Do not neglect McCarthy’s Prologue, pp. 1-3! Providing significant background on Florida’s similarities and differences with other Southern states, this overview notes the state’s unique economy, geography & landscape, population, and reputation – all pivotal in its history and important in Reesa’s story.
Before proceeding to Chapter 1, visit the following site (“What Was Jim Crow?”)
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm To gain more insight to McCarthy’s opening, review the text and check out the pictures by clicking on “More Pictures.”
Your task:
From the prologue through chapter 8, identify and comment on aspects of Florida’s economy, geography, population, and reputation that prove Reesa’s father was prophetic when he commented ‘“It’s (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail”’(p. 2). Clarify your responses by including quotes and /or paraphrase, and page references!
Community Molotov Cocktail
ReplyDeleteMr. Warren is correct about the molotov cocktail in the way that it works. The community can be broken up into who is who in the molotov cocktail. The Klan and anyone helping the Klan is the flammable liquid inside the bottle. This can be proved because they are all corrupted and causing the damage like the liquid would but many of them also are probably upper class white men who are still living in the slavery years in their perspective on black people. They probably own the majority of the businesses and hire the black people and treat them poorly. The population was at opposite ends of the economic money scale. The whites were predominantly in the upper classes while the blacks were in the lower classes end, which left a large gap in the middle and room for mistreatment. There is also no easy way to stop the corruption because on page 21 you see when they are in the restaurant that the Lake County Sheriff Deputy is in the Klan.
The flame to ignite the flammable liquid is the black people. They are not trying to ignite the liquid but it just happens. We know this because in the restaurant on page 20-21 you here that they grabbed the wrong guy and were just laughing about it.
Reesa's father was prophetic when he said that Florida was "the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail" (p. 2). The land of Florida itself is the bottle containing all of the madness that goes on inside of it, and Florida very fragile like the bottle. If it is not taken care of and watched over, the bottle can break.The fire symbolizes the hatred that is spread all throughout Florida. The hate spreads, just like the fire. The fire is never good, but once you put it in the position to spread to the fuel, it explodes, leaving the bottle in shards. On page 37, all of the ladies at the beauty salon talk about how stupid it would be to get into a car filled with Negroes, and how terrible that would be. The shows some racism , but nothing horrible, but later in the book the racism intensifies, like the fire would. On page 122, the women in the parlor talk about how terrible it would be if black women were allowed in the salon, which is much more racist than her earlier comments. The fuel is the citizens of Florida. The fuel is harmless but sensitive, you have to handle it carefully. If the fuel catches fire, the results can be catastrophic. The rag is the Ku Klux Klan and they direct the hate towards the fuel, and eventually destroy the bottle.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father is correct when stating on page two “It’s (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail”’. The social dichotomy between the blacks and whites make up an unstable population for the state of Florida. The economic structure of the U.S. during the 50’s takes the problem to another level. Not only do the groups possess different social ideals, they are also of different economic classes. The blacks are poor while the whites are more affluent. It is a classic situation of the haves versus the have-nots. This can even be seen by looking at the positions the characters hold. Emmit Casselton, a white male, co-ops a citrus processing plant. While Armetta, a black female, is a lowly worker bee. When these two groups come together, both to fight for their own interests, things get explosive, similar to a Molotov cocktail that has just hit its target.
ReplyDeleteMr. Warren is true when he says, ‘“It’s (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail” on page two. The Molotov cocktail has been used in wars, and the different population groups of Florida are in their own little war. The was has two sides, the Negroes and the Whites. The Klansmen are the main fighting group for the Whites. In a normal Molotov Cocktail, the ignition is gasoline or methanol. However, in the Molotov cocktail of South, the ignition is fueled by several reasons. The main reason would be a Negroe doing a wrongful action, like the four Negroes who "bothered" a white woman (p. 37). This made white men in Groveland angry, and therefore, they became the Klansmen. Another ignition source for the cocktail would be people who stand up for the Negroes. For example, in the restaurant on page twenty, Doto makes sure that the children do not say anything about the conversation they had overheard. In saying anything, they may have provoked the Klansmen to hurt more innocent Negroes. The Molotov cocktail has begun exploding in Florida, and it is nowhere near done.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father made a very powerful yet true remark when comparing the sociality of Florida to a deadly Molotov cocktail. A Molotov cocktail involves many contradicting ingredients such as gasoline, sulfuric acid, potassium chlorate, and sugar that, when brought together, create a deadly, bomb-like, mixture. On the very first page of the novel, Reesa describes a road called the Orange Blossom Trail, or Route 441. This trail, she described, started the making of this deadly social cocktail as it cut vertically through the center of Florida, opening the beautiful beaches to wealthy bidders. The remaining land was sold cheaply for profit. Florida was suddenly an environment that held all parts of the social scale. Route 441, as said on page two, forced many different racial backgrounds and religious beliefs to reside together. Liberal Northerners, Orthodox Jews, and devout Catholics were forced to live amongst the grandchildren of Confederate Aristocrats and raging Crackers (descendents of white southern immigrants) (page two). Blacks tried to find jobs with either side, hoping to make money. Just as the different ingredients of a Molotov cocktail come together to create a deadly combination, the many diverse ways of life that all resided in Florida in the same area created a group that was doomed from the start. Only one spark ignites a Molotov cocktail, and it only took just one incident to spark Florida into a complete uproar.
