At least at this point in the novel I dislike most aspects of Macon's character. He is judgmental, cripplingly insecure, and misguided in his attempt to abandon white privilege. I admire his determination and willingness to state his divisive ideology, but this comes at the cost of his sense of common decency in many cases. When Macon speaks with others, he sees them only in the very narrow context framed by his beliefs, and is constantly trying to formulate his responses to their statements as the conversation moves along. The most clear example is still when Macon meets Andre and Nique for the first time. Macon's desperation for black acceptance is one of the more contradictory aspects of his character that even he must acknowledge, when he realizes that what he wants is not to suffer for black people, but to be "absolved".
I get the sense that Macon's delusions of grandeur stem from this weakness of character and insecurity, as he has clearly not taken action in the extreme manner that his doctrine would outline. Even his muggings always seemed to emphasize a self-catharsis: the feeling of power and righteousness he gained from terrorizing wealthy white New Yorkers. Despite Macon's arrest, the depth of his dedication to the cause has yet to be meaningfully challenged.
I feel like Macon has to have level of insecurity as he doesn't know how people will respond to his stance and actions. When he talks to people he doesn't know if he'll be beat up or if people will love him and his ideology, and because of this he has to have that level of self-awareness and has to choose all of his action carefully. If he doesn't speak conservatively until he has an idea of the general stance of the person he is talking to, he could get hurt very badly.
ReplyDeleteI think that because of his insecurity, perhaps some of his other negative characteristics such as his judgemental nature are perhaps a little more forgiveable, as it is common for young adults to be insecure and judgemental. However, his contradictory nature does annoy me as well, and at least so far I am not very fond of Macon as a character.
ReplyDeleteI think his insecurity is one of the stronger aspects of Macon solely because that allows him to take in the criticism of the black people he's trying to get justice for. With that in mind he should realize that rules are made for a reason and that two wrongs don't make a right. Robbing people of their hard-earned money isn't the way to get justice for something that he personally isn't connected with at all.
ReplyDeleteMacon is a strange one. He's insecure but he always presents himself in a super arrogant, confident manner. The way he's trying to gain equal status for black people and white people also bothers me. He's trying to make white people look bad so black people look better, but along the way he's also destroying the image of black people. He wants to be considered black but does a bunch of stuff that would not be seen as respectful, which makes black people look worse.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of your statements about Macon, especially about his insecurity. Macon's insecurities cause him to be critical and sometimes even cruel to people (as seen at the BSU meeting), and also overcompensate because he feels like he has to prove himself. It's interesting to see how that contrasts from Smithy, who was also very insecure. Smithy is self-deprecating because of his insecurities, which is something we haven't seen a lot of from Macon. Smithy's insecurities also cause him to shrink away or be more passive, while Macon's make him even more aggressive. Though neither are super heroic, I think the way Smithy copes with his insecurities will at least keep him from alienating as many people as Macon does.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has impressed me about Macon is, as you said, his persistence, motivation, and willingness to fight for African-Americans. But I feel like he is trying way too hard for this, and while doing this, we see flaws in his character. His arrogance and violence outweigh his insecurities. It is hard for me see Macon as insecure because of the way he acts, especially with the crimes he commits.
ReplyDeleteMacon's dedication to the cause is definitely tried and tested by the end of the novel, and I don't think he passes. His survival instincts kick in at the end when he decides to accept his white privilege, and survival and martyrdom don't go hand in hand. Oddly though, even after abandoning his cause, Macon still does for it, but not by choice.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that Macon's huge ego and desire to be a hero stemmed from his insecurity, as he sort of uses them to stop his doubts and worries about himself. I disagree with you about his "desperation for black acceptance," though, as I think it's completely justified if you think about it. He is in many ways "down," and it's understandable that he'd be eager to prove it as he has what is, in his eyes, the disadvantage of being white. He wants to show Andre and Nique that he's different quickly so they can have the kind of relationship that he wants them to have, and while this does come off as kind of desperate, it does sort of work too. Also, his ultimate goal for getting accepted by blacks is to help them and lessen racism, and the sooner he's accepted, the sooner he can try to accomplish this.
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