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AAS/EN 4343
Studies in African American Literature
George and Mary Green
George Green is a significant character in the novel
due to his race and his romantic relationship with
Mary Green. He was a slave too. Horatio Green,
was the first man to purchase Clotel after
Jefferson's death. Brown describes George as
“white as most white persons” and explains that he
joined a revolt against racism (188). He pleads,
“your fathers were never slaves, ours are; your
fathers were never bought and sold like cattle,
never shut out from the light of knowledge and
religion, never subjected to the lash of brutal taskmasters” (189). George did not appear to be of
African American heritage and still he was treated
with violence and oppression. His character further
shows a parallel of a man who is "white as most
white" advocating for African Americans when we
see the exact opposite with the servant Sam. The
daughter of Horatio Green and Clotel, Mary, “was
white” (126). George and Mary were in love, but
the hurdles put into place by systemic racism made
it nearly impossible to have the hope of being
married one day. The cook on the estate stated
“dees white n*****s always tink dey sef good as
white folks” and “ I don’t dees mularter n*****s,
no how; dey always want to set dey sef up for
something big” (126). This excerpt is important
when acknowledging that there truly was no place
for the mixed-race. They were receiving backlash
from the black and white race.
The Depiction of Race in William
Wells Brown’s Clotel
Liliana Hewitt and Maddilyn Harris
William Wells Brown and
mixed-raced
William Wells Brown is widely known as the first African American to publish
a novel. Brown’s Clotel explores the figure of the "Tragic Mulatta." There are
many moments throughout this compelling novel when Brown explores the
complexities of mixed-race identity in the context of slavery, in addition to the
specific impact and moments of racism after slavery. The representation of the
"Mulatta" is an important factor for understanding how the system of slavery
operated on a foundation of racism. Not only did mixed-race people experience
brutal oppression and exploitation from white individuals but also African
Americans. Brown employs the dismissive attitudes towards mixed-race
individuals, from those who are lighter skinned and those who darker skinned.
In so doing, he shows how mixed-race identity is inherently not accepted by
the black or white race. This conundrum raises the question of where they
would fit into society, and it seems to be something Brown was interested in
bringing awareness of through the novel.
Prejudice Within
Brown uses a character named Sam, who is a
servant, to communicate the discrimination
mulattoes were experiencing during the 19th
century. Brown writes, “the nearer the negro or
mulatto approaches to the white, the more he
seems to feel his superiority over those of a darker
hue” (103). Ironically Brown writes, "Although
Sam was one of the blackest men living, he
nevertheless contended that his mother was a
mulatto and no one was more prejudiced against
the blacks than he" (105). This could be an
example of how racial discrimination starts with
generations that have come before. He claims his
mother had been of the lighter skin tone, and
possibly the advantages she experienced because
of her light skin tone, instilled in Sam that the
lighter skin tone was superior.
Clotel
Clotel is a character of mixed-race identity and is depicted as the daughter of
President Thomas Jefferson and Currer, an enslaved woman. The novel explores
Clotel's tragic experiences as a mixed-race woman, and her pursuit of freedom.
Clotel's story is a powerful example of the injustices people of mixed race endured in
America during the 19th century. Near the end of the novel, Clotel commits suicide,
as she “raised her eyes toward heaven, and begged for that mercy and compassion
there, which had been denied her on earth” (182). This exemplifies the idea that the
only escape for a mixed-raced woman during this time was death. “Such was the life
and such the death of a woman whose virtues and goodness of heart would have
done honour to one in a higher station of life, and who, if she had been born in any
other land but that of slavery, would have been honoured and loved” (183). These
excerpts are representative of Clotel's experience with miscegenation, and show the
prevailing societal attitudes, legal restrictions, and racial ideology of the time. It is
important to understand these are intentional obstacles put into place to hinder
individuals like Clotel, who can only achieve freedom through death.
Works Cited
Johnson, Ivy. “Three Ways to Avoid Colorism in Visual
Communications .” MP&F Strategic
Communications, 28 Apr. 2022, mpf.com/three-waysto-avoid-colorism-in-visual-communications/.
Professional Store Declaration of Independence, et al.
“Declaration of Independence - Digital Files SVG, AI, PNG, EPS, DXF.” Patriot Nation
Designs,
patriotnationdesigns.com/professional/p/decl
aration-of-independence. Accessed 11 Feb.
2024.
Jones-Branch, Cherisse. “The Arkansas Association of Colored
Women and Early Twentieth-Century Maternalist Political
Activism.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 3,
2020, pp. 218–30. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27019091. Accessed 19 Feb.
