Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

narrator and criticizes him for his work performance, making blanket statements about black workers. “I swear I don’t know why they hire you fellows. You just don’t belong in a paint plant” (pg. 197) The gigantic electric advertising sign reads, "Keep America Pure with Liberty Paints." Thus, the company itself represents an attitude of white supremacy that dominated America for decades, and the diction of ‘liberty’ in its name is a form of irony. Also, the narrator is told that Liberty’s paint requires 10 drops of black paint in order to get the full white color which the company successfully sells. Here both irony and a metaphor portray the innate racism of the company. The metaphor in this process is how the ‘ten black drops’, which gives the paint its optic white color, represents the fundamental component of American society which is the labour of African Americans. In the 1940’s, the majority of negro occupations were that of blue collared labour, at rates much higher than whites (Fraser.stlouisfed.org, 2018). Thus, along with the ethnical diversification of American culture African Americans contribute, the ten black drops represent the labour of African Americans in the 1940’s, as these paints were to be used in homes throughout the United States. The irony in this process is the constant displays of racism from Liberty Paints, yet, the company relies on this important element in order to be successful. The writer purpose in using this type of language is to show how although African Americans were essential in the foundation of American society, they were still suppressed, and victims of racism. Ultimately, readers are positioned to view American society, which is represented by companies such as Liberty Paints, to be negligent of the important contributions that African Americans provide. This is represented through the use of ironic slogans and names, and the ironic process of how America becomes successful, underpinned by the required ‘ten black drops’. There are still many traces in todays world of people’s race affecting their identity. A good example is ‘identity politics’ which is a tendency for people to form exclusive political views based solely on their religion, race, or social background. Often people are assumed to have certain political views based on their race, such as Mexicans and Hispanics opposing Donald Trump’s presidency. This can be seen as an obstacle to people’s identity, as they are being defined in other people’s terms based off of their race, similar to the narrator in the novel.

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