Sep 4, 2008

The Passing of Grandison | Themes

The Trickster
The “trickster” is a theme as well as a narrative device in that through it the author depicts the slave as more intelligent than his master, thus satirizing racial stereotypes as well as the entire institution of racism. Chesnutt’s use of this theme undermines the plantation tradition (still popular in the late nineteenth century) that sentimentalized the “old-time Negro” who was happy with his position in life. In tricking Colonel Owens as he sets up his escape, Grandison uses many such stereotypes to his advantage: he pretends he is “better off...