The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Race Quotes

What a revealing scene. Whiteness, for Antonapoulos here, and for many other characters as well, is prized at the expense of all other ethnicities. Antonapoulos seems to have internalized this racial hierarchy, which is both sad and a little disturbing. What's even more disturbing is that Singer gives in.

Jake is probably one of the least racist characters in the entire novel, and we admire his rising to the occasion in this scene. But we can't help but feel a little sad that such a tolerant dude ends up in such a whopper of an argument with Copeland later in the novel.

Portia is all about digging deeper. She places a high value on what someone is like on the inside, rather than their outer appearance. Of course that's hard to do in a novel like this, where so many characters judge each other by their looks.

Copeland's use of the word "Eugenic" might raise some eyebrows here. Eugenics is typically associated with racism; it has ties to the Nazis, who used what they called eugenic science to prove the so-called inferiority of the Jewish people. But the Nazis by no means had a monopoly on eugenics; it was a type of thinking adopted by a wide range of groups. The key here is that eugenics focuses on selective breeding – weeding out the so-called inferior genes and creating stronger, healthier (typically whiter) children. Apparently, this is what Copeland wants for his people, which is shocking, misguided, and ultimately horrifying to ponder.

Copeland's assessment of fellow African Americans is very complicated and is often very disturbing. Copeland is an outsider, and he has a lot of resentment towards white people, who treat him and other blacks poorly. But he also has beef with his fellow African Americans, because he believes they don't behave as he wishes them to. In this scene, he stereotypes an entire community by implying that most African Americans are lazy and cowardly. Yikes.

Portia's rundown of skin color ties back into an earlier scene where Antonapoulos wants to be white and blonde in his self-portrait. Portia too is self-conscious of how "white" she is, and she takes offense at being lumped in with other "Negroes." This hierarchy of skin color within the black community might come as a surprise, but it's explored in many other novels, like those of Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison.

Everyone sees what they want to see in Singer, so it makes sense that Copeland identifies Singer as a member of another "oppressed" group of people to further solidify their connection. But is that really fair to Singer?

This passage comes after Grandpapa had expressed his wish for Jesus to turn him white, and this image of what an angel should look like, and what a sign from God should be, further emphasizes this theme of people prizing whiteness.

It's scary to see how easily Mick spouts off these racist views. She's not a vicious person, and she's certainly not trying to be mean or judgmental, but racism is so deeply ingrained that she can't think critically about it. She just accepts the racial status quo as a way of life.

Lancy's conclusion to his essay totally unnerves Copeland. Lancy may have justifiable rage, but he's also perpetuating cycles of violence in the community. Many black characters in the novel face similar tough choices. They deserve equality, but how far are they willing to go to get it?

Copeland's run-down of what he doesn't want the black community to do reveals a lot about how he sees them. He sees drinking, sex and submission as common behaviors among the black community that are getting in the way of their saving themselves.

In a novel that often avoids talking about racial violence directly, the lead-up to Willie's being physically abused and tortured is a chilling reminder that racism has a violent, lethal side to it. It's about much more than skin color; lives are on the line.

This sheriff is one bad dude. He embodies the very worst of racist thinking and bigotry, and his scenes with Doctor Copeland are upsetting. He seems to think it's a-okay to dismiss black people as all the same. He's callous and cruel – the worst of the worst.

Mick typically calls grown-ups Mr. Singer or Mr. Brannon. She doesn't use their first names because that would be rude. But when she learns Doctor Copeland's name, she calls him by his first name instead of addressing him more formally. What does that tell us?