NCHS AP English Language

Author Alyssa Berger/ Clarissa Hernandez

The NAACP organizer, Medgar Evers, was murdered by Byron de La Beckwith. This is old by Dylan in "Only a Pawn in Their Game." This song argues that some people are pawns, for example Byron de La Beckwith. The term "pawns"mean that the people are "incapable of moral choices- not the author of their actions, but mere tools of others' agendas". The analogy used is that the gun that Beckwith used could symbolize more, that the gun is Beckwith. Beckwith was raised in the South, which predominantly discriminated against African Americans. Seeing as how the environment that he grew up in ifnluenced his way of thinking, he thought it was okay to go and murder innocent lives such as Evers. This relates to an old psychology argument. Does peoples actions depend on their gentics or their envroment? Beckwiths example shows that because of the way he was raised, he chooses to murder people. He thinks of it as the norm. This realtes to the definition of the word pawn, Beckwith was a tool in the Southern culture in the killing of African Americans, and it may not have been Beckwiths plan to do this. There are three conditions into whick someone can be considered a pawn. First, a pawn has at least one "salient 'objective' feature wth both in-group and out-group" people ( Vernezze and Porter, 32). This means a pawn shares qualities with both groups whether it is their job or race. Second, a pawn learns how to deal with guilt and shame. A pawn feels they must drif away from the out-group based on who they are. When an out-group member feels this, the in-group member takes of addvantage of it and peruses violent attacks towards them. Finally, the third condition describes an attack on the knowledge, clear-headedness, and individuality of the pawns. They feel that to stay in the in-group and be socially stable is vital, even if it means performing crude actions. They believe it is reasonable to be this way also. Byron de La Beckwith is a pawn because all three conditions describe him perfectly, and he was a tool in the crafting of the Southern culture. He was raised in believing it is okay to hate people because of ethnicity, so some fault should be regarded towards the society. So mentally he was not responsible, but physically he was since it was his actions.

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 1:57 PM