"The Telephone Conversation"
"The Red Telephone booth
(where the story all happened.)"
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"
This is the animated version of the "Telephone
Conversation."
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM THAT IS VISIBLE IN THE TEXT?
SHARE AN EXPERIENCE WHERE YOU HAVE WITNESSED/EXPERIENCED SUCH?
The problem in the text is that in the telephone conversation, the white lady criticizes and annoys the black man which leads to racism. During that time, the whites thinks that they are more superior compare to the blacks. That the blacks couldn't afford to reserve and rent a room in the hotel because for the whites, blacks are poor and treats them as nothing.
I remembered one time I have witnessed a scene in the mall. While I'm sitting down at the bench, I saw a man picking up his phone and shouted the person who is the phone then afterward that he says different kinds of bad words. Then after that he hung up the phone and left. During that scene people where like staring at him and thinking why he acted like that.
For me this scene is like racism even though it doesn't involves the race of the whites and the blacks. For me it's racism because in the scene that I have witnessed, he doesn't respect the person who is in the phone and he left the person degraded and discriminated.
Another example is Tyra Banks which is a famous celebrity who is both a model and a host. I have witnessed her documentary, which is all about racism when she was at a young age. I know this is not like the telephone conversation which racism happened in the telephone but it relates to the topic of racism. When she was young, she was being bullied by other people especially by the whites. She is described as a too skinny person, tall, and a very dark skin colored person. Also she is being called by pet names. After all that she have experienced, she proved to them that she is not just that kind of person. That she can be fair and be equally treated by people.
MY ADVICE TO THOSE WHO EXPERIENCED RACISM NOT ONLY IN THE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION BUT ALSO IN VERBAL AND NON VERBAL ACTIONS IS THAT DON'T EVER ALLOW ANYBODY TO HURT AND PULL YOU DOWN. BE STRONG AND FIGHT FOR YOUR OWN RIGHTS IN ORDER TO BE EQUALLY TREATED BY OTHER PEOPLE. SHOW TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO PULL YOU DOWN OR WANTING TO PULL YOU DOWN THAT THEY ARE WRONG WITH WHAT THEY USUALLY THINKS.
SOURCES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YFRHZL3OIeM
http://lit205a.blogspot.com/2008/01/week-10-telephone-conversation-by-wole.html
