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Dr. Miller loves his wife and child very much and considers them as people “whom he loved best” in the world.
That Dr. Miller loves his wife and child very much can also be seen when his child dies and his wife kneels beside his child crying. At the same time, Olivia
Carteret begs Dr. Miller to save her child. Dr. Miller says to her: Madam, my heart is broken. My people lie dead upon the streets, at the hands
of yours. The work of my life is in ashes, — and, yonder, stretched out in death, lies my own child God Woman, you ask too much of human nature
Love, duty, sorrow, justice, call me here. I cannot go” Chesnutt, 2002: 243.
The quotation tells the reason why he cannot go to save Olivia’s child is because his own child dies and his wife is overcome with grief. He loves both his child and wife
and “it is not safe to leave her unattended” Chesnutt, 2002: 241 so he cannot go to save Olivia’s child.
B. Racism Experienced by the Characters in The Marrow of Tradition
In this subchapter, the writer analyzes the practice of racism experienced by the characters that are described in the previous part. Like the previous part, the
writer analyzes black characters first and then the mulatto character.
1. Racism Experienced by Sandy Campbell
Sandy Campbell experiences the practice of racism when Tom Delamere wants to borrow some money from him: “I ’m going to use the money for an
excellent purpose, in fact to relive a case of genuine distress; and I ’ll hand it back to you in a day or two, — perhaps to-morrow. Fetch me the money, Sandy, —that ’s a
good darky”Chesnutt, 2002: 145. From the above quotation, it can be seen that the
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practice of racism is done by Tom. It is because by calling Sandy “darky,” he insults Sandy who is a black person.
A white woman, Polly Ochiltree, is found murdered. It is believed that she is robbed before she is murdered:
Upon the floor, where it had fallen, lay the body in a pool of blood, the strongly marked countenance scarcely more grim in the rigidity of death than
it had been in life. A gaping wound in the head accounted easily for the death. The cedar chest stood open, its strong fastenings having been broken by a
steel bar which still lay beside it. Near it were scattered pieces of old lace, antiquated jewelry, tarnished silverware Chesnutt, 2002: 153.
When the news of the murder spreads throughout the city, “suspicion was at once directed toward the negroes, as it always is when unexplained crime is committed in a
Southern community” Chesnutt, 2002: 154. That people suspect the Blacks as the murderer of Polly Ochiltree reveals the practice of racism. It is because people have
not found the murderer but they suspect the black people as the murderer. It means that people believe that crimes are usually committed by black people.
Sandy Campbell is accused of the murder because he had been seen “in the neighborhood of the scene of the crime” in the night before the body of Polly
Ochiltree was found. Another reason why he is accused of the murder is that he has “an old-fashioned knit silk purse, recognized as Mrs. Ochiltree’s, and several gold
pieces of early coinage, of which the murdered woman was known to have a number.” Because of that, Sandy will be lynched Chesnutt, 2002: 159. The
impending lynching shows the practice of racism toward the Blacks. It is because if
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Sandy is lynched, he will be put to death “without the intervention of judge or jury” Chesnutt, 2002: 154.
One of the newspapers in the city, The Morning Chronicle, states that the crime is “an atrocious assault upon a defenseless old Lady, whose age and sex would
have protected her from harm at the hands of any one but a brute in the lowest human form.” The Chronicle also suggests that people have to make “drastic effort” to
protect the women in the South “against brutal, lascivious, and murderous assaults at the hands of negro men” Chesnutt, 2002: 158. That the newspaper argues that black
people are the lowest human form and associates black people with brutal crime show the practice of racism toward the Blacks.
Sandy experiences another practice of racism when the real murderer of Polly Ochiltree is found. The one who finds the real murderer of Polly Ochiltree is John
Delamere. He is sure that the real murderer is his own grandson, Tom Delamere, after finding “a five-dollar gold piece of a date back toward the beginning of the century,”
the same gold piece owned by Polly Ochiltree in Tom’s bedroom Chesnutt, 2002: 180. John Delamere tells his finding to Major Carteret, the editor of The Morning
Chronicle and asks him to print a handbill “stating that Sandy Campbell is innocent
and Tom Delamere guilty of this crime” to be circulated through the town Chesnutt, 2002: 183. Carteret decides that in order to save Sandy, John Delamere must swear
in front of “thirty or forty of the leading citizens of Wellington,” that Sandy “was with him all last night, covering any hour at which this crime could have been
committed” Chesnutt, 2002: 184-185. They will not reveal that Tom Delamere is the
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real murderer in order that “the prestige of the white race in Wellington was not seriously impaired” Chesnutt, 2002: 187. For Carteret, maintaining the prestige of
white race is very important to succeed the campaign of white supremacy Chesnutt, 2002: 183. From the quotations, it can be interpreted that white people do not reveal
that Tom is the real murderer. It shows the practice of racism because they always lynch a black person who is suspected to be a murderer but they do not punish a
murderer who is white just because they want to maintain their race prestige. After Sandy has been found innocent, the newspapers all over the United
States of America do not report the facts of the case. Instead, they report “another dastardly outrage by a burly black brute” and “the impending lynching with its
prospective horrors” Chesnutt, 2002: 187. That the newspapers all over the United States of America do not report the facts of Sandy’s case reveals the practice of
racism. It is because previously, all the newspapers reported that Sandy would be lynched but when it is revealed that Sandy is innocent, they do not report it. It means
that instead to be impartial, the newspapers support the white supremacy.
2. Racism Experienced by Josh Green
