ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: racism

Fairy tale romance usually depicts two star crossed lovers who are separated by class or geographical distance, such as Cinderella who was separated from the Prince because of her poverty. Gatsby’s fairy-tale like desire for Daisy is exhibited by his fascination with the green light: “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.” Gatsby, just like Cinderella, is too poor for Daisy but he amasses a fortune in order to gain her love. He may not have a fairy godmother, but his ability to become so wealthy so quickly could be miraculous in itself. This is the fairy-tale equivalent of a peasant becoming prince to win his princess. This is a bit far-fetched and extreme, proving that The Great Gatsby is so far-fetched that it is more like a fairy-tale than a Realist Novel.
Topic: racism

Further support for this proposition can be found when we consider that The Great Gatsby has the fairy tale trait of presenting a battle of good vs. evil. In fairy-tales, there is a seemingly perfect character (Gatsby) that combats an evil character (Tom). This is similar to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. For example, in their story Snow White the princess escapes the clutches of the evil stepmother and is saved by the prince. Tom represents evil: he cheats on Daisy and turns Gatsby in, getting him killed. There is evidence in the text that he abuses Daisy: “the knuckle was black and blue. “You did it, Tom,” she said accusingly.” In fairy tale terms he is the villain that is holding the princess (Daisy) hostage. Gatsby, on the other hand, symbolizes good: he is protagonist and a likable character; Nick describes him positively: “extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such that I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” Both Tom and Gatsby are exaggerated in their respective evilness and goodness, therefore proving that The Great Gatsby is so far-fetched that it is more like a fairy-tale than a Realist Novel.
Topic: racism

The final point to consider when comparing The Great Gatsby to a fairy tale is how its depressing conclusion is similar to the conclusion of many traditional fairy tales. Although our modern-day Disney fairy tales always have a happy ending when the hero marries the princess, traditional fairy tales such as those written by Hans Christian Andersen had much darker endings. For example, in the original version of The Little Mermaid, the prince marries someone else and the mermaid throws herself off the side of his ship and is subject to 300 years of slavery instead of true love. The depressing conclusion of The Great Gatsby may not be quite as fantastical as that, but nonetheless it is far-fetched in its conclusion: “It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete.” The use of the extreme word holocaust reinforces how over the top it is. In light of this, it perplexes me that anyone could claim The Great Gatsby is a realist novel, because everything about it so far-fetched and like a fairy tale.
Topic: racism

However, those that oppose my view claim that although The Great Gatsby has many fairy tale elements, there is a definite realism to the novel. Richard Chase defined several characteristics of what makes a realist novel. He said that a realist novel uses selective presentation of a reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of plot, and that characters appear real in temperament and motive. This has led many to define The Great Gatsby as a realist novel rather than a symbolic one. There may be some merit to this opinion, especially when we consider how the events of the novel are closely related to Fitzgerald’s own life, especially the women in the novel.
Topic: racism

For example, the character of Daisy is said to be modelled on Ginevra King. Fitzgerald met Ginevra when he was at Princeton and she was still at prep school. They exchanged love letters, but the relationship ended when Ginevra’s father bluntly told Fitzgerald that he had no business dating rich girls. This gave him a sense of inferiority and was the cause of his lust for wealth, much like Gatsby. In the novel Fitzgerald remarks that Daisy’s voice was, “full of money,” and Gatsby tells Tom, “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me.” This is very similar to Fitzgerald’s experience of love. Critics are divided on whether the women of the play are based on Ginevra or his wife Zelda; it is likely he used elements of both as inspiration. This direct link with Fitzgerald’s real life experiences may suggest that The Great Gatsby is more effective as a realist novel than a symbolic one.
Topic: racism

in his writing. Social Realism is an international art movement that draws attention to the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor, and who are critical of the social structures that maintain these conditions. While the movement usually applies to paintings, it can just as easily be applied to novels such as The Great Gatsby. The most obvious instance of social realism in the novel is the depiction of the Valley of Ashes. Fitzgerald deliberately places this after the extravagance of chapter one in order to have maximum impact on the reader. We are presented with an area that bears closer resemblance to the slums of the third world rather than an economically thriving western nation such as America. It is described as, “a certain desolate area of land,” and, “the solemn dumping ground.” The Valley of Ashes is based on a real location called the Corona Ash Dumps, further increasing the social realism. This stark portrayal of reality suggests that the novel is more effective as a realist novel than a symbolic novel.
Topic: racism