ReplyDeleteMr. McMahon was correct in so many different ways when he linked Florida to a Molotov Cocktail. Like many students said, Florida’s economy, population, reputation, etc. can be thought of as 'ingredients' in the Molotov Cocktail. Which part of Florida symbolizes what ingredient is disagreeable. I think James’s opinion on who represents what part of the Molotov Cocktail is accurate with one exception. I believe the Klan represents the flame rather than the flammable liquid. The flame is the element that causes the whole cocktail to explode. McCarthy writes of the Klan’s terrorism in the Prologue on page 2 and 3. It’s easy to see that the Klan can be held responsible for demolishing Florida’s reputation in the early 1950’s, just as the flame can be held responsible for destroying a Molotov Cocktail. When Reesa says “my family is in disagreement as to precisely when the nightmare began” on page 2, all of her family’s different ideas of the nightmare’s beginning can be traced to the Klan. Likewise, a cocktail’s explosion can always be traced to the flame. Ultimately, all of the ‘ingredients’ came together to explode Florida’s Molotov Cocktail-like social scene just like James, Claire, Sam, H. Linkoski, and Lauren previously stated.
ReplyDeleteMr. McMahon was indeed prophetic when he stated, '"It's (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail"' (page 2). In my opinion, Reesa's father is correct; in Florida, there was very little tolerance for anyone but themselves, the Confederate Southerners. This is because the Southerners in Florida were very greedy, selling their own land to outsiders to make easy money, unknowing of the consequences that would come in the near future. (page 1)Therefore, many different religions and ethnicities settled in the state, such as Yankees, Jewish and Catholic people. (page 2) Inevitably, the many different cultures clashed, arousing an uproar of Crackers and racists. As Reesa says: "In the spring of 1951, that cocktail combusted, blowing the roof off our state for nine nightmarish months" (page 2). She then goes on to describe the many wrongdoings of the Klan. Clearly, these times were extremely dangerous, so people either chose not to migrate south or to leave from the south in fear of being hurt by the Klan, as mentioned throughout the book. This not only decreased Florida's population, but also would affect the economy, for less land would be sold and there would be less wealthy Northerners to visit the beaches. Also, this affected Florida's reputation, for now everyone pictured Florida as the racist state that was blowing up churches and Negro communities. All in all, the molotov cocktail comment by Reesa's father was right. In the end, Florida's greed ignited a battle between the states that lasted for months and years to come.
ReplyDeleteReesa'a father described Florida's social equivalent to that of a Molotov Cocktail, and is correct by saying such a statement. In the years of the book, Florida is a divided state. Divisions of race, religion, beliefs, and actions believed to have separated the upperclass from others, whites from blacks, the ingredients in the Molotov. The southern and border states operated by the Jim Crow system when it came to coming up with thoughts and opinions of others unlike yourself. Under this system, blacks were often the ones singled out, or accused of doing wrong. Like blacks being unlike their fellow white citizens, Florida is described on page one as not being like her fellow southern states. Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia have all claimed names to rivers within their borders, while Florida claimed name to the Orange Blossom Trail. The Orange Blossom Trail, in this case, is what Mr. Warren is referring to as the social equivalent of a Molotov Cocktail. While driving along the Orange Blossom trail, you see the whole state of Florida and all that it has to offer; the beaches, orange groves, rich neighborhoods, and the homes of some of the poorest families in Florida. These sights show the two opposing sides of the spectrum that lead to the Molotov to ignite, the flame and fluid. Whites versus blacks, the age old example of discrimination. The two groups are separated in daily life by signs and laws. An example of this in the book is the sign above the drinking fountain in the store which Reesa visits on page 57 that states "Whites only, no coloreds". When the two, whites and blacks, come together, often a disagreement occurs, a fight may brake out- the Molotov lights and explodes- and the actions that follow will cause problems for the state of Florida as a whole. Some examples of the fights or disagreements from the book have already been given previously by my classmates. Different situations throughout the book give different perspectives on opposing sides' opinions. Who is to say which group is what part of the Molotov Cocktail? If you lived during this time, would you still categorize the same groups as the different parts of the cocktail? What if you were black? White?
ReplyDeleteReesa's father was prophetic when he commented on on the state of Florida by saying, "It's the social equivalent to a Molotov Cocktail." He was true in two ways. The first in that people in this time terrorized black people with fire by burning crosses in their front yards. Molotov Cocktails are used for terrorizing people. These bomb-like explosives explode on impact sending entire buildings up into flames. The people of the Klan at first weren't out to kill black people but to scare them into leaving the town or city. Coincidentally, they used Molotov Cocktails to force a family out of their homes. Once these Klan members realized they could get away with killing black people, they started too. The second way in which Mr.McMahon was correct is that the state of Florida resembled a Molotov Cocktail. The Government was the glass on the verge of breaking. All the government had to do was pass a law or get involved in a murder case of a black person. The glass would be broken and the flame and gasoline would mix. Protests and anger from the white community would be apparent because they didn't think black people were superior to them. Flames would be going up and burn for a long time. People would be mad and they would protest for a long time. Eventually, all fires will burn out though. This represents that people won't stay angry for long and black people would eventually be accepted into the community. If you think about it, homes could be saved if the person had not thrown the Molotov Cocktail. Black people would have been accepted earlier if they were not viewed as slaves in the beginning. All of this just depends on who's throwing it and what purpose they had to throw it. Sometime, someone decided that they were superior to black people and others caught on. It took many years for people to realize that they are normal like us.
