What does the depiction of Julia in The Comet suggest about the future of racism and race relations?
Question: What does the depiction of Julia in The Comet suggest about the future of racism and race relations? The Comet written by Edward Du Bois is an Afrofuturist short story written in 1920. The story features two main characters: Jim, a working class black man, and Julia, a wealthy white woman. Du Bois provides a criticism of racism and anti-blackness by depicting the constant, heavy impact of those societal values on both of the main characters as they navigate, what seems to be, the end of the world. Despite race affecting both of the characters' perceptions of each other, Julia seems to be more rigid in her prejudice than Jim, grappling with her racism throughout the whole story. Julia’s shift in ideology as the plot progresses suggests that in this new, dystopian future there may be hope for race relations. However, the circumstances that it takes for Julia to overcome her racism show that Du Bois himself is not hopeful and is rather pessimistic in his prediction for t...