Becoming

by

Michelle Obama

Becoming: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
When Michelle was in first grade, a boy in her class punched her in the face one day, for no reason. The boy got a talking to, and adults discussed the situation. Michelle’s mother tells her, “that boy was just scared and angry about things that had nothing to do with you […] He’s dealing with a whole lot of problems of his own.”
This chapter recounts much of the criticism that Michelle faces throughout Barack’s campaign. She uses this opening story to convey how much the criticism hurts her, and also how those criticisms often reveal more issues within the person lobbing the critiques than they do about Michelle.
Themes
Race, Gender, and Politics Theme Icon
Michelle spends a lot of 2008 trying to dodge the same kinds of punches. Barack had spent the winter and spring of 2008 battling over every state with Hillary Clinton. In June, Clinton acknowledged that she lacked the delegate count to win. And so, in July, Barack begins courting not only Democratic voters but the entire country. The race now between him and Republican Senator John McCain. On the Fourth of July (which is also Malia’s tenth birthday), the Obamas visit Butte, Montana, a state which had gone to George W. Bush but which had elected a Democratic governor.
The Obamas continue to try to juggle their commitment to their daughters with their new commitment to the campaign, and on no day is that balance more difficult than July 4th (Malia’s birthday), as they understand the necessity of having both an individual celebration for her and a more general celebration of the country.
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When they arrive, Michelle is heartened by signs along Main Street reading “Happy Birthday, Malia!” People are kind to Malia and Sasha and respectful toward Michelle and Barack, even though many admit that voting for a Democrat would be a “crazy departure from tradition” for them. The family attends a campaign picnic together.
Michelle also begins to recognize that, regardless of people’s political affiliations, if Barack were president, he would bear a responsibility towards all Americans—not only the people who voted for him.
Themes
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Michelle realizes how her life has slowly changed around her: she’s never alone, people start getting things for her at the store rather than letting her get it herself. If she wants to speak to Barack, she has to ask a young staffer. Before the afternoon in Butte ends, the family does a TV interview together. The innocent comments that Sasha and Malia make immediately endear them to people, but Michelle and Barack instantly regret pushing them even more into the public eye than they already were.
Michelle starts to experience how being in the public eye comes with a degree of privilege (like having other people take care of basic aspects of one’s life), but how this can also be a burden. It is an extra responsibility, placed on all four of them, to constantly be aware of their appearance, their words, and their body language.
Themes
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Michelle understands living in the public eye already. Oprah sends her encouraging texts. Stevie Wonder shows up to play at campaign events and jokes with her and Barack. But at the same time, her every action or word is subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. Michelle learns this when she makes a speech in Milwaukee in early 2008. Afterward, she learns that the context has been stripped away from a quote in which she says, “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.”
Michelle again highlights the two contrasting aspects of being in the public eye: being in contact with some of her idols and having once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but also facing a backlash after off-handed comments are taken out of context.
Themes
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People immediately pounce on these words, saying that Michelle is not a patriot. When Michelle gets home and calls Barack, he tells her not to worry. She’s only getting this criticism because people see how big a force she’s become in the campaign. He tells her he loves her and assures her that it’ll blow over. In some ways, it does, as Barack wins the Wisconsin primary by a good margin, but Cindy McCain immediately takes a shot at Michelle by saying that she’s proud of her country at a rally.
Barack also links the two sides of power: the fact that Michelle is popular means that people want to try to take that power away from her and turn the public against her. This negativity is particularly frustrating for Michelle because of her inherently optimistic attitude, and the fact (as she explains shortly) that so many criticisms are racially motivated.
Themes
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Power, Privilege, and Responsibility Theme Icon
Michelle understands that “a pernicious seed has been planted”: the idea that she is hostile and lacks the expected level of grace of other political wives. The criticism of her and the rumors around Barack always carry “less-than-subtle messaging about race, meant to stir up the deepest and ugliest kind of fear.” More ghosts from the past start to surface, like cherry-picked clips of Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s sermons, all of which show resentment towards white people, or Michelle’s senior thesis at Princeton, which is treated like “some secret black-power manifesto” by conservative media.