ReplyDeleteWhen Reesa's father described Florida as a Molotov cocktail (p.2), curiosity leads one to wonder if he had any idea how explosive Central Florida would become in the months to follow. Holly Linkoski discusses the use of Molotov cocktails in war, and how Florida was in its own war: a war about race. It was a war of white supremacy. The players in this war were the Klan against everyone else. To live in fear of a group of people who enforce their ideology through violence is no way to live. Obviously, the Klan was very powerful. The most powerful man in the state, Governor Fuller Warren, was a member of the KKK (p. 24). Even Miz Sooky plants her Easter garden all white because she was inspired by a Jim Crow sign, "Whites Only, No Coloreds." (p.55) The Molotov cocktail, then, is the explosive force that the actions of the Klan had on the lives of all the people of Central Florida. Marvin Cully's death affected not only non-Klan people such as Marvin's family, Reesa's family, and the other pickers, but his death also affected a Klan family. Marvin's mom, Armetta, refused to return to work for Miz Lucy Garnet (p. 48) whose husband was a Klansman.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. McMahon's statement, "It's the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail," does a very good job of explaining Florida's unsteady ways of handling differences between whites and blacks. As many other students before me have explained, the ways of the Florida people in this time could be used as the ingredients to make the Molotov cocktail. To further explain, a Molotov cocktail is when someone takes a flammable liquid, such as some sort of alcoholic substance, and adds a fuel soaked rag, and then disposes the bottle, which then breaks, letting the alcohol to ignite the fuel, causing an explosion. I think this makes for a great metaphor, considering the Ku Klux Klan; or any racist white person in their community; could be considered the alcoholic liquid, just waiting to be set off. Every time a black person does something considered to be “unacceptable” by someone in the Klan, would provide as the fuel-soaked rag, and in all honesty, a black person could simply just be doing their job, or even nothing at all, and still be accused of setting off the "cocktail." If you dare to put the two together, then prepare for the blast! Next thing you know, someone decides to take things into their own hands, and then a black person either gets put in jail, beaten, or worse, lynched. This is, in my eyes, by no means fair, but sadly, it's quite true. Florida is in such an unstable state of being at this time in the Country's development, that these kinds of acts are seemingly acceptable by the society. To sum it all up, I think the "Molotov Cocktail" metaphor does this situation justice, and I believe my peers think the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Beginning
ReplyDeleteToday, we live an integrated lifestyle, and equality for all is no less than obvious. Regretfully, this was not the case a mere sixty years ago. Yet this is when our insightful author has decided to start our journey. Being an insightful one himself, Mr. Warren has realized and prophetically stated (on page 2) Florida to be a Molotov cocktail. He states this with presentable, good reasons. We are shown and reminded of these social fuels throughout the novel. The patchwork population of Florida along the trail (also described on page 2) being one of the most flammable fuels the time has to offer. Racist whites living near people of color, and a wide array of free people with their own distinct beliefs, is like letting American peace keeper troops set up camp next to an insurgent’s house. The intense racist beliefs in the South are shown on page 21, when Donnelly states aloud that it’s good to kill a Negro every once in a while. Some Southerners are so set on their ways Reesa describes “Southern-ness” (on page 27) as: “The tendency to sort everything and everyone according to appearances”. Even the polite Mister and Miss titles are obligatory etiquette when a colored man speaks to a white person (page 48). Since many are racist and unruly citizens, the social aspect of Florida is indeed a Molotov cocktail just waiting for someone to spark the rush of flames. Only a prophetic person, like Mr. Warren, would look the flames in the eye, while everyone else turns away.
