black like me
"Black Like Me" is a novel about the true experiences of a white novelist, John Howard Griffin, a Southern white man who changed his skin color to become a black man. John took treatments to darken his skin and even left his family in Texas to travel throughout the South. During his journey, he experienced discrimination and segregation on buses, restrooms, eating places, hotels, and even walking on the street. He trudges south streets searching for a place where he could eat or rest, looking desperately for a job other than a laborer, he felt the "hate stares" everyday. Luckily, he became friend with a black shoeshine man, Sterling William, who shows John how to act so that he can fit into the black community in New Orleans. As hitchhiker, John met several white men who looked down on black men and women in ways that angered him. He got harassed and persecuted without reason. In his many stops throughout the South, he had heard many experienced that happened to some black men. Being a black, John had problem to finding good position job. The only job he could get was man working in a sawmill although he had college degree. He could not find a store to cash his traveler's check. Furthermore, as he passed back into white
John Griffin is a very curious person and he is one who takes risks. Instead of just asking black people how they feel about their life in the South, Griffin makes personal sacrifices to truly understand the pain and suffering of the black man. His unique thoughts and desire to understand the hatred and the racism of whites against the black man brings him face to face with this problem. Griffin takes it to the extreme when he darkens his skin to experience what life is like as African American in the Deep South. He states that "An important part of my daily life was spent searching for the basic things that all whites take for granted" (Griffin 99). John Griffin in a person who is not prejudiced against anyone who is different than him. He is a brave man who tries to do something that nobody has ever done. Griffin tries to find out the truth about racism in our society and is not afraid to speak out in a world that is full of hate and prejudice. John is a very touching and understanding person. He asked the reporter, Wallace, not to post the name of his African American friends, so it would not imperil them. "Please...Don't mention those names on the air. I'd be afraid their lives would be endangered, and they were my friends" (Griffin 149). The main theme of the book is to show how racism and hatred exist in the world today. Griffin's purpose in sharing his experiences is to demonstrat
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Approximate Word count = 948
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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