\u201cThe Octoroon\u201d provides a cruel yet realistic depiction of slavery, describing the sale of Zoe, deemed an octoroon due to the fact that she is one-eighth black. Zoe\u2019s social status robs her of many freedoms: her freedom of self, freedom to love whomever she desires, freedom to move wherever she wants to and many other things. However, these are not the only atrocities Zoe faces. Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the play is the way Zoe views herself, which is made clear through the way she describes herself in dialogue. In her conversations with George, Zoe objectifies herself; she identifies herself as \u201can unclean thing\u201d (154) and refers to herself as a \u201cwhat\u201d (154) rather than a \u201cwho.\u201d Even if not an object, she does not refer to herself as human, as she tells Dora that \u201cYou know you can\u2019t be jealous of a creature like me\u201d (161
). She also seems to be ashamed of her race, as she explains that \u201cour race has one virtue\u2014it knows how to suffer\u201d (154). Despite the fact that the man she loves, George, tries to dissuade her of this self-hatred, it is embedded and appears unchangeable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found \u201cThe Octoroon\u201d especially powerful because it so profoundly highlights the shame Zoe feels based on her primordial identity. In discussions of slavery and race in the classroom, it is easy to focus on the historicism or the physical atrocities that define these spaces. Personally, I had not greatly enough considered how much racism and slavery affect perception of self. Despite the fact that Zoe is only one-eighth black, she is still cast astray to be verbally abused and socially outcast so that she may internalize this treatment. Even if freed from slavery, this struggle with identity would leave Zoe restrained from living the life of a proud black woman. Boucicault\u2019s work left me wondering how we can alter our perceptions of self or if it will always be tethered to the trauma and prejudice we have experienced in our lives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe Octoroon\u201d provides a cruel yet realistic depiction of slavery, describing the sale of Zoe, deemed an octoroon due to the fact that she is one-eighth black. Zoe\u2019s social status robs her of many freedoms: her freedom of self, freedom to love whomever she desires, freedom to move wherever she wants to and many other … <\/p>\n