Reesa's father (Warren McMahon) makes a comment (page 2) saying, "its the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail." In this comment he correct in so many different ways. One of the reasons is that Florida is divided up by race, religion, and beliefs. The state is divided up by blacks and whites. The whites or Klansmen are the more wealthy and powerful people. While on the other hand the blacks are the more poor people and get treated very poorly. I agree very much with the idea that James said where the community is broken up into who is in the Molotov cocktail. The whites (Klan) are like the flammable liquid inside the bottle, and the blacks are the flame. Florida is a war between blacks and whites, and the whites have more power. The whites scare the blacks to try and get them out of town, but eventually they realize they can get away with killing them instead. The blacks keep igniting the flammable liquid which is the whites, and the whites start killing people. The day that they mistake Marvin for someone else is when something definitely has to be done. The blacks try to get a say in things but the liquid keeps burning and burning. A Molotov cocktail is a good way to explain Florida and how it is divided up by race, religion, and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn the story’s beginning, Mr. McMahon (the father of Reesa) said, ‘“its (Florida) is the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail” (page 2). In my opinion, this statement sets the mood for how the rest of the story is to be played out. A Molotov cocktail is a bomb made from somewhat simple household items such as gasoline (which could be from a car) or even every-day sugar. Because it's easily constructed and so destructive, everything will go wrong if even smallest mistake is made. When Reesa's father spoke of this 'Molotov cocktail', I looked it up in the dictionary. Once I knew the definition, I pieced together all of the information to see what was causing the explosion (“In the spring of 1951, that cocktail combusted, blowing the roof off our state for nine nightmarish months” (page 2)). As the book continued on, I came to a conclusion. The bomb's flammable liquid represents the KKK because the flaming part of the bomb represents the blacks, Jews, Catholics, etc. that the KKK were terrorizing. Lighing the bomb is almost like representing more blacks, Jews, Catholics, etc. coming to Florida due to it’s irresistable beauty and hope despite the falling economy. When “the Orange Blossom Trail, or Route 441, snake charmed poor Florida” (page1), more people were drawn into the state. Thus, the flammable fluid (representing the KKK) is set off. When that happens, Klan practically takes over certain areas in Florida that have a corrupt government or police stations due to the fact that Klan members are actively involved in such orginizations. Also, due to the fact of the weak economy at the time, no one wanted government officers coming after them now more than ever. Now that the Klan had been lit, it’s flames enveloped everything it could and turned it to ash. Not only did the Klan have much control over Florida, but the people of Florida weren’t helping to solve the problems, most of which were actually in support of the Klan. For example, “’but as a woman, I have to say I sleep better knowin’ the Klan’s around to keep the Nigras from goin’ wild.”’ (page 38). The fact that more people where siding with the Klan made everything harder to set straight. No one was standing up for what's right. Even if you weren’t in favor of the Klan you couldn’t do much to stop them. If you spoke out they would most likely come after you. As you can see, what Mr. McMahon said really sets the story for how Florida’s reputation and economy made it difficult for any justice to take place.
ReplyDeleteOn page 2 in the prologue of Lay that Trumpet in our hands, Marie's father says that Florida is the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. I think the statement he made is true and does represent Florida in that time. Since the Molotov cocktail is a bomb, he suggests that Florida could explode at any time due to the Klan’s actions. The Ku Klux Klan acts as the flammable liquid substance in the bomb. Since they are causing chaos throughout Florida, they could ignite at any time, causing catastrophic results. The people the Klan target, such as Negros, Jews, etc. are like the ignition spark. When the racist Klan members cross paths with other people of another race or religion, the “bomb” goes off, being ignited by others to cause an “inferno” of chaos due to racism. When this happens over and over again, Florida is split between both sides. Also, the economy and security of Florida shatters. Therefore, Florida acts as the bottle holding the flammable liquid inside while the ignition is outside. When the bomb goes off, Florida “shatters” into a million pieces and it goes into catastrophe and chaos. Although if the liquid inside, or the Klan, is removed, the bomb itself, or Florida, will remain in one piece. So by saying that Florida is like a Molotov cocktail, Marie's father was very prophetic and correct.
ReplyDeleteWhether meaning to or not, Reesa’s father was prophetic in his observation that (Florida was) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. Although he may have simply been commenting on the hazardous nature of the many different religious and racial tensions in the state, through the use of comparing Florida to a Molotov cocktail, he did more or less predict the events that occurred in the spring of 1951. Just as a Molotov cocktail creates a dangerous explosion when ignited, the Klansmen of Florida created a dangerous and violent explosion of their own when they were ignited by years of built up pressure from racial and religious tension. To examine the Molotov cocktail of Florida’s social groupings in more detail, you must look separately at each of the factors that combined to induce the inevitable events of 1951. One factor involved in the creation of Florida’s Molotov cocktail is its location in the United States of America. Florida is a southern state, and relied heavily on slavery before the civil war. Although Florida did not rely on slavery as heavily as other cotton producing states had, its location in the heart of the confederate states definitely played a part in the mindset of its population. On page 20, when the Lake County sheriff declares that “one less nigger makes the world a cleaner place,” you can clearly see that he feels his opinion is one shared by not only everyone around him but also by the majority of people worldwide. A second factor that heavily contributes to the Florida social cocktail is its mixed population of black and white inhabitants. As mentioned on the “What was Jim Crow?” Website, the Jim Crow laws were designed to make black people lesser citizens then white people. This in turn led to white people feeling a need to demonstrate their superiority to black people and uphold the Jim Crow laws whenever necessary. In my opinion, the lynching of Marvin was an example of the Jim Crow mentality. These factors, along with others are what caused the catastrophic events that were predicted roughly by Mr. Warren.
