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Of Implicit Bias In Jacqueline Woodson's Coming Of Age Trope

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Recommended: Literary theme: coming of age

Implicit bias is common in today’s society. Implicit bias is subtly judgment of others, most commonly equated to racism. Throughout this novel, implicit bias is highlighted thoroughly to help educate the reader about the dangers of unintentional judgment. Understanding and educating ourselves and others about it are the best way to spread awareness. Jacqueline Woodson uses the coming-of-age trope to develop the characters and educate the reader about implicit bias. Ellie’s journey with implicit bias throughout the novel displays her character's complexity. Woodson writes, referring to Ellie’s conversation with her eldest sister Anne “I frowned, remembering how Anne had screamed, and grabbed me. When the guy got up close, we realized he was a jogger, not a mugger or anything, and Anne had turned red …show more content…

At the novel's start, Miah notices some implicit biases in his life, especially concerning his appearance as the son of a famous author and director. Jeremiah says this in response to being treated differently based on family, “But the new kids, well, sometimes they just acted weird, like he was some untouchable god or something. He hated that.” (42) The unorthodox way that Jeremiah has been treated his whole life explains his need to change his identity to fit in. Instead of having pride in his heritage and family, Miah keeps that part of him locked away so nobody can judge him. Once Jeremiah confesses his parent's true identity to Ellie, she is upset that Miah has been keeping a side of his life so far away from her. Ellie responds to Miah’s confession, “Jeez, Miah. I thought you were– I thought you were just Miah.” (135) From this interaction, Jeremiah comes to understand that he did not need to change himself because of the biases of other people and that the people around him will love him no matter what. Implicit bias is critical to the development of Jeremiah's

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Holgren goes back to the idea that he tends to give people the benefit of the doubt. Holgren, the grotesque superintendent that happened to be Jeremiah's cruel employer, was blessed with a new face and healed by a miracle Jeremiah performed on him, although he did not deserve it in the slightest. " Then I saw that his bedeviled complexion—that face set always at a rolling boil—had changed" (Enger 80). Jeremiah put all anger and hatred towards Holgren aside and acted out of love and forgiveness instead. This is something Jesus would do, and there is a blatant connection between Jeremiah and Jesus Christ; Jeremiah parallels him.

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