Claudia Rankine Citizen Summary

Slavery is abolished. Segregation is prohibited. How far has American society progressed in the subject of racism? Claudia Rankine’s Citizen offers a look into the problems that persist today through a compilation of stories and images. She uses facts and literal explanations along with multiple forms of symbolism to express numerous flaws still happening today. Focusing specifically on the ruminant animal symbol, Rankine portrays the American culture’s habit of pressuring people to repress their afflictions, specifically caused by instances of racial microaggression. She also brings attention to the preconceived ideas regarding race that stem from the unnatural, but historical events from America’s past.

The life of the narrator in Citizen

This quote, “What else to liken yourself to but an animal, the ruminant kind?” (Rankine 60), shows how the narrator feels when trivialized by others for worrying about racist comments or actions she has observed or experienced. A ruminant animal, while eating, chews their food, digests it into the first of four chambers, and then regurgitates the food for further chewing. The comparison between the speaker and the ruminant animal not only depicts a feeling of belittlement for reacting to racial injustices, but also a cycle of aggression, stress, disbelief, and silence she endures. Being compared to an animal strips away her relevancy and humanity. The metaphor of a ruminant animal’s digestion cycle allows the speaker to display how she takes in racist acts, digests what has occurred, then “chews” on the issues

When the reader first observes the image, they make an initial judgement about the piece. They might try to decipher what the symbolism behind the sculpture could be, but eventually move on, pushing the image to the back of their mind. Later, when the reader comes across the mention of a ruminant animal on page 60, they are drawn back to the picture. Now the reader will think more deeply about the sculpture, relating it to new found information. Clark’s sculpture is made of infant caribou hide, foam, clay, pins, thread, and rubber eyes. Caribou fall into the category of a ruminant animal and the fusion of the two beings, human and animal, compel the observer to identify what unifies them. The historical self often brought up by the speaker is connected to the animal part of the sculpture because of the oppression and treatment similar to that of livestock during the time of slavery, which serves as a reminder of the past and provoke an assessment of the present. The caribou represents not only ruminant thought and dehumanization, but also the targeting of a race because this animal is commonly hunted. This can additionally relate to the historical self because hunted animals are used to supply the hunter with food and even clothing, similar to how the black slaves were used to support the white community.