Finally, it could be argued that The Great Gatsby is more effective as a realist novel than a symbolic novel due to Fitzgerald’s use of naturalistic realism. Naturalism was a literary movement from the 1880s to 1930s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. Naturalistic works tend to focus on the darker aspects of life, including poverty, racism and violence. As a result, naturalistic writers were frequently criticised for focusing too much on human vice and misery. We certainly see these dark undertones in The Great Gatsby. If we take racism as an example, the form that Fitzgerald uses to describe to us the character of Tom Buchanan is decidedly naturalistic.
Topic: racism

Fitzgerald wishes to convince the reader that Tom is a highly despicable character, but he does not come out and say such in so many words. Rather, he meticulously describes Tom’s actions so that the reader is left to draw no other conclusion. His views are clearly racist, evidenced by his choice of reading: “Have you read the Rise of the Coloured Empires by Goddard?” This refers to a genuine book that was around at that time, titled The Rising Tide Of Colour by Lothrop Stoddard, which increases the realism. Tom feels threatened by the rising power of racial minorities and wishes to preserve the archaic status quo. Fitzgerald’s skilful use of naturalistic realism would suggest that The Great Gatsby is more effective as a realist novel rather than a symbolic novel.
Topic: racism

To conclude, after careful consideration we determine that The Great Gatsby is so far-fetched that it is more like a fairy-tale than a Realist Novel. However, it is undeniable that it has realistic and convincing characters, situations and events as well as having fairy-tale elements. I believe that the fairy tale elements are more apparent throughout the text. The opposing arguments have some merit but ultimately they fail to realise the true implications and context of The Great Gatsby.
Topic: racism

“More Americans have learned the story of the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind than from all of the learned volumes on this period” -Warren Beck and Myles Clowers The book Lies My Teacher Told Me was written by James Loewen. I choose to read Chapter 5: “Gone with the Wind”: The Invisibility of Racism in American History Textbooks. The chapters that I read discussed how in many of the American History Textbooks, that many young students use and read throughout their education do not discuss slavery or racism.
Topic: racism

These “two books tell very different stories: Uncle Tom’s Cabin presents slavery as an evil to be opposed, while Gone With the Wind suggest that slavery was an ideal social structure whose passing is to be lamented” [ (Loewen, 1995) ]. Our history textbook discusses slavery in way that describes what drove the slavery industry, such as the development of the cotton gin and how it helped the rise of the slavery industry. In 1790 the production numbers and slave numbers were considerably lower than they were seventy years later. The slave population quadrupled while cotton production increased more than 1,500 percent [ (Gary B. Nash, 2009) ]. Our book coincides with what James Loewen says about books avoiding owners and by discreetly discussing what really happened to the slaves. While our book does go into more depth than other history books that I have had in the past, it does try to cover up some things that would be of major interest to those who want to know the truth of what slavery was really like back in the 19th century without all of the cover-ups and trying to protect the image of the founding fathers and to still keep white Americans on top. In Connecticut in the 1950s, when I was growing up, the only slavery discussed in my history textbook was southern; New Englanders had marched south to end slavery. It was in Rhode Island, where I lived after 1964, that I first stumbled across an obscure reference to local slavery, but almost no one I asked knew anything about it. Members of the historical society did, but they assured me that slavery in Rhode Island had been brief and benign, involving only the best families, who behaved with genteel kindness.
Topic: racism

They pointed me in the direction of several antiquarian histories, which said about the same thing. Some of the people of color I met knew more. ” (Harper, 2003) In this paragraph this statement backs the fact that James Loewen stated that many northern states try to hide that there was slavery in the north, many textbooks discuss slavery in the south. The statement that was made by the historical society tries to pass off that slavery was okay because it was short lived in the state and that only the best of the best families had slave and treated them with the upmost kindness.
Topic: racism

This is when examples of people referring to Gone With the Wind as an example of how people thought slaves were treated. “There were eight lynchings in 1937, thirteen in 1936. There were 5,000 in the U. S. since complete records began in 1882” (Black’s White, 1938). In the article I read it talked about how the legislation tried to avoid the passing the bill to stop lynching’s in 1938. In history textbooks they briefly describe lynching’s but they never say how many actually happened. This is just one more thing that proves that the history textbooks have some of the information about racism but not all that they should.
Topic: racism

The one thing that I have found that has been consistent with history textbooks that I have read in the past, present and the articles I have researched for this topic have been that Lincoln supported the antislavery movement towards the west. “Lincoln supported the Homestead Act” [ (Lalire, 2010) ]. After reading the chapter from Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen, I agree that there is not enough information about slavery in the American History Textbooks. I feel as if some people would like to just forget that slavery ever happened. Sometimes it is easier to hide things or no publicize the wrongs that we have committed as a whole.
Topic: racism

I agree with the author that publishers are very discreet with what they will place into their textbooks. Many textbooks that go to northern school districts have very little to say about the fact that northerners also had slaves whether people want to admit it or not. Many southern states like to claim that slavery was not as disrespectful as many people say it was. I feel that even though the Civil War is over and there is no actual divided between the Union and the Confederacy, that there will always be some kind of argument between the northerners and the southerners about slavery.
Topic: racism

