Introduction
The Bona and Paul story brings about various themes in its narration. Themes identified include character complexity, language complexity and fascination. This essay relates these themes to the black artists during the Harlem Renaissance and modern social phenomenon of multiracial ancestry.
Themes in Bona and Paul
Major themes addressed by Jean in Bona and Paul include the complexity of the characters as it addresses the incorporation of Black Americans into the life of Northern urban Jazz. Additionally, the story characters hardly seem to know each other. An example is that of Helen trying to explain Paul to herself through information passed on to her by her friend. She tends to be attracted to Paul but hates his interests in art.
Another theme is the complexity of the language used as it tends to be more baffling each time it is read. The story uses the metaphor of the world’s widespread sickness to actually represent the repression of instinctive and physical energy. The third theme brought out in the story is fascination. This is demonstrated by Bona picturing Paul in images that express her personal fantasies of romance that may not relate to the actual Paul Johnson.
Black artists during the Harlem Renaissance
The themes from Paul and Bona reflect the concerns of Black artists during the Harlem Resistance as 1920 saw popular Black entertainment being adopted by the mainstream culture of Whites. However major controversies emerged regarding the definition of New Negro. Some activists emphasized on African Americans ability to handle mainstream culture so as to show that the race had equal cultural and intellectual capacity as the White Americans. While others were not concerned about proving their equality with whites, but instead emphasized on the culture and beauty of the African Americans. Views of ethnic identities have been varying with time and so have the official measurement procedures.
Harlem Renaissance occurred due to the increase in numbers of educated Blacks. Education served as the powerful force for political, social and cultural change. The efforts of missionaries, public schools and churches in cities led to the increase of educated Blacks. By 1920s many Blacks could write and read hence made an audience for those willing to express them through art, music and literature.
As the spirit of Harlem Renaissance was expressed in literature and visual arts, foundations like Harmon awarded rising Black artists who later became famous. All kinds of artists contributed to the Renaissance mostly through the art message. In sculpture, Meta Fuller produced themes of beauty of the black man as well as Africa while in photography; people like James Van visually documented intellectual personalities, prominent African American culture and Harlem’s Community life. Meanwhile, Black painters portrayed Blacks as dignified individuals with sensitivity and not just comic stereotypes.
Biracial and Multiracial Ancestry in Modern Society
In the United States, one is considered Black if one has any known ancestry in the African black. Usually, the definition of who is black differs from country to country. The term passing as white is more of a social happening and not a biological one. The term applies only to blacks because the differences between whites and other groups are not as pronounced as that between whites and African Blacks. Usually, racially mixed persons are usually assigned the status of a subordinate group.
The picture of ethnic disparities is strongly influenced by data collection methods based on race and ethnicity. Most Americans have a general categorical scheme of including Asians, Hispanics, American Indians and Blacks. Recent research has even tried to compare subgroups within these major groups. Distinctions of nativity, country of origin and U.S generations have been identified. These social constructions have changed and are likely to continue changing with time.
When it comes to data collection on the elderly population, inconsistencies across data sets are discovered. A part of these inconsistencies arises from the various ways in which Americans talk and think about ethnicity and race. Collection of ethnic data depends on the data source as mismatch arises between the observers selected race and the self selected race. In U.S, the African American race tends to be relatively closed since even biracial individuals with some amount of black ancestry find it difficult not to claim a non black identity. Moreover, intermarriages between whites and other ethnic groups have led to a significant number of people with partially white and partially Asian, Hispanic or Indian ancestries. These individuals are therefore given a choice on how to identify ethnically.
Conclusion
This essay brings out themes brought out by the story of Bona and Paul by Jean Toomer. These themes then assist in reflecting on the concerns of black artists during the period of Harlem Renaissance. Lastly, they give an insight into the modern social phenomenon of multiracial ancestry.
Works Cited
Christ, Jack. "Jean Toomer's 'Bona and Paul': The Innocence and Artifice of Words." Negro American Literature Forum 9.2 (1975): 44-46. Print.
Sandefur, Gary, Mary Campbell and Jennifer Eggerling-Boeck. Racial and Ethnic Identification, Official Classifications, and Health Disparities. 2004. Web. 2 April 2016.
