Deborah Adekoya

Question: First, write a paragraph explaining why you chose this particular story out of the three. What drew you to it? How did you make your decision? What did you base your choice on? Then, write in another two paragraphs about the following questions: What is Colson Whitehead saying about racial relations within an institution such as education? How does he express the capacity for cruelty, as bolstered by racist ideology? Give specific examples from the text.  Your post should be well thought out, written in complete sentences, and in good grammatical standing. Remember to make it colorful and media-rich as well.

Answer:

I decided to answer this question before I actually read the story, I picked this story because it is about critical race theory. I really enjoy talking about and reading different forms of literature that have this concept. I entirely based my choice on the topic and my interests.

I believe Colson Whitehead is saying that racial relations affect institutions badly because the students can’t have fair opportunities in their educational places. In the story “The Match” we learn about black students and how most of them do boxing. The school holds this important boxing match, that brings the only form of happiness the black students feel if a match is won over a white student. Griff, a black student, was made to believe his match was fair, till the white superintendent came and told him that in the third round he should let the white student win or else they’ll kill him. I believe they instructed Griff to do so because the white people didn’t want to place bets on black students. This story highlights most systems that are part of critical race theory. Were black folks are put “lose situation” and there isn’t such thing as justice.

What I found different about this story is, that Griff who was put in the “lose situation” did not give in to what the white man wanted. This doesn’t usually happen in these narratives. Whitehead definitely emphasized cruelty when in the story we find out that Griff was not counting the matches, and in the match, he was supposed to give up in the continued fighting because he thought it was the second match. The white people ended up killing him anyway, this part was definitely very cruel. This narrative like most racial-based narratives definitely shows the white man as the bad one and the black people as the victims, just like many other racial-based stories. I feel like the unfairness in this story adds to the cruelty capacity, the fact that grown men have the guts to ruin young boys’ games in order to “keep the system alive.”