Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen: An American Lyric” is a barrier-breaking, powerful mixed media piece which captures everyday racism and micro aggressions towards African American individuals in our society. Rankine chooses to write incorporating several sources and artwork, but a key aspect of the book is her choice to write primarily in the second-person. This choice carries a sense of controlled ambiguity as the main character “You” is supposed to be a black woman. As the reader, we now obligated to taken on this identity of a particular African American woman and her experiences to feel what she feels; to go through what she goes through, and to experience the racism and micro aggressions as she goes through them. In the previous section of the book, Rankine incorporates multiple images of artwork, along with examples of how other African Americans have handled micro-aggressions and racism, such as professional athlete Serena Williams. However, in the final section of “Citizen” for this Thursday’s reading, it seems like the second person point of view has fully dominated over the other media with the exception of the final page, which is uniquely written in the first person. This can suggest that Rankine’s authorial choice to primarily use the second person point of view followed by a brief first person point of view directly coincides with the character “You” desperately trying to make sense of the racism she’s experienced course of the book. It seems that You’s desperation is grasped by the new first person perspective because of this particular sequence.
Rankine writes extensively in this section about the “ache” of the character You. She writes, “All our fevered history won’t instill insight, / won’t turn a body conscious” (Rankine 142). Here, Rankine is orchestrating the character You to feel a sense of defeat from constant racism. This quote could be referring to the endless oppressions people of color have endured in our country, and You realizes that it can not be used to change the hearts or the mind of those who don’t understand its evil causing her spiral. Rankine writes “You are not sick, you are injured— / you ache for the rest of life” (Rankine 143). This quote creates a level of disparity, as You accepts that this feeling of oppression will never go away. A sickness is something temporary, while an injury can be sustained long term. Rankine is telling You that she will feel this internal struggle forever, suggesting that there is significant and dark longevity in racism as it has sustained through past, present, and future. We see this tension and despair continue to escalate as Rankine writes on. She writes, “Who shouted? You? You / shouted you, the murmur in the air…” (Rankine 145). Again, a helpless feeling arises as Rankine compares You’s shout with a murmur in the air, suggesting no matter how loud You shouts; no matter how much effort she puts towards pushing back on the micro-aggressions and racism she’s experienced and understood throughout the book, her efforts will ultimately be unsuccessful. A defeating realization and acceptance to assume the role of the book’s emotional climax.
In Rankine’s final page, she makes the dramatic change of switching to the first person. She writes that as she’s laying in bed with her partner, she wants to tell him about a micro-aggression she experienced the day before. She explains at the tennis courts, a woman was about to park in front of her, but after seeing she was black, turned around and parked somewhere else (Rankine 159). She says to her partner, “I could have followed her to worry my question but I had to go, I was expected on court, I grabbed my racket” (Rankine 159). Rankine expresses that she felt prompted to scold the woman, to point out her micro-aggression, but she didn’t have enough time. Ultimately, here Rankine chose her peace instead of doing what was right in the situation which would have been correcting the behavior. However, when her partner asks if she won her match she responds, “It wasn’t a match…It was a lesson” (Rankine 159). This perspective by Rankine is profoundly wise and elevated. For this perspective and point of view to be placed in the final moments of the book, directly following the character You’s overwhelming realization of desperation and a never-ending headache of racism, is to relocate the audience to a less desperate place and to one of acceptance. For Rankine to end her book with a “lesson” profoundly suggests in a pessimistic way that the racism she’s experienced isn’t something that can be won or lost. Her outlook on the final micro-aggression she writes about seems to be less about the unfairness and desperation expressed in the second person, but about the acceptance and realization that the micro-aggressions she’s experienced have taught her more about herself, made her who she is, and ultimately have taught her valuable lessons about other people; a deeply unfortunate and unfair lesson expressed to us by the author.
Discussion questions:
Why do you think Rankine writes using examples of racism in sports in the book and uses sports figuratively? What is the significance of this?
I interpreted Rankine’s switch to the first person to be representative of herself and her own thoughts in order to deliver a message to the reader. Do you think that Rankine writes as herself on the final page, or do you think she’s writing as someone else?
Works Cited
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.
