Representation of Extreme White Supremacy Leaves No Room for Integration Anonymous College

The extreme stereotyping in The Marrow of Tradition is Chesnutt’s attempt to reconstruct the riots of Wilmington, North Carolina and protest the barbarity and consequences of white supremacy. He uses characters such as Major Carteret, Olivia Carteret, Captain McBane, and General Belmont to convey this idea of extreme white supremacy in this post-reconstruction interpretation of Southern society. His opposing characters, Dr. Miller and his wife Janet, are a representation of the rising African American class trying to make strides toward integrating into this white society while resisting white supremacy. This representation of extreme white supremacy prohibits Chesnutt’s main African-American characters, Dr. Miller and his wife Janet, from being able to integrate into society at the end of the story and leaves the readers conflicted on a probable solution to his posed problem. Chesnutt’s novel does not succeed at proposing a solution to integrating African Americans because he has created a corrupt white supremacy society that leaves no room for progress or assimilation.

The African American community in The Marrow of Tradition expresses a great deal of sorrow and grief toward their maltreatment from white society. Yet, most...