A Party Down at the Square

“A Party Down at the Square”

I believe Ralph Ellison's “A Party down at the Square” should no longer be part of the Saint Leo University literature curriculum. This piece written by Ralph Ellison presents the reader with an obscure, and perhaps a disturbing look at a society of a past era in American history. While we like to presume that we are beyond racial prejudices today, we still look negatively upon some of the works of Ellison, we must remember that racial perceptions presented in Ellison's story were reflective of his time period. Bearing that in mind if you read the tamer of his stories, “Invisible Man,” he is a writer that received national recognition as being one of the greatest writers of his time. In the chat session we look at how Ellison presents us with discussions or presentations related to different racial groups and the use of racist language and lingo. The story focuses on one of the main characters a poor black man and how he and most African Americans or anyone other that white American and how they were treated by a predominately white society. Although the story was written during the age of great racial up evil, the tone and language are remnants of people with prejudicial ignorance.

Many of the problems we face today are the results of racial hatred, the tendency of one group of people to view those outside their ethnic group prejudicially. Ethnocentrism, of course, is present among hate and racial groups alike. If the question must be

answered, however, as to whether race is still a problem in the 21st century, then the answer has to be yes. Although the issue of racism ran rampant in our society of yesteryear after all, it had encompassed people of all races. Race, however, is biologically determined. While an individual has the luxury of being able to change ones physical appearance, there is no escaping their race and people who have problems with ones race usually leads to some form of prejudice. That fact coupled...