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Liza Character Analysis

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We may see his choice to claim Liza as a moral win, but more importantly, we can see his choice as a self-serving act of image construction. The image that Ryder has created is the self-made man. He worked his way from the bottom to the top. The self-made man story paints him as the good guy, the hero, the role model. Ryder has taken on the responsibility of the good guy with vigor; lecturing his followers and presenting them with ways of living that include absorption of white culture. Ryder makes clear that receding back with the black race would be two steps back and the optimal choice would be leaving behind their blackness and fully embracing whiteness. Mrs. Dixon is the perfect candidate for his goal. She is white enough for them to be a passing, elite couple. Their children would also be passing and hopefully they would eradicate the black gene in future generations. When Liza is presented, the obvious choice is for him to disregard her and marry Mrs. Dixon. Ryder turns to the crowd and presents them with his problem. Should he be honorable and claim Liza? Or should he do what is best for him and marry Mrs. Dixon? The answer is obvious; choose Liza. This is what brings the moral win. However, Liza goes …show more content…

He has painted himself as the self-made man who earned his way to the top. Any act against this image would make the Blue Vein Society, and his contributions, a joke. He claims on page 466 that, "Our fate lies between absorption by the white race and extinction in the black...with malice toward none, and charity for all, we must do the best we can for ourselves and those who dare to follow us. Self-preservation is the first law of nature." His first claim that their (mixed race people) fate lies in absorption or extinction show where his values and morals lie. Choosing 'Liza contradicts these values. He chooses her based on the type of man he has made himself up to

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