Analysis Of The Book Living Color By Claudia Rankine

In Living Color Citizen (2014), by Claudia Rankine, is a book that explores racism and prejudice that is happening in the United States. Rankine incorporates personal encounters, reactions, reflections, writing and art pieces, historical events, and the media to prove the point that racism is still very prominent to this day. For a majority of the book, Rankine writes short pieces about her personal encounters that deals with some form of racism, whether it happened to her or if she witnessed racism happening to other people. Within those short pieces, Rankine refers to herself as â€Å"you,† because she wants her readers to see what racism looks like in her shoes, even if the readers have not personally been affected by racism. Throughout the book, Rankine includes several symbols that are important to her that shows the audience that those symbols may be small, but they have a huge impact on how people perceive them. Rankine emphasizes the existence of the color line, the effect of a darker complexion, and a deeper anger that is being marketed towards the black culture. What is the importance of these symbols? When racism was more common in the United States, there was blunt segregation happening before people’s eyes. White people lived in areas with more opportunities, and better living arrangements, whereas black people were forced to live in lesser more ghetto parts of town. Although, the color line is not as prominently visible, there are still insistences that haveShow MoreRelatedRace As A Category Of Difference Essay2145 Words   |  9 Pagesof each other with opposing traits and attributes. Claudia Rankine touches on the linguistic associations in relation to â€Å"blackness† and â€Å"whiteness† trough her writings in her book Citizen. Citizen is a circuitous and personal descent into past experiences that truly illuminate racial discrimination in America. Rankine’s book explores the racism and prejudice that are prevalent in the United States. Through her use of vernacular and diction, Rankine advocates the lifestyle of a mostly Caucasian country