Literary Analysis Essay on Talma Gordon

Introduction

The story I chose is Talma Gordon by Pauline Hopkin 1900. Pauline Hopkins, in her passage, compares the racial subject of the wealthy Mulatta and the Indian worker through the connections that links the people of the British empire and American slavery. This juxtaposition essentially serves vital functions including implicating the American in imperial loot, exposes malicious types of white morality, impedes white patriarchy, and allows for the free racial engagements between the blacks and whites. In this paper, I argue that constructed on the opinions in the passage, "Talma Gordon" (1900) by Pauline Hopkins incorporates the concept of "The woman Question-Local color" to show meaning of American imperial projects in the twentieth century and claim belonging for the non-Americans in the white man's family.

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The doctor removed the half-consumed cigar from his lips, drunk what remained in his glass of choice Burgundy and leaning back in his chair contemplated the earnest faces before him"We may make laws, but laws are like straws in the hands of the omnipotence.

'There is a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will.

And no man may combat fate. Given a man, propinquity, fascinating feminity and there you are. Black white, green, yellow nothing will prevent intermarriage. Position, wealth, family friends all sink into insignificance before God-implanted instincts that made Adam awakening from a deep sleep and finding the woman beside him...Doubtless, all of you heard the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Gordonville, Mass, some years ago, when Capt. Jonathan Gordon, his wife, and little son, were murdered, I suppose that I am the only man on this side of the Atlantic, outside of the police who can tell you the true story of that crime. (Page 764)

This passage is located in the course of the story and is part of the climax within the flow of the text. This passage presents a short mystery of the death of captain Jonathan Gordon, his wife, and a little son. This story is narrated in a gathering at Dr. Thornton's house. Thornton is respected and renowned as a white physician. Narrations are done at the table by people of different classes from Boston and members of the Canterbury club. This part of the passage also appears as part of the debate about America's imperialism, thus formulating the class relations between race, countries, and money (Lauter,2009 p. 764).

Hopkin’s Work Consisted of Words Such as Propinquity, Intermarriage, Wealth, and Crime

Lexion is essential in this passage and the overall story in setting the tone. Additionally, the lexion sets the local color of time while communicating the plot of the story. The author uses the word propinquity in the doctor's speech to stress on the closeness of one man with the other and with a woman. Thus, in using this word, the author hints the importance of both sides of the debate of the fact that amalgamation is possible of the classes. The author also uses the phrase 'intermarriage' to reveal the complexity of the essentialism of intermarriages. Thornton argues that intermarriages happen among all classes to a terrible degree that will give rise to superior beings if the black non-American race possesses moral expansion and perfection. The author also uses the phrase wealth to hint on the struggles of the nations and individuals of different races in the 20th century. Hopkins also idealizes wealth through domestic ideologies that are negotiated, giving women a chance to contribute to the endeavors of the American nationalism. Also, Hopkin's repeatedly uses the word crime to expose the plunders of imperialism and the deaths that talks place in turn ushers in Talma to her rightful place. This still connects to the doctor's insistence when he quotes that, the mixing of races can only provide an avenue for the development of a powerful being only if the crime rates reduce and moral uprightness held.

The word intermarriage is repeated in the passage in other instance in the text. The quote states "Did you ever think that in spite of our prejudices against amalgamation, some of our descendants, indeed many of them, will inevitably intermarry among those far-off tribes of dark-skinned peoples, if they become a part of this great Union" (Lauter,2009 p. 763) This is a statement by doctor Thornton and intrigues me to ask questions such as if this was a way that the author wanted to stress the importance of propinquity among the races, and class. Looking at it through the lens of "The woman Question," intermarriages had started being the order of the day in the 20th century which is the primary context that the passage is placed (Fredrickson, 2005). The physician argues that intermarriages are bound to happen, and through amalgamation, follows the formation of stronger parties such as Talma. The author also used orientalism to present the assimilation of black women into American and British cultures. Marriage between blacks and whites was considered a heinous form of lawbreaking and that the woman was to act as a powerful weapon in the nation's Amalgamation through wealth and power.

Conclusion

In conclusion the passage, "Talma Gordon" (1900), Pauline Hopkins incorporates the concept of "The woman Question-Local color" to show meaning of American imperial projects in the twentieth century and claim belonging for the non-Americans in the white man's family. My findings in the story of Talma Gordon connects the lesson on cold war that took place in 1947. During the cold war, the media was one of the most potent weapons in advocating for racism. The racism that was taking place in the United States during the cold caused the country to be viewed as weak and embarrassing. The story of Talma Gordon by Hopkins through the lens of the Woman question and color line demonstrates inequality towards women of other races. This inequality roots out from the differences that exist in race and class during the American imperialism.

References

Fredrickson, G. M. (2005). Mulattoes and metis. Attitudes toward miscegenation in the United States and France since the seventeenth century. International Social Science Journal, 57(183), 103-112.

Lauter, P., Alberti, J., Yarborough, R., Brady, M. P., & Bryer, J. R. (Eds.). (2009). The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume C: Late Nineteenth Century: 1865-1910(Vol. 3). Cengage Learning.