudice and insulting the stupidity of racism.



In case you were unaware, Lisa, here is the link to the reading by Percival Everett:
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v19965005Cpgg9SP7