Jesmyn Ward's autobiography, Men We Reaped, chronicles Ward's life as it relates to five men she knew, all of whom died horribly and unfairly. Throughout his memoir, Ward uses several methods to differentiate himself from his community. While many of the autobiography's characters are devastated by the effects of the drug, Ward remains relatively unaffected, representing her overall disengagement from the racism that the novel's other characters must face. Additionally, while most characters are portrayed as helpless victims of a broken system, Ward's portrayal is one of bravery and invincibility, which further differentiates her from her community. Finally, while most people in Ward's life are subjected to a difficult life full of drug addiction, poverty, and seemingly inevitable death, Ward is able to escape this cycle of poverty and become educated, wealthy, and successful . In his memoir, Men We Reaped, although Ward often foreshadows that the specter of systemic racism present in the novel also affected him and other members of his community, the damning depiction of Ward as invincible or immune to to the many societal constraints that weigh on other Africans. The Americans resolutely invalidate this assertion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Ward uses drugs to symbolize the specter of white oppression and control in black lives, as excessive use of these drugs is a byproduct of an urban life. poverty born from centuries of white neglect and disenfranchisement of African Americans. In the novel, this omnipresent racism, symbolized by drugs, kills not only the bodies of black men, but also all the hopes and joys of black people. The first death to occur was that of Roger, one of Ward's childhood friends. She remembers that just before his death, Roger “often spoke of change, of returning to California,” but at the same time he began “using more” and “taking drugs and alcohol” (32). Even though Roger had hope for his future, the omnipresence of the drug, once again a symbol of systemic white racism and the subsequent proliferation of African American urban poverty, kills Roger and makes his dream of a better life. Additionally, the idea that Roger needs to "cure" his desire for a better life equates Roger's hope to a disease, illustrating how this racism has dashed any possibility of black hope to the point where it is perverted into something sick. Not only does the drug trade cause the loss of many black lives, but the crushing specter of racism also destroys the black man's hope or chance of escaping the devastating cycle of poverty. Ronald, another friend of Ward's, struggled with addiction towards the end of his life and was also involved in drug dealing. In a conversation with his girlfriend, he told her that "it's like my mother pushing me into the street" (172), demonstrating the desperation black men feel and the inevitability of the endless drug cycle and death. Ward's brother, Joshua, found himself in a similar situation of despair near the end of his life. Ward remembers that she met him one night and he admitted that he was "selling crack" (210) because "he needed the money" and Ward "couldn't argue with that" (211), thus illustrating the unfortunate necessity to participate in commerce due to the reality of urban poverty for many African Americans. Later, Ward notes that she "saw hisfather” in the person of Joshua, which again indicates the inevitable cycle of disenfranchised black men (220). In Ward's memoir, the long-term effects of racism, symbolized by drug use and abuse in African American communities, permeate every aspect of black life and make hope an unfortunate impossibility. While Ward describes the enormous extent to which many men in his life were ruined. while using or selling drugs, his life was barely affected by his drug use, illustrating how Ward's life remains relatively unburdened by systemic racism. Referring to the excessive drugs, alcohol, and partying mentioned in this memoir, New York Times critic Dwight Garner noted, "this sometimes dark book is also shot through with life, with a sense of rural community and that that we feel to be. adolescent and untethered on hot Mississippi nights, all the beer cans and the weed and the loud music and the easy sex and the car windows rolled down” (Through the lives of five men, a memoirist illuminates the his). Garner's fictionalized description of these "hot Mississippi nights" does not accurately represent the experience of the majority of the book's characters, who are disenfranchised victims of a broken system whose involvement in drugs is often out of necessity rather than desire. However, Gardner's review enlightens the reader to the carefree manner in which Ward was able to engage in these activities, as his experience involved "beer cans and weed and loud music and easy sex and car windows down” with very little. the consequences. During the summer of 2004, Ward describes an occasion in which she and her friends were drinking excessively. She called this drink “crazy and ecstatic” and reminds us that “for this moment, we are young and alive” (30). Ward's description of that night as