Object of the Study

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is The Marrow of Tradition, a novel written by Charles W. Chesnutt. The novel consists of 465 pages. It was first published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in 1901. The novel used in this study is published by BedfordSt. Martin’s in 2002. Set in the fictional town of Wellington, The Marrow of Tradition tells about Southern society that discriminates black people and Mulattoes. There are many white and black characters and some Mulatto characters in the novel. One of the white characters is Major Carteret. He thinks that Blacks are supposed to be Whites’ servant. It can be seen when he says: “The old relations of dependence and loyal obedience on the part of the colored people, the responsibility of protection and kindness upon that of the whites, have passed away forever” Chesnutt, 2002: 70. Major Carteret is a white supremacist who, along with General Belmont and Captain George McBane, wants to overthrow ‘Negro domination.’ As the editor of The Morning Chronicle newspaper, Major Carteret spreads the campaign against ‘Negro domination.’ One of the black characters in the novel is Sandy Campbell. He is the servant of John Delamere, an old white man. Sandy is accused of murdering a white woman and he will be lynched because of that. In fact, he is not the real murderer and he is accused of the murder because he is slandered by John Delamere’s grandson, Tom. One of the Mulatto characters in the novel is Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller experiences the practice of racism when he travels by train. He is ordered by a train conductor to move to a colored sleeping-car although he has paid first-class fare. Dr. Miller finds that unlike the one for Whites, the colored sleeping-car has low quality. The novel reveals the practice of racism toward black people and Mulattoes. The majority of white characters always discriminate the Blacks and Mulattoes while the black and mulatto characters continually gets discriminative treatments. The story also tells about the real race riot that happened in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898 in which “the total death toll as high as 250” http:ncpedia.orgwilmington-race-riot.

B. Approach of the Study