In the movie “The Human Strain” Coleman was unsure of his identity and what to call himself. Although his father had his life map out on exactly what he wanted him to do Coleman didn’t agree; his father wanted him to go to Howard University, medical school, and become an African American doctor; however Coleman didn’t want to be declared as colored. After his father’s death and high school he realized that he needed to declare a race for the Navy and he choose white. I was rather shocked that he chose white because his family was colored and always wanted him to embrace his ethnicity. This connects with the short story “The Almost White Boy” because Jimmy did pass for job opportunities as well as Coleman in the movie. However Coleman tried to not acknowledge that fact that he was colored and by doing so tried to forget about his family.
After Coleman’s first in counter with a woman he then told the next woman that he was white because he knew the outcome if he told her differently. I understood why he decided not to tell her he was colored because of his past; however I strongly agree with his mother when she told him that their children may not come out as white as him. This scene connects with the story “The Almost White Boy” because Jimmy was extremely hurt after Cora left him because he was colored, and Coleman was also hurt then he was left because he was colored.
This movie helps me better understand the struggle that a person as to go through if they choose to