The Mighty Miss Malone

Racism appears in the novel both in subtle, stealthy ways and in ways that are more obvious to Deza. Early in the story, Deza sometimes mentions a detail regarding racism or racial division that she witnesses but moves on without commenting upon it. By the story’s end, the way Deza more openly calls out racism suggests that she is increasingly cognizant of others’ attitudes and understands that she will probably continue to witness and endure racism throughout her life.

When Mrs. Ashton the librarian refers to Joe Louis as a “credit to your race” (75) before the fight, Mother and Father use the incident to compare a person with that kind of ignorant comment to a growling dog—someone who is throwing out a warning of how they really feel, even though they haven’t “bitten.” Father’s words about his appearance after the fishing accident represent the pervasive effect of racism during the Depression: “And if the white president of a bank is having his pay cut, what chance do I have? Look at me! Look at this mouth, I couldn’t find work when my face was whole” (126).

The words of Hitler with regard to the Louis-Schmeling fight show his racist attitude; he famously announced his opinion that no Black man could beat a white man. The author indicates in a brief afterword that we have no true parallel today to use in understanding the economic, political, and racial importance of the two fights between Louis and Schmeling: “In 1936, before the first fight, the growing Nazi Party proclaimed that white superiority would be proven because no black man could beat a white” (299).

While those examples expand Deza’s perspective of racism, her suspicion of the sealed letter from Mrs. Carsdale is an example of Deza actively reacting against racism. Mother’s employer of many years, Mrs. Carsdale, writes scathingly racist remarks about Mother to a friend. She also generalizes with additional racist comments. Deza and Jimmie see this letter when they steam open the sealed envelope, prompting them to rewrite a much more respectful letter as Mrs. Carsdale. (Ironically, Mother later reveals that she knew Deza wrote the letter and did not use it.)

Deza indicates a stronger understanding of racism and its impact on her as she discusses the juxtaposition of teacher attitudes between Gary and Flint. The Flint teachers are known for their prejudice and, as a camp neighbor tells Deza, never give the Black students better than a C. The teachers’ refusal to respect Deza’s talents exemplifies racism; they refuse to acknowledge her participation and willfully hold her back from success with inaccurate grades. Her experiences in the Flint school prompt an unfortunate and sad part of Deza’s coming-of-age: She recognizes that an institution she once loved unconditionally (school) can be inherently flawed. She must harden her heart to that fact: “I didn’t care, though, Flint teachers were so unfair” (276).

Deza’s Flint English teacher, who has no idea the level of maturity involved in the books Deza prefers, echoes Mrs. Ashton’s comment when he tells Deza she is a “credit to her race” (75) just for reading what he thinks is a book from the Penrod series. His choice of words is both oblivious and demeaning. Deza now shows an improved understanding of this racist remark, and she does not even grant his comment an acknowledgement in her interior monologue.