Atticus Finch 'Native Son': A Literary Analysis

White moderates use a facade of political activism to disguise the intentional benefit of their racial and class privilege. While literary defenders of black rights such as Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Dalton from Native Son do make positive impacts in the black character’s lives, they are reminiscent of a greater theme of overlying racism with acts of progressivism. Finch defends a black man while discriminating against his maid and upholding racist institutions, and Dalton donates money to black organizations and hires disenfranchised black individuals while focusing his business model on the continued exploitation of those precise individuals. Dalton “charge[s]... Negro families “more rent for the same kind of houses

Finding methods to justify intentional exploitation and to still appear to be morally upstanding citizens is the weapon of white moderates in silencing black protests. Protests are less likely to occur when oppression appears not to be actively reinforced. A means of which to skew the appearance of perpetuating racial privilege, or perhaps unwittingly doing so, in contemporary times includes the way race is discussed. “Among whites, more than twice as many say that in order to improve race relations, it’s more important to focus on what different racial and ethnic groups have in common (57%) as say the focus should be on what makes each group unique (26%). Among blacks, similar shares say the focus should be on commonalities (45%) as say it should be on differences (44%)” (Pew Research Institute). Instead of listening to those who face racial issues every day, white moderates have shifted focus back onto their own race and onto finding common group to disguise the fact that the higher ground whites inherently stand on is anything but common. This modern tactic of diverting discussions about unique problems facing blacks also presents a