Introduction
“Men We Reaped” by the famous American writer Jesmyn Ward is a complicated, deep, and comprehensive first-person story about the difficult life of the American South black population. By its structure and content, this creation has a brief and concise narrative form but, at the same time, includes a careful analysis of what the author saw. In her book, Jesmyn focuses on the message of candid, reliable, honest, and “naked” truth hidden from the public. This memoir is dedicated to revealing the histories of young men who, one might say, died “in front” of the author. Perhaps none of Ward’s contemporaries had ever experienced so many real-life tragedies which she narrates. Together with a reader, she tries to trace the thread of the specific events and restore a clear picture of understanding of what happened to people close to her. Traveling through the “corridors of consciousness,” she seeks to restore justice and honesty to the “oppressed people.” Ward’s “Men We Reaped” is a synthesis of significant social problems, from the fragility of African-American men and family responsibility to the difficulties of living simultaneously in the black and white worlds.
Main Theses
“Men We Reaped” is evidence of a hidden, personal history and a reminder of the past. Primarily, this is the book about internal scars that heal slowly but do not cease to be visible. Small, deep, and not so much — everyone has imperfections; many hide them, trying to secrete them even from themselves. However, behind every indelible trace, there is always a story; they show what the past was. Thus, Jesmyn Ward was not afraid to publish the unpleasant truth about the life of black people in the modern world in the south of the USA. Other authors could have focused on their triumph over a poor and challenging childhood. Still, only Ward is one of the few who revealed the actual truth by investigating the fate of men significant in her life.
With warmth in her soul and disappointment at the same time, Ward again turns to the time she lived: life in poor neighborhoods and among the socially unprotected population. The writer remembers that the society in which she grew up was close-knit and friendly, and the American dream seemed so unattainable, like a star in the sky. The author also focuses her attention on pleasant memories that turn into a tragedy in the end. Indeed, reliving discrimination and the death of a loved one is one of the most challenging tasks for almost any person. Jesmyn perfectly recalls those moments from childhood when her younger brother was forced to sell drugs to make ends meet in the family. According to Ward, these men “wanted more for himself, but he didn’t know how to get it” (Ward 82). Accordingly, some illegal measures applied in the country’s south were often one of the few and sometimes unavoidable.
Throughout the story, the author asks questions about the factors, conditions, and root causes in relation to the fate of people dear to her heart. Each of the young individuals died in their own way—someone — from addictions like drugs and alcoholism and someone from an “accident.” Nonetheless, it is possible to trace a reasonably close and deep connection between them, even in this case. The development of racist and discriminatory attitudes, poverty, deprivation, lack of a wide range of opportunities, and many closed doors are just some of the aspects that affected the lives of the five black men. Jesmyn says: “All of the young Black men in my life, in my community, had been prey to these things in real life, and yet in the lives, I imagined for them, I avoided the truth” (Ward 54). These moments slowly but undoubtedly led them to the precipice of a unique, inimitable fate and an unjust death that seemed to be secretly waiting for them around every corner.
Therefore, “Men We Reaped” core is based on the themes of cruel injustice and ruthless fate, which does not accept the framework of human rights and laws. Inequity and inequality and juxtaposing such contrasts as “white” and “black” seem to run like a red thread through the whole work. This is especially vividly demonstrated by the story in Jesmyn’s book concerning her brother’s death, Joshua. Thus, negative aspects manifested themselves with the end of a 19-year-old brother when a white drunk driver hit him. Moreover, this man was later accused of leaving the accident scene and not murdering the writer’s sibling.
The message is that young black men are still not safe in many parts of this country — one of the darkest moments of modern times. Everyone is unique in essence and nature, regardless of skin color, race, ethnicity, nation, or other criteria. In the author’s stories, one can learn from the experience that will change a reader through empathy and compassion for the characters. Accordingly, this moment should entail responsibility if a black person is killed again. Hence, white Americans must undergo a profound cultural transformation to eliminate discriminating prejudices. Unfortunately, these ideas are not yet obvious to the majority of the population. Indeed, racial discrimination issues are so complex that it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to them and even more so to look for the perpetrators. A long and impartial study of them can lead to a genuine compromise between the parties and resolve the differences between white and black Americans.
Conclusion
Summing up the above information, the following vital conclusions should be drawn on the paper’s topic. Jesmyn Ward’s “Men We Reaped” is a unique and inimitable work in its structure and content, affecting such pressing social problems as excessive differentiation of society and its stratification into specific categories. In particular, this applies to African Americans, who still continue to experience employment problems, alcoholism, drug addiction, the quality of affordable education and health care, poverty, and a decline in morale and morality. “Men We Reaped” is a “social benefit” about the manifestation of empathy and humanity and a competent and correct attitude to each person, regardless of personal and physical qualities.
In addition, this book is about troubles existing in the world and personal and painful tragedies. Thus, writing the work has become a process that allows the author to identify and evaluate dark, ruthless events from the outside. It likely became a kind of “healing of the soul” and the search for peace and harmony in the inner world. This is not only about an internal, hidden struggle with own memories but also about finding peace of mind and, most importantly, humility with what happened to work for a better future.
Work Cited
Ward, Jesmyn. Men We Reaped. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.