First Impressions

Analysis of the Author's Choices and General Comments on Race

I began reading Race by Marc Aronson a few days ago, and have reached page 89 so far. This concludes the first two sections of the book, titled “Part One: Before Race: The Ancient World,” and “Part Two: The Road to Race: The Christian Era.” There are a total of seven parts to the book, which, as far as I can tell, continue to detail the history of race as advertised on the cover: “beyond black and white.” So far, I have found this book to be a compelling history of race, and I enjoy reading it. My enjoyment is influenced by several stylistic choices that I have noticed Aronson makes throughout.

Chapters and Pillars of Race

Aronson’s stylistic choice to section the book in seven parts speaks to his purpose in writing the book, which he outlined in the introduction. It is meant to be a history, chronicling one historian’s perspective on why race, and, by extension, racism, exist as concepts in our society. My interest in history is what drew me to the book, and, so far, it has not disappointed. I am learning a lot about how, although race has not always existed as a classification, prejudice always has, and it seems to me like this information is well conveyed because of the chronological structure of the book, and by Aronson's choices of topics for each section.

On page 2, Aronson lays out the elements that make up race. He writes as follows (I have omitted explanatory text from each of the bullet points for the sake of brevity):

“‘Race’ is a way of explaining human difference and organizing people into categories. It rests on four assumptions — what I call ‘pillars’:

1. Physical differences matter.
2. These differences in our bodies cannot change.
3. That is because they are inherited.
4. Each group has a distinct level of brain power and moral refinement, thus they are naturally and unchangeably ranked.”

(Aronson 2).

Even in the 89 pages I have read of this book so far, Aronson has continually referred back to these pillars and has described at least parts of the origins of three of them. I like this stylistic choice, and I think it’s effective because it makes the book feel focused by continuously reminding the reader what the “point” Aronson is trying to illustrate is. This may be a personal preference — I know I especially like to understand in what direction something I’m reading is heading — but I think that this style probably appeals to a majority of readers, and makes this book more enjoyable to read.

Anecdotal Chapter Intros

Another stylistic choice that Aronson makes is starting most chapters and many mid-chapter sections with italicized sections that usually describe modern-day scenarios in the form of anecdotes that he has made up. These are written informally, like the rest of the book, which shows a couple of things: that the book is written for a younger audience (it is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, after all), and that the author wants the reader to think about what they are reading. Few of these sections directly relate to the subject of the section that precedes or follows it. Instead, they illustrate the applications of the phenomena that the author describes.

For example, on page 59, Aronson begins Chapter 4, entitled “The Savage World.” It is focused on Rome’s turn to Christianity, and begins with an at first inexplicable passage about a girl Aronson has invented. Her name is Alyson, and she develops anorexia after reacting to an unstable home environment by trying to control everything about herself, including food. He briefly explains that Alyson is analogous to the Romans who turned to Christianity to become “pure.” Then, later in the chapter, Aronson pauses again to say:

“Picture Alyson and Nick, the girl starving herself to be perfectly pure and her gang-member brother. What if, in her meditations, Alyson made an astonishing discovery: God had a new mission for everyone… They must unite in a fierce army and take back the Holy Land from the vile enemy that now occupied it… Alyson is no longer isolated, Nick is no longer condemned by his sins. Together again, sister and brother, mind and sword, can bathe the world clean in blood. We call this reunion the Crusades” (Aronson 64-65).

Though he vaguely explains why he has been talking about these made-up teenagers, Aronson mostly leaves the thinking to the reader. It is admittedly not difficult to figure out what he intends by this comparison; Alyson and Nick represent the unification of the Christian world around the Crusades, which he proceeds to describe. But, at the same time, it isn’t explicit. I don’t know whether Aronson’s goal was more to make the book relatable to young audiences or to compel them to practice thinking skills, or neither; he could have just thought it was a valuable comparison, no matter the audience.

It seems likely to me that Aronson intended a combination of these effects on the reader, and I think the italicized sections are an effective choice on his part because they do compel the reader to think about several things. First, the connection of the text to the book’s main point; second, the connection of the text to the present; third, the analogous elements in the following section, in this case, groups of Christians. As I read, I paused to think about all of these things, and was struck by a few realizations (many of which Aronson’s following writing reinforced in my mind).

I stopped to note the role of religion in historical prejudice, and the eventual creation of the concept of race. I must admit that Aronson devotes pretty much the entire section of his book that I read to this topic, so it’s not surprising that I thought about it. However, it’s a connection that I had not previously made, and I therefore value being encouraged to think about it. This seems like a major understanding for Aronson: even though people haven’t always classified people by races, they weren’t ever free of the things that we associate with racism today. People of different religions persecuted each other, were prejudiced against members of other religions, and enslaved each other for thousands of years before “race” entered the collective consciousness in the way we understand it now. As I reflected on what I read, I realized I was encouraged to think about this fact by the structures Aronson uses, which I have described above.

General Thoughts

Aronson mentions in the first chapter that he fundamentally views humans as prejudiced.

“Doing the research for this book showed me that whenever human beings have taken a stride forward away from hatred, we have found ways to build new barriers… [E]ach time we ease one prejudice, we rush to reinforce another. As I see it, the tribe thinks only it is human” (Aronson 30).

I think that it’s profoundly sad that I see the logic in this statement, across my knowledge of history and at a specific level in the present. I don’t want to believe that it is human nature to be prejudiced, and, as Aronson acknowledges, historians have different interpretations of the events that led him to this conclusion. The truth is, I have no idea how to classify human nature, but I think, for every bit of natural inclination toward prejudice we have, we have equal capacity to overcome our propensity to judge others. At least, that’s what I want to believe, and what I want to emulate in my life.

Perhaps reading the rest of the book will further enlighten me. My hope is that, by understanding the origins of racism, I can be a more empathetic and less prejudiced person in my life. I'll keep you updated as I keep reading.

Works Cited

Aronson, Marc. Race: A History beyond Black and White. Atheneum Books for Young
     Readers, 2007.