Unit ONE. post THREE.

"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman.

In question two, the book asks to identify Mr. Z's motivation  to achieve.

This was kinda tough, yet at the same time obvious. While reading this poem, I got the impression that Mr. Z was put down most of his life because of his ethnic background. Specifically his mother, who is implied to have been African American. This poem reminds me of the typical teenager who would do something because his parents said he could not do it. His character develops from a country boy to a sophisticated member of society who is said to have been "unclogged by ethnic weights" (Holman). We see him climb from racial boundaries to become well mannered and educated. His drive was to get away from the racial stereotype that had held him down in the past. And he did, or so he thought. In his death, he was not even viewed as an equal even though he walked like a white person, ate at high end restaurants like white people did, and even spoke like a white person did.  None of that changed the fact that he was viewed differently. In the end, his obituary read "One of the most distinguished members of his race" (Holman). This gives the connotation that Mr. Z could never escape his ethnic past, no matter how similar he was to White people. So ultimately he failed at his goal to get away from his culture. He lost his identity, which is all others could see him as.