Comment on Racism

A close and personal portrait of racism is at the heart of the novel. At Joe's birth, Golden Gray confronts his father Henry Lestory, a despised "black savage." Gray cannot find anything in the man to admire, despite his many gifts. Violet's father must flee Virginia after he joins a political party that supports the right to vote for black men. His absence leaves the family impoverished and in debt. Eventually it leads to the suicide of Violet's mother, Rose Dear.