Key'Aira Lewis

 

    What are your thoughts when the term Black Gothic comes to your mind? It is okay, there technically is no wrong or right answer, however there are different ways you can explore it. The literature world sees Black Gothic as southern literature, such as having voodoo/spirituality, racial tension, supernatural, and/or exposing madness etc. Also, highlighting black horror which explores the undefined (supposed to protect you but does not) and defined (know you trying to be killed/affected) in horror. In addition to black horror, racial capitalism is also a key to being considered Black Gothic in the literature world. Racial capitalism is the process of extracting social and economic value from a person of a different racial identity…basically non-white identities. HOWEVER, my perspective of the Black Gothic is simple and plain. After reading Native Son, Beloved, and Sing, I feel like Black Gothic shows the hard knocks life of a mother.

            A mother is not just a woman who births a child, she is a woman that takes care and loves her child unconditionally. In each of the texts we read in class, Bigger’s mother, Sethe, and Leonie all were mothers who tried to be the best mother they could for their child. Bigger gave his mother hell from morning when she opened her eyes til night when she closes them to try to sleep and all she wanted to do was make sure he become a successful man. She always gave him her last penny to make sure he can get to work, made sure he was fed and made sure he had somewhere to sleep, as a real mother should. Then, Sethe made a huge sacrifice. Sethe killed her own daughter just so she did not have to face all the traumatizing things she did. That is very wild but Sethe rather her daughter be at peace instead of pain and she felt very bad for her decision, but a mother got to do what a mother have to do even if the outcome is not what you want it to be. Now with Leonie, she was trying to be a better mother. Leonie was a drug addict or should I say crazy in love and was not being a great mother. However, come to find out Leonie was battling her brother’s death by herself and trying to care for her kids.

            Being a mother is not an easy lifestyle and the Black Gothic paints that image very well. From giving your last to murdering your own blood to fighting your own battles and your kids, it is not easy. I feel like that plays a huge factor in why women are afraid to have children especially when the father is absent. The literature world says Black Gothic contains supernatural things and a mother doing whatever she can for her child is beyond supernatural to me. Everybody can not handle what a mother goes through, and everybody most definitely can not be a mother.

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