Black Like Me

Black like me

What characterizes the stereotypes perpetuated about Black men and women?

What did you learn about race relations in the U.S. South, and about racism generally?

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Last updated by Aslan
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This is really asking for your opinion. One of the major themes in the novel is identity, namely how a person builds his or her identity and how they connect with the world around them based on how they define their identity. There is a significant connection between a person’s skin color and their identity, and when John changes his skin color, he feels as if he doesn’t know who he is anymore and he even feels that he can’t contact his family anymore because of his skin color. The theme of identity is important in the novel because apart from dealing with racial issues, it also analyzes how a person changes when he loses the thing he used to relate to the world around him. The old stereotypes of black people that were perpetuated by white people are merely illusions of hate. True identity comes from real people, not old perceptions.