Mr. Z

Mr. Z is a poem of a man who was a man ashamed of his background.  From the context of this poem, and the fact that he was "taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error" (Holman), Mr. Z must have been at least partially African American.  Who raised him to believe that who he was was an 'error'?  He lived an exhausting life trying to disprove every stereotype that might connect him to his true race, and the author gives numerous examples of this.  I love how Holman used the analogy of a plant when he said Mr. Z was "flourishing without roots."  Mr. Z had no base, no foundation or pride in his up-bringing.  Mr. Z might represent any man or woman who is ashamed by the color of his or her skin.  He can't have died as a "distinguished member of his race" (Holman), because he had never embraced his race to begin with. The author almost seems embarrassed or offended by Mr. Z's denouncement of his ethnic background!  He spoke in matter-of-fact stanzas, giving pure facts about Mr. Z's life.  He hid his disgust of Mr. Z's actions as much as Mr. Z had tried to hide any evidence of his race.