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Killers of the Dream (Lillian Smith)

Lillian Smith, in her book Killers of the Dream, exposes the myths of the South and reveals the dichotomy or morals taught to white children on the unwritten social status of Negroes. She shows how southern children are systematically trained that whites are superior to Negroes, and how segregationists are bred in the South (Smith 27-40). This training is not spelled out, but children are systematically indoctrinated from the day they are born. Southern religion further reinforces segregation, sending mixed signals that all men are created equal, but the children are taught that they are better than Negroes. Smith experienced this growing up as a white child in the South.

When Smith questioned the logic of some of these teachings, - not being allowed to have friendships with Negroes, for instance - she was silenced by her mother's declaration that she was too young to understand (Smith 27-28). The mother's parental authority effectively sanctioned a separation of private beliefs from public actions. As she grew into adolescence, she had to relinquish her feelings for her wet nurse, which made the transition from child to adult much more difficult.

Killers of the Dream is an autobiographical work by Lillian Smith which provides a compelling description of the contrasts between the lives of the typical black woman and the typical white woman in pre-1960s American South (Smith 138-158). The role of the typical black woman is depicted by Smith as that of the cook, housekeeper, nursemaid and often all three, working for at least one white family. This means she plays a double role as a Southern matriarch for her own family and for the family for whom she works. Black women could often be seen with one black child and one white child in their lap, nursing each at a breast and rocking them to sleep (Smith 130).

As well as rearing the children of her white employer, the Southern black woman also served as family couns...

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Killers of the Dream (Lillian Smith). (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 19:03, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703258.html