Amiri Baraka's short story "Dutchman" is more complex than many. This story is more complex than many. Lula is a thirty-year old white woman that stereotypes males of the African American race and criticizes the African American culture. In "Dutchman", Lula stereotypes Clay, a twenty-year old man who is a representative of the form of assimilation practiced by many African Americans, a pursuit of white values and culture. Lula is able to observe and stereotype Clay due to his predictable bourgeois, or "white", ways. Lula observes his well educated speech- intellectual and middle-class, professional wardrobe- a narrow-shoulder, three-button suit and striped tie, and his whole demeanor. Throughout the story, Baraka demonstrates the cultural collision between two cultures, white and African American, through stereotype, racial oppression, and assimilation.
The tone of the conversation is guided by the stereotype Lula has placed on Clay. She observes how Clay carries himself, in his......
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Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |