Beginning with border, Dictionary.com states the following: the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary; the line that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another; the district or region that lies along the boundary line of another.
If one ignores the definitions involving our other keywords, the sole definition we have left is this:
The line that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another.
The novel takes place within one country, the United States of America, but Griffin experiences racism that takes place over a span of multiple countries. As a veteran of World War II, he witnessed the discrimination and hate crimes done against French individuals and Jews committed by the Nazis originating in Germany. This transforms Griffin into a cosmopolitan of sorts, and this experiment he attempts with "becoming Black" is his own attempt at combating hate crime before it comes another wide-spread genocide. As an American, he would like to think that his own people would not be capable of thinking of individuals as unequal, but unfortunately as he enters the deep south he finds himself wrong. In New Orleans, Louisana, he enters the area as a white man, but discovers an invisible "line" as soon as he transforms into a Negro. This line extends to the restaurant he had visited just moments previous to his transition. The following quote demonstrates such.
"On Chantres Street in the French Quarter I walked towards Brennan's... Forgetting myself for a moment, I stopped to study the menu... I realized that a few days earlier I could have gone in and ordered anything on the menu. But now, though I was the same person with the same appetite, the same appreciation and even the same wallet, no power on earth could get me inside for a meal" (Griffin, 42).In this scene, Griffin explains a border he encounters as a newly created African American man. A place he was just able to enter as a Caucasian man is now blocking access to him based on the color of his skin. This invisible line of discrimination is heavily prominent in other areas of the Deep South as well.
Continuing with bridges, Dictionary.com says this: a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like; a connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent elements, activities, conditions or the like.
If we are to continue with the most relevant definition, it would be obvious to select the latter. To make it easier to see, it will be isolated.
A connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent elements, activities, conditions or the like.
It is true that Griffin himself through his experiment acted as a bridge, but it is important to note that it was not only his physical features and appearance that allowed him to phase through cultures and enter life as a Negro. As he glanced at himself in the mirror, Griffin combated not only his drastic change in looks, but his biases and stereotypes of the "average" African American. Rather, his thoughts transitioned into a more singular version of "American," similar to what we view today, and he wanted to combat this division in society, especially since American ideals were considered "best." This demonstrates yet another example of how Griffin could be considered cosmopolitan.
However, it should be noted that Griffin struggled with this transition. It did not come smoothly for him, and there were times when his thinking as a Negro impacted his actions as a Caucasian. An example of one such occasion is this:
"I began to understand Lionel Trilling remark that culture--learned behavior patterns so deeply ingrained they produce unconscious involuntary reactions--is a prison. My conditioning as a Negro, and the immense sexual implications with which the racists in our culture bombard us, cut me off, even in my most intimate self, from any connection with my wife" (Griffin, 68).The "sexual implications" Griffin mentions in this passage refers to the general idea that an African American male was not to think about having any sort of relations with a Caucasian female. Though it was an ideal initially created by the white males of the society, it was eventually accepted and respected by the black males. This was most likely due to the amount of fear whites held over blacks. In that time, the Ku Klux Klan was quite effective in inciting fear in masses, especially with their public displays of torture such as beatings and hangings. It appears that as he spends more time with Negros, he is accepting both the pros and cons of such a decision. An unexpected consequence that Griffin suffers as a Negro is that he finds himself being trapped in those same fears and even almost in those same scenarios of which he'd most likely seen on television previous to this experiment. Whereas he was safe as a Caucasian, he finds himself in imminent danger. And that fear impacts his psychological point of view in such a way that he even prohibits himself from communicating with his own family, thus creating a sort of mental destruction. The disgust he feels from being a member of this community that has established such a social construct that is capable of creating fear in such a widespread manner most likely also contributes to this sort of psychological terror.
Finally, the definition for boundary is as follows:
Something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding line.
The social construct originating from times in slavery is the boundary that exists in Black Like Me. As Afro-Americans were often considered "three-fifths of a man," it is obvious that they were considered less than society. Even though slavery ended and those under conviction and captivity were "emancipated," or "liberated" as a better word, society's views of them had not changed much. Fast forward one century and it seems as if Caucasians are just tolerating the Blacks in their society. Blacks aren't allowed to have their way and have free reign yet; in fact, segregation and discrimination are concepts so strong that it is unacceptable to be friends with such an individual, and hardly to be seen with them in public. Such a relationship is illustrated by Griffin in the following quotation, which demonstrates the tension he understands as he acting as a Caucasian feels when he approaches a familiar man he knew as a Negro.
"A Negro rushed to take my knapsacks. He gave me the smiles, the 'yes sir--yes sir.' I felt like saying, 'You're not fooling me,' but now I was back on the other side of the wall. There was no longer communication between us, no longer the glance that said everything" (Griffin, 124).Griffin actually addresses the boundary when he mentions this "wall." Though he has learned to actually climb over it, he has not eliminated the said boundary, and so he respects it instead of risking it and witnessing the consequences that might occur from such a blatant disobedience. One should also notice that because of this wall, the average African American would consider himself unable to share experiences with the average Caucasian and consider themselves part of two completely separate worlds.
Ultimately, Black Like Me crosses the borders and boundaries involving segregation and discrimination in the 1960s, thus planting him firmly into the civil rights movement. Though his way of crossing these boundaries and addressing the issues is unconventional to say the least, the reporting of such issues is effective. It shocks America in such a way that it creates a curiosity and sparks a desire to create change-- to change its ways before coming another homicidal congregation to that of the Nazis. In this way, Griffin fulfills his purpose.
