Alternative Ending to "The Comet"
This alternative ending of "The Comet" by W.E.B Dubois, follows the scene where Jim (the lower-class black man) and Julia (the well-off white woman) are interrupted by the sound of a car and people. In this altered version, Julia's father and other white men, excluding Julia's love, Fred (who is nonexistent in my version), arrive and reunite with her but are also met with Jim.
"My daughter!" he sobbed. "Are you well? Unharmed?"
"Unharmed!" she said.
"And this man here?" he asked, encircling her drooping form with one arm and turning toward the Negro. Suddenly he stiffened and his hand flew to his hip.
"Why!" he snarled. "It's---a--black man--Julia! Has he---has he dared----"
Julia lifted her head and looked at her father curiously and then uttered confidently, "He has dared---all, to rescue me and I thank him much." She looked to the black man standing alone, meeting the eye of the human being she now glorified in light. She turned towards him and beckoned her father to join her. Her father looked at the man face to face, the glimmer of hatred and accusation in his eyes softening.
"My good fellow, what's your name?" he said.
"Jim Davis," came the answer, doubtfully.
"Well, Jim, I thank you. I find you to be very kind. We would love for you to join us for dinner tonight." And the two men and the woman left together.
In the original version of "The Comet", W.E.B Dubois creates a peculiar set of circumstances and environment that encourages the coming together of two people of different races and classes. Dubois strips the world of this pressure from society and former societal principles by killing off the rest of the city of New York, leaving a lower-class black man and a young, wealthy white woman alone with each other. Being alone with no one around to influence them besides previous social constructs, the two characters appear to bond and begin to trust one another, despite previous stereotypical beliefs. Dubois builds up a story that seems ready to break the prejudiced views of the world and create a new community of people who overlook the barriers of race and class.
Readers who were looking for a satisfying ending in which the two people from opposite ends of the world's social hierarchy come together and create a new life are sure to be met with disappointment. Dubois takes on a more realistic ending where the previous racism and discrimination of society do not disappear that easily. The story almost mocks the idea of the disappearance of racism in the sense that Dubois seems to be telling the reader that it will take a catastrophic and fatal disaster that nearly wipes out humanity in order to have society see all people as equal and not value them by their social status or race. Although Dubois depicts a desire for a non-prejudiced world through his almost utopian society, he ends the story in failure when he could have just as easily ended it in a way where social injustice and racism is eliminated. In this way, Dubois not only depicts the inherent nature of racism and racial discrimination within America but also suggests that race is a concept created by society to place people in a hierarchy but is otherwise meaningless.
In my alternative ending to "The Comet", instead of having the white men who find Julia and Jim together be repulsed and unaccepting of the fact that Jim is a black man, later leading to the separation of the two characters and ultimate failure to create an antiracist world, I wrote it in a way that encouraged Julia and Jim to end up together and the other white men to get over the racial barrier. While Julia's father is initially repulsed by Jim's race, after realizing Jim saved his daughter's life, the racial discrimination or distinctions melt away as Jim's father sees his daughter's gratitude and confidence in Jim. In the original story, when Julia is once again met with the pressure and racism of white society, she cracks and turns her back on the antiracist world that almost was. Julia physically cannot look at Jim and leaves with her white love, Fred. In my version, by staying firm and continuing to meet eye contact with him, Julia stands up for racial equality and her new egalitarian mindset, inspiring her own father to put aside his preconceptions about Jim and black people.
I reimagined the ending in this way because although it creates more of an unrealistic picture, I believe it gives a more positive outlook on the world's racial views. It also creates a more modern view of the world because in the past 100 years ("The Comet" was written in 1920) the world's view of race has developed and changed quite a bit ("The Comet (Short Story)"). This is not at all to say that racism has disappeared as it is still very much prevalent within our society, but rather since the 1920s, society has become much more egalitarian and accepting of different races (to some extent). While Dubois has Jim end up being harassed by white bystanders and finding a black woman, in my alternate ending, having the black man and two white people walk out together creates a sense of hope in society's ability to rid itself of its racial hierarchy rather than sending the message that it is not possible. The people all walking out together also represent a new "race" or community of people who no longer classify people based on their race.
Both versions depict the same desire for a world where racism does not exist, but my altered version is much more optimistic and hopeful, ending in success rather than failure. On the other hand, this is not as realistic and contrasts Dubois' idea that racism is so deeply implanted within society that it cannot be destroyed that easily. The two versions are similar in the way that they both demonstrate race as a concept created by society and the distinctions largely lie in peoples' own minds. With race being a social construct, it can only disappear if the world that supported those differences also does, leaving behind people who can shatter the racial barrier.
Other sources used:
"The Comet (Short Story)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comet_(short_story).
"My daughter!" he sobbed. "Are you well? Unharmed?"
"Unharmed!" she said.
"And this man here?" he asked, encircling her drooping form with one arm and turning toward the Negro. Suddenly he stiffened and his hand flew to his hip.
"Why!" he snarled. "It's---a--black man--Julia! Has he---has he dared----"
Julia lifted her head and looked at her father curiously and then uttered confidently, "He has dared---all, to rescue me and I thank him much." She looked to the black man standing alone, meeting the eye of the human being she now glorified in light. She turned towards him and beckoned her father to join her. Her father looked at the man face to face, the glimmer of hatred and accusation in his eyes softening.
"My good fellow, what's your name?" he said.
"Jim Davis," came the answer, doubtfully.
"Well, Jim, I thank you. I find you to be very kind. We would love for you to join us for dinner tonight." And the two men and the woman left together.
