Miakou
Gee, seems like it's a trend. I've read the book too. Unlike the average person who recognizes it as a classic, and a well-written book, I despised it. Mostly because I had to read it for a grade, but I still hated it.
The characterizations, A) have unending significance to those who have never been to the South. Granted, 99.9% of Southerners no longer hate every black because they're black, if you haven't been to the South, but you've read the book, most likely you will think that it is an accurate depiction of current times. B) Because in all places, there is a hierarchy of class. In America, there's the rich, the well-off, the middle class, the lower-middle class, the poor, and the homeless. Curious to see though, that the bulk majority of "Class" is determined by money.
The characterizations, A) have unending significance to those who have never been to the South. Granted, 99.9% of Southerners no longer hate every black because they're black, if you haven't been to the South, but you've read the book, most likely you will think that it is an accurate depiction of current times. B) Because in all places, there is a hierarchy of class. In America, there's the rich, the well-off, the middle class, the lower-middle class, the poor, and the homeless. Curious to see though, that the bulk majority of "Class" is determined by money.
Well, people should recognize that it's no longer as rampant in the American South, but that particular area is still one of the more racist in the country, if not the world. I wouldn't be so quick to say that 99.9% of people there no longer judge by the color of one's skin, especially if you've never experienced it for yourself. The attitudes may be more subtle and better hid, but I'm sure it's still there. And I'm not just talking about black people, I'm talking about attitudes towards Asians, Hispanics, Jews, and other groups of people in general.
Also, yes, the biggest class distinctions these days is socioeconomic status, but those states of hierarchy were determined long ago because of racial barriers. Whites kept blacks and other people of color in poverty as much as possible, giving them an excuse in modern times to segregate them all the same, based now on financial lines instead of racial ones.
In any case, the book is a classic because ot depicted a time that WAS, in hopes that it will remain in the past, and that we won't repeat our mistakes NOW or in the future. Personally, I think it had much to do with the success of the civil rights movement, and the reduction of racism over the years.
