it excitingly and innocently. Educated middle-class man also becomes an aspect in Clay’s depiction. His statement about going to college, and the suit he is wearing
during the event, shows his social status as a middle-class African American man. Though he is depicted that way, he can not cover something that is important for
this research: identity. Through the play, the writer finds evidences that Clay has identity issues as an African American man. However, above everything he is
depicted in the play, indeed, he is still seen as someone with good sense of humor. Apart from that, he is still aware about happening issues during that time,
including occurences he is involved in.
B. Clay’s Experiences of Racial Stereotyping
Dutchman is nevertheless only a theatrical play: a representation of reality.
The experience of racial stereotyping that appears in the play has to be replaced in reality so that we can judge its relevance or applicability.
The publication of such a play in 1964 was not innocent. This year saw the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination based on
race, color, religion, or natural origin in employment practices and public accommodations. The situation depicted in the play is indeed a very topical one.
The 1964 spectator was also aware of the fragility of such a depiction. Seeing a White American woman sitting next to an African American man in a
subway was still an unusual situation that caused tensions. Apart from the drunken man, the other passengers who gradually appear on the setting probably
sense the dangerous characters of Lula and Clay’s meeting and prefer to ignore it.
Clay himself seems a little taken aback when he realizes that he has an audience.
The passing of an Act does not mean immediate practical application, it is just the official beginning of a process. It will take months, years before people accept it
as the normal course of things. This part will analyze the racial stereotyping that Clay experiences. It is
such a portrayal of the relationship situation between African American people and White American people, in which African American people encounter so
many racial issues with White American people. Based on Joe Feagin’s book,
stereotype is “an overgeneralization associated with racial or ethnic group that
goes beyond existing evidence” 1978: 12. It is clear that stereotype involves racial issues. On the other hand, racial
stereotyping is a “constructed beliefs that all members of the same race share
given characteristics. These attributed characteristics are usually negative ”
Green, 1998-99. Thus, racial stereotyping is one of the types of stereotype which contains racial issues that influence one another. Some people might use
stereotype as a tool to get know someone based on their races, ethnics, even their skin colors. In fact, it cannot be proven that someone has similar personality with
others by generalizing from their races.
1. African American’s Racial Stereotypes as Seen in Lula’s Perspective
Lula seems to have an eye for and be very interested in Clay from the first time she sees Clay inside the train. As she walks inside the train and take a seat
beside Clay, the conversation goes along as the train runs to another station. They actually could have been friends, a White American woman and an African
American man in the 1950-60s.
