Definition Of Blackness In Tennessee Williams 'Losing My Cool'
831 Words4 Pages
Everyone has a different perspective on the subject of blackness. I never really had an exact definition of blackness. My definition of blackness is totally different from any typical African American person. A typical African American’s definition of blackness is probably listening to only hip-hop or R&B, wearing Jordans, and watching only BET. Whereas my definition of blackness is perceived as embracing one’s African heritage wither through dance, music, and food. Williams projected his definition of blackness as a form of protection of one’s identity such as being called derogative names by another ethnicity mainly Caucasians. I agree that Williams’ definition of blackness can be put together with my definition to an extent. Mainly I believe…show more content… Disrespect of one’s character can lead to much pain and tragedy in the world. Williams’ quote “a coward accepts the affront; a man defends himself” defines the way most African Americans think. We go around being called derogative words and we find a way to defend ourselves. I believe that no one wants to accept any offense to their dignity by anybody. In Losing My Cool, Williams was faced with a dilemma of his own by being bullied by a fellow classmate. I have experienced some one disrespecting my dignity by calling me unintelligent. This crush my spirit but in reality I was the coward because I didn’t defend myself by saying they were wrong. Being a coward has its faults but it also has its advantages. In the case of how someone calling me unintelligent, being cowardly and not telling I am not is a fault. On the other hand, sometimes being a coward is an advantage if the situation deals with violence because the end result is always fatal and leads to someone getting wounded over a situation the person could have walked away from. Williams’ quote brings tremendous amount of emphasis on the aspect that courage is all a person needs to protect themselves from all positions that can cause harm to their dignity or