A “Concerned Citizen’s” Plea

Allison S Curseen14 Comments

Backwacking, a Plea to the Senator was published in 1977 by Ralph Ellison but takes place in 1953 in Alabama. This piece is formatted as a letter to Senator Sunraider from a white resident of Alabama concerned about a new activity in the black community taking place called backwacking. Although somewhat unclear in the description, this act consists of two people rubbing together in a sexual manner.  

The letter acts as an appeal to Senator Sunraider and uses persuasive techniques such as complimenting the recipient, which is shown when the concerned citizen mentioned his satisfaction and contentment with the senators ‘Cadillac’ speech multiple times and personalizing his writing by saying things like “as we both know”. Similarly to White Rat, the author often wrote colloquially, using informal words or phrases such as “yessir!”. He also used certain words like “victimize”, “threat”, and “danger”, that signal a sense of urgency and need for protection. Phrases such as “I assure you” and “I am informed” that depict that the author is trying to establish a sense of authority when he does not have one. 

I thought it was very interesting that although the letter is written from the perspective of a white man, Ralph Ellison is a black man. In “And Love Them”, the author also is also black writing from the perspective of a white person. More than an actual request from said Senator, I got the impression that he was more angry at the upcoming generation and the slow integration of black people in society at the time.

14 Comments

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