Many character traits that people have can make one person into a negative person, and the other into a positive one. Both Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones from Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes and the mother from Black Boy by Richard Wright, have the characteristic of authoritarianism. This trait is positive in Mrs. Jones, however, it is negative in the mother. Both the wife in The Snows of Kilimanjaro by E. Hemingway, and Mr. Cooper from the Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne have the characteristic of determination. Also here, determination made the wife a positive character, while it made Mr. Cooper a negative one. The characteristics of authoritarianism and determination have the power to make someone a positive character or a negative one, depending on the character.
From the minute Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is introduced, her authoritarian attitude is present. When Roger tries to steal her pocketbook, she responds to him by saying “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here...now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?” Having an aggressive and authoritarian attitude works for Mrs. Jones- it gives her the ability to take control of the situation and in turn, help out Roger by trying to set him on the right path. Mrs. Jones uses her authority-like personality to make a positive change in the world. In the case of Mrs. Jones, her authoritarianism grants her the opportunities to make a positive impact on Roger. On the flip side, the mother in Black Boy, who also has an authoritarian attitude is abusive. For her first appearance in the story, the boy says that his mother “had been scolding me, telling me to keep still, warning me that I must make no noise.” She has such a negative impact on her son that his first thought when the house gets lit on fire was that his mother would smell the smoke and come find him and beat him. After the boy escapes the house, and his mother does find him and beats him, until the boy was permanently scarred from the experience, where “for a long time I was chastened whenever I remembered that my mother had come close to killing me.” The mother’s authoritarian behavior made her a negative character, and had a negative impact on those …show more content…
Cooper’s motivation for donning the veil, his determination to keep it on drove away those who were close to him. It made him into a negative person to the point that Hawthorne describes the effect of the veil as “from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him.” Mr. Cooper’s determination had a negative impact on both those around him and on himself. Here, determination becomes a negative trait, because of the negative impact that it caused.
As portrayed in the characters above, certain characteristics have the duality of being both a positive and negative trait. Both Mrs. Jones and the mother had authoritarianism as a characteristic, but Mrs. Jones was positive, whereas the mother was negative. Similarly with the wife and Mr. Cooper. Determination made the wife a positive character, and Mr. Cooper a negative one. Authors have the ability to use their character’s characteristics to make them either a positive or a negative
From the minute Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is introduced, her authoritarian attitude is present. When Roger tries to steal her pocketbook, she responds to him by saying “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here...now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?” Having an aggressive and authoritarian attitude works for Mrs. Jones- it gives her the ability to take control of the situation and in turn, help out Roger by trying to set him on the right path. Mrs. Jones uses her authority-like personality to make a positive change in the world. In the case of Mrs. Jones, her authoritarianism grants her the opportunities to make a positive impact on Roger. On the flip side, the mother in Black Boy, who also has an authoritarian attitude is abusive. For her first appearance in the story, the boy says that his mother “had been scolding me, telling me to keep still, warning me that I must make no noise.” She has such a negative impact on her son that his first thought when the house gets lit on fire was that his mother would smell the smoke and come find him and beat him. After the boy escapes the house, and his mother does find him and beats him, until the boy was permanently scarred from the experience, where “for a long time I was chastened whenever I remembered that my mother had come close to killing me.” The mother’s authoritarian behavior made her a negative character, and had a negative impact on those …show more content…
Cooper’s motivation for donning the veil, his determination to keep it on drove away those who were close to him. It made him into a negative person to the point that Hawthorne describes the effect of the veil as “from beneath the black veil, there rolled a cloud into the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or sympathy could never reach him.” Mr. Cooper’s determination had a negative impact on both those around him and on himself. Here, determination becomes a negative trait, because of the negative impact that it caused.
As portrayed in the characters above, certain characteristics have the duality of being both a positive and negative trait. Both Mrs. Jones and the mother had authoritarianism as a characteristic, but Mrs. Jones was positive, whereas the mother was negative. Similarly with the wife and Mr. Cooper. Determination made the wife a positive character, and Mr. Cooper a negative one. Authors have the ability to use their character’s characteristics to make them either a positive or a negative