In the original version of "The Comet", W.E.B Dubois creates a peculiar set of circumstances and environment that encourages the coming together of two people of different races and classes. Dubois strips the world of this pressure from society and former societal principles by killing off the rest of the city of New York, leaving a lower-class black man and a young, wealthy white woman alone with each other. Being alone with no one around to influence them besides previous social constructs, the two characters appear to bond and begin to trust one another, despite previous stereotypical beliefs. Dubois builds up a story that seems ready to break the prejudiced views of the world and create a new community of people who overlook the barriers of race and class.
Readers who were looking for a satisfying ending in which the two people from opposite ends of the world's social hierarchy come together and create a new life are sure to be met with disappointment. Dubois takes on a more realistic ending where the previous racism and discrimination of society do not disappear that easily. The story almost mocks the idea of the disappearance of racism in the sense that Dubois seems to be telling the reader that it will take a catastrophic and fatal disaster that nearly wipes out humanity in order to have society see all people as equal and not value them by their social status or race. Although Dubois depicts a desire for a non-prejudiced world through his almost utopian society, he ends the story in failure when he could have just as easily ended it in a way where social injustice and racism is eliminated. In this way, Dubois not only depicts the inherent nature of racism and racial discrimination within America but also suggests that race is a concept created by society to place people in a hierarchy but is otherwise meaningless.
In my alternative ending to "The Comet", instead of having the white men who find Julia and Jim together be repulsed and unaccepting of the fact that Jim is a black man, later leading to the separation of the two characters and ultimate failure to create an antiracist world, I wrote it in a way that encouraged Julia and Jim to end up together and the other white men to get over the racial barrier. While Julia's father is initially repulsed by Jim's race, after realizing Jim saved his daughter's life, the racial discrimination or distinctions melt away as Jim's father sees his daughter's gratitude and confidence in Jim. In the original story, when Julia is once again met with the pressure and racism of white society, she cracks and turns her back on the antiracist world that almost was. Julia physically cannot look at Jim and leaves with her white love, Fred. In my version, by staying firm and continuing to meet eye contact with him, Julia stands up for racial equality and her new egalitarian mindset, inspiring her own father to put aside his preconceptions about Jim and black people.
I reimagined the ending in this way because although it creates more of an unrealistic picture, I believe it gives a more positive outlook on the world's racial views. It also creates a more modern view of the world because in the past 100 years ("The Comet" was written in 1920) the world's view of race has developed and changed quite a bit ("The Comet (Short Story)"). This is not at all to say that racism has disappeared as it is still very much prevalent within our society, but rather since the 1920s, society has become much more egalitarian and accepting of different races (to some extent). While Dubois has Jim end up being harassed by white bystanders and finding a black woman, in my alternate ending, having the black man and two white people walk out together creates a sense of hope in society's ability to rid itself of its racial hierarchy rather than sending the message that it is not possible. The people all walking out together also represent a new "race" or community of people who no longer classify people based on their race.
Both versions depict the same desire for a world where racism does not exist, but my altered version is much more optimistic and hopeful, ending in success rather than failure. On the other hand, this is not as realistic and contrasts Dubois' idea that racism is so deeply implanted within society that it cannot be destroyed that easily. The two versions are similar in the way that they both demonstrate race as a concept created by society and the distinctions largely lie in peoples' own minds. With race being a social construct, it can only disappear if the world that supported those differences also does, leaving behind people who can shatter the racial barrier.
Other sources used:
"The Comet (Short Story)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comet_(short_story).
Hi Danbi,
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating how a tiny change of the last sentence can alter the ending of a story so much. Although I hate stories that have unsatisfactory endings, I think that is necessary for such a story as "The Comet". By offering hope and a future, but then subverting our expectations and ending realistically, Dubois adds another layer to his message. You alluded to this in your blog post, but I just wanted to expand on it a little bit.
Anyways, your hopeful ending is very sweet and nice wishful thinking, but unfortunately, I am a realist. The story loses some impact as a wake-up call if Dubois doesn't draw attention to how unrealistic it is to shatter racial barriers in one go.
I like how your alternate ending has a sort of fairy tale feel to it. I have one question though. Why leave in the fact that the father racially stereotypes Jim when he first sees him? In an alternate ending where racial discrimination is left behind, it seems almost out of place to leave an underlying tone of racism in the story.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your more optimistic ending of the Comet for its allowance of the reader's hope to continue. But one thing i think it doesn't address is the bigger world around them. Sure, this one family may be accepting of a black man, but that means nothing to someone across the country who hold onto his racist ideology. Would this white man now become an activist for the equality of races? And if so how would he deal with the backlash it may cause?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI also found the original ending of "The Comet" to be quite sad and disappointing; so much of the conflict and tension in the story was the struggle Julia had accepting Jim as a fellow human, despite being from two different worlds. As a result, I appreciate this alternate ending, as it is much more optimistic. However, I also realize that Du Bois's ending was much more realistic, suggesting that racism and discrimination are deeply rooted in our society (and they are).
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there is one perfect ending for this short story. Hopefully one day, human society will grow to become less discriminatory, so a story that ends with humans accepting each other for who they are isn't only happy, but also realistic.
First off, I want to say your analysis is really good - it’s well-written and quite in-depth. Furthermore, I read two other alternate endings to “The Comet” before yours and like yours, they have a more hopeful take on “The Comet.” As I’ve posted on Lexy’s and as you said in your analysis, I think it’s easy for us to imagine an idealized world where racism doesn’t exist because society has changed since when “The Comet” was written. To be honest, reading your ending, among others, where society can restart and/or race doesn’t seem to be viewed in a negative light, is pretty nice - just a lot of feel-good feelings, y’know? Anyways, great job Danbi! I enjoyed reading this blog post.
ReplyDelete