The Damaging Effects of an Oppressive Society Amy L Aris College

Societal oppression persists in many facets of life and forces individuals into imposed roles that drastically determine their mindsets and identities. Those oppressed are not accepted into such societies and instead forced into subservient positions. These roles then become these individuals’ entire identities as they become unable to view themselves as anything but that what they are solely perceived. Charles W. Chesnutt’s “Dave’s Neckliss” depicts several examples of such oppression through both the use of female characters and the background of slavery to the framed story. By viewing the short story through both a feminist and a postcolonial lens, the subservient roles of certain individuals and the detrimental effects of society’s oppressive nature are revealed.

Chesnutt’s short story features only two female characters who receive little focus or development. Despite this apparent lack of women in the text, the plot of both the main and framed narratives depend upon their existence. Without Annie, the wife of the narrator, Julius would not have had the option to dine at John’s house, and subsequently not had an opportunity to tell his tale. Even within Julius’ tale of Dave and his “neckliss” (Chesnutt), Dilsey, Dave’s...