There is always two opinions to every argument it’s just about who will argue their side the most and who can run circles around the other person for the longer amount of time. It is one of those topics that is to controversial to end up having one opinion, but I do agree that there is not enough about slavery in the history textbooks. If I was to present this information to 7th and 8th graders quite honestly I would be scared, I know from my stand point if someone told me that everything I had been taught so far may not be true well frankly I’d be pretty pissed.
Topic: racism

Both the film ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ directed by Scott Hicks and the novel ‘The Sea and Poison’ written by Shusaku Endo embody and expose issues of racism and give the reader or audience a sense of the consequences of such hatred in different ways. Hick’s film is about a trial that reveals the prejudice that people have towards Japanese-Americans. A community that concentrated a variety of ethnicity, among them was both Whites and Japanese. As a result of the racial differences, racism has come into existences and has impacted the life of both children and adult in that isolated island called San Piedro.
Topic: racism

It is responsible for the internment of Kabuo, Hatsue, and their families to the camps during World War 2, the break-up of Hatsue and Ishmael, Kabuo’s loss of his land, and perhaps for his indictment for murder. Whereas Endo’s novel uses the case of the vivisections performed on the US POW to symbolise the brutality, of such uncivilised prejudice.
Topic: racism

These are all evident within both of the texts especially with regards to how the people treated the Japanese in Hick’s film and how the Japanese treated the other races in Endo’s novel. What is race? The article titled ‘Race’ by B. Ashcroft (1998 p. 198) mentions that “race is a term for the classification of human beings into physically, biologically and genetically distinct groups. ” It also mentions that “the notion of race assumes, firstly that humanity is divided into unchanging natural types, recognisable by physical features that are transmitted ‘through the blood’ and permit distinctions to be made between ‘pure’ and ‘mixed’ races. (Ashcroft 1998, p. 198).
Topic: racism

This is seen to be relating within both of the texts but mainly within ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ in that there is a clear distinction between the races: there is the Japanese and the Whites. In ‘The Sea and Poison’ however there are many different races such as the Chinese, the American, the Germans and the Japanese. Within Endo’s novel the reader can find representations of racism in ways that are not really expected. There is the major theme of racism towards the US, but what is even more obvious are the racist ideas and actions that the Japanese have towards their Asian cousins.
Topic: racism

The first sign of racism is found within the prologue where a nameless narrator hears of the crimes committed by the Japanese. The owner of the gas station proudly and without hesitation shouts out slander to whoever will listen about the “chinks” and then also talks about how he “did whatever he wanted with the women” and that “any bastard that made any complaints was tied to a tree and used for target practice”. (Endo 1992, p. 17). From this brutal behaviour the reader is confronted with issues of racism towards the Asians. The examples of racism that the Japanese show towards other Asians is effective through the tone used.
Topic: racism

The manner in which the text is written allows the reader to empathise and appreciate with greater seriousness the issues that existed between the Japanese and the Asians. The descriptions of the vivisections performed on the US, although they were indeed graphic, were less effective because of their lack in emotional language. The descriptions tended to be more clinical in its language use. Also the treatment of the Manchurians by nurse Ueda can be seen as another example of the kind of racism that existed between the Japanese and other Asians.
Topic: racism

When she moves to Manchuria firstly she is shocked by the treatment shown towards the locals as she says “all this racket scared me” (Endo 1992, p. 86) whenever she would hear her neighbour, Mrs Zoga, hitting and shouting at her servants. However her view changed after a while as she slowly became used to it and started to believe her husband when he said that “it was the way the Manchurians were. You had to knock them around; otherwise they wouldn’t do anything”. (Endo 1992, p. 86).
Topic: racism

Although later the reader learns that not long after getting her own Manchurian servant that nurse Ueda soon admits that she too “soon got into the habit of hitting her, for no reason at all”. (Endo 1992, p. 87). This again shows how effective Endo is in portraying racial issues by showing the tensions between the Japanese and other Asians. A subtle representation of racism within Hick’s film can be seen through his use of flashbacks. During these, the audience becomes aware that Ishmael and Hatsue were childhood friends as we see them enjoying many hours of fun together whilst growing up.
Topic: racism

As the flashbacks progress on the audience learns more about them and that in fact they had intimate romance together as teenagers. As the audience look closer at the flashbacks it soon becomes clear that both Hatsue and Ishmael are indulging in a forbidden romance with each other. This is shown through the film techniques used. For example each time the audience is shown a flashback both Hatsue and Ishmael are alone, filmed in isolated areas like the logs on the beach or in the hollowed out cedar tree. Hick’s use of low light in these scenes adds to the feeling that Ishmael, being a white boy, should not be with Hatsue, a Japanese girl.
Topic: racism

