In The Marrow of Tradition, Charles Chesnutt tells the story of social injustice in the Reconstruction period of the late 1800s. He uses a variety of unique characters, ranging from white supremacist aristocrats to vengeful blacks. Chesnutt criticizes the forced removal of blacks from political office, the common denial that blacks are human beings, and lynching. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To begin, Chesnutt believes that the violent coup against black office holders is illegal and worthy of unanimous criticism. In the novel, the town of Wellington, based on the infamous North Carolina town of Wilmington, begins in a state of relative peace. The population is predominantly black or mixed race and, as a result, most local and regional politicians are black. Whites and blacks live together without significant cases of civil unrest, and although many whites still hold age-old prejudiced views, each race normally keeps its boundaries unscathed. However, with the rise of the Big Three (Major Carteret, General Belmont, and Captain McBane), the city's civilization teeters on the fragile hinges of disaster. Major Carteret, plotting the removal of the local (mainly black) Republican officials, says: “You are mistaken, sir, in imagining me hostile to the Negroes... On the contrary, I am friendly in your best interests. I give him a job; I pay taxes so that the schools educate him, and the courts and prisons keep him in order. I simply object to being ruled by an inferior and servile race." Chesnutt explains that white supremacists, like Major Carteret, had a tendency to veil their true intentions with words of friendship and trust, so that their actions could be achieved with very little suspicion and public outrage. Chesnutt believes this to be ludacris and makes it clear that Carteret is actually preparing for an unjust coup. Furthermore, the Big Three, who represent racists on a smaller scale, see blacks and women other races of color not only have inferior qualities, but are subhuman as a whole For example, Mammy Jane, a deferential and loyal servant of the Carteret family, is brutally murdered during the race riot although she was known throughout the fragile community for her. loyalty to the family that once enslaved her, she was killed independently by men who saw her not for her character, but rather simply for the pigment of her skin. While this case is both unfortunate and ironic, it is even more unfortunate to learn that even young children were beaten and killed by whites. Such neglect and hatred are noted by Chesnutt, when he writes: “At such a time, in the eyes of the white man, the courage of a negro would be mere desperation; his love of freedom, a simple animal aversion to restriction. Every subtlest human instinct would be interpreted in terms of ferocity. Or, if forced to admire, they would repress anyway. They would have applauded his courage as they stretched his neck, or carried away the fragments of his mangled body as souvenirs, in much the same way that savages preserve the scalps or eat the hearts of their enemies. Chesnutt effectively criticizes such views with statements such as “a simple animal aversion to moderation” and comparing blacks to savages, an analogy that racists have been quick to make. Furthermore, Carteret writes: “The Negroes are no longer under our control and with their emancipation our responsibility has ceased. Their insolence and contempt for the law have.