Killers of the Dream (Lillian Smith)

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,

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s and don'ts for the children, and believed that "If you could just keep them from all the things that should never be mentioned, all would be well!" (142). However, the white southern woman also sat on a pedestal her husband and his ancestors had built for her (Smith 141). She was a symbol of southern society, used to benefit men's ideals, but empty and powerless against what went on around her. Her presence on the pedestal, says Smith, fulfilled her role as protectress of Southern Tradition, but did not fulfill the woman. The black woman had to neglect her own children and husband to take care of her employer's family, and the white woman could never be her true self because she had to maintain the Southern Tradition, which was not tolerant of emotions or differing opinions. The white women set up the rules for their children, but were uncomfortable with many things involved in child rearing. For example, they were uncomfortable with the issue of sex, and pushed it "out through the back door as a shameful thing never to be mentioned" (Smith 141). However, the black nurse or housekeeper "is easy, permissive, and less afraid of simple earthy biological needs and manifestations" (Smith 132). She is far better trained for a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1229
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)