Racism and Prejudice

The memoir traces Maxine Beneba Clarke’s encounters with bigotry throughout her childhood to explore the effects of racism on the individual’s psychology.

The author introduces these thematic notions in the Prologue. She uses the scene where a passing driver hurls racial slurs at her as a throughway into her overarching examination of how racism has impacted her as an individual. After the incident, Maxine sits on the side of the road with tears “streaming down [her] face” (vii). Her physical immobility creates room for reflection: “I’m heartbroken,” she says, “but also angry—not at the young ute driver, at myself. For letting this upset me. I should be used to this, I should know better” (vii). This moment instigates the array of anecdotes that the author presents in the subsequent chapters. Each one depicts an encounter with racism, bigotry, or prejudice...