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Self Inflicted Prejudice and Pain

Emma Lou is carrying the prejudices instilled in her in the small town of Boise, Idaho where she was surrounded by fair skinned people and the faith of the blue veins in the idea of "Whiter and whiter with EVERY generation" (11). This thought is chiseled into her brain by the people she loves (and the only people she believes have ever loved her). Boise creates Emma Lou's character in a situation where her life is controlled by the blue vein's political party based on race. This teaches a child of the minority to regret her background because she is different and does not represent the values of the community. When the reader looks at Emma Lou's reactions to her setting, first in Boise and finally in Harlem, s/he can see the differences in surroundings but not in behavior. Harlem is represented as a place where black people of all color are supposed to be able to find freedom through segregation from the predominately white world, but even in these circumstances, Emma Lou cannot recognize the composite nationality of her people. She still sees the levels of color and feels she does not belong. Thurman is showing a common view of 1920's society in a small segregated town and giving the reader a reason for Emma Lou's self-inflicted pain even after she moves on. Thurman does this by giving the reader insight into Emma Lou's mind and showing how the character has come to be racist against herself and her own people.
             Thurman's character is constantly looking for acceptance by others although she is not strong enough to accept her own color or those who are as dark as or darker than she. As she gets older, she carries the belief that her only hope of improving the quality of life is to find a man that is lighter in color. When she returns home from college and begins an intimate relationship with Weldon, she believes she has finally found happiness. When Weldon leaves her to become a Pullman porter, Emma Lou immediately blames the color of her skin for her misery and abandonment.


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