He is trying to give an indication of the racial tension within the community on the island of San Piedro. Another effective representation of racism within Hick’s film is the scene where the young Hatsue is having her hair done by her mother. Through what seems like a bonding moment between mother and daughter Hatsue’s mother tries to emphasise the importance of a marriage to a Japanese man, telling her to “stay away from white boys”. (Hicks 1999). This is quite interesting in that it is kind of a reversal of what is usually expected.
Topic: racism

Instead of representing racism as just being a one-sided affair, Hick’s makes it into a two-way street. The racial disharmony can be seen from both sides as both the Japanese and the Americans refer to each race as the ‘other’. This suggests that both races were the inflictors as well as the victims of racial ideas rather then just one. The movie ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ is clearly the text which offers a more profound insight into the issue of racism. A profound insight being defined as “penetrating beyond what is superficial or obvious. ” (cited from < www. dictionary. com >, 2004).
Topic: racism

This is because of the fact that it is a movie and can therefore open to a wider audience and is more accessible to people then a novel is. Film is also a deeper medium in which to portray the issues of racism because it can explore more into the senses of people. Through film the audience can engage both the senses of sight and hearing through the use of visual graphics and audio stimulating materials such as music soundtracks. Film techniques can also be taken advantage of for example high or low camera angles which can be used during the process of filming to help present the issues within the film.
Topic: racism

Interest of the audiences and depth in certain characters and the events they are involved in or environments they are in can be grabbed by the use of camera angles. In the end the audience is engaged more and ends up getting a deeper understanding of the issues within the film. Within many of the courtroom scenes in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ Hicks uses these camera techniques. For example the Japanese community all sit behind Miyamoto and the camera angles used when focusing in on them often tends to be high and as a result it seems as if the audience are looking down on them from above.
Topic: racism

This angle gives forth a feeling of inferiority of the Japanese. On the other hand Ishmael, is filmed in a reversal manner to the Japanese in that they use a low camera angle so that it looks like the audience is looking up to him. It gives off the feeling of power and control. As well as the use of camera angles, environments and settings can be created which can help to explore the issues within the film. For example with the deserted beach and the hollowed out cedar tree these were used by Hick’s as isolated settings to add to the telling of the story.
Topic: racism

These settings all help in the discovery of racial issues and attitudes towards mixed relationships. These add to the effectiveness of the text as the audience can appreciate the message the text is trying to portray on a different level. Although Endo’s ‘The Sea and Poison’ is effective in some way it is clearly at a disadvantage in that it is a novel and because of this fact it struggles to show the audience the same insight into the issues of racism than that of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’. Another reason for the novel only being effective to a certain extent is because it has numerous minor themes within.
Topic: racism

The issue of social inequality within the Japanese race arises as the main theme addressed especially through the long, descriptive and emotional passages of the old lady’s operation. When comparing this to the treatment of Mrs Tabe, the old lady is treated with complete disrespect. For Mrs Tabe her doctors are seen to be confident that she will make a full recovery from a successful operation, whereas even thought it seems to be a similar operation for the old lady she is given no chance of survival. The whole hospital just accepts the fact that she will not live.
Topic: racism

Issues of social inequality are explored through the treatment of both of these patients who undergo similar operations. There is a clear distinction between the professional and optimistic treatment of Mrs Tabe to the neglected and pessimistic treatment of the old lady. This is so touching that it takes the readers thought away from the main issue of racism to the issue of social inequality within Japan. Because of this the issue of racism which is supposed to be the major theme within the novel now becomes a secondary theme.
Topic: racism

Thus leading more to the fact that Endo’s novel is less profound than Hick’s film in bringing forth the issues of racism. Although in ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ there is evidence of minor themes within the story just like that of ‘The Sea and Poison’, there is a difference. The Minor themes in Hick’s film do play some part within the issue of racism, whereas in Endo’s novel his minor themes can be linked to broader social issues like social inequality like mentioned before.
Topic: racism

For example in Hick’s film there is the romance between Hatsue and Ishmael, which is powerful issue but it does not take control over the main racism issue, infact in some way they actually compliment or help to emphasis the racism issue. The romance being that it is forbidden shows the audience of the attitudes of the community towards mixed relationships and it gives the audience an understanding into the influence of racism as it is this influence which splits Hatsue and Ishmael apart. Both ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ and ‘The Sea and Poison’ look at and characterize the issue of racism in different ways.
Topic: racism

