"The Goophered Grapevine"

Differences in expression, whether creative or non-creative, is an evident device in most literary works —a difference that includes not only the content of a work, but its language. Use of language can help an author construct an idea without explicitly identifying the main point. Charles W. Chesnutt’s “The Goophered Grapevine” enlists language to express many deep and profound fundamental problems that existed during Post-Civil War America. His point was made by interrelating two narrative viewpoints—that of a Northern entrepreneur (John) and an ex-slave (Julius). Chesnutt’s narrators who possess warring viewpoints are used to divide many social, economic, and racial classes. Chesnutt’s literary use of language comes from the differentiation in narrative style. The story is written from two opposing viewpoints: John who represents that which is white, rich, and Northern, and Julius who stands for what is black, poor, and Southern. The problem that Chesnutt examines thro...