Scene at the Movies

The major point I want to focus on in the differences on how black and white are viewed in the scene at the movie theater. First off, there is this contrast of dark and light at the top of p.123. The lights are turned down, leaving darkness, and then light on the screen appears and the movie begins. No pays any attention to the dark because the light of the movie is what they came to see like the social invisibility of blacks because society only cares about the whites, likewise the light suppresses the dark like the whites oppress the blacks. Then, there is the portrayal of "white men taking such good care of they women" while Pauline does not have the ideal lifestyle at home. This contrast furthers Pauline's suspicions that to be white is to have it all, to be white is the way to find happiness, and being black only leads to suffering and despair. the black is ugly belief, which many of the novel's characters subscribe to, is also furthered by the story of when Pauline did her hair up like Jean Harlow but still did not look like her and then here tooth falls out and again she feels ugly. The white standard of frustrates many of the characters, an impossible standard to live up to due to there skin color, they just wish to be accepted as beautiful in their own right.