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Citizen: An American Lyric: An Eye-Opening Call for Awareness and Change
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Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric contains the power to make the reader analyze both themselves and the world around them when regarding the topic of racism. It is packed with informative content including real life incidents and artwork or photography which corresponds with the section. The way Rankine writes serves to make the reader ponder both their personal mindset and the actions of others. The book allows for the reader to evoke thoughts, emotions, and realizations they previously would not have experienced. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is extremely effective because it educates the reader of implicit bias and microaggressions, explores the omnipresent mental and physical effects of racism in our society, and is a captivating read due to its unique writing style.
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To begin, the book is effective in educating people about the depths of implicit bias and microaggressions that might otherwise go unseen. Rakine is able to express that incidents including implicit bias or microaggressions in the speaker's life caused them confusion and pain from a young age. Prior to reading the book, some readers may assume that a negative comment to someone else every now and then causes little harm. However, this is the complete opposite of the truth. The speaker experiences a series of microaggressions throughout their life which never left their mind. Rankine wrote, “If this were a domestic tragedy, and it might as well be, this would be your fatal flaw--your memory, vessel of your feelings” (Rankine Section I). The reader is able to see that these memories add up over time to the point where it becomes painful for the victim. Something seemingly minor, such as a microaggressive remark towards a classmate, is actually years worth of pain waiting to erupt. As receiving a microaggressive remark is something I have experienced, I found it to be very relatable to read. The reader may be able to trace back times in their life where implicit bias took over their minds and they made insensitive comments to others. They may still even be doing so without realizing it.
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Also, by reading the book, the reader can become aware of how implicit bias was ingrained into their mindset because of the assumptions they made about people such as the speaker. For example, Rankine wrote the book in such a way that it was intended to make the reader presume characteristics of the speaker. Without actually mentioning who the speaker is, the reader assumes they are an African American female. This is something I personally experienced when reading and was surprised to realize Rankine wrote the book this way on purpose. This proves that the reader will think certain terms and words are heavily associated with the race or physical appearance of others. Using this knowledge, the reader can ensure their future actions do not hurt others. They can also reflect on their past actions.
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Citizen: An American Lyric explores racism to every degree, including its mental and physical effects of people in our society. Due to how present racism has always been in society, it is often normalized by many people. Those affected are so traumatized by their experiences with it that it leads to mental illness and feelings of dissociation. In the book, the speaker began to feel as if they did not belong in their own body due to always being treated inhumanely. They felt depleted and devoid of emotion because they did not know what they did to ever deserve being treated the way they were. Rankine writes, “When you lay your body in the body entered as if skin and bones were public places...you know no memory should live in these memories becoming the body of you” (Rankine, Section VII). The speaker is aware these emotions are those that should never be felt by any human being due to their severity. However, they cannot avoid feeling what they do and it causes mental illness. The reader can acknowledge how serious racism is after reading lines such as these and take it as a learning experience.
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Apart from its mental effects, racism also causes physical effects which can range from scuffles to a murder case. Throughout the book, Rankine uses real life incidents in which people were looked down upon or killed because of their skin tone. An example is when Rankine wrote, “Then the pickup is beating the black object to the ground and the tire marks the crushed organs” in reference to James Craig Anderson who was run over by a racist woman in a pickup truck (Rankine, Section VI). Through the explicit visualization of incidents such as these, the reader is able to see the disturbing truth of the results of racism. By experiencing this, the reader can feel inclined to speak up against racism in order to prevent it from happening so often. For instance, I felt as if I learned quite a bit about the incidents from Section VI because prior to reading it, I only vaguely knew the victims names. Now that I am aware of who exactly each person was, I want to be someone who can be a voice for them and all others affected by racism.
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Rankine used unique writing techniques in order to educate people about racism from an insider's perspective. At first, I was confused about who exactly the speaker was, but I began to realize that this feeling was most likely intentional. She wanted the reader to feel lost and confused just as the speaker did during their life in order to relate to them. The speaker felt as if they did not belong in their own body due to racism which gave them a feeling of discombobulation that the reader was able to feel as well since the writing style constantly changed. Furthermore, the use of the second person point of view can make the reader visualize what life is like from the affected person’s perspective. This will place them directly in the victims position and evoke a strong emotional response to the book. Simply reading the word “you” over and over has a complex psychological effect on the reader. The reader will feel as if the incident is directed towards themselves which for some people is usually not. This allows them to get an inside look as to how frequent and hurtful racism is. For example, I personally tend to experience racism quite often in my daily life. By reading the word “you” I recalled similar experiences in my life which allowed me to have a stronger connection to the book. The book also provides a very strong sensory experience which is shown when Rankine writes, “The wrong words enter your day like a bad egg in your mouth and puke runs down your blouse, a dampness drawing your stomach in toward your ribcage” (Rankine, Section I). Reading something this detailed while thinking about yourself can make the reader wish the root of the issue stopped. Many readers will be able to progress their mindsets by envisioning experiences like these.
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The book is also written in third person which allows the reader to view racism from an outsider's point of view. This method of writing makes it a lot more obvious to the reader that racist people are wrongful and they should not think or act like one. For example, there is a scene in which an African American boy went to a high school party and was beaten, however he ended up being the one imprisoned due to his race (Rankine, Section VI). This will make the reader aware of incidents which are far too common in our society, such as those within the corrupt legal system. Both the first and third person point of view is able to make the reader more aware that these incidents were something that happened to a real person and not just someone in a book. I enjoyed how Rankine included the stories of recent people such as Trayvon Martin or James Craig Anderson because it allowed me to feel as if I was looking deeper into something I would have heard about in my daily life on the news.
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Citizen: An American Lyric proves its effectiveness in numerous ways. Rankine used her words and knowledge about racism in order to make the reader more aware. By making the reader view racism from both an insider’s and outsider’s perspective due to her writing style, they are able to formulate a more enhanced mindset by the time they are done with the book. After seeing that injustices and pain cause drastic mental and physical harm to those affected by racism, the reader can hope for it to come to an end. They can feel encouraged to change their negative personal actions if Rankine’s words make them realize they have been microaggressive, racist, or had a lot of implicit bias in the past. However for many, it can also be a resonating read because of their personal experiences being reflected in Rankine’s words.
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Work Cited
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric, Graywolf Press, 2014.
