Essay on Wedding part 2
At the same time, the author suggests looking beyond the external look of the sisters. Dorothy West believes that the audience should not treat the main characters of her book by their look or the color of her skin. This is why her characters are aware of the fact that the look of a person is of a little importance. Dorothy West develops the idea that “beauty is but skin deep, ugly to the bone. And when beauty fades away, ugly claims its own” (West, 162). In such a way, the difference between sisters is determined not by their complexion or physical look but, instead, the difference is within them. The author wants to show that the sisters are two absolutely different persons with different traits of characters, different believes, views and values. This is why they are so different, although they still are sisters. The revelation of the priority of the internal world of a person over the external look is very important and is one of the main messages conveyed by the author in her book. The idea of the greater role of the inner world of the person over the physical appearance of the person opens the way to the elimination of racial biases and stereotypes. In fact, the author suggests that people should treat each other judging by their deeds and views rather than by their look or race. In such a way, Dorothy West develops the idea that people can treat sisters differently because they are just different persons. In this regard, she opens the way to the elimination of racism in the US society emphasizing that the race of a person does not matter and any person can be treated better or worse depending on the deeds and views of the person rather than on the person’s race.
Furthermore, Dorothy West develops the idea that deeds of the main characters as well as other people are very important: “He had been taught that bread unshared is bread unblessed when someone else is hungry, whether man or beast, friend or stranger” (West, 178). In such a way, the author wants to persuade the audience that people should be judged by their deeds above all, whereas the race of a person is unimportant (Goldenberg 182). Sharing bread is the traditional reference to the generosity and goodness of a person and the author emphasizes that such traits of character do not depend on the race of a person. Instead, they are personal attributes entirely. People may be either supportive or not, either generous or not, and so are the sisters. This is why they are so different.
At the same time, Dorothy West raises the problem of the development of social relations and the importance of the social status of sisters and their perception by their social environment. On the one hand, the author argues “how many people can play a piano?… Practically anybody who has ever been a child. It is a standard parlor accomplishment” (West, 182). In such a way, the author shows that some people view playing a piano as something which they take for granted, whereas others view it as the attribute of the higher social status because piano play implies the respective musical education of the person and her identity as well as the perception of the person by her social environment. In such a way, the socioeconomic position of sisters is very important in their self-perception as well as in their perception by their family members and other people (Goldenberg 191). Their different successes lead to their different perception and self-perception. Moreover, the social status turns out to be determinant in the perception of the person by the public. At this point, Dororthy West clearly shows that rich and prosperous people are traditionally associated with the whiteness, while poor people struggling for survival on the daily basis are traditionally associated with blackness. As a result, people can perceive the black person as a white, if the person belongs to the middle- or upper-class.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that Dorothy West reveals the difference between sisters showing their belongingness to the African American community but their perception and self-perception as white because of their social status and personal experience. The author attempts to show that the difference between sisters is the result of their inner differences, i.e. differences in the traits of character of sisters. At the same time, the author shows clearly that people belonging to one and the same racial group may be totally different. Therefore, she attempts to persuade the audience that people should not treat each other judging by their appearance. Instead, each person has unique identity which is not determined by the racial background of the person but by the personal experience and social environment of the person. If the person is treated as white, the person identifies herself with the white community and, on the contrary. However, Dorothy West apparently attempts to eliminate racial boundaries. This is why sisters depicted in the book are so different.
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