The Trope

The word trope in the dictionary is defined as any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows us how tropes, with regards to race, can be dangerous. Race as a trope describes when we specifically categorize race, e.g. the White race or the Black race. As Gates describes it, "Race has become a trope of ultimate, irreducible difference between cultures, linguistic groups, or adherents of specific belief systems...Race is the ultimate trope of difference because it is so very arbitrary in its application." (Social Theory, p. 533) Words can be a beautiful thing, but when used to describe race we have exposed their bad side. Words can be powerful and extremely offensive when used in the wrong context, yet we do it everyday to make sense of something that people find to be confusing. How confusing is race though? To me, it seems just as confusing as the difference between males and females. However, the way I see it isn't necessarily the way someone else sees it. As Gates put it, race is used arbitrarily all the time. Who categorizes the White, Black, or Asian race? The government gives us "standards" to help understand the concept a little better, but many people disregard this if they don't agree. As I have stated before according to government standards I am categorized as being a member of the White race. This is too confusing for me, so I simply disregard it. How can I be labeled White? American, yes. I just can't see how I am White