ReplyDeleteMr. Warren McMahon was right in various ways when he made the very powerful statement, "It's the social equivalent to of a Molotov cocktail." I looked up Molotov cocktail in the dictionary to get a better understanding of what it is. The definition they gave me said, "A crude incendiary grenade consisting of a bottle filled with flammable liquid and a wick that is ignited before throwing." That got me thinking that the bottle is the state of Florida. It holds all of the flammable liquid inside, and it will at some point blow up, shattering the bottle and burning everything inside. Like many of peers had said before me, the ingredients to this cocktail is the economy, population, and even racism. However, I think that the flame that ignites the cocktail is the Ku Klux Klan, better known as the KKK. On page 2, they summarize the different acts of violence the KKK have done/ attempted. Without the KKK igniting the bomb, we would only have the ingredients and the intact bottle. Yes, things would still be tense in the state of Florida, but everything wouldn’t have been blown up and destroyed. The state of Florida lived through a dark time, but there is a light at the end of every tunnel.
ReplyDeleteIn saying that Florida is a Molotov coctail, Reesa’s father perfectly describes Florida’s social differences. On the first page, Reesa talks about the Orange Blossom Trail, or Route 441, and how it enticed wealthy northerners with Florida’s great beaches. The less appealing parts of the state were then sold off to many different groups of people, thus bringing several diverse ethnicities who did not always agree with one another right next to each other- in some cases as close as neighbors. When you look at it, a Molotov coctail is basically many different elements together in a glass bottle that when ignited creates a powerful bomb. These elements can live in relative peace, until something sets off the ignition. In the book, the bottle would be represented as Florida, the elements as the different groups of people; such as the African Americans, the Catholics, the Jews, the white people, and many more; and the ignition could be the Ku Klux Klan and their actions. All these things create the “socail equivalent of a Molotov coctail” (page 2) this would become Florida, as prophetically stated by Reesa’s father.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through my fellow peers’ comments, I noticed a common theme. Many of them only seem to be focusing on the racial discrimination of blacks during the time of the Klu Klux Klan. Blacks, though, only represent a single part of the wide group of threatened individuals. Also, there may be two simple parts to a Molotov cocktail, flame and fuel, but to create the second part, fuel, one must need many contradicting ingredients. These ingredients of fuel represent the different races and cultural and religious backgrounds discriminated by the Klan, the flame. Blacks as well as Jews, Catholics, Mexicans, and many other races were targeted. For example, the Jim Crow sign on the online article (http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm) not only reads “No Negroes” but “No Mexicans” as well. On page two of the novel, it is also described that the Klan “set off blasts at the Coral Gables Jewish Center, the Hebrew School, and several Catholic churches” as well as at the Carver Village Housing Project for Negreos. In Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands, there are examples of threating actions to groups besides the blacks, but they do not happen before chapter eight. The detailed description of the Molotov cocktail that is Florida is not segregated to the beginning of the book. As a reader, I urge those who write in the future to expand their description of segregated individuals. Blacks may have received more harsh and noted beatings by the Klan, but let us not forget the other individuals during that time that were also scared to leave their homes. The Klu Klux Klan, similar to the acts of Adolf Hitler, wanted their surrounding environment only to be filled with people who they thought were acceptable to society.
ReplyDeleteEvery person that was not acceptable to the Klan, no matter the color of their skin, served as the fuel to the Klan’s great flame.
In looking through my peer’s answer’s, I noticed that a few of the other students and I shared the belief that the Ku Klux Klan was the ignition to the Molotov coctail, which was contrary to some of my other classmates’ opinions. However, after thinking about it, many different things could have been the ignition. As stated in a few of the other entries, the people who were not in the KKK were the ignition. That seems like a valid response to me, too. For example, if a black person were to do something considered “wrong”, the Klan would then act, so therefore the other people would have been the ignition, and the KKK would have been the reaction. There are many different ways to look at this, and I do not believe one is more right than the other, it is just in the way that you choose to look at it.
ReplyDeleteOn page 2 of "Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands" Mr.McMahon, Reesa's father, makes a comment on the state of which Florida was in at the time. His statement was that Florida was "The social equivalent of a Molotov Coctail". A Molotov Coctail is a breakable bottle filled with a flammable substance, a source of ignition, and a cloth. Florida was like this in a number of ways. The upper Klansmembers, like Emmet Casselton, were like the flame, in which they could wreak havoc whenever upon their say. The cloth could represent the rest of the KKK, who, at the command of the flame,or in this case the upper Klansmen, would ignite the flammable liquid. Last, there is the liquid itself. This would represent the population of blacks, Jews, liberal Northernors, Catholics, and any other man the Klan hated, in the way that they would "explode" if the Klan wished to. Mr. McMahon's saying was proven prophetic in the spring of 1951, when the KKK "turned murderous", and "shot nineteen-year-old Negro citrus picker Marvin Cully", "attempted to abduct N.A.A.C.P Attorney Thurgood Marshall", blew up a housing project for blacks, and much more (pages 2 and 3). As you can tell, Florida was in a bad state at the time; However, I agree with Scott Klemm in that the fire of the coctail will burn out, epresenting that eventually, all people would be accepted.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete15sannerj asked a very reasonable yet thoughtful question at the end of her post. She asked, “If you lived during this time, would you still categorize the same groups as the different parts of the cocktail? What if you were black? White?” She brought up a very valid point. I personally think your view of the question would change if you lived during that period of time. Also, your race and your view of racism would play a major role in how you would answer the question. The KKK members and others, who think like them, think they are superior to blacks. Also, they think blacks and other ethnic groups should never be equal to whites under any circumstances. However, non-racist white people, blacks, and people of other ethnicities think everybody should be equal, and everybody deserves a fair chance. Depending on what typer of person you are, you would say different groups are the bottle, ingredients, flammable liquid, and the flames of the cocktail. The KKK members would say that the blacks and other ethnic groups are the flames, and disturbing the peace they once had. They should be punished for “misbehaving”, and let them know who has the real power. However, everybody else, who doesn’t think like them, would say the KKK members are the flames ruining the peace. The KKK member are acting outing to harsh this time by killing innocent people, blowing up buildings intended for people other than whites to use, and chasing white people who are helping the blacks. Also, because of the Klan nobody can sleep in peace at night, go anywhere without being a tad scared, and live their lives without worrying if the Klan is after them. Yes, your answer would change if you lived during that period of time, and the color of your skin would also change your answer.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Warren was prophetic when he said that Florida was the equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. When he said that, you could tell that he knew that something bad was going to happen. I don't entirely agree with Reesa's statement, "In the spring of 1951, that cocktail combusted." I think it took much longer for anything to actually happen, because this is how I think that the cocktail is set up: The actual bottle part of the bottle contains flammable ingredients, which I think represent the blacks and other civil rights activists. The wick, I believe, represents the Ku Klux Klan and the white people. When the Klan does something bad, it ignites the wick. Every time something bad happens, that wick gets a little shorter, until finally, the Klan puts it over the top, and BAM! The blacks rebel. and then, it may be the start of a revolution, or the end of a very quiet but long war.
