Ralph Ellisonâ€s unfinished second skin by Michael szalay.
Introduction
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Get Help Now!This paper presents an annotation of an article titled “Ralph Ellisonâ€s Unfinished Second Skin†that was authored by Michael Szalay. In the article, Szalay criticizes a book written by Ralph Ellison titled “Three Days before the Shooting.†In particular, Szalay explores the attitudes of Ellison towards the Norman Mailerâ€s works and his depiction of the culture of the blacks. According to Szalay, Ellison criticizes Mailer for portraying the culture of the blacks as inferior, while he also takes a racist approach. Ellison also criticizes the approaches taken by the black writers in their work. In addition, the article addresses various themes in Ellisonâ€s book related to democracy, jazz and bebop.AnnotationSzalay notes that Ellison is upset by the way Mailer makes racist remarks in his work.
According to Szalay, there are other writers who have criticized Mailerâ€s work, but their approach has been different from the approach taken by Ellison. Szalay criticizes Ellisonâ€s approach for exaggeration and focusing on the inferior aspects of the culture of the whites. In my view, Szalay is right in criticizing the approach taken by Ellison. Ellison should have focused on criticizing Mailerâ€s racist remarks and giving the true facts about the culture of the blacks, rather than focusing on the weaknesses of the culture of the whites.Further, Szalay criticizes Ellisonâ€s view that Americaâ€s democracy is shaped by jazz. In his book, Ellison does not give solid facts to justify the claim. As Szalay notes, Ellisonâ€s claim about the influence of jazz on Americaâ€s democracy does not hold water since it is not based on clear and valid facts. However, Szalay also uses speculations to explain the personal factors that influence Ellisonâ€s views about Jazz and democracy. Szalay also noted that Ellisonâ€s views are influenced by bebop, leading him to advocate for a writing style by the black writers that fights against racism
Szalay criticizes Ellisonâ€s view that black writers should develop a single style and they should emulate the black writers who have had major influence in the society through their works. Ellisonâ€s argument that the Black writers should develop their own style of writing and that they should avoid emulating the white writers is wrong since the move would lead to the reification of racism. Szalay also criticizes Ellisonâ€s argument that the black writers should act as Negroes and they should assign the traits of the Negroes to the black characters in literature. Ellison argued that most of the black characters presented in American literature are ‘counterfeits†since they portray the traits of the whites. Further, Ellison argues that the black writers should emulate the black-face performers of the 19th century.
As Szalay argues, these remarks by Ellison fail to recognize that America is a multicultural society where the blacks learn and adopt the culture of the whites and vise-versa. Some blacks may portray the traits of the whites. Szalay notes that Ellison likes Jazz, which has origin from the whites, yet he urges the blacks to avoid the culture of the whites and to adopt the culture of the blacks. This implies that Ellison is hypocritical in his arguments. Szalay notes that Ellison criticizes Mailer and other white writers due to their support for leaders in the US who made racist remarks or those who supported racism in one way or another. However, Szalay finds that Ellison takes an approach that distances self from all white leaders, including those who did not openly support racism. He also failed to recognize the efforts of some white leaders to fight against racism.
As Szalay explains, it is wrong for Ellison to take a biased approach when criticizing the remarks made by Mailer and other white writers. However, Szalay recognizes Ellisonâ€s allegiance to the Democratic Party since it focused more on protecting the rights of the blacks than the Republican Party. Szalay notes that while Ellison advocates for equality and the rights of the blacks, he does not give a valid solution to the problem of racism. Rather, he focuses only on criticizing the work of writers and American leaders. Despite being a follower of the Democratic Party, Ellison notes that many of the party leaders could not be trusted to protect the rights of the blacks. Conclusion
In conclusion, Szalayâ€s article criticizes the work of the views of Ellison in a book that the latter criticized the work of Mailer and other black writers. Ellison also criticizes the US party leaders for supporting racism. Ellison criticizes Mailer for making racist remarks, yet he also supports racism in his work. He also makes unfounded allegations that American democracy is shaped by Jazz. Ellison criticizes the black writers for their failure to develop a unique style of writing and for presenting the black characters as whites in their literature work. He thus supports racism by supporting a separation between the black and the white writers, as Szalay notes. He does a good job of criticizing the leaders who support racism, but he fails to recognize the efforts of the leaders who fight against racism. Overall, Szalay offers a powerful criticism of the work of Ellison.
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