“The Revolt Of The Evil Fairies” by Ted Poston

Caitlin Kilgore                                                                                 October 15, 12

708                                                                                                     ELA

Segregation

Thesis Statement: Segregation is a recurring theme in the short story “The Revolt Of The Evil Fairies” by Ted Poston.

            During the 1960’s, the civil right movement was happening but there was still segregation. White people over all had the best of everything, while African- Americans got the hand-me-downs and the worst of everything. This happened in schools and no one, especially children, should ever get treated differently because of the color of their skin.  We can clearly see the difference in treatment and how it affects people emotionally through Ted Poston’s short story “The Revolt Of The Evil Fairies”. In this story the narrator wants to be Prince Charming in the school play but he can’t get the role because of his skin color. At the end of the story the protagonist revolts because he is angry at the way he and everybody else is being treated. Segregation is a recurring theme in the short story “The Revolt Of The Evil Fairies” by Ted Poston.

            The yallers have the best of everything. The yallers are the light skinned African-Americans. We can clearly see how they have the better opportunities when the protagonist states, “ The yallers had the best of everything. They held most of teaching jobs in Booker T. Washington Colored Grammar School. They were the Negro doctors, the lawyers, the insurance men. They even had a “Blue Vein Society,” and if your dark skin obscured your throbbing pulse you were hardly a member of the elite.” (p.30) This quote illustrates the fact that segregation wasn’t just in the school but also out in the world and it even happens within the African American community. The pigmentation of your skin helped decide what job you received. It also decided what clubs could be a part of. This type of treatment is extremely unjust.

            The color of your skin decides your role in the play. Every year the school puts on a version of Sleeping Beauty and casts the yallers as the hero’s and good fairies while the darker skinned children always play the evil and bad roles. We see this when the narrator says, “And therein lay my personal tragedy. I made the best grades in my class, I was the leading debater, and the scion of a respected family in the community. But I could never be Prince Charming because I was black.” (p.30) This shows that even though the main character is a really good student and his family is respected in the community, he can’t be the lead in the play because of his dark complexion. And this isn’t a new concept because even before casting the protagonists family went out and bought black cheesecloth because they know that their child wouldn’t be getting the good lead. This is downright unfair because a person, who might not be as smart or talented and could even have behavior issues, can still be Prince Charming just because he is a yaller.

            Segregation isn’t new. The reader gets the sense that segregation has been going for a long time when the protagonist states, “They wouldn’t let me appear in the grand dramatic offering at all next year. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t have been Prince Charming anyway.” (p.33) This quote shows how much the narrator wants segregation to end. He realizes that he doesn’t want to be a part of something that is based basically on skin color.           

            As you can see segregation is a recurring theme in Ted Poston’s short story “The Revolt Of The Evil Fairies”. Segregation and discrimination are never just. People think that segregation has stopped. But it has not, people might not be bullied for their skin color as much but people are still getting bullied.  The definition of segregation is the state or condition of being segregated. But what does this really mean? I looked up segregated and found this: to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group; isolate

2.to require, often with force, the separation of (a specific racial, religious, or other group) from the general body of society. Segregation basically means treating people badly for being different. This is downright unjust. We should embrace are differences. If everybody acted the same the world would be very boring. Do you agree?