ReplyDeleteWhen 15linkoskih says that there are several things that make up a Molotov cocktail, they didn’t quite finish the list of ingredients. 15linkokih did not say that one of the main ingredients were the central Florida Klan members. The Florida Klansmen chose to hate the African Americans. They created the problem between the whites and blacks; therefore they are the real agitator or the main ingredient in the cocktail. The Negroes weren’t doing anything wrong; they were only trying to protect themselves from injury or death. 15linkoskih was correct when saying that the blacks were an unwilling part of the cocktail, but they were incorrect when omitting the most important and volatile ingredient of the whole mixture. It’s the white Klansmen that create the explosion.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father was, without a doubt, prophetic when he stated (on page two), “It’s the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail.” The true definition for a Molotov cocktail is a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a rag wick. All it takes is a single, small flame to set off a remarkable explosion. In the book, Florida is in a state of crisis. The flammable liquid, in my view, represents the entire population of Florida and all its representations of ethnicity. The wick, to me, represents a crisis waiting to occur, whether it’s the Klu Klux Klan or some other racial inequality. The crisis would be the flame that would light the wick and create a catastrophe. Because of racial tension, the flame ignited the wick. On page 10, Marvin Cully was found bleeding to death, an event that triggered further racial tensions. After he died, these tensions escalated and “exploded.” As a result of Marvin’s death, a series of discouraging racial conflicts occurred between the white and black races. In my opinion, the flammable liquid and the wick could coexist indefinitely until the flame abruptly “lights” a crisis, which it unfortunately did in Florida as a result of Marvin Cully’s death.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that some of my opinions on this question changed after reading through my peers’ comments. 15sannerj’s comment definitely stood out to me. At the end, she asks, “If you lived during this time, would you still categorize the same groups as the different parts of the cocktail?” She definitely makes a point. Extending off of 15mcwilliamsm’s post, I definitely believe that who you are in Florida’s social scene would greatly influence your opinion on who is who in the Molotov Cocktail. From the view of the Klansmen, Negroes and some religious groups would be the flame. The Klan was against such people, and terrorized them because of it. “Klansmen blew the hell out of Carver Village Housing Project for Negroes”… “set off blasts at the Coral Gables Jewish Center, the Hebrew school, and several Catholic churches” (p2). To blacks and whites not associated with the KKK, the Klansmen are the flame. They are the ones destroying their “cocktail” of a state. As for the other ingredients, the Klan would probably see themselves and white people as the flammable liquid. The Klan doesn’t find fault in their actions. Their racism leads them to believe that black people deserve to be treated poorly. The rest of Florida’s population would connect the flammable liquid with the white and black people. When a “bottle” separates them from the flame, they are safe. However, the flame and liquid react to each other upon the flame‘s ignition. BOOM! It’s true that your personal outlook as well as skin color would effect your opinion on why “It’s (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov Cocktail.”
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father, Mr. Warren, was right in his statement that Florida was “The social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail.” The cocktail is a metaphor for how unstable and easily self-destructive the state was. Consider the state’s economy. Since white people owned the majority of the property and businesses; and therefore the majority of the income, little room was left for the black population to escape from their current jobs and the conditions under which they worked. This, in essence, was the spark threatening to combust the entire state. Next, consider Florida’s population at that time. The majority of the people in power, such as sheriffs and large plantation owners, were members of the KKK. On page 21 they show a sheriff blatantly telling his tale, a prime example of a member in a position of power. This provides an environment with little to no consequences for members, simply ignoring the terrible crimes they commit. This, I believe, is the wick the poor economy’s spark can ignite, creating a countdown to when it reaches the fuel. The fuel is simply Florida’s reputation. Even as a young state Florida had a poor reputation when it came to the treatment of the black population. The book writes on page 2 that Florida’s Klansmen “for twenty years had confined their activities to assault and battery of adulterers and the occasional cross burning.” That all changed the day they killed Marvin Cully. The last element of the cocktail is the bottle. Florida’s geography creates a bottle of sorts. As the majority of Florida is surrounded by water rather than other states it provides the perfect home for the cruelty the KKK doles out. This coupled with the distance from our Capitol creates an authority-free environment where the KKK thrived. So Mr. Warren was correct in his statement, that all these elements came together to create a precarious Molotov cocktail state we know as Florida.
