The novel is about a writer named John Howard Griffin who decides to study how a black man lives in the late 1950's. Mr. Griffin's main purpose for writing this book was to show inconsiderate and immature white people were in the past. It also revealed how horrible black people were treated. (5).
This novel is probably directed to young adults. It is directed to this audience due to the mature subject but also conveys the message of how wrong racism is. I also recommend this to adults also because I think that they could learn things from it also. (1).
One theme from the novel is racism. It is not universally accepted because it is so immature and stupid. The author's main reason for writing this story was to tell the story of racism. Another theme from the story is linked with racism but is not the same, is civil rights. This has been a huge topic during the last century and still exists now. He tries to tell the reader that this is important and should be important in ones life through the theme. The other theme is perseverance. The author expresses this by writing this book. It is showed by the perseverance Mr. Howard has by going after the topic and by how he lived when he was a black man. He had to persevere by putting up with the comments, bad treatment and violence. This is not accepted now but it still exists because of immature people. (9).
The theme that affected me most was perseverance because I think Mr. Griffin showed a lot of it by putting up with what he did. I think that it showed a lot of guts and most of all heart for him to take up this assignment. I find that this inspired me to be a better person. (3).
The novel is told form the point of view of the author who is also protagonist and is maintained through the whole novel. (2).
John Howard Griffin who is not only the author but is also the protagonist of this story, Black Like Me. He wrote this story to convey the message of racism.