Hey Katherine,
I enjoyed your discussion on the shift from the second person, You, to the first-person, I, towards the end of the book. To answer your second question, I agree with your claim that Rankine wrote herself on the final page. It makes sense to wrap your book up with your own experiences; it’s poetic. Throughout the book, Rankine used the stories and experiences of others through that second-person, you, to help us relate to these anecdotes. The purpose of Citizen seemed to be a shared collection of memories and experiences so that they can be preserved and promote change, “To arrive like this every day for it to be like this to have many memories and no other memory than these for as long as they can be remembered to remember this. ” (Rankine, 158.) From microaggressions to blatant racism, African Americans have long suffered from these societal injustices. Rankine effectively used her experiences and those of other African Americans to bring awareness to these issues in a unique and relatable way.
Hi Katherine I really enjoyed reading your blog post and strongly agree with the concepts of the “You” point of perspective. I think that with this perspective that Rankine uses throughout the book gives the readers a more in depth sense of emotion and understating within the events she had faced personally and even stories about others. The way she presented such things whether it was a figure, short line of speech, or story, it was applied in a very good manner that made the reader able to feel more emotion. I really liked your examples that you used for expressing Rankine’s writing. I think that even with such short lines they hold so much power within them that can be divided up and looked at in so many different ways. This allows us as the readers to analyze and make more meanings of certain concepts. Another example from the text that I think is very powerful is “I they he she we you were too concluded yesterday to know whatever was done could also be done, was done, was never done–” (146.) This quote, although repetitive and short, holds so much power, as the citizens what are we choosing to do and not to do, as the government what are they choosing to do and not to do, as the policing systems… the list goes on but when does it change? To answer one of your discussion questions, I think that Ranakine refers to a lot of sporting incidents/ acts of racism to show people that even those who may be famous or have a special role are still attacked daily and have to deal with racism all around them.
Hi Katie, I really enjoyed your interpretation of how Rankine uses the second person throughout Citizen. To answer your second question I do in a way feel as though Rankine wrote as herself in the last page. I say this because in the last chapters she uses second person but also stating all the pronouns, for example “I they he she we you turn”(140). It seems as though Rankine pushes all the pronouns and verbs into one sentence where “You” is repetitive from pages (141-143). In the last pages it was the first time Rankine used I in a sentence which made me think she was referring to herself and her experience she went through as a black woman. Being that Rankine has used second person throughout Citizen up until the last page, I feel as though it is also possible to be referring to someone else.
Hi Katie! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and how you highlighted the shift in narrative that occurs at the end of Citizen. I agree with you that Rankine switched to the first person in order to represent her own thoughts and ideas. I found it to bring the whole book together as one in the end. The last sentence that Rankine writes states, “it wasn’t a match, I say. It was a lesson” (159). I believe that this whole book was a lesson. It was to inform the general public that racism has been and still is a huge issue. People are dying yet no one can seem to open their eyes long enough to realize just how bad it is. So yes, I believe that Rankine writes as herself in the final pages. By using personal stories, the message can be delivered much clearer. Ultimately, I believe this was the best course of action and the impact was that much stronger when you come to realize nothing was made up throughout the story.
Hi Katie, I really enjoyed reading your blog post on the last section of Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen: An American Lyric.” Your development on Rankine’s usage of first versus second person narrative was full of inventive insight, and honestly helped give myself a better, more well-rounded idea of the book and Rankine’s intended purpose behind it. Your development on the character of “you” was very in-tune with the purpose of the second person narrative, and I agree in that it is an effective way of engaging readers in the daily experiences of African American life and encounters with micro-aggressions.
In answering your second question pertaining to Rankine’s use of racism in sports and its figurative purpose, I believe the sports, more or less, were analogies for the consistent battles between African Americans and racism. At the surface, I believe it is safe to say that a majority of people are fans of some sport in some way or another, so relating a situation to a sport creates a better common ground for understanding. However, sports come with loss and hardship and consistent hard work. Especially in the case of the book and mention of professional athletes, there are expectations that the public has for these athletes which goes hand-in-hand for the racist expectations people have for those who are different from them. I liked the mention of the quote you pulled from page 159: “I could have followed her to worry my question but I had to go, I was expected on court, I grabbed my racket.” There was this expectation of the speaker that she must hold her own and keep her mouth shut; she must confine to the expectations of others and not ‘act out’ for what is right. In sports, it is often one team or one person competing against another, fighting to win but possibly losing. I feel that Rankine’s use of sports situations also shows an aspect of consistent battle in people’s daily lives against racism, and often it is a losing battle. So at the end of the day, one should be asking why it is a win/lose situation and not a situation where everyone can be happy?