Hick’s uses emotive language and harsh expressive tones but he has an advantage in that he can use film techniques such as camera angles and has a medium which is more popular then that of a novel, which can offer a more profound insight into the racism issues. Endo also uses harsh tones and emotive language to fill his readers with an awareness of the issue of racism but also about morality and social discrimination. ‘Snow Falling on Cedars is arguably superior to that of ‘The Sea and Poison’ because the audience is more engaged due to the fact that it is a movie and not a book.
Topic: racism

”. It describes a lynching and juxtaposes “the pastoral scene of the gallant South” and a sick mental picture of a lynched and rotting Negro. Although this is only a song it is based on factual things that happened, showing just how brutal the white people could be. A short story written by Martha Gelhorn “Justice at Night” written around the time of the depression and reputed to be true, tells of an elderly white woman’s accusation that her black slave attempted to rape her.
Topic: racism

The black man is lynched despite protests from a witnessing Northern traveler who is silenced with the words “You’ve gotta take a white woman’s word any time before you take a nigger’s, helluva place it’d be if you said white folks lied and niggers told the truth”. The story also describes the obvious pleasure and enjoyment the Share Cropper Whites get from watching the lynching, and the reluctance the Officials show, as if they were attending a tedious official dinner.
Topic: racism

Another example is in the film Mississippi Burning, when because the FBI Agents start to question the blacks, the Ku Klux Klan surround a full black church during a service. When the service ends and the black people start to emerge, the Klan attack them, beat them up and even kill some of them. Institutional. Segregation is a form of racism. In the film Mississippi Burning the black civil rights activist is not allowed to be buried in the same graveyard as his white friends.
Topic: racism

When Cassie, the narrator, tries to persuade Big Ma to move the wagon forward near the other farmers Big Ma replies; “But them’s white folks’ wagon Cassie’, and although she didn’t know it, that explained everything This regime of terror had not only the direct effects of the violence, but it had a great psychological effect. In the four different texts there are two examples of this: Firstly in the Book Roll of Thunder, when Cassie rebels against the offensive words printed in her book Mrs. Crocker, their teacher just replies, “Well that’s what you are, now go and sit down”.
Topic: racism

This shows that she is totally brainwashed by the white people that Cassie, herself, and all black people are inferior. In the film Mississippi burning, when Agent Anderson questions Deputy Pell’s wife, a white woman, she replies; “Hatred isn’t something yar born with, it gets taught. At school they said segregation’s in the bible, Genesis 9 verse 27. At seven years age you get it told enough times you believe it, you live it, you breath it, and you marry it”. (Deputy Pell is a KKK member). Here she is explaining her life, and how all her elders have force fed her with lies and rubbish to an extent that she can recite it completely.
Topic: racism

Another example of psychological racism is when Mr. Simms in Chapter 5, Roll of Thunder, apprehends Cassie. She is thrown into the road and made to apologise to Mr. Simms’ daughter Lillian Jean. He makes her call Lillian Jean “Miss Lillian Jean, and although she has no cuts or bruises she is deeply hurt by this. When she gets home and Big Ma says that she isn’t hurt, Uncle Hammer replies; “She aint hurt? You look into her eyes and tell me she aint hurt! ” The violent effects of racism are the terror that the blacks had of the whites.
Topic: racism

In Mississippi Burning, when Anderson and Ward go to interview a woman whose husband had been burnt, she answers none of their questions except for “Yes, Sir” or “No, Sir”. After her son says “Why don’t you just leave us alone, then maybe they’ll leave us alone? ” the FBI (except Anderson) begin to realise that it is their investigation that is causing an upsurge in trouble for the black people.. Even though blacks were living in terror there was a surprisingly large amount of resistance. In the book Roll of Thunder there is a whole list. In chapter three Stacey gets fed up with diving for the hedge and hatches a plan.
Topic: racism

He, Little Man, Cassie and Christopher John make their way to the road during their lunch hour. Armed with shovels, stolen from the school shed, they dig a hole in the middle of the road. When all is done they return to school. That night it rains, and instead of there being just a pot hole in the road, there is a gaping chasm which is flooded with water. As it is flooded the bus just thinks that it is a puddle and charges through it, breaking an axle. The Logan children watch with glee as the white children have to walk to school. Cassie tells us;
Topic: racism

” By the time most of the students managed to get to the other side of the ditch, their clothes were dripping with the weight of the muddy water. No longer laughing, they moved spiritlessly toward their homes while a disgruntled Mr. Grimes leaned moodily against the raised end of the bus. Oh, how sweet was well-maneuvered revenge! With that thought in mind, we quietly eased away and picked our way through the dense forest toward home. After Cassie’s incident with Lillian Jean in chapter Five, she wants revenge. Therefore she “sucks up” to her for a couple of weeks.
Topic: racism

