NCHS AP English Language

Mark Francis - Ch. 3 Beckwith essay - Nathan Sheptock

Bob Dylan raises an interesting point when he sings of Byron de la Beckwith, "He can't be blamed...He's taught in his school, from the start by the rule, that the laws are with him to protect his white skin," in his song, "Only a Pawn in Their Game." However, does influence necessarily make one a pawn? Society told Beckwith he had been wronged and should be angry, but it was Beckwith's personal decision to believe that statement and therefore make himself into a pawn.
Bob Dylan says that poor whites were all brainwashed to believe that the black man had wronged them. That many of them sincerely believed this is certainly true, however, if all the poor whites were "brainwashed," how come it was only Beckwith that became a cold blooded murderer? The answer is of course that although all the poor whites may have been told that the blacks were the reason they were poor, they knew (Beckwith included) knew this was just an excuse, an “easy way out” of a problem that they themselves had the power to rectify. Beckwith decided rather than to attempt to either make his life better of accept his condition, to kill Evers out of frustration, which does not make him innocent of his crime. In a parallel scenario, millions of people today are born into poverty and often told that the only chance they have to better themselves is through crime. Of course, they too all realize that this is in fact not the only way to change their position. If John, one of these poor people, were to decide to join a gang and kill Frank, it is accepted that although John might have been told by the gang that killing Frank is o.k. because Frank is the reason John is poor, John still knew that killing was wrong and not his only option to change his lot in life. This is reaffirmed by the fact that most all other poor people like John do not turn out to be murderers.
In conclusion, Beckwith, like John, is not a pawn, but a willing participant in an act of frustration that he knows is not the only way to solve his problem. If Beckwith or John were to be a pawn, then it would follow that all others who were in their conditions would have adopted the same course of action, however, we know this is not the case.

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 10:50 AM