Melanctha -began as a short story called QED about two queer white women, so Stein seems to conflate race and sexual identity in some ways -More accessible/narrative , less obscure than Stein's other work -Becomes a problematic, racist text that links personality traits to skin color . -Essentialism: Stein believed that certain races had certain "essences" that were biologically based -heavily repetitive language, strange grammar, non-linear
-Appropriates black culture in an attempt to be innovative -not linear: moves back and forth in time -no huge events occur, more about everyday life -No chapters or divisions, has the same tone throughout