Then, one day, she takes Lillian Jean to a secluded glade in a nearby coppice, beats her up and forces her to apologise, for herself and her father. She doesn’t punch her in the face but in the stomach, so as not to leave bruises. The fact that it was a little black girl, three years her junior, who beat her up meant that Lillian Jean could not go and tell her father, she was too proud. Cassie says “Besides, if anybody ever did find our ’bout this fight, you’d be laughed clear up to Jackson. You here going on thirteen, getting beat up by a nine-year-old”
Topic: racism

At the end of the story, when the Night Riders (KKK) try to lynch TJ, instead of going and confronting them Logan sets fire to his own crops to distract the mob. He lights a fire down wind of Harlan Granger’s land and house and looses half of his cotton. Whilst they are fighting the fire the whites and blacks work together under the direction of the black Logan Family. Cassie says “I recognized Mr. Lanier by his floppy blue hat working side by side with Mr. Simms, each oblivious of the other, and Papa near the slope waving orders to two of the townsmen”.
Topic: racism

In Roll of Thunder two sympathetic whites, Jeremy Simms and Mr. W. Jamison both resist. Jeremy by not going on the white children’s bus and Mr. Jamison by paying to boycott the Wallace Store. There are also a couple of very funny incidents of resistance to racism. In Chapter 10 of Roll of Thunder, Caleb Wallace confronts Mr. Morrison on a single-track road. Mr. Morrison asks Wallace if he could move his truck, he says “No! ” and so Mr. Morrison gets out of the mule cart and picks the truck up, moves it into the hedge and continues down the road. “Mr. Morrison circled the truck, studying it closely.
Topic: racism

Then he returned to its front and, bending at the knees with his back against the grill, he positioned his large hands beneath the bumper. Slowly, his muscles flexing tightly against his thin shirt and the sweat popping off his skin like oil on water, he lifted the truck in one fluid, powerful motion until the front was several inches off the ground and slowly walked it to the left of the road, where he set it downs as gently as a sleeping child. Then he moved to the rear of the truck and repeated the feat. ” In Mississippi Burning the FBI bring in a black interrogator.
Topic: racism

He kidnaps the white Mayor and questions him in a way that would have terrified the white man but must have brought a great deal of laughter to the black people who knew of the happening. The interrogator tells the Mayor the story of how a black teenager was tortured, threatening to re-enact the mistreatment by taking him to a similar shack and giving graphic detail of a castration with a razor blade. In conclusion it can be seen that the whites needed racism because they were poor. Being poor meant that they were at the bottom of the hierarchy and were social no-bodies.
Topic: racism

The racism comes from the fact that the poverty stricken whites wanted to feel greater than somebody, so they picked on the only people lover then them; the blacks. This grew into the idea of white supremacy, and it restored a lot of what was before the wars. This grew into racial hatred and the Ku Klux Klan. The worst racists were poor share cropper whites, the better educated whites, business men or religious figures, like Wade Jameson who is an Attorney at Law in Roll of Thunder have no need for the hatred, so they are not racist.
Topic: racism

Agent Anderson in the Film Mississippi Burning gives a story illustrating this attitude. When he was a boy he asked his father why a black man had a mule and they did not. His father’s reaction was to poison the mule so they were equal and remarked to his son “If you aint better than a nigger son, who are you better than? ” Agent Anderson goes on to say of his father “But he died before he realised that it was poverty that was killing him”.
Topic: racism

Food in Northern Ireland was come a long way from the fish and chip era. Today Belfast has hundreds of restaurants, ranging from Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Mexican. This has come from people from different cultures and countries immigrating to Belfast for a better life. In Chinese restaurants for example, if you look in a menu there will be part of the menu in Chinese and the other part in English, this shows great progress in bringing two cultures together under one roof and doesn’t show discrimination against anyone.
Topic: racism

The most obvious benefit of diversity in schools is the teaching of various languages such as, Irish, Spanish, Italian, Latin, French and German and in some schools Chinese. This is a great benefit to society as students studying these languages will be encourage to visit the countries and then bring back different cultural beliefs and ways of life to Belfast, it also shows other countries that they are welcome to visit Belfast. Another step towards diversity in our society is the establishment of Chinese schools in south Belfast – one in the holysland area and another on the Lisburn road in south Belfast.
Topic: racism

In my opinion without the input of different cultures introducing us to new foods, clothes, music, northern Ireland wouldn’t be were it is today. It saddens we when reading how people from different ethnic backgrounds are kicked out of their homes due to racist attacks, for example; on the 17th October 2003 muslin family were forced out of their home in the Craigavon area of Armagh, when a group of ‘yobs’ threw bricks at the families windows.
Topic: racism

