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Analysis Of Miscegenation By Natasha Trethewey

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Although miscegenation is not a new topic, the effects that this phenomenon has on people’s lives has been the source of inspiration for many literary works. “Miscegenation” by Natasha Trethewey is an autobiographical poem that expresses the difficulty that mixed-race people face in accepting their identity in a society that discriminates people who are different. That is, this poem expresses how racial discrimination can affect the identity of those people who do not identify as white or black. Besides, in this poem, Trethewey narrates her origin, as well as how her parents were victims of a society that did not accept their relationship. Therefore, the speaker starts by saying “In 1965 my parents broke two laws of Mississippi” (Trethewey 1); those two laws that broke the Trethewey’s parents were that they were married and had a daughter. According to Politidou, “before 1967 interracial marriages were illegal in sixteen states and children born of these unions were regarded as illegitimate” (13). One of these sixteen states was Mississippi, which the speaker indicates that there is something wrong in this place making use of a pun with the State’s name. The wrong thing was that African-descent people were treated as second-class citizens and that they did not have the same rights as white citizens in this place. Furthermore, for the population of this place an interracial marriage went against all the social precepts that were established. Consequently, the Trethewey’s

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