This story, the gold Cadillac, is written by Mildred D. Taylor. It talks about an African family which buys a gold Cadillac. It makes people from family to neighborhood feel that they are really lucky. But when they want to drive to Mississippi, the opinion from others has a big change, people begin to discuss if it’s possible for Africans to buy a gold Cadillac. During the time, everybody doubted them, the policemen forced the father into detention just because they don't believe him. His two daughters begin to recognize the danger of discrimination after the trip. At last, they sell the car for the house, but the trip and the car make a deep memory into their mind.
The mind in people’s mind won’t change however what things you have. The discrimination is just like a way of thinking to some people, their father tries to change others opinion to them so he buys a Cadillac and it’s the symbol of rich. It works in his neighborhood, neighbors say that it’s fantastic, but everything changes after getting out, people don’t believe that African people are able to buy a Cadillac, and it even becomes a thing people doubt. The way of others’ thinking doesn't change even if he has the Cadillac. In others’ eyes, he’s still a normal African person, the bottom of the society, people don’t care about it. In a world full of discrimination, the things you have can’t stand for anything.
Understanding makes a family together and have a better life. Without understanding, each of the family members won’t know the purpose of the decision, then the argument will happen. Mother doesn’t understand why father bought such an expensive Cadillac and why to Mississippi, so an argument between them happened. It makes a bad influence between the family. After some time, big changes happened, the car became the important transport which took them to another place, their mother understood. After the understanding, things go much better. The understanding helps the family out from the darkness and goes into the hope.
The car stands for the memory and the fear of racism. While driving, they've seen so many people and things, and the only thing to stand for is the car. The car means everything they meet on the way home. When the police caught them, the car was right there, and saw the whole event. When they argue and when the understanding happens, the car’s also there just to see everything that happened. In the end of the passage, the author says, “I would remember that ride and the gold Cadillac all my life”. It gives the author a memory that’s hardly forgotten. After an important thing that’s hard to forget happens, the things beside easily become the symbolism of the whole event.
In a society full of racism, no matter poverty or wealth, As long as the type of people who are targeted will always be discriminated against, this is inevitable, but also caused by the society. The only defense is to be together with the same kind of people, such as a family. If a family can get together for the same goal, it will be helpful, and sometimes help others to recognize the most important things. For them, it’s not the car, but a real home. They get the money for the home after giving up the car which isn’t what they really have. The car goes with them all the way, it sees all the things that have happened before and become a symbolism for the author and the author’s family.
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