In Society, there has been one common way through which an individual can differentiate himself and that is race/color. Consequently, once a person's color is determined, it seems a class structure is established, a structure that not only describes the individual's social, political, but also their economic standards. Throughout most of nineteenth century literature that we have read it's apparent, the class structure consisted of whites and blacks. Much of the literary works of the time stressed that to be black meant being despised and discriminated against by the white population. Moreover, the literature such as Our Nig portrayed whites as domineering and superior as they essentially controlled many black people's lives (slaves). However, authors like Harriet Wilson, Wallace Thurman brought into picture the emergence of another race that did not belong to either black of white race, which were the mulattoes. These authors in their work discuss the struggles and the intra racism faced by the mulattoes that are the offspring's of black and white parents. Moreover, even categorizing these people as mulatto has a hidden racist assumption to begin with. This is because the very word "mulatto" carries this animal connotation; it comes from the Spanish for "little mule." As a result, referring to these individuals in animal terms is usually not socially acceptable. If mulattos are animals, then by implication, so are blacks. Perceiving nonwhites as less than human is the result of the close connection with the Christian beliefs and thus the negative view of the society towards blacks and mulattoes. This impartial distinction of mulattoes foretells the various problems and prejudices that were experienced by mulattoes. It was not till later part of century, when authors like Harriet Wilson that recognized and wrote about people with mixed blood by providing insight through careful analysis and their character development. After...