2024.
Studies in African American Literature
George and Mary Green
George Green is a significant character in the novel
due to his race and his romantic relationship with
Mary Green. He was a slave too. Horatio Green,
was the first man to purchase Clotel after
Jefferson's death. Brown describes George as
“white as most white persons” and explains that he
joined a revolt against racism (188). He pleads,
“your fathers were never slaves, ours are; your
fathers were never bought and sold like cattle,
never shut out from the light of knowledge and
religion, never subjected to the lash of brutal taskmasters” (189). George did not appear to be of
African American heritage and still he was treated
with violence and oppression. His character further
shows a parallel of a man who is "white as most
white" advocating for African Americans when we
see the exact opposite with the servant Sam. The
daughter of Horatio Green and Clotel, Mary, “was
white” (126). George and Mary were in love, but
the hurdles put into place by systemic racism made
it nearly impossible to have the hope of being
married one day. The cook on the estate stated
“dees white n*****s always tink dey sef good as
white folks” and “ I don’t dees mularter n*****s,
no how; dey always want to set dey sef up for
something big” (126). This excerpt is important
when acknowledging that there truly was no place
for the mixed-race. They were receiving backlash
from the black and white race.
The Depiction of Race in William
Wells Brown’s Clotel
Liliana Hewitt and Maddilyn Harris
William Wells Brown and
mixed-raced
William Wells Brown is widely known as the first African American to publish
a novel. Brown’s Clotel explores the figure of the "Tragic Mulatta." There are
many moments throughout this compelling novel when Brown explores the
complexities of mixed-race identity in the context of slavery, in addition to the
specific impact and moments of racism after slavery. The representation of the
"Mulatta" is an important factor for understanding how the system of slavery
operated on a foundation of racism. Not only did mixed-race people experience
brutal oppression and exploitation from white individuals but also African
Americans. Brown employs the dismissive attitudes towards mixed-race
individuals, from those who are lighter skinned and those who darker skinned.
In so doing, he shows how mixed-race identity is inherently not accepted by
the black or white race. This conundrum raises the question of where they
would fit into society, and it seems to be something Brown was interested in
bringing awareness of through the novel.
Prejudice Within
Brown uses a character named Sam, who is a
servant, to communicate the discrimination
mulattoes were experiencing during the 19th
century. Brown writes, “the nearer the negro or
mulatto approaches to the white, the more he
seems to feel his superiority over those of a darker
hue” (103). Ironically Brown writes, "Although
Sam was one of the blackest men living, he
nevertheless contended that his mother was a
mulatto and no one was more prejudiced against
the blacks than he" (105). This could be an
example of how racial discrimination starts with
generations that have come before. He claims his
mother had been of the lighter skin tone, and
possibly the advantages she experienced because
of her light skin tone, instilled in Sam that the
lighter skin tone was superior.
Clotel
Clotel is a character of mixed-race identity and is depicted as the daughter of
President Thomas Jefferson and Currer, an enslaved woman. The novel explores
Clotel's tragic experiences as a mixed-race woman, and her pursuit of freedom.
Clotel's story is a powerful example of the injustices people of mixed race endured in
America during the 19th century. Near the end of the novel, Clotel commits suicide,
as she “raised her eyes toward heaven, and begged for that mercy and compassion
there, which had been denied her on earth” (182). This exemplifies the idea that the
only escape for a mixed-raced woman during this time was death. “Such was the life
and such the death of a woman whose virtues and goodness of heart would have
done honour to one in a higher station of life, and who, if she had been born in any
other land but that of slavery, would have been honoured and loved” (183). These
excerpts are representative of Clotel's experience with miscegenation, and show the
prevailing societal attitudes, legal restrictions, and racial ideology of the time. It is
important to understand these are intentional obstacles put into place to hinder
individuals like Clotel, who can only achieve freedom through death.
Works Cited
Johnson, Ivy. “Three Ways to Avoid Colorism in Visual
Communications .” MP&F Strategic
Communications, 28 Apr. 2022, mpf.com/three-waysto-avoid-colorism-in-visual-communications/.
Professional Store Declaration of Independence, et al.
“Declaration of Independence - Digital Files SVG, AI, PNG, EPS, DXF.” Patriot Nation
Designs,
patriotnationdesigns.com/professional/p/decl
aration-of-independence. Accessed 11 Feb.
2024.
Jones-Branch, Cherisse. “The Arkansas Association of Colored
Women and Early Twentieth-Century Maternalist Political
Activism.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 3,
2020, pp. 218–30. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27019091. Accessed 19 Feb.
2024.