Catholicism and Racism

I definitely think that changing the genre of Augustine's and Ellison's respective books would change not only the perception that these books received by their audiences, but also their significance. Ellison is writing at a time where I do not think a personal account of his encounters with racism and his problems with society would be appropriate. As fiction, Ellison is able to convey a theme and a story that many people will learn from whereas a true, personal history would seem very critical and be not as acceptable, though it would relay the same message, to the audience. Though Ellison integrates his personal experiences in The Invisible Man, it is not the same as a personal- history, and it also would not be as effective for the time in which he is writing. The Civil Rights Movement is just about to begin at this time, and it is important to remember that even though blacks were legally given the right to vote, they still faced grandfather clauses that limited the amount of blacks that actually voted. If Ellison were to have written a deeply personal account on racism in American society, I think that it would not have been as widely received as his novel due to the fact that many were unwilling to realize the amount of discriminatory practices and unjust acts that were still occurring against African Americans in the North and South at the time. However, since Ellison used fiction as a tool to gain the attention of many, and in doing so he was successful by winning the National Book Award, I think that he revealed many of the difficulties that the African Americans faced to a wide audience that did not only consist African Americans, but also of many whites, too.

Now on to Augustine. I think that Augustine's book would have been A LOT easier to read if it was fiction. But, that is only because I have only read philosophy once in tenth grade. Regardless, it would have also been different in other respects. For instance, a fictional account of Augustine's life would not have seemed legitimate as a way to convert more people to Catholicism and to convey to the higher level Catholic clergy that Augustine really was a devout Catholic who had a revelation from God. Augustine's main point about receiving divine intervention would have seemed fake if he had structured his book as fiction, and his struggles with temptation would have just been as a way to move the plot along. However, since Augustine used a book to convey personal confessions and his view on Catholicism it was seen as more credible and able to influence more people since it was him being brutally honest to his readers.

Therefore, as is the same case with Ellison, due to the purpose and the period that these authors are writing it was important for them to select the perfect genre in order to a) appeal to their respective audiences, b) attain some form of success from writing their books and c) convey an important message to society about their experiences and in doing so calling for some type of change. In Augustine's book he was calling for change in the sense that he wished for more people to change their religious views and take on Catholicism, and in Ellison's view he is calling for America to stop its discriminatory practices towards blacks in order for equality to ensue.


ps: check out this excerpt from the PBS version of Invisible Man, I had heard that it was really good, and I, too, think that it is. a good depiction of the first chapter.