In the story Going to Meet the Man you follow Jesse as he recounts his racist thoughts and the story of how he witnessed a black man killed and tortured by his father and the townspeople. Throughout Jesse maintains that what he is doing is just and right. While racism is condemned far and wide the story forces you to look at how a racist justifies their actions. Jesse himself even wonders at times whether he is a good person. I think the most powerful indictor of Jesse's racist thoughts come from his tale of watching the black man killed. The townspeople make a big specatcle of going, much like a party, and Jesse eventually considers it a thing of honor to be trusted with watching this event. It boils down to a case of nature vs. nurture. Jesse is raised in a racist enviornment and the racism trickles down to him. His father, being the sheriff, instills in Jesse a sense of pride and eventually Jesse himself becomes the sheriff as well. He takes pride in his father's job, wants to be him, and decides to follow his thoughts wholeheartedly. If Jesse's parents had been against racism things might not have changed at all since the town was behind the decisions as well. When a person is drenched completely in a particular viewpoint it's hard to change and be different. The fact that Jesse has moments of questioning shows that possibly the enviornment is changing and he's being given different views. This concept could also be applied to The Adventures of Augie March since Augie's grandmother is racist, which could cause him to be one as well.
Critical Question: Does enviornment play a big role in Jesse's personality? How does this compare/contrast with the character in Adventures of Augie March?
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