I took a trip down to St.Georges market for the first time the other day, to see what different stalls where there and if there where many ethnic communities there. Its amazing to think there are so many hate crimes in Northern Ireland as the atmosphere is friendly and many minorities such as Chinese and polish all interact while looking through hundreds of stalls ranging from, food, fruit, clothes and fish. – St.Georges market is a great place for restaurant owners to buy various foods in bulk for cheap prices.
Topic: racism

In Everything That Rises Must Converge Flannery O’Connor penned a short story with eloquence, a moral lesson and her Southern Catholic upbringing in full evidence. The story revolves around Julian and his mother, who is overweight, prejudiced and an embarrassment to the young man who finished college yet must rely on his mother’s support for lack of a job. While his mother unfairly judges others by the color of their skin, Julian also does his share of judging shown by the denigrating attitude he adopts when dealing with her.
Topic: racism

A thinly veiled reference to theology in the title refers to the ability of a person to overcome mortal and immaterial concerns which will allow him to rise above these petty matters and converge in an ideal place – heaven. Tying this message in with the moral of the story occurs through the use of irony and action as O’Connor shows the reader the various faces of judgment and how those who are most judgmental often turn out to be those who most vehemently oppose the idea of intolerance in others.
Topic: racism

The theme of the story revolves around racism, superiority, judgment and intolerance. Told in third voice omniscient voice, the exposition and background of the main characters starts immediately in the beginning paragraphs and then moves on to the action with the scenes on the bus. Through indirect characterization shown with the use of action sequences and dialogue and interspersed with a good deal of irony, the reader becomes intimate with Julian and his mother and their respective points of view.
Topic: racism

Julian is found to be a quite cynical son who sees himself as suffering through the eccentricities of his mother: On the way to the bus stop, “He walked along, saturated in depression, as if in the midst of his martyrdom he had lost his faith”. He does not want to hear his mother talk of her grandiose family history nor the great mansion that was once worked by slaves – yet, he dreams of what it would be like to live there. Perhaps due to his education, he fancies himself above the racism so apparent in Mrs. Chestny and uses every opportunity to attempt to show his mother the error of her ways.
Topic: racism

When a Black man boards the bus, Julian fervently wishes that he will sit next to his mother so that she will agonize over the fact. Instead, he takes the seat next to the Black passenger and asks for a light to strike up conversation, even though he does not smoke and cannot do so on the bus. Ironically, Julian’s attempt to teach his mother a lesson of tolerance instead leaves him looking the fool. Even so, “He imagined his mother lying desperately ill and his being able to secure only a Negro doctor for her”.
Topic: racism

Julian’s mother is obviously a woman of the old South with the same set of values and view of the world considering the White race superior that permeated the deep southern recesses of the country in the 1960’s. As Julian accompanies his mother to the bus so she can attend a weight loss class at the Y, she states, “Most of them in it are not our kind of people…but I can be gracious to anybody. I know who I am. ” A sense of her place in the world is important to Mrs. Chestny, who assumes an attitude of authority based on her family history as slave owners and a grandfather who was a governor of the state.
Topic: racism

In another ironic twist, she holds great affection for her Black nurse, Caroline, and it is she whom Mrs. Chestny cries out to for help as she lays dying in the street. Further irony is shown in the atrocious hat that she continually talks about – the exorbitant price, the style, its uniqueness, the repeated decisions to take it back to the store where she bought it. When a large, angry Black woman boards the bus with a young boy, it does not escape either her or Julian that the woman is wearing the very same hat! Through a series of dialogues and actions, the author repeats the theme of racism as the plot progresses.
Topic: racism

Mrs. Chestny coerces her son into accompanying on the bus ride to the Y because it desegregated and she deems it unsafe. While she speaks of the days when her family owned a plantation and slaves, Julian cringes yet as he remembers the house, “Negroes were living in it”. During the bus ride, his mother will only talk to White patrons, although she considers Black children to be worthy of at least a tiny bit of regard. When she attempts to give a penny to the little boy whose Black mother wears a hat identical to hers, it is her final downfall. The Black woman wants nothing to do with Mrs.
Topic: racism

Chestny, ironically treating her much the same way the White woman would react to someone of color attempting to communicate with her child. The woman refuses to let her son have the penny and then “she seemed to explode like a piece of machinery that had been given one ounce of pressure too much”. This violent reaction causes Mrs. Chestny to fall to the sidewalk. As she lies there, Julian smugly tells her, “You got exactly what you deserved”. It is only after his mother cries out for help from Caroline, her Black nurse, that Julian realizes she is dying.
Topic: racism

