Week 9 Analysis: Literary Analysis of Thurman

The main character Emma Lou moved from the town of Boise to Los Angeles to attend college. She meets another colored girl named Hazel Mason who she is embarrassed to be friends with because of what everyone else would think. "Now Hazel, according to Emma Lou, was the type of Negro who should go to a Negro college. There were plenty of them in the South whose standard of scholarship was not beyond her ability. And then, in one of those schools, her darkly-like clownishness would not have to be paraded in front of white people, thereby causing discomfort and embarrassment to others of her race, more civilized and circumspect than she" (Thurman, 441-442). This story took place in a time where there was a lot of prejudice from whites toward the people of color. It took place during prohibition.

Emma Lou was disappointed with her colored campus mates. They would be polite and greet her, but she could not connect with them. A lot of times she felt left out, and they would talk about stuff in front of her that she did not experience with them. They did not invite her to do anything outside of campus, including the parties that they would talk about. She questioned her skin color, "The thought of the color question presented itself to her time and time again, but she would always dismiss it from her mind. Verne Davis was dark and she was not excluded from the sacred inner circle. In fact, she was one of the most popular colored girls on the campus" (Thurman, 443). She did notice that Verne was new just like her and she was not excluded. Emma Lou questioned this (Thurman, 443).

Emma noticed that another campus mate named Grace Giles was also excluded. Grace Giles opened up to Emma after she asked why she was excluded and she confessed to her it was because she did not have a lot of money and because she was not half-white (Thurman, 444). This shows that there was a lot of prejudice.

This story took place at a time where a lot of colored people where moving West. They were looking for more opportunities and freedom. This was a time when light skinned colored people where favored so they would try to maintain the future generations so that they will not be dark skinned. They would choose their mates in regards to this. "A wife of dark complexion was considered a handicap unless she was particularly charming, wealthy or beautiful" (Thurman, 446).




Hicks, Jack, et al. “The Blacker the Berry.” The Literature of California, vol. 1, University of               California Press, 2000, pp. 437–446.