Dear Martin: Depiction of Racism in Nic Stone's Novel

Introduction

'Dear Martin' is an excellent novel for young adults written by American author Nic Stone. This is her debut novel and it specializes in discussing and portraying racism in the society. The novel is about an African American high school student named Justyce who struggles with the challenges at an Ivy League School. It was a mostly white school and Justyce was one of the only African Americans in the school with Manny. Therefore, Justyce faced a lot of challenges and unfair treatment from his friends because of his race. The novel shows that people are judged on the basis of race. He suffered discrimination from his white friends and they treated him unequally. He was often provoked by the racist jokes at school by his friends and culminated is at the party. Besides, he was harassed and unfair arrested by the racist police officer Tommy Castillo without reasonable cause. The most important moment is the funeral of his best friend Manny who was shot because of his race. Through most of the moments involved racial discrimination in the entire of the book, Stone created a novel with a clear message that in all of the episodes someone is judged on the basis of race. Therefore this essay analyzes 'Dear Martin' in terms of its depiction of racism.

Dear Martin: racism in the book

Firstly, Justyce is offended the racist jokes at the party. At the party, Justyce had to suffer the discrimination from white friends. The white friends showed disdain and constantly made unpleasant jokes. They provoked Justyce by the racist jokes and that made Justyce hurt. He felt uncomfortable and angry. His friends considered that Justyce is a trivial person. Everyone enjoyed and had fun with the jokes they made. They laughed happily and judged Justyce because he was black. They despised and underestimated Justyce because they thought that black people were not capable. The jokes went on and no one stopped it. There was no one stood up in order to protect him and prevent such racist jokes. Everyone's jokes made him restrective to express himself. He felt that he didn't belong there and no one was beside him. Just because he was a black, he was treated so disrespectfully and unfairly. It shows that race was something very important and it affected his life and everything around him. People often judge a person based on their race. White people thought that they were always right and they could do everything they wanted.

Secondly, there is a moment shows that a person can be judged and charged based on race. Justyce was multiple times harassed and arrested by police just because he was black. He is suspected by officers that he was a criminal based on his appearance and skin color. Officer Tommy Castillo was a white police officer who clearly showed his racism through the unfair arrest of Justyce. He brutally attacked and handcuffed Justyce without reasonable cause. Castillo followed Justyce after seeing him walking down the street at night with a hood on. He suspected that Justyce was doing something shady and thought that he was a dangerous criminal. When Justyce accidentally met his ex-girlfriend Melo Taylor in a drunken state, he inquired and made sure she wasn't driving. 'I just came to make sure you get home okay.' (Dear Martin, p. 4) Suddenly Castillo rushed in and brought Justyce's arm behind his back. Justyce tried to explain that this was a misunderstanding and he was just trying to help Melo. However, Castillo told him to shut up and said he was just trying to flirt with white girls. “Don’t you say shit to me, you son of a bitch. I knew your punk ass was up to no good when I saw you walking down the road with that goddamn hood on. ',' You keep your mouth shut. 'The cop squats and gets right in Justyce's face.' I know your kind; punks like you wander the streets of nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn't resist the pretty white girl who'd locked her keys in her car, could ya?” Then, Castillo refused to release Justyce until SJ's mother Mrs. Friedman, a white person persuaded him to do so. That shows what it would be like if no white people there stood up to protect Justyce. Through this moment, Stone shows that even police officers also show racism, they may suspect that a black person is a criminal even though they have done nothing wrong. Black people are often despised and treated unfairly. They absolutely couldn’t speak up for themselves. They couldn’t stand up against accusations that they had never done. Blacks couldn’t protect themselves just because of their race.

Thirdly, the death of Manny shows that there is still racism in our society. The story began when Justyce and Manny planned to go to the mountains and drove into the white area. They were unfortunately stopped by a white police officer Garret Tison and there was an unnecessary argument about the loud music in Justyce's car. “There was a brief dispute over loud music before shots were fired from one vehicle to the other.” (Dear Martin, p. 123) The police thought they were criminals because they were black. Justyce inadvertently threatened and that made Tison pull gun out and ready to attack them simply because they were black. The argument didn't end and Manny was eventually shot. Just because of playing loud music, Justyce and Manny were shot that showed Jared's argument that there was no racism is not really accurate. Justyce was a victim of racism twice a year. Moreover, the one who did it to him was the police, who should have protected people like him. After Manny died, Justyce tried to emphasize that Manny did nothing wrong and it was unfair that Manny was killed because of his skin color. “He’s gone. Never did anything to anyone, and now Manny’s gone. I can’t do this anymore.” (Dear Martin, p.124) It shows that innocent people are still being charged and killed because of their race.

Finally, there is a fact that someone is judged on the basis of race in all of the episodes. Racism is a problem that still exists today. Although the law says that everyone is equal and there is no racial discrimination in our society, it does not mean that everything will follow that law and everyone has the same idea. Manny was not treated fairly for his death just because he was black. That happens often in real life. Innocent African Americans in the past have been unjustly killed and they need justice. By writing Dear Martin, Stone would like to emphasize that racism and such crimes still occur in our present lives. Through the difficulties Justyce has experienced, Stone hopes that racism will no longer exist and everyone will be equal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Dear Martin is a novel that gives readers a clear point of view of racism. The novel shows that people are judged on the basis of race. People will be treated differently based on their race. Race issues still exist in society today. That is unfair because all people are the US citizen and all are the same. Everyone has the right to stand up for themselves and be treated equally as others. We cannot judge or treat someone just simply by their skin color. Nick Stone's purpose in writing this book is that readers can identify unnecessary problems in this life and change it to help the society better. Besides, the author not only conveyed the message of racism but she also showed how the life of a black young boy looks like in this day.