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Breaking Racial Barriers

Jesse's Role in Shifting Perspectives

The title "Jesse" by Joy Boothe, carries a meaningful narrative that takes place in turbulent
America. The short story is shown through the eyes of a female narrator, who questions the
controversial attitudes of the time about racism. The story begins in 1959, when she is just an
innocent 5-year-old and stretches all the way to 1978, where she is an adult and enlightened. The
story is set in the South, where everyday life is characterized by prejudice and segregation. Despite
these norms, an unusual friendship develops between the narrator's father and his black co-
worker named Jesse, and through their relationship, the narrator discovers a truth that color does
not define you as a person.

The protagonist's relationship with the name "Jesse" undergoes a significant transformation
throughout the narrative. In the beginning, you hear about how the name gives her traumatic
associations with her uncle, who was scary and agitated due to his alcoholism. “I am five years old,
and I hate the name. It reminds me of my great uncle Jesse Long. A drunk.” This phrase helps
create a negative perception about the name Jesse. However, this perception changes over the
course of the story, as the protagonist is introduced to another person named Jesse, her father's
coworker. The new Jesse is described as sweet, caring, and hardworking. Therefore, he stands in
stark contrast to the drunk uncle.

It is crucial that we understand the settings in the text, as they help shape how the characters
integrate into the different situations. “Jesse" takes place in a realistic environment in the
southern United States during the 1950s to 1970s, portraying the harsh reality of racial
segregation through discriminatory attitudes and for this reason, the story could easily have taken
place in real life. The southern states are known to be extremely discriminatory towards black
people, which we can also see, when the text emphasizes this segregation through explicit
statements such as "We can't have Jesse in our house because he's a nigger" and when the
protagonist's grandmother tries to instill fear in the narrator with stories about "what nigger men

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will do to little white girls.". These phrases reveal the immense prejudices and oppressions against
Black individuals during that period, largely stemming from the so-called Jim Crow laws
implemented to segregate white and Black people in all public services. In addition to the family
living under the segregationist norms of the time, they are lower middle class, as we can see from
her father's job and the living conditions in the South. The statement "that a man in his twenties
should not be having headaches and backaches all the time", implies that the father is
experiencing consistent physical distress, which probably due to the poor working conditions.
Furthermore, the father's employment as the gluing foreman at a plywood mill raises questions
about the adequacy of his income, as we know, that the family's diet primarily consists of basic
inexpensive food items like cornbread, collard greens, and homemade iced tea. Even though the
text doesn't exactly say that the father is underpaid, several implications from the father's physical
strain and the family's limited lifestyle together suggest that the father's profession doesn't
provide an adequate salary.

Each character brings a unique dynamic to the story. At the same time, they form a complex
network of relationships that help shape the narrator's view of the world. And the protagonist's
development from child to adult, plays as much of a role in the story as the environment.

The narrator, who is also the main character of the text, is introduced to us at a young age of 5,
where she is a young girl full of fear and prejudices due to her racist grandmother's attitudes and
stories about black people. However, through her interaction with Jesse, her perception of black
people slowly begins to change. She starts to see beyond the stereotypes and realizes that her fear
and prejudices were based on generalizations, which is evident when she says “I have never
touched a black man before Jesse, and it surprises me the first time he picks me up, that his hands
feel just like Daddy’s, warm and callused “. In this moment, the protagonist discovers that Jesse is
no different from her father, even though he has a different skin color. This is a pivotal moment in
her development and view of people, as Jesse becomes no longer just a representative of a race,
but the individual with similar characteristics to those she knows and loves. Because without that
episode, she would probably adopt her grandmother’s views on black people. But instead, she
found out that, Jesse is caring, kind and proved to be someone she could trust. This has been

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crucial to her personal development and the choice of name for her future son, who is named
after Jesse.

The story navigates three significant main themes racism, family dynamics, and individual growth.
The entire story is told through the eyes of the girl, and the theme of segregation becomes very
clear as she interacts with Jesse and manages to form her own impressions, despite the many
prejudices. Between the lines, the text is a reflection on the complexity of human emotions and
society structures, and the narrator symbolizes the start of a new way of thinking and openness to
diversity in life. The main message of the text is, that skin color shouldn't matter and that
perceptions can change over time. We see this in the narrator who starts the story with ” Jesse. I
am five years old, and I hate the name”, but after 22 years, the story ends with “I name my son
Jesse.”.

Overall, Joy Boothe succeeds in confronting readers about past discrimination, while encouraging
reflection on today's complex society. Through the protagonist's evolution from fear to
understanding, the story shows that prejudice doesn't have to be true. The ending, where the
protagonist names his son Jesse, symbolizes the crucial message 'that skin color shouldn't matter'.
This story is a powerful reminder of the importance of embracing diversity in the world.

Word Count: 1020