ReplyDeleteOn page two Reesa’s father stated “It’s the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail.” I believe that with this statement he was very prophetic. A Molotov cocktail is more or less a bomb with very differing ingredients, just like the state of Florida. You have people with different values such as Catholics and Jews. Then you have people with very different opinions like Northerners and the Confederates. You also have the poor blacks mixed in with the better off whites. All of this controversy and ultimate difference makes up the liquid. Because of the black versus white tension, someone was bond to ignite the wick and start the war. I liked Elizabeth Eberly’s comment saying that the actual bottle part represents the blacks and other civil rights activists. The wick represents the Ku Klux Klan and the white people. The fluid fuels the wick. The white people feed off of the blacks and racism. They get stronger from knowing that they are stronger than everyone, and that everything is in its place. Like Elizabeth said the blacks won’t take the humiliation forever and the Klan would do something over the top then everything would take fire.Its like a chain of events, and it happens everywhere. If one person does something good, good things will come, but if people resort to doing bad things nothing good ever comes out of it. Once a Molotov cocktail takes action there is not much u can do. You have already done damage and if you do more you will just make things worse. You can't fight fire with fire.
ReplyDeleteWarren is prophetic in saying that Florida is the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail, but I interpret it differently than Reesa does. I don't think that the bottle explodes when Marvin is killed, i think it just ignites a fuse. The family doesn't rebel, and neither has anyone else. This war has been going on for years, therefore, if Reesa had the correct interpretation, the bottle would have already been blown. No, I think that Marvin's death is just the beginning. I believe that the detonation of the cocktail would mean the end of the war, or at least the revolution, because that's just how I think the Molotov cocktail is set up. I disagree with James, I see it backwards from that. I understand the way Scott sees it, though, that Marvin's death is the bottle being thrown, marking the beginning of the war, but I think that the Klanners are the wick, so it doesn't make much sense in my mind to say that. So yes, Florida is the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail, I just don't see it the same way everyone else does.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father was prophetic when he commented “It’s (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail.” The ingredients are the people of Mayflower, because they are not dangerous until ignited by the flame, (which is the Ku Klux Klan). Another reason why the people of Mayflower would be the ingredients is, the people of Mayflower are diverse, just like the ingredients it takes to make a Molotov cocktail. The Ku Klux Klan is the flame because they are the ones who had started the whole mess by killing Marvin therefore setting off a series of many other incidents. The flame and the ingredients are connected through the wick which is Marvin’s death. It (Marvin’s death) is the wick because it was the occurrence that connected the people of Mayflower to the Ku Klux Klan. Another way that it could be the wick is; it was the first on a long path of many attacks that the Klan made, eventually, hitting the people of Mayflower. The bottle is the state of Florida which contains all of the madness going on inside of it. However, like the rest of the parts, it will explode with them.
ReplyDeleteReesa's father made a very accurate and powerful statement by comparing the state of Florida to a Molotov cocktail. To better my knowledge of what exactly a Molotov cocktail is, I researched it online. The website About.com states (about what the Molotov cocktail is), “The simplest form consists of a stoppered bottle filled with a combustible liquid, such as gasoline or high-proof alcohol, with a fuel-soaked rag stuffed in the neck of the bottle”. Since the Reesa’s father is referring to Florida, we could easily compare the state to a bottle used for this dangerous cocktail. Inside of Florida, there are many types of differentiating people. They differentiate themselves for many reasons including their race, how they judge people based on their specific race, or what they believe is right and wrong. The Klan are bad role models some would say, especially people who believe in religion (such as Catholics and Jews) or are black. On page 14, the last paragraph talks about how the Klan would burn crosses and pick on some black people, thus making people angry like Luther and Armetta. The Klans would not mix well with people like those just like the liquids with a rag infested in fuel, would in a Molotov cocktail (making an explosion). Another way to look at this is by comparing how the bottle keeps all the liquids inside like Florida keeps the different people enclosed within its premises. Florida is separated from Georgia and other places because of the Orange Blossom Trail as well. The bottle keeps the contrasting ingredients together tightly like Florida keeps in the contrasting people throughout its state’s boundaries. For this reason, Florida gets a dangerous reputation like the Molotov cocktail does, and may help decrease the population itself. If you think about it, Mr. McMahon made a very good comparison of Florida and the hazardous Molotov cocktail.