one of "ecstasy," in contrast to the toll that the same drugs had on her fellow African Americans, illustrates how removed she is from the experiences of those close to her. Additionally, even though Ward feels "young and alive" while using drugs, those same drugs will literally kill several characters in the memoir, once again demonstrating the stark contrast between Ward's experience and that of her peers. Similarly, during the summer of 2003, after Ward lost three friends, she drank heavily and notes that there was "an illusion that our youth could save us, that there was someone out there somewhere who would have pity on us” (64). Ward's use of the word "we" indicates that she is part of this group that needs saving when in reality Ward's drug and alcohol use has not deterred her in any way and isn't in need of the "mercy" she speaks of, while others in this group certainly are. Later that night, Ward equates this drug-induced euphoric high with happiness, noting, "that's what it means to be spared" (64). Ward's use of the word "spared" here indicates that she recognized her differences from the other members of the group. Ward was "spared" because even though everyone else in this group has to face the consequences of their drug use and many will die, she won't. This false sense of unity is reflected when Ward notes later in the novel that "the same pressures weighed on us all." My entire community suffered from a lack of trust: we didn't trust society to provide the foundation for a good education, safety, access to good jobs, and fairness in the justice system. » (169). Although Warduses the word "we" again and includes herself in this "community", she has no reason to distrust a corporation because she has been rewarded with a "good job" and a "good education" while other members of his community will never have it. these things. Ward's immunity to both drugs and the devastating effects they have on the African-American community are illustrated once again when Ward and his sister, Nerissa, visit Demon's home after his death. Ward remembers that this was the place where "we parked and drank and got high" but "now there was a sign that said 'caution'" (80). Despite this, “Nerissa smoked”, but not Ward (80th). The image of the “Attention” sign beautifully illustrates the difference between Ward and its African American community; while Nerissa smokes, Ward exercises caution in avoiding the drugs that have so devastated many of the book's other characters, thus differentiating Ward and demonstrating his exemption from the consequences of racism. Ward's immunity from the effects of the drugs that have so devastated his community is indicative of Ward's greater disengagement from the horrific effects of systemic racism. Ward's invincibility in the face of racism or other factors that might similarly deter her is manifested not only in her apparent immunity to drugs, but also in the depiction of her as a fighter in contrast to the helpless depiction of all other African Americans in the novel. In describing her own birth, Ward emphasizes how strong she was, noting that although she was born prematurely and thought she would die, "I lived, silent and tenacious in my incubator, my body riddled with multiple tubes” (43). Additionally, Ward focuses on the "abundance of scars" (42) she has earned, the physical signs of a warrior. This image of Ward as resilient or invincible continues throughout his memoir. As a child, Ward was once attacked by a pit bull, and she remembers that after I "punched it with my fists, left and right, over and over again," "he got away from me, running away with a bent back” (58). Ward's defeat of this animal once again presents her as a fighter while the added detail of the dog's "hunched back" depicts this beast that dared to test her as cowardly and vulnerable. Aside from her physical resilience, Ward is also given responsibilities that also make her feel important or invulnerable. As an older sister, Ward was often responsible for caring for her younger brother, Joshua. She recalls a night when her parents were arguing and she comforted Joshua, noting, "he was shaking and I was shaking, but I wasn't crying" (61), once again demonstrating her emotional strength. Ward's resilience often contrasts with the unfortunate vulnerability of his fellow African Americans. She remembers a moment from her childhood, while playing with her brother Joshua and his friend Aldon, when "their heads seemed too big for their shoulders" and "they depended on me" (63). This stands in stark contrast to how Ward describes herself as a child: scrappy, strong, and self-reliant. These opposing comparisons continue as the characters progress into adulthood, as Ward uses terms such as "stupid" and "desperate" to define her male counterparts while continuing to present herself as strong (208). Throughout her memoir, Ward presents herself as immune to the circumstances that affect the rest of the poor African American community with which she is associated. Ward continues to indicate his emotional and physical distance from the effects of racism throughout his memoir. In a crawfish boil, Ward..