The Abraham Lincoln Costume Symbol Analysis

The Abraham Lincoln costume that Lincoln wears for his job at the arcade comes to stand for the ways in which Lincoln is forced to live with the difficulties of being a black man trying to make an honest living in a world dominated by white people. His position as an impersonator requires him to dress in a frock coat, a top hat, and a fake beard. It also requires him to paint his face white, an inversion of minstrel theater’s use of blackface, when white actors would paint their faces black and portray African-Americans in an absurd and racist manner. Because Lincoln dresses in whiteface, then, his Abraham Lincoln costume is fraught with racial significance—it is the reversal of a racist tradition, and yet Lincoln still struggles against bigotry, as evidenced by the fact that he gets paid less than the person who held his job before him (simply because he’s black). On the one hand, Lincoln benefits from dressing up as Abraham Lincoln because it enables him to work a steady job instead of hustling on the streets. On the other hand, though, maintaining this position forces him to acquiesce to being treated poorly because he’s black. Furthermore, Booth frequently shows his dislike of the Abraham Lincoln costume. Indeed, he often references Lincoln’s “whiteface” while insulting his brother, even calling Lincoln an “uncle tom” (somebody who is overly subservient) at one point. This vehement rejection of the Abraham Lincoln costume arises from Booth’s unwillingness to acknowledge and thereby contend with the complexities of a black man transcending racial boundaries, as well as the costume’s evocation of a time in American history when black people didn’t have rights, an era Booth would rather forget.