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John Howard Griffin was born on June 16, 1920 in Dallas, Texas. He was the second son of four children born to John and Lena Griffin. He studied literature and music in France starting at the age of 15. He worked as a medic in the Frenc resistance army when he was 19 and helped evacuate Austrian Jews from Nazi territory. During WWII, he served in the United States Army Air Corps in the South Seas. From 1946-1957 Mr. Griffin was blind. His works include The Devil Rides Outside (1952); Nuni (1956); Land of the High Sky (1959), the story of the Llano Estacado region, Black like Me (1961) and his only book on Texas; The Church and the Black Man (1969); and A Time to be Human (1977). He published photography in Jacques Maritain: Homage in Words and Pictures (1974) and Twelve Photographic Portraits (1973) and wrote several books on Thomas Merton: A Hidden Wholeness (1970), The Hermitage Journals (1981), and Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage Years, 1965-1968 (1983). Griffin also wrote syndicated columns for the International News Service and King Features from 1957 until 1960. He also had a 29 volume journal that he started in 1950. Griffin married Elizabeth Ann Holland on June 2, 1953, in Mansfield. They had four children. Griffin died in Fort Worth on September 9, 1980.
Bibliography
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| Griffin and Sterling Williams in New Orleans |
Main Character
John Howard Griffin
John Howard Griffin is a middle aged white man who lives in Texas. Mr. Griffin in an author and very curious. He is a loving father and husband. His desire to know the truth leads him to darken the pigmentation of his skin and travel to the deep south. Griffin does his best to blend in with the native colored southerners, and suceeds in acting the part he looks. Even his attitude maches his Southern brethren's. His nature shine through as inquisitive and kind as he interacts with people he meets on his journey.
Theme of Black Like Me
I believe that the theme of Black Like Me is that common misunderstanding leads to large problems. In this novel, the misunderstanding between the White Southerners and the Black Southerners leads to segregation and hate. One man seeks to understand the true nature of this problem. In his quest to discover the truth, John Griffin experinces the hate and desperation of two ethnicites divided by hundreds of years of misunderstanding. Overall, the theme of this book is really the theme of the era it was written in.
New Concepts and Ideas
1. Never wait for others to find out the truth for you
John Griffin took it upon himself to find out the truth.
2. Don't be afraid of what others think in your pursiut of right
John Griffin changed the color of his skin in order to discover the facts. He didn't care what other people thought
3. Things are not always as they seem
The Southern politicians said that they had a good relationship with their negro bretheren. However, Griffin uncovered that there was little to no relationship at all, often just hate and segregation.
4. Be ready to stand up for what you believe in or no one will know what you do
When Griffin's report was published, his work was not what the people of his town wanted to read. Even though people hung him in effigy and made threatening telephone calls, Mr. Griffin still stood behind his work.
Essential Habits of Life
1. John Griffin is a man that can be counted on by others
2. John Griffin took a stand for his beliefs by having his work published
3. John Griffin has an increased capacity to communicate with others.
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