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Time and Distance Overcome

Decent Essays

Time and Distance Overcome
Eula Biss discusses in her essay "Time and Distance Overcome" how the invention of the telephone ultimately resulted in one of the many racist acts in history. Black men were hung every day without even being guilty of charge. She certainly puts a lot of emphasis on describing these hangings which sort of makes her essay quite monotone, but in the end definitely makes this essay a lot more personal. I think that the purpose of this essay is to bring back the racial question which is still very present in our society today.
The text in itself is quite symbolic. With the invention of the phone came the wire, and as she writes in the text "Even now it is an impossible idea that we are all connected, all of us". …show more content…

I think that the crucifix-like telephone poles was quite intentional. The society was largely based on the religious views of Christianity and perhaps this draws a parallel between the two, creating a contrast between the good of the church and the evil of human nature.
The invention was hard for people to comprehend and it questioned everything that was considered the conventional wisdom. The people were, and are still today, afraid of change which meant that someone should be the "fall guy". In the end this meant that the minority, the "negroes" as they're referred to had to take the fall. Eula Biss describes the American concept "Lynching". Lynching meant hanging people onto poles, trees, bridges and street poles. It was considered to be a punishment towards crimes, and as she writes in her essay: "...black men were lynched for crimes real and imagined...". Again, it was the negro minority who had to take the fall for the majority's incompetence in coping with change. Because the society is constantly in change and even today people are afraid of this constant force. You have to be able to recognize and expose yourself which surely, for many people would be considered a fearful and scary thing to do.
The invention of the telephone had both negative and positive outcomes. The telephone meant that the hurdle of not being able to communicate directly from point A to B disappeared. This was considered a huge step for the individual of that

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