Of that of the victor at Reno

[GoodTaste]

Does "the same Of that of the victor at Reno" mean "the same of the complexion of the victor at Reno"?

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(A century ago the editors at the Los Angeles Times published:

A Word to the Black Man:
Do not point your nose too high
Do not swell your chest too much
Do not boast too loudly
Do not be puffed up
Let not your ambition be inordinate
Or take a wrong direction
Remember you have done nothing at all
You are just the same member of society you were last week
You are on no higher plane
Deserve no new consideration
And will get none
No man will think a bit higher of you
Because your complexion is the same
Of that of the victor at Reno

(This was the measured opinion of the editors at the Los Angeles Times exactly a century ago)

 

[GoesStation]

I imagine a black boxer won a major bout in Reno, Nevada not long before this admonitory poem was published. You might want to Google "1917 boxing match reno black boxer victory".

[EDIT] The match was the so-called "Fight of the Century", held on July 4th, 1910. Jack Johnson beat James J. Jeffries in Reno, Nevada.

 

[Raymott]

I would expect "Because your complexion is the same as that of the victor at Reno".

 

[GoodTaste]

I would expect "Because your complexion is the same as that of the victor at Reno".

Yes, it is exactly what I had in my mind before posting the thread. So my intention is: is the use of "of" rather than "as" ungrammatical?

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, it is exactly what I had in my mind before posting the thread. So my intention is: is the use of "of" rather than "as" ungrammatical?

Yes, for prose writing. Poetry doesn't have to respect the usual rules, but I can't see any poetic advantage to the odd choice here.

If you read samples from early twentieth-century newspapers you'll find a lot of really bad writing. The Los Angeles Times of that era was far from a first-rank paper. I'd say this poem was written better than much of the rest of that day's edition.

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, it is exactly what I had in my mind before posting the thread. So my intention is: is the use of "of" rather than "as" ungrammatical?

The word I underlined above is wrong. ("My intention" means "the things I plan to do".) Did you mean "question"?

 

[GoesStation]

Maybe you meant What I wanted to ask is....

 

[GoodTaste]

Maybe you meant What I wanted to ask is....

Close: what I wanted to know is...