Hi Katie! I really enjoyed your blog post on the importance of the (sometimes) subtle change between second person and first person! To answer one of your discussion questions, I do think that Rankine wrote as herself on the final page. To me, it was kind of an odd concept for Rankine to have been writing in second person throughout the entire book. But the ending perfectly ties the ending together as she shares her own experience and suffering as an African American woman. For example, Rankine writes “I can hear the breathing that creates passages to dreams. And yes, I want to interrupt to tell him her us you me I don’t know how to end what doesn’t have an ending,” (128). I think as this being her first line where we hear from, whom we assume to be Rankine, she is telling the readers that she has no idea how to end her story because her story does not have an ending. Unfortunately, racism is still a thing today, and since her entire book is based off of the experiences African Americans have suffered through with racism, she can’t effectively end her story due to their not being an ending to racism.
Hi Katie. Great blog post! I strongly agree with your idea that writing in the second person is a key aspect of the book. The use of “you” allows the reader to be put into the shoes of a black woman as you mentioned. Like you said, we notice on the last page of the book that Rankine has now switched to first person. I definitely agree that the shift to “I” evokes an emotional response from the audience. To answer your second question, I also interpreted Rankines switch to “I” on the final page to be writing as herself and her thoughts. I think it is crucial to know that the entirety of the book uses the second person and then she chooses to use first person on the very last page. I think it is obvious that she is trying to tie the book together and speak from personal experience. Being that the use of “I” was only on the last page, I chose to analyze the same quote you did. Rankine writes, “I could have followed her to worry my question but I had to go, I was expected on court, I grabbed my racket” (159). Whereas the other microaggressions in the book chose to use “you”, she now says “I”. In this quote Rankine wants to speak up and confront the women but claims she didn’t have enough time. She chooses to stay peaceful and walkaway instead of confronting the women. The book ends with the words, “It wasn’t a match, I say. It was a lesson” (Rankine 159). I think this is a really powerful way to end the book because it obviously has a deeper meaning. Readers notice the use of “I” once again. Through this quote Rankine encourages readers to grow from learning. It implies the idea that we must look at things in a different light, regardless of what the outcome might be. Overall, I think Rankine’s switch to first person is her speaking from her experience. I feel that Rankine does this to tie the book all together. Her last page is powerful and leaves an impact on the reader. Good job Katie!
I interpreted Rankine’s switch to the first person to be representative of herself and her own thoughts in order to deliver a message to the reader. Do you think that Rankine writes as herself on the final page, or do you think she’s writing as someone else?
Hi Katie, I can agree with the fact that Rankine writes as herself on the final page because unlike she does throughout the book Citizen, saying ‘you’ a very good number of times and speaking in the second person point of view, on page 159 she says ‘I’ so I agree that Rankine is writing as herself on the last page of Citizen. She writes “I can hear the even breathing that creates passages to dreams. And yes, I want to interrupt to tell him her us you me I do not know how to end what does not have an ending.” (Rankine 159). What Rankine is saying there is there that she is unsure with how to finish her story because she feels as what she has been telling us throughout the book is never ending and she was unsure how to put an end to it. Then she says “I say. It was a lesson.” (Rankine 159). She is correct because she teaches the audience what African Americans have to battle through each and every day and it is very sad.
Hi Katie ! I really enjoyed reading your post and I found it very interesting. I am going to answer your first question which is : Why do you think Rankine writes using examples of racism in sports in the book and uses sports figuratively? What is the significance of this?
Rankine’s use of examples of racism in sports serves multiple purposes in her book. First and foremost, sports provide a microcosm of society, where issues of race, power, and privilege are often magnified. By examining racism within the context of sports, Rankine can explore broader societal issues and reveal how deeply ingrained racism is in various aspects of everyday life.
