I wouldn't say at all that Black and White exploits any real-life experiences. I think it's good for this particular story to help readers fully understand the racial connotations involved with such a crime and the different perspectives of both Marcus and Eddie and their families.

My opinion might have been different if it weren't for the fact that Marcus and Eddie are completely equal in their guilt. If one had been more guilty than the other, I might have felt differently. Thus, no one race is targeted initially.

I do hate that Eddie and his family are so targeted later on in the book, but perhaps this is a sad but true circumstance. At least his sister, Rose, is presented as a fair and honest Caucasian character, so that it is not necessarily that white people are discriminated against. I am grateful though to see the side of Marcus and his family, and how he is so unfairly targeted and treated. It would have been so painful for him to watch his future go down the drain and Eddie's dreams come true and still not say a word, but his strength and loyalty are so admirable. It was also good to see Eddie's inner struggle as to what to do in such a case. His struggles were not only racial, but also concerned friendship and ethics.

Wealth vs Race

In reference to Question 17 of the Black and White PowerPoint, it's difficult to determine whether or not Eddie's wealth helped him more or less than his race, because it seems that wealth and race seem to be work, unfortunately, hand-in-hand. While of course, as in any situation, there are many exceptions, there is quite a heavy poverty percentage in African American families. The stereotype is so strong that unfortunately, it's hard to separate Eddie's race and his financial situation. It just seems natural for his character to have both in his "favor."

I think if we could separate the two, it would be Eddie's wealth that was prominent. If minority races and poverty weren't so often paired together, race would perhaps not so much be a factor. I think that it's poverty that biases the portrayal of African Americans--the idea that they steal and act up because they grew up in a poor household and don't have a chance to better themselves. We are beyond thinking that any non-White race is beneath us because God deemed it so. It's a financial battle now; it's a matter of respect and disrespect because our culture is so hung up on money.

Thompson and Sealey's article is an interesting example of analyzing English in a scientific way. Analyzed as a lab and presented in a lab report format, the two experiment to conclude the frequency between parts of speech in children's literature and adult literature, and the context of these frequencies.

Unfortunately, I found the report hard to read and pretty much useless. Words on the frequency lists were essentially identical, and were far too basic to make any true conclusions: the, of, man, etc etc.

Their main conclusion--that the two types of literature use essentially the same basic words but that they take on more abstract meanings in adult literature--is, at least to me, an obvious statement. The technical writing and tables/lists were convoluted and redundant, and the report lacked brevity. Just to count the frequency of such basic words and sequence structures without context do nothing to examine the difference in message between child and adult literature, or at least that's my opinion.