Michelle also addresses the ways in which so many of the criticisms directed at herself and Barack are due to their race. She sees that many Americans assume the worst in her (and in Barack and some of their friends, like the Reverend) as a result. This kind of othering is a way of turning Americans against them, even if they have already become too powerful to ignore or cast as invisible.
Themes
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Quotes
Michelle continues to speak about optimism and unity, but the conservative outlets continue their rage against Barack. A photo of Barack wearing a turban and Somali clothing on a senate visit revives rumors of his being Muslim. Another unfounded theory surfaces that Barack was born in Kenya and not Hawaii, making him ineligible to become president.
Despite their attempts to stay positive, they continue to experience more and more examples of racist rumors, which only fuel harmful misinformation to the point where many people believe that the rumors are true.
Themes
Race, Gender, and Politics Theme Icon
For Michelle, she feels that there is some different version of her wreaking havoc in the news: “a too-tall, too-forceful, ready-to-emasculate Godzilla of a political wife named Michelle Obama.” Even friends call her with worry when they hear rumors that a videotape exists of Michelle referring to white people as “whitey.” She explains that she feels that she can’t win: that the stereotype of the “angry black woman” being thrust upon her is a terrible catch-22 from which she cannot escape.
Again, Michelle’s word choice here picks out both racist and sexist stereotypes that she has encountered. The racist trope of the “angry black woman” puts anyone who is pegged by that trope in a difficult bind, because it is understandable that one might get upset when facing negative and hurtful criticism (thereby reinforcing the “angry” part).
Themes
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Michelle goes to Barack, upset and feeling overwhelmed by the negative criticism that often follows her media appearances. She wants to be supportive, but doesn’t want to hurt the campaign. He assures her that she’s much more of an asset than a liability, and he gets David Axelrod and Valerie to coach Michelle on her body language and expressions so that she doesn’t seem too serious or severe.
Yet, in the face of negativity and criticism, Michelle does what she has always done. She goes to the people within her own support system and works hard to make sure that she can avoid making some of the mistakes that she’s made in the past.
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Race, Gender, and Politics Theme Icon
Michelle explains that, even though Hillary Clinton was Barack’s primary opponent, she sees that Clinton has her own difficulty with pundits making gendered critiques about her. She is called “domineering, a nag, a bitch,” with a “screechy” voice and a “cackle” for a laugh. Michelle admires her ability to fight the misogyny.
Michelle also recognizes that she and Barack are not the only ones who must defy biased criticism. She understands that so many of the critiques and questions that Hillary Clinton must face are sexist.
Themes
Race, Gender, and Politics Theme Icon
And so, in the final months of the campaign, Michelle adds a scheduler/personal aide, and a communications specialist who counsels her to talk about the things she loves and not to shy away from her inclination towards humor. Michelle gains a new ease this way, beginning to enjoy herself and feeling more and more optimistic as she continues to meet other hopeful Americans.
Michelle also starts to recognize that the more she is able to be her optimistic and good-natured self, the easier her interviews are. And she sees how that optimism resonates with other Americans, which connects them both to her and to Barack.
Themes
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At the Democratic National Convention, Michelle gives a seventeen minute speech in front of twenty thousand people. She speaks of her father, her family, and Barack’s “noble heart.” When she finishes, people applaud and applaud, and she hopes that perhaps she’s finally done something to change people’s perception of her.
As Michelle makes more and more of an effort to craft her public image, she starts to grow into the role and feels happier in it. She, like Barack, uses her evolution and remarkable trajectory to connect with average Americans, because she, too, was once an average American.
Themes
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But, Michelle admits, she still lives for the unrehearsed in-between moments when nobody is performing. She flashes back to Butte, Montana, on Malia’s birthday, worrying that she and Barack had come up short in terms of celebrations. They feel like they haven’t made the day festive or enough about their daughter. But Malia sees it differently—she had spent the day outdoors with Sasha, surrounded by people that love her. She had seen a parade, and she now had a cake. She declares it, “the best birthday ever,” and Michelle and Barack start to tear up.
As Barack and Michelle get more and more deeply entrenched in the campaign and their work, they worry about sacrificing their family’s priorities for the country. But, as Michelle discovers, one of the beautiful things about children is that they, too, are always optimistic and they see the world from a simpler perspective.
Themes
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Marriage, Parenthood, and Work Theme Icon