Racial Stereotypes in Beg Borrow Steal by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (Essay Sample)

When it comes to race, many people, subjectively African Americans, can become alienated simply based on the aspects, actions, and morals that are permanently associated to them based on another person's viewpoint. Regardless of how much a black person tries to prove  that they are more than their stereotypes, the alienation will still occur. Oftentimes, stereotypes are created due to actions of certain people in society which affect other generations; however, many black families in America must deal with assumptions of what idea has been created throughout history. In the short story “Beg Borrow Steal,” by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, the narrator and his father, “Pop,” are alienated from society, such as police stations, suburban neighborhoods, and workplaces, due to their race, racial stereotypes, their ignorant environment, and past decisions as Pop has been in jail for crimes. Society isolates people based on race and categorizes them from being fit and unfit in certain public places, which in turn, can isolate races.

Race, as described by Author Erin Blakemore, is defined as a category of humankind that shares certain physical traits. Races with a lighter complexion are frequently to be considered kind, adequate, and worthy of a good life. However, races with a darker complexion, especially African Americans, are considered horrid, thieves, and unsuitable to maintain a good life in society. For instance, the author of the article,“The Impacts of Racism and Bias on Black People Pursuing Careers in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Proceedings Of a Workshop,” claims “An empirical analysis of racial differences in police use of force (Fryer, 2016, 2018) showed that white police officers were more likely to use violence against Black compared with white members of the public. These actions, he said, are tied to “who looks dangerous” to a police officer and can be visceral, fast-brained reactions”(47). An African American citizen is

stereotyped to be dangerous whether or not their actions are dangerous. For example, a black doctor could be yelling the same way a white doctor could be, but due to their skin differences, one is considered “out of control.” 

.  When it comes to situations of dealing with a person of another race, their traits, behaviors, and even a child’s upbringing can become misinterpreted as malicious, the wrong way, or anything negative or harmful which can convince someone that there is a justified reason to turn them away from great opportunities. According to most people, especially parents, children's actions come from learned behavior. In the article “Assessor Teaching and the Evolution of Human Morality,”  Cassino Laureano claims, “[T]hose basic forms of intentional evaluative feedback, something we have called assessor teaching, allow parents to transmit their accumulated experience to their children, both about the behaviors that should be learned as well as how they should be copied”(5). Pop’s past life and life choices opened up a way for the narrator to become alienated from society and its morals.

Morals can be considered as an individual or community's belief on what is right and what is wrong. The morals that other races have against African Americans, such as never assuming they have good intentions, is a factor of the alienation of races. What the narrator was shown and taught to be good actually turned out to be bad and the opposite of society's morals. For example, Pop stole a necklace for his wife and made his son, the narrator, believe it was acceptable. The narrator acknowledges, “But you borrowed that, you say. Pop told you ... the difference between borrowing and stealing. Thieves steal because they are heartless and like to hurt people. Good people like him borrow because they need it more than who they are taking it from.” “‘I did me wrong, he say. Don’t be a dummy. You know I stole stuff. They didn't even get half of what I took’” (Ruffin 6). Pops is trying to right his wrongs to his son but the damage of the fib has already been done. In the article “Assessor Teaching and the Evolution of Human Morality” by Laureano Castro, he affirms, “If a behavior is approved, then it is good; if it is disapproved, then it is bad” (7). Pops approved his own behavior to his son a long time ago, which makes it difficult for his son to change the way he thinks on the topic. Also, Pops is justifying “borrowing” the mother’s money by saying that he loves her. This form of disrespect towards the mother can be misinterpreted as love to the narrator and his sister, Timithea. Laureano continues, “We consider the evolutionary scheme of morality ... to defend the idea that the ability to orient the learning of offspring using signs of approval/disapproval could be a decisive and necessary step in the evolution of human morality” (5). The sign of disapproval when mama stated that she has been paying bills independently on her own, was ignored when Pops took the money anyway to give to the children. 

Life decisions can be unintentionally repetitive and passed to children or others. The narrator ended up stealing a car for his mother. Even after hearing that Pops was not making good decisions, he still followed in his footsteps. Some people may believe that the parent’s involvement has more effects due to seeing a parent more than seeing friends. According to Paula H. Palmer, author of “Parent-Child Engagement in Decision Making and the Development of Adolescent Affective Decision Capacity and Binge Drinking,” she states, “These findings suggest that parental engagement of children in everyday decision-making might foster the development of neurocognitive functioning relative to affective decision-making..(Palmer).” Children have a chance of mimicking the actions of their parents more than friends. With parents being adults, children can automatically consider their actions right. In the short story, “Beg Borrow Steal” the narrator claims, “Mama gonna kill you for ruining good clothes, but you about to make it up...You jam the screwdriver into the steering wheel and something give” (Ruffin 8). As many times as someone tries to live a good life, his or her past comes back to haunt him or her. In this scenario, the narrator was an example of Pop’s past by following in his footsteps and “borrowing” something. His definition of borrowing is actually against society's morals, so society assumes that Pops, or any person of color, is stuck in his or her ways due to the offspring behaving in the same way.

Undoubtedly, in these days, society saw black people as the next inmates in jail and had certain microaggressions towards them. When going to the station to report his wife’s missing car, the officer brushed his plea off and said, “I can have you back in central lock up before your kid bellies up for fried chicken tonight” (Ruffin 5). The officer stated this sentence in either a way to belittle the family or because he assumed that it is all black people eat. According to the article “Stereotypes of Black Americans,” it is said that , “African-Americans are often stereotyped to have an unusual appetite for fried chicken, watermelon, and grape drink.” Each race has a stereotype when it comes to cultural foods, but this one in particular sprung due to slavery. According to the article “ Where did that fried chicken stereotype come from?,” the author clarifies, “Schmidt said chickens had long been a part of Southern diets, but they had particular utility for slaves. They were cheap, easy to feed and a good source of meat” (Demby). Slave owners were not willing to spend a good amount of money to feed slaves.

Some may interpret the ending of this story as the child making his own choice independent from parental involvement. Castro claims that “evaluative guidance on how to behave most probably spread among peers in situations of mutual benefit” (5). The narrator would have made his choice based on the benefits that his mother would have, which would be to have her car back, and the benefit that he would have, which would be his mother not being upset at him and his father anymore. In “Beg Borrow Steal,'' the narrator is not told to do anything but instead takes matters into his own hands; “You get up. You get the rod and screwdriver you keep under your bed and climb out the window.”... “A car with a broken window worth almost as much as a normal one” (8). While the idea that the child is making his or her own choice is valid, the idea that the child is learning this behavior contributes more to the reasoning behind the narrator's alienation from society and its morals

The short story “Beg Borrow Steal” symbolizes the issues that happen with families of different color and class ranking worldwide. Because of ignorance, behaviors and actions are associated with a certain race , which alienates and generalizes a group of people. The narrator's reality is affected by his father’s mistakes in his own life. Society assumes that Pops is not trying to change his ways based on his son's actions.