Additionally, sports are a highly visible and widely followed aspect of modern culture. By using examples from the world of sports, Rankine can reach a broad audience and engage readers who might not otherwise be interested in discussions about racism. Indeed, we can see that she used a situation “The player says something and the formerly professional umpire looks down from her high chair as if regarding an unreasonable child, a small animal.” (Rankine, 54). Here, I think that she is trying to show to the audience the absurdity of the situation and above all to show the presence of racism within it through the use of the comparison of the player with the animal or the unreasonable child. It is obvious that she is trying to show that there is discrimination against this player and that she is being belittled. Sports are often seen as a form of entertainment, but Rankine’s work challenges readers to consider the darker realities that can lurk beneath the surface of sports culture.
Furthermore, sports provide tangible examples of the ways in which racism can manifest, whether through explicit acts of discrimination or more subtle forms of bias and exclusion. By highlighting these examples, Rankine forces readers to confront the pervasive nature of racism and its impact on individuals and communities.
Overall, Rankine’s use of sports as a metaphorical framework allows her to explore complex issues of race and identity in a way that is both accessible and impactful. It underscores the significance of these issues in contemporary society and encourages readers to critically examine their own beliefs and behaviors.
Hi Katie! I really enjoyed your blog post! I wanted to dive into your second discussion quesiton, I interpreted Rankine’s switch to the first person to be representative of herself and her own thoughts in order to deliver a message to the reader. Do you think that Rankine writes as herself on the final page, or do you think she’s writing as someone else? I believe that Rankine is writing as herself on the final page. She spent the entire duration of the novel writing for the reader that she hadn’t included herself yet. The shift from “you” to “I” is a really interesting point to focus on here. It introduces Rankine to the reader for the first time, which just so happens to be at the very last page, ” And yes, I want to interrupt to tell him her
us you me I don’t know how to end what doesn’t have an ending.” (159). She interrupts the conversation to input that she isn’t sure how to write an ending to her novel. What we might fail to realize is that racism has no ending so how can Rankine clearly end this conversation of discrimination in sporting events or police brutality when those who it affects can’t find an end in sight.
Hello Katie! I really enjoyed your blog post. It was very insightful into Rankine’s use of language and how much a shift from second person to first person can affect the way we not only read, but interpret the text. To answer your second question, I believe that Rankine was writing as herself on the final page. I remember when I read page 159, I felt a shift in the tone. She writes, “I can hear the even breathing that creates passages to dreams. And yes, I want to interrupt to tell him her us you me I don’t know how to end what doesn’t have an ending.” (159). I felt that this was an expression of Rankine’s frustration to the audience from her point of view that yes, the book might be coming to an end, but racism, discrimination, and microaggressions have not ended. I also felt that her use of “him her us you me” is almost a cry for help. It doesn’t matter whose perspective it is, how it is told to us, or how you interpret it, but these problems effect everyone, and we must all put forward effort to stop it.
Why do you think Rankine writes using examples of racism in sports in the book and uses sports figuratively? What is the significance of this?
I love this question Katie! I think Rankine uses racism in sports and used sports figuratively because sports are supposed to be something where opponents are judged and games/matches are ruled fairly for both sides. But as we see specifically with the Serena Williams examples we see this is not the case. Whether it be with the example of the Tennis player who stuffed towels in her outfit to try and look like Serena or with the match where the umpire ruled unfairly against Serena and was making bad calls at the expense of Serena. I feel that these examples say a lot because once you take the sport out and bring in outside factors such as prejudice towards a certain race it can show people’s true colors.
Hi Katie, After reading your blog post the “you” to “I” correlation was interesting to switch up from Rankine’s usual writing style I found that interesting and wanted to think deeper on the topic myself. “I just want to be an observer.” (Pg 155) My interpretation was similar considering that she wrote the book all in the second person purposely in the “you” form to get the reader to feel a certain level of emotion on each page with very specific scenarios. I do believe that the use of the word I was referencing herself. I also believed that maybe the use of I was meant to be read in the third person. So the entire book you were considered you but at the end, you have complete Rankine Journey of teaching you about racism and microaggressions, it is almost like a right of passage like now you understand and you can say “I” instead of “you”