Chelsea

Mr. Aronson:

Our assignment for this project says "Draft: Letter to Aronson." But I don’t particularly see this as a class assignment, just as more of a sincere letter to tell you what I found interesting, what I liked, and what I disliked about your book, __Race__. One of the very first things I looked at was the dedication. What struck me was the fact that you showed compassion for all people by combining your sympathies toward your own relative with another, unrelated, person. The dedication page also encompasses the whole idea of the book, "…if we can learn from their deaths, they live."

When I reached the introduction, I realized that you would also focus on how the "pillars" of race evolved, expanded, and came to be. Personally, I think that the combination of focus is extremely powerful to the reader. It covers topics such as the idea of race, how the idea changed, and the discrimination that the idea of race caused. The combination also covers how history played out based on that one tiny feeling that "they" are all "//pariwat//," and suggests what we can all learn from hearing the stories of a muffled people.

But after I read __Race__, I didn’t understand whether the book was a collection of many short stories, or a narrative telling the history of humanity’s experiences with race. Maybe there was also an element added to sway the reader’s opinions one way or another. In some parts of the book, it seemed that you were actually //trying// to persuade the reader; for example, when you say, "Who would have eagerly sent such a card [inviting another happily to a lynching]? Who would have been happy to receive such greetings?" (215). Overall, though, I got the impression that persuasion was not your original intent for this book, but any existing element of persuasion was not removed because it added to the overall strength of the book’s message.

The other concern I have is that you write almost solely from a negative point of view, though in some ways it is quite moving and persuading. This is the case with the italicized passage on page 208-209, in which you write "Germans can never feel guilty enough to suit me. There is no end, no parole; they should cringe, should crawl and beg forgiveness forever—my hatred would never have to be curbed by their apologies or payments." Though I see your point of view, it might be more effective to acknowledge that all Germans do not have exactly the same destructive intents. While the Nazis can be blamed for their mistakes, there are certainly some Germans who are probably the strongest advocates against racism, for they feel a deep want to make up for their predecessors’ wrongful deeds. In some cases, those who have witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust with their own eyes are those people who say the most strongly, "Never again." They say this as opposed to, "Always watch," "Always listen," "Always question" (267).

Overall, I think that your book was written excellently, as it flowed quite well. The book is a great piece of literature. Your ability to deftly weave so many themes and stories into __Race__ impressed me a lot, and so this book is probably one of those that I will never forget. It will most likely influence my decisions in the future in one way or another, since the great power of your words left a new impression of the world on me. I am glad that you wrote this book and I hope you will continue your writing career to produce many more such fantastic works.

Sincerely, Chelsea Edwards

PS: Why and how did you choose the cover that you did?