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Impartiality In Charles Chestnut's The Marrows Of Tradition

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The Reconstruction Era was a fourteen-year period in which the South rejoined the Union after the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery. The Southern states’ dependency upon slave labor left their economy in ruins. In addition, the social constructs of The South were diminished as well; southern white society now had to interact with individuals they once oppressed. Charles Chestnut’s, “The Marrows of Tradition”, dives into southern aristocracy highlighting the unjust execution of the law and the twisted interpretations of “Impartiality”. Due to the fact the Wellington society dwelled on Impartiality, newly freed blacks had to encounter all types of prejudices, each one masked deeper by the newly constructed attitude towards African Americans. The trickery within impartiality lies in its execution. Individuals have the option to choose how impartial they wish to be. Impartiality is defined as “treating or affecting …show more content…

The white southern society in “Marrows of Traditions” did apply Impartiality very technically. Whites and Blacks were separated, and treated equally, however; the quality of treatment towards each group differed heavily. The conductor reveals the sharp contrast between dealing with a calm black doctor and approaching an outraged white doctor. Both men of equal education, however; their race is the only true factor differentiating the treatment. As for Old Delamere, he is very complex. He is not a blatant racist and does show genuine respect and sympathy for Sandy, however; it ends there. His tolerance only exists because Sandy has been exposed to white aristocratic life, its safe to assume he does not feel as strongly for the general African American population. These displays of neutrality are only a few examples of how individuals decided to enact their versions of impartiality. Each method varying in degrees but coming to the same result; they are not us and we are not

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