Dear Charles W. Chestnutt,
I have just read your article explicating the complexities
of the race line in the law—that is the distinction between white and Negro. I
believe you to be quite accurate that “the inquiry ought to be momentous one”
for most citizens, the inquiry being to define who is White and who is not.
I am beginning work on a novel to explore the depths of this
inquiry in my own way. I have sent you my manuscript, so you may know the plot about
which I have some things to discuss with you.
I do not doubt you are aware that the complexities of the
race line extend beyond the writ of law, for it is this blurred line made sharp
on which so much of our culture of racial interaction has been built.
Consider the very possibility that Tom and Chambers could be
switched to begin with. That Chambers then grows up under the provisions of white
culture to walk and talk like he does illustrates my view that at birth there
was little difference in these children. However, by society’s standards, as
you so explicated, there are technicalities that override the similarities and
rather impound staunch difference. The 1/16 “Negro blood” made Chambers a slave
whereas Tom, being all white, is granted the privileges of being a free white
man.
I believe we might both agree that this distinction is quite
unmerited, but I want to explore the implications further with you, for it has
a deep relevance to our growth as a nation and our ability to mature beyond
reconstruction rather than devolve into our recurring patterns of unhealthy racial
interaction.
As pudd’nhead Wilson said so aptly: “Training is everything.
The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a
college education” (p. 25). Let me first illustrate with two examples:
1.
Roxana, in treating “Tom” as her master, slowly
came to accept the reality that “Tom,” though her son, was in all practice her
master. “The mock reverence became real reverence” (p. 20)
2.
“Tom,” upon being informed of his true identity
of Chambers experiences two poignant effects. The first is that on the surface,
Chambers begins to question the arbitrariness of dividing between black and
white, asking himself: “Why is this awful difference made between white and
black?” (p. 48). However, ultimately, his deepest character is unchanged, and a
part of this character is the trained belief that blacks are inferior and
deferent to whites, for he experiences shame in his own identity despite being, for all practicality, a true white man.
He derides “the N– in him”, in his own self.
These two examples illustrate the effect that this societal
training and mockery can have on the people involved. You see, just by acting
out the concept that whites are superior to blacks, we create a society and a
nation which believes in its core character this fallacy of racial discrepancy
that we act out. I believe that, legalities aside, this very deep part of our
nation’s character will not subside within my lifetime.
I want to further examine this quite dramatic unfolding of
events in its context of Dawson’s Landing. You see, Roxy, even prior to her
plans unfolding, realizes upon asking “Tom” for money that “Her beautiful trick
was a fond and foolish vanity” (p. 40). I have to admit the fault of my own
voice coming through my character’s here, for you see this idea that one
blurring of the race line could unravel the institutional discrepancy between
white and black is exactly a foolish vanity. Even though you are apt to point
out the legal nuance and the ridicule in it, there is a large legacy and
institution that has, is, and will continue to train our nation to believe that
even without a clear dividing line, there is still a definitively good end and
bad side of the race line to be on.
And what of the real Tom? As I said in the book, it’s too
long a story to tell. But imagine. The real Tom has grown up with the speech
patterns and behaviors of a black man and is instantly elevated to the status
of a white man. This transition will presumably be not easy. Tom will not be
accepted by his white, educated peers. His peers will try to treat him white,
but they are confronted by the fact that he has been raised with worse
opportunities. I presume most everyone involved would be made quite
uncomfortable by the whole affair, being forced to examine their conceptions of
what makes a white man white. After all, Tom will appear exactly to be what
Chambers would have grown up to be.
Furthermore, I think this awkward transition highlights
where our nation is headed. Yes, as you have displayed, there are intricacies
of the law, and it is quite a curious question as to how it will be navigated
in the near term. But I assure you we will eventually wake to realize that all
people should be treated equally; however, even once we agree on this point
there will be a legacy of this mockery, of this show, of this training, which
has and will continue to drive into us the belief in this inequality of races.
This is a part of our nation’s character and sadly carries more inertia than
even such an exciting twist of technicalities as the story of Tom and Chambers.
I encourage you to continue to your work, and I hope that we
become friends in discussing the far-reaching nature of what in the present can
be quite a technical legal topic.
Sincerely,
Mark Twain
Sorry it's so long!
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