Gates and Race

Gates’  Writing “Race” and the Difference It Makes, addresses the importance of the topic of the “other.” I found this article interesting because although it seems apparent that race is a factor that separates us from one another, Gates dives further into the issue. He explains, In much of the thinking about proper study of literature in this century, race has ben an invisible quantity, a persistent yet implicit presence” (Gates 2).  While race has been present, I agree with the fact that it has not been explicitly addressed.

On term that is important in understanding Gates’ text is “alterity” which is a term that refers to being different or something that is “other” than the norm. This term goes along with this text because Gates refers to different races literally as the “Other” or uses the term “Otherness” when describing them. What Gates offers is insight as to why our racial differences are important. Gates refers back to the thoughts of Hippolyte -Adolphe Taine when he says, “What Taine called ‘race’ was the source of all structures of feeling and thought: to ‘track the root of man,’” (Gates 3). He argues that although not much effort has gone into analyzing race and its importance, race actually is something that should attain a greater focus. Race is the center of all of our differences. It is where much of our thoughts and ideas originate. In breaking down each race, we can then break down why we think in different ways and ultimately produce different ideas. 

Gates later explains, “Race has become a trope of ultimate, irreducible difference between cultures, linguistic groups, or adherents of specific belief systems which-more often than not- also have fundamentally opposed economic interests. Race is the ultimate trope of difference because it is so arbitrary in its application” (Gates 5). On another level, Gates now argues for race as a trope. It is a trope that will act differently for each individual that is a part of each different race. Nonetheless, it is a canonical tool in which we must acknowledge.