"Snow in August" essay
... bearded man, calling for help in a blizzard. Not some agent of the devil.” (p.17). After meeting the Rabbi, and later becoming friends with him, he realizes that he should not believe rumors. Also, not to judge people by religion, but by whom they are in the inside. Similarly, when Michael learns about Jackie Robinsons’ situation, he does not understand what the big deal about his skin color is. The racist thoughts people have against Jackie Robinson do not make sense to Michael, so he puts himself in Robinson’s place. “What was it like to wake up every goddamned morning and see that skin and know that some shmuck looked down on you just for that?…How could it be? Michael’s anger rose and then faded. If I’m angry, he thought, sitting here, still white or pink, how must Robinson feel?” (p.179-180). He sees the situation from different points of views to figure out what he thinks. He takes each view into consideration. The racist views, his personal morals, Jackie Robinson’s point of view, what the Rabbi taught him and he comes up with his own decision/judgment. “I wish Jackie Robinson was white. But Jackie Robinson isn’t white. And he can play ball. And he could help us win the goddamned pennant. Period. Case closed… Besides, skin color was skin color, right? It was just the color of your goddamned skin. There was nothing anyone could do about that. You were born with it…God made the choice…What God gives is good.” (p. 166). He realizes that he should not judge people by race, but by whom they are in the inside. And he uses what the Rabbi taught him to reach this decision, “What God gives is good.” Society’s racism did not only effect how Michael thought, but his whole life. Racism was the reason Frankie beat up Mr. G. Racism was the reason the Falcons didn’t like Michael being friends with the Rabbi. Racism was the reason why Michael had a hard time growing up and thinking for himself in this novel. But Michael would not be the same person he is at the end of the novel if he didn’t meet the Rabbi on the winter morning. He wouldn’t be the same person if he didn’t go into the Mr. G’s store after shoveling the snow for money. Michael briefly wonders about this in the novel. “In the rising summer heat, h...