The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt Literary Analysis Essay Sample

White supremacy: the belief that white people are more dominant than those of another race. Actions and words can create a significant effect on black people. Although two men may have the same job and act like each other, they still have differences. In The Marrow of Tradition, by Charles W. Chesnutt, Chesnutt uses Major Carteret and Captain McBane’s actions towards African Americans to convey the rising problem of white supremacy, causing further separation between whites and blacks. 

Major Carteret is a powerful white man in the town of Wellington. He works for the town newspaper called the Morning Chronicle, so he has the ability to speak what he believes and people will follow.  Carteret is the owner of a slave named Jerry. The major is very authoritative when it comes to the job of his slave. Carteret speaks in a discriminating voice, telling Jerry to “wait on Captain McBane” (Chesnutt 37). This makes Jerry nervous and fearful to the point where he “carefully avoided meeting directly” the eyes of Major Carteret because he was so scared (37). The tone and the words used by Carteret demonstrate white supremacy since Carteret is directing orders to him which deprive Jerry of his freedom. Carteret is intentionally taking away Jerry's dignity, making him feel inferior since Carteret has all the power. Along with words and tone, Carteret’s white supremacy comes in other ways, such as actions. While Carteret has never liked black people, it had been said “that no colored person had ever entered the front door of the Carteret residence” (69). This action of no colored man stepping foot into the Carteret residence shows how greatly Carteret dislikes blacks. He does not even have the least bit of sympathy to let them into their home. Carteret believes blacks are not useful to him unless they are slaves, and even that is pushing his boundaries. Ultimately, the words and actions of Major Carteret demonstrate the power of white supremacy and the ways it furthers the division of whites and blacks. 

Captain McBane and Major Carteret are very good friends. They work together on the Morning Chronicle, which also shows how he is a white supremacist like Carteret, if not worse. Along with the little effort it takes from Carteret to show his power, McBane also has that power. When McBane sees Jerry one morning he “made no acknowledgment, but fixed Jerry so fiercely with his single eye,” that it made Jerry “escape the room as rapidly as possible” (35). The look McBane gives Jerry demonstrates the power he holds over a black man to make him so scared that he runs out of the room. Having so much power over a single person with just a look comes to show how it can be used. McBane uses his power as a wealthy white man to torment the black population. McBane, like Carteret, uses words to portray his dominant power over blacks. Captain McBane believes that a black man is the one who killed a white woman in the town of Wellington. In a discussion, McBane remarks, “all n------ are alike” and that “the only way to keep them from stealing is to not give them a chance” (181). This sudden remark by McBane is further evidence of his hatred toward black people and his being a white supremacist exercising his power over blacks. McBane is a racist who hates others because of their skin color, and intentionally wants to deprive them of their dignity just because of their skin color. The hate that McBane shows blacks does not help the relationship between white and blacks. Words and small actions have effects, even if one may not think it does.

Major Carteret would be classified as a dynamic character, while Captain McBane would be a static character. Carteret hates black people all throughout the book. In the middle of the book, Carteret agrees with another man named Mr. Delamere that “the case seems clear” that the black man convicted of murdering a white woman was not guilty, but it is instead a white man who should be convicted (227). The action of agreeing with Delamere shows how Carteret changed slightly for the legal system to work. He put his own beliefs aside, so the right person would be convicted of the murder. 

McBane is different and he does not change any of his views or actions towards blacks throughout the book. Near the end of the book, a riot breaks out, and white men are killing black people. McBane, being the white supremacist he is, wants to take part in this. When talking with a colleague, he mentions a high-class black, Dr. Miller. He classifies Dr. Miller as a “smart n-----” where he also states that he has “had to shoot several of them, in the course of” his life (252). The implication from McBane about Dr. Miller being a smart man makes him mad because he believes blacks are only suitable as slaves. McBane uses his white supremacist views to show how he had to kill many blacks before, which deprived those victims of their lives because they were black. Whether a dynamic or static character, Major Carteret and Captain McBane were always white supremacists because of their actions toward black people. 

As a result of Major Carteret and Captain McBane using their power as dominant white men, they show how white supremacy furthers the division between white and black people with their actions. Major Carteret and Captain McBane utilize actions and words to convey they are white supremacists. Even though Carteret may change some of his actions, he is still a white supremacist, as is McBane, since he does not change at all through the book. Thankfully, white supremacy is not as prevalent today as it was when this book was written.  However, it does still exist in some aspects of politics and everyday life. Who knows if it will ever go away, but all anyone can do is hope the future will change for the better.