Charles W. Chesnutts The Marrow of Tradition - Book Report/Review Example

The depth and astuteness of Chesnutt's understanding makes him a highly relevant author even in the 21st century. The writings of Chesnutt give voice to a nation's concerns, frustrations and disappointments accrued during the challenging process of achieving racial reconciliation and harmony in a society that was pathetically bifurcated by the pent up emotions of hatred and vengeance. His works mostly dabble with a number of often ignored aspects of Afro-American life that regretfully missed the attention of conventional literary sensibilities (Andrews, 17).

Charles was born in Cleveland Ohio on June 20, 1858. Considering the fact that he spent a majority of his nascent years in Fayetteville, his life and experiences there provided ample raw material for his literary endeavors. Both the sets of Charles' grandparents hailed from North Carolina and both of his grandfathers happened to be white. At some time during the mid-1800s, the state of North Carolina enacted some laws which severely constrained the rights of the free Afro-Americans residing in the state.

Consequently, most of his relatives and family members migrated to Cleveland, Ohio, to escape the repercussions of such drastic statutes. Charles' father Jack Chesnutt and his mother Ann Maria Sampson married in 1857, at Cleveland. Charles happened to be the first born of his parents. He also had two other surviving siblings named Andrew Jr. and Lewis. His father served as a teamster in the Union Army during the Civil War. According to Sylvia Lyons Render, Charles' mother was an avid educator who clandestinely taught the slave children, in bold defiance of the law of the land.

After the Civil War, when Charles was 8 years old, his family returned back to North Carolina. His father opened a grocery store there with the financial help extended by his paternal grandfather. Charles' mother died when he was just 13. Charles received a great deal of his early education at the newly established Howard School in North Carolina. Following his father's remarriage and the family's migration to the country, Charles had to discontinue with his formal education. However, this problem was partially alleviated when he was appointed a pupil-teacher at the Howard School.

Though Charles failed to formally graduate from the Howard School, his teaching experience provided him with opportunities and facilities to enhance his education. Charles proved to be a highly motivated and disciplined self learner who studied German, Greek and English Literature, with little help from anybody else. During this period, Charles travelled a lot and served at various summer teaching positions in North Carolina. In 1877, Charles was appointed the assistant principal of a school for colored teachers at Fayetteville.

By the dint of his hard work and determination, he was alleviated to the post of the principal of the school within three years. Charles Chesnutt married Susan W. Perry, a teacher at Howard School in 1878. The couple had four children named Dorothy, Ethel, Edwin and Helen. Though Charles was so light skinned, he could have easily passed for a white, he decided to avoid the easy way out and pledged to work real hard to gain acceptance