Can one ever fully escape the stigma of ones birth?

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Escaping Stigma
In almost all societies, certain groups of individuals are stigmatized. The stigma of one’s birth is a wound which is very difficult to heal fully. It is normally resistant to the formal and informal tools that are generally available in the society such as laws and moral values. For instance, during the age of slavery, an individual’s enslaved status was acquired at birth since it was a question of whether your parent was a slave or not. Several years of stigma influenced by one’s birth cannot be simply erased by legal declarations that burn discriminatory laws or social codes. It is, therefore, not easy for one to escape fully the stigma of one’s birth just as suggested by the Chinaberry Tree.
The Chinaberry Tree also suggests the possibility of a lifetime stigmatization as a result of one’s birth. The novel brings out various instances that support the possibility of lifetime stigmatization. For instance, Laurentine, who is one of the main characters in the novel, is treated as a stranger despite having no control over the fact her biological father is a white man. She finds herself isolated because of stigmatization. The author states, “She had played under it (The Chinaberry Tree) as a child with two exquisite dolls, wondering rather wistfully why the few children in the neighborhood didn’t play with her” (Fauset 2). Laurentine’s sense of loneliness and isolation as a result of her bad blood is evident right from her childhood.

The sense of isolation or loneliness persists even into her adulthood. The society judges her because of her “bad blood” and despite having been well taken care of by Halloway, she still had to deal with stigma from the Red Brook society.
Discrimination as a result of racial identity also emerges in the novel that fuels the stigmatization for Laurentine even at her adulthood when she visits the New York. Laurentine and her friend, Denleigh go to Lafayette Theatre and look at the audience instead of looking at the stage. She senses the oneness felt by people of color in a crowd. Something soon happens that surprises her. The author narrates, “In a Harlem cellar where a drunken black woman suddenly lurched forward and slapped a handsome yellow girl across the face, and the surrounding crowd looked on as unmoved as though this were some part of the entertainment” (Fauset 307). The crowd felt that the yellow girl didn’t belong in that group because of her skin color. The scene suggests the possibility of stigmatization because of Laurentine’s racial identity. Since Laurentine is also a victim of stigmatization, she is glad to walk out from the scene and take a ride with Denleigh to Van Cortlandt Park to rest and chat a little.
It is critical to note that stigma is a social concept. It is not easy for an individual to fully escape stigma in the event there is a prior experience of discrimination, devaluation or even rejection. Melissa’s entry into a strange household is welcomed by immediate consequences for being a strange woman. In the first instance, Melisa does not know much about her parentage and so she assumes that her mother was married respectably. She only recalls that her father passed away shortly after her birth. Lairentine has a white father while her mother is just one step away from being a slave. Her mother was a maid in the Halloway household. For most of Laurentine’s life, she constantly refuses to give in the black community’s demands. Even though she doesn’t openly confront or challenge those members of the black community who pass judgment on her, she gets on with her life without social acceptance. Due to some sense of stigma, Melisa, who is her cousin, feels sorry for her. She says, “Oh Laurentine, you’re young, but I’m younger. You’ve had a hard time, but you’re coming to the end of it now. Don’t be angry with me anymore . . .” (Fauset 108). Based on Laurentine’s scenario that is surrounded by evident stigmatization, it is reasonable to say that it will be very difficult for her to fully escape the stigma since it is a wound which is so hard to heal.
The novel brings a story of the lives African-American women, revealing the sense of stigmatization as a result of one’s birth. Laurentine Strange is stigmatized because of her “bad blood.” The novel also brings out a case of stigma as a result of one’s birth. For instance, her conversation with her former friend Lucy is a clear indication of stigmatization. The author narrates, “But my mom says you got bad blood in your veins” (Fauset 8). Abruptly Lucy left her former friend, ran to the table and came back with a tiny useless knife in her hand. “Don’t you want me to cut your arm and let it out?” (Fauset 8). Stephen and Laurentine also receive ill-treatment at a restaurant when they visit New York. When they enter into one of the restaurants, they are first ushered to a remote table against the furthest wall from the few couples who were sitting quietly, in the bright light at their tables. What follows is a Negro who doesn’t pay attention to what they want and serves them without proper consultation and in the process makes every word an insult. The author continues to narrate, “One of the women looked back, her glance clearly asking: “How does it feel I wonder to be a poor colored thing . . . So different . . . To be shunned?” Laurentine felt sorry for herself” (Fauset 311). It implies that even in the restaurant there was some sense of stigmatization based on the skin color. Laurentine does not only feel sorry for herself but also for her escort. After all that drama, they decide to go back to Red Brook and wishes they never went for the outing in New York considering what they witnessed. “They felt themselves scarcely benefitted by their outing, almost wished they had stayed at home. Denleigh, the man, naturally felt it worse than the woman” (Fauset 313). In the event a person experiences such instances from childhood then there are high chances that the person will grow with such memories and attitudes that are very difficult to erase. This is not different from the life experiences that Laurentine faces as brought out by the author. Laurentine experiences stigmatization even in her adulthood. Based on such experiences, it is evident that stigmatization is a social issue that exists both in childhood and adulthood hence it is very difficult to escape the stigma of one’s birth.
As a result of the stigmatization, Laurentine finds herself battling it in the black society in another way. She is aware that the community gossips her and her mother. Because of this, she attends the church dominated by blacks but holds her head up high in case she goes. She is aware of her bad blood and that makes her have an attitude towards that society. The most important area of Laurentine’s life that bears fruit is her creativity which conveyed not only in her dressmaking but also in the running of her business. It is not to say that she is happy with her situation of being a stranger or an outcast. Laurentine simply tries not to bow to judgment as well as stigma from the community. The sense of stigmatization continues in her entire life since her childhood to her adulthood suggesting difficulty in escaping stigma fully.
Conclusion
The choice of the background that one is born, either regarding race, religion or ethnic is inevitable. Stigmatization based on someone’s birth may have genitive impacts on the self-perceptions of the person. An individual who is stigmatized is likely to anticipate rejection or devaluation from the community and therefore may hide their psychiatric history. Such individuals may live with the stigma for the rest of their lives since it is normally not easy for them to escape from the stigma. Based on the novel, “The Chinaberry Tree,” we can conclude that the struggle to uproot discrimination from the minds and heart of people is a war is not likely to be won easily hence it is hard to escape the stigma of one’s birth fully.

Work Cited
Fauset, Jessie Redmon. The Chinaberry Tree. 1st ed. New York: G.K. Hall, 1995. Print.