Self Image in The Blacker the Berry

Categories: Self Image

The Blacker the Berry is a novel by Wallace Thurman, and it's a well-known work by him. The title is part of an African American saying, "The Blacker the Berry, the sweeter the juice," which means that the darker the skin color of a black woman, the more flavorful her juice. The novel explores prejudice within the African American community. Emma Lou, one of the characters, bears the "burden of blackness." Every generation, her family has been striving to become lighter.

Throughout the novel, Emma Lou adopts several identities imposed on her by herself, her family in Idaho, her peers in Southern California, and the community in Harlem. As a teenager, Emma Lou felt rejected by her family because of her dark skin, and she identified herself as the only black student in a predominantly white student body.

Because of her dark complexion, she feels that she's not important. While she was at home with her family, she felt depressed and lonely.

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Her uncle Joe suggested that she should go to the University of Southern California, believing that she would be able to find people who look like her. Emma enters college in Southern California and meets other African Americans, but she soon discovers that her skin color makes her unpopular.

The men on campus identify her as "Hottentot," which means a young woman with pronounced African features. Likewise, society rejects her because her skin is not light enough. After college, she moves to Harlem and seeks a new identity as a teacher.

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Emma Lou tries to make her skin lighter, but it only makes her look worse, even when she applies excessive makeup to her face. She gets into a relationship with a guy named Filipino Mulatto. At first, everything goes well, but it eventually becomes an abusive relationship. In the end, she accepts herself as she is and how she looks.

Updated: Apr 09, 2023
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Self Image in The Blacker the Berry. (2017, Jan 26). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/self-image-in-the-blacker-the-berry-essay

Self Image in The Blacker the Berry essay
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