Working on a "white trash" definition with Porter's "He" and O'Connor's "Revelation."
White trash is the label for people that are in some way "unrefined." I think if someone is considered "white trash," they are stereotypically considered dirty, not modest, unmannerly, loud, obnoxious, cheap, tacky, unagreeable with others, unrelenting, not very bright, lazy, don't adhere to the "rules of society" and are generally looked down on, and in a way let themselves be looked down upon. To be considered "white trash" I do not think one has to be all of these things all the time. Somebody could happen to wear something not very nice and be considered "white trash," or happen to be loud or unagreeable and be labeled. I think "white trash" also has something to do with region. For some reason I tend to think of "white trash" as being a term that came out of the South, or is about the South. I think this is juxtaposed in "Revelation" with the North (when the stylish lady tells Mrs. Turpin that Mary Grace goes to Wellesley college in the North).
In "Revelation," Mrs. Turpin sees people as white trash who have these characteristics. She describes the white trash woman as wearing a dress made out of flour sacks, chewing gum, loud, inserting herself into the conversation, and unagreeable to the sylish woman and Mrs. Turpin's conversation. Mrs. Turpin says that she would rather be African American (not her phrasing)and "nice, clean, respectable," (636) meaning that she views white trash people as the opposite of this and not able to help others (as Mrs. Turpin herself has so generously, haha), dirty, and people that are looked down upon.
We also see some of these "white trash" details in "He" when Mrs. Whipple is worried that the neighbors will perceive her and her family as cheap, simple-minded and unrefined.
I think perspective plays a large part in the definition for white trash, and in "Revelation." At the beginning of "Revelation," O'Connor describes all of the eyes in the room, then she describes the looks that the stylish lady and Mrs. Turpin exchange, then towards the middle she describes Mary Grace's (interesting name) eyes as rolling, then when she gets hit with the book her perspective is messed up, and finally at the end Mrs. Turpin's view on the world is changed again, both metaphorically and literally. The "white trash woman" was actually very thoughtful and (I thought) pretty intelligent and ahead of her time, but yet she was perceived as white trash through the eyes of Mrs. Turpin. And who knows what the white trash woman and Mary Grace were thinking of Mrs. Turpin!
3 comments:
I agree with you; Mrs. Whipple’s whole existence is centered around how she wants to be perceived by her neighbors. She cares so much about how others view her that she puts her own son’s health at risk. According to Mrs. Whipple, white trash is something that people have control over because someone can be poor and not be considered white trash. We learn throughout “He” that the Whipple family is poor, however Mrs. Whipple always has her children dressed properly because she does not want her neighbors to think she is white trash.
I agree as well. Mrs. Whipple does care about what people think. In fact that is the only thing that continues through the whole story with her. She cares what people think about every detail about her life. She wants her children to be well dressed and clean. The only time we really see her get upset with Him is when he gets dirty and she boxes his ears.
Everything in her life is driven by what people think. She worries about what people think about her disabled son but also what they think about the way the family treats him. She worries about what her own family thinks about the way they live. She worries about the fact that she can’t pay for Him to go into a home.
I do think to her white trash is something that can be changed. Although her family is poor, they care about what people think and go out of their way to make sure that their poorness isn’t bothering anyone. Even though they may not have the nicest clothes, her children are clean. Even though they don’t have much, they are able to throw a big dinner for guests, regardless of the future consequences of slaughtering the piglet early. They may be poor but they care and they make the effort to ease the communities concerns and that is what saves them from being white trash.
I don’t know if I would say someone is saved from being white trash by just caring what people think. That helps sure but it seems that Mrs. Whipple cares more about what people think then actually doing something about their poverty. She lets her daughter take the job because she’s smart and she can make up school later. If she really cared about not being white trash I think she would realize that an education can do more for her daughter’s future than just taking a witnessing job. Saving the pig for slaughter until they can really benefit from it instead of slaughtering it just for one good impression would help them not be white trash more. People who look ahead for the welfare of their family to really fight being poor instead of concerning themselves with present impressions are less white trash than the Whipples.
Post a Comment