ReplyDeleteIn The Beginning
ReplyDeleteReesa’s father is true when he entails, “It’s ( Florida ) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail”(p.2). As stated in 15petrellal’s comment, she says “A Molotov cocktail involves many contradicting ingredients such as gasoline, sulfuric acid, potassium chlorate, and sugar that, when brought together, creates a deadly, bomb-like, mixture.” This powerful mixture has been used for many wars and as the population of Florida is set up with two separate sides, Whites and Blacks, it is as if they are in their own war. It is an agreeable statement when James says, “the community is broken up into who is in the Molotov cocktail.” The whites, also known as the Klansmen, are a lot wealthier and are very powerful compared to the blacks. With that being said, it is obvious that you can call the Klan, the Molotov cocktail. The power is in the Klan’s hands and can be ignited at any time. At the end of 15sannerj’s comment she brings up a very thoughtful question. Her question was, “If you lived during this time, would you still categorize the same groups as the different parts of the cocktail? What if you were black? White?” This question started to have a few thinking and changing their opinions. Personally, my opinion stays the same. Each race knew that the white had the power so living in that time, I would not think different about what part of the cocktail each group was.
In the 1950s the Third Klan had just begun. The Second Klan had just died down and now a newer and more aggressive one was starting. In most instances it was just seen as a boy’s club where men would go and play cards. It soon erupted into a maelstrom of murder and destruction. Prior to this, the new Klan was thought of as harmless, so when Reesa’s father said that Florida was like a Molotov cocktail he could be seen as prophetic. Florida was like a Molotov cocktail because the social and political atmosphere was so highly volatile due to its new residents. The clash of cultures was bound to happen. Not only did you have conflict between the liberal northerners, orthodox Jews, and devout Catholics butting heads with the people whose families had been there for decades, the confederate aristocrats, and the raging crackers but all the while you have the poor black people just trying to survive in a predominantly white country.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect when looking at the explosive nature of Florida in the 1950s is the government and police. The government was controlled by confederate aristocrats and the officers of the law were racist crackers. The government only saw that the interests of the white people that the Klan saw fit were attended to. The police were just as corrupt as the government if not more. The police only followed the orders of racist officials and not investigating crimes that the Klan committed because they were Klansmen themselves. It could be said that if the police were anymore corrupt they would have been mistaken for the German’s SS. When the states power is in the hands of these racist people and the states population has become a mix of differing opinions and beliefs, then yes, it could be called a Molotov cocktail. It could more accurately be called a Molotov bread basket because in a Molotov Bread Basket there is one hundred incendiary charges that spread over a wide area and an HE bomb for one final kick. This can be seen in the third Klan’s rampages. In the beginning there were several small incidents that soon became worse and worse until the whole state was in flames.
ReplyDeleteAnother way we could view Florida is that each group is a component of the Molotov cocktail. The blacks, Jews, and Catholics are the fuel because they are destroyed when it is caught on fire. The liberal northerners are the thickening agent used in the fuel because they are the only people that converse with the minorities. The Police are the bottle because it holds everyone it does not agree with together. The government is the rag because it gives the ability to be lit to the Klan. Finally the Klan is the match or lighter to ignite the bomb. When these elements are put together you are surely going to get death and destruction.
ReplyDeleteWhen Reesa's father compares Florida to a Molotov cocktail, everyone started making assumptions that this question was all about the racial differences. At one point I thought, what if this had some deeper meaning? Eventually it came to me. Mr. McMahon is showing the emotional impact that these series of events had on the people of Florida. The flame is symbolizing all of the events leading up to the “explosion” of Florida (one example is Marvin’s death caused by the KKK). The flammable liquid represents the population in Florida that was standing up for the people being threatened by the Ku Klux Klan. Once those people couldn’t take watching these terrors continue any longer, they finally snapped. That is when the real battle began. Trying to put a stop to the mess that was happening around them; they eventually prevailed. In the end the Molotov cocktail exploded, but left behind an blank canvas where a beautiful space could grow, flourish, and become the Florida we know and love today.
ReplyDeleteFrom the prologue through chapter 8, many aspects have proved that Ressa's father (Warren) was prophetic when he commented "It's the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail." A Molotov cocktail is a hand-made, hand-grenade that is most often non-professionally made. Because it is not made professionally it is very unstable and uneasy.
ReplyDeleteThe geography of Florida was described to have a wild abandon southern tip on page 1. The words wild and abandon give you the feeling that it is very rough and uneasy, just like the Molotov cocktail. The population of Florida was extremely varied, but there were many disagreements and fights among the people. In the prologue on page 2, Ressa (as the narrator) says, "...cheaply placing liberal Northerners, Orthodox Jews and devout Catholics cheek-by-jowl amongst the grandchildren of Confederate aristocrats, raging Crackers, and dirty-poor blacks who sought work wherever they could." He said "social equivalent" because of the diversity amongst the state. But with all of these different sides conflicting, there was a lot of fighting, so much that the entire state was just waiting to explode into chaos. Thus the reason he referenced the Molotov cocktail.
From the prologue through chapter 8, Ressa's father's comment was proved by the geography and population. The geography proves it because the land is dry, rough and unstable. The population proves it because of all the discrepancies and disagreements among the people of Florida. These things prove that Ressa's father was prophetic when he commented, "It's (Florida) the social equivalent of a Molotov cocktail."