Race

In the early years of the formation of the United States African Americans had a lot of obstacles to overcome. They faced problems with discrimination in schools, work, and in any social setting. Dr. Jason Wilkes had to overcome a lot of these obstacles in all of these settings because he was African American.

He reveals to Agent Peggy Carter the struggles that he faced in his early childhood. He continues telling her that he had to work two jobs in order to live a sustainable life and pay his way through school. The two jobs that he held were as a janitor at the observatory and as a harvester in the citrus fields. After he completed his education he struggled to find a job because he was African American and Isodyne was the only company that was willing to give him the opportunity to thrive as a scientist in their labs. Because of the opportunity that was provided to him by Isodyne, he felt hesitant to give Agent Carter the classified information that she needed, resulting in Dr. Wilkes to form a new identity. 

Dr. Wilkes recalling memories from his childhood at the Observatory where his dream of becoming a scientist began. 

Carl Burgchardt states “The emergence of the spatial metaphor in academic work has encouraged scholars in cultural studies and ethnography alike to rethink the ways in which individuals and groups construct identity, administer power, and make sense of their everyday lives. Our dialogues are now replete with spatial tropes of boundaries, centers, margins, and borderlands” (Burgchardt, 634).

The fact that Dr. Wilkes only took the job at Isodyne because it was the only place that would hire him, left him at a place where he felt like it was his only option and therefore took it. He knew that if he took this job, it would lead to bigger, better opportunities. Although he was not given much power, he was in charge of a very important task that made Dr. Wilkes feel powerful at Isodyne and that was building the containment center for Zero Matter. Working at Isodyne gave Dr. Wilkes and other African Americans new possibilities that African Americans can achieve greatness if they take the opportunities that come to them even if it is not what they had in mind. Working at Isodyne as a scientist gave Dr. Wilkes the power to reshape the future of African American identities that they can achieve what others can without taking into account their race. 

Dr. Wilkes standing in from of the containment chamber that he built for zero matter.

Burgchardt, Carl R., ed. Readings in Rhetorical

Criticism, 4th Edition. 4th ed. United States: Strata Publishing, 2010. Print. 

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