Julian’s derision quickly turns to panic as her life fades away and he realizes that his greatest supporter – that racist, judgmental, intolerant old woman wearing the embarrassingly ugly hat – is gone. He is left alone to regard his treatment of her and to assess his own judgmental and intolerant ways: “The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow”. Flannery O’Connor ends the short story, Everything That Rises Must Converge, with a shocking climax and bitter tone designed to give the reader a different view on the vagaries of racism.
Topic: racism

Iago states that “Thieves! Thieves! / Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! / Thieves! Thieves!” (Shakespeare 1.1.81-83). It demonstrates that Iago considers Othello as a thief because Othello has eloped with Desdemona and this elopement is seen as an evil and immoral deed, a miscegenation at that time. The quote also reveals that Iago is using Othello’s background to cause internal conflict within Othello, reflecting the start of Iago’s manipulation of Othello.
Topic: racism

This quote illustrates that because Othello is a black Moor, hence Brabantio rejects his daughter’s marriage to Othello. It reflects Brabantio’s strong bias against Othello. Also, Brabantio mentions that the intermarriage of Othello and Desdemona violates the natural norms which shows that Brabantio has a negative perspective towards Othello and this contributes to the significant changes of Othello’s identity. Lastly, under the manipulation by Iago, Othello undergoes a remarkable change in his own perception of himself, which leads to his collapse at last. Othello exclaims that:
Topic: racism

This demonstrates that Othello is experiencing the transformation of his identity, where he gradually abandons his valiant and noble traits and becomes weak and green-eyed. Overall, it is his Moor background that makes him self-conscious, which eventually crushes his masculinity and paves the way for his deterioration. In conclusion, Othello’s identity is influenced and altered by his background, which brings about significant changes in his character and this inevitably leads to his downfall.
Topic: racism

Secondly, subjected racism from Iago and Brabantio makes Othello progressively jealous and suspicious, allowing Iago to manipulate Othello’s flaws to destroy Othello’s life. First of all, Iago uses uncivilized animal images to insult the relationship between Othello and Desdemona. Iago says that “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe” (Shakespeare 1.1.90-91). Iago is a racist who holds a prejudice attitude towards Othello. Later, Othello is racialized by Iago, which stirs up feelings of jealousy and suspicion in Othello and this finally ruins Othello’s dignity. Also, after Brabantio finds out about the marriage between Desdemona and Othello, he discriminates Othello and accuses him of stealing his daughter. Brabantio mentions that “O thou foul thief, where hast stowed my daughter? / …Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as thou” (Shakespeare 1.2.64-73). Brabantio directly calls Othello a black thing and this illustrates the strong negative preconception Brabantio has towards Othello. This is the first time Othello faces prejudice from other characters based solely on his race and this shatters his confidence, resulting in him being increasingly influenced by his surroundings. This makes him unable to escape his own feelings of enviousness and skepticism. Finally, the racism from Iago makes the flower of jealousy and suspicion blossom in Othello’s mind. Othello is completely caught in Iago’s manipulation and this eventually leads the tragic end of both Othello and Desdemona. Iago tells Othello that:
Topic: racism

This is the point where Iago implies that it is inappropriate for Desdemona to marry a man of different skin color. Othello’s racialized situation successfully ignites his enviousness, which ruins his relationship with Desdemona and eventually results in Desdemona’s death. Also, the broken relationship ultimately makes Othello commit suicide. To summarize, racism from Iago and Brabantio plants the seeds of jealousy and suspicion in Othello’s mind. In addition, Othello is at the mercy of Iago’s manipulation, being unaware of it and this accelerates Othello’s fall from grace.
Topic: racism

Last but not least, Othello’s marginalization by the whole society makes him reflect about his own social status and understanding of himself. The process of being marginalized brings about Othello’s insecurity and destroys his inner defense, which eventually leads to his downfall. Firstly, Othello’s marginalization comes from him having a different social status. Othello’s position as a general should have given him a high social status but because of his Moor background, Othello is made to be an outsider. Iago states that:
Topic: racism

manners and beauties. All which the Moor is defective in. (Shakespeare 2.1.228-231) Iago marginalizes Othello because he is jealous of Othello’s position and wants to take Othello’s place. Furthermore, Othello has different skin color as compared to other characters in society. Therefore, Othello is isolated by society, which prompts him to be an outsider. Secondly, Iago takes advantage of Othello’s unfamiliarity of Cyprus females to marginalize Othello. Iago says to Othello that:
Topic: racism

Iago’s marginalization causes Othello to repeatedly doubt himself and this results in his own personality completely faltering. While Othello used to be a dominant individual, believing the rumors from Iago causes his honor and confidence to fall apart. This transforms Othello into a dominated minority who lives under the manipulation of Iago. To conclude, marginalized positioning not only crumbles Othello’s confidence and manhood, but it also drives feelings of insecurity and uncertainty in Othello’s mind which gives rise to