Held at Arm's Length

When first introduced to the character of Theron Ware in The Damnation of Theron Ware, the reader is under the impression that he contains some positive and likeable qualities as the main character of a novel. However, through the course of the book, Theron's actions and thoughts manifest themselves to show his true nature. This is extrememly apparent in Chapter 30, where he attempts to talk to Celia, who will not receive him.
It is here, through his actions towards her, and his thoughts of her, that Theron's personality and true character are shown to the reader crystal clear. Depsite what Celia may think of him, Theron arrives with the entire interaction planned in his head. He's under the assumption that he knows exactly what she is going to say, and how she is going to act. When Celia says that she saw him hiding at the depot, he states boldly "Yes, I did both these things...That is not the hundredth part, or the thousandth part, of what I would do for your sake. I have got way beyond caring for any consequences" (301-302). He legitametly expects this grand gesture of romance to win her over, to dash her hesitance. His words hold no weight of actual emotion, and this can be seen when he talks of her negative reaction to his previous words; "Women were curious creatures...some were susceptible to one line of treatment, some to another. His own reading of Celia had always been that she liked opposition...he searched his brain now for some clever quip that would strike sparks from the adamantine mood which for the moment it was her whim to assume" (302). Instead of reflecting on what he may have done wrong in the past, he instead focuses on what else he can say in order to change her mind.
The author, Harold Frederic, actually parallels this early likability of the character through Celia, when she states on page 305, "We were disposed to like you very much when we first knew you." However, she then goes on to state that, "Instead, we found you inflating yourself with all sorts of egotisms and vanities. We found you presuming upon the friendships which had been mistakenly extended to you." His reaction is just as overdramtic as his earlier statements as he turns to leave, but instead, "whirled round by some mighty wind. He came toward her, with something almost menacing in the vigor of his movements, and in the wild look upon his white, set face" (306). This shows that, no matter the outcome of the situation or what has happened, Theron is so sure of himself that he constructs these outcomes in his head. Even when they don't go how he thought, he still tries to convince himself that he can make things work out by saying something stirring, or performing some heroic action.

Identity in Johnson's "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man"

Much like other works we have studied so far, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man once again plays with the reader’s expectations of the narrator. By claiming the work is an autobiography, James Weldon Johnson attempts to instill in the reader the idea that the experiences and characters introduced throughout the story are accurate. On page 1, Johnson even states, “I know that in writing the following pages I am divulging the greatest secret of my life, the secret which for some years I have guarded far more carefully than any of my earthly possessions.” However, this book isn’t technically considered an autobiography. Its worth in reality comes with the parallels drawn through Johnson’s life, and the life of the narrator. Through anonymity, and the use of the word “autobiography,” Johnson inhabits the narrator, and attempts to educate and influence his readers of the culturally complicated nature of recognizing oneself as colored, thereby reevaluating ones identity.

            It is readily apparent, more than anywhere else in the novel, that Johnson intends for a degree of anonymity revolving around the narrator and the characters. The narrator is never given a name, and even important characters like “Red” and “Shiny” are never mentioned outside of their respective nicknames. One of the most obvious cases of this is on page 17, when he refers to his partner in a duet as “She of the brown eyes” (Johnson). By doing so, the reader can only really conjure up a mental image of each character based on small descriptions and recognizable character traits. Without a name, the narrator as well as his family, friends, and acquaintances are easier to inhabit, both for Johnson and the reader.

The narrator then begins to explore his identity crisis on pages 9-10. Much as the reader sees the story through the narrator’s influence, the narrator now sees the world through the expectations of his race. “I looked out through other eyes, my thoughts were colored, my words dictated, my actions limited by one dominating, all-pervading idea” (Johnson 9). This parallel between this theme of the book and an actual writing technique employed by the author only furthers the point that even though we may be individuals, there are always those outside influences that alter who we are, how we are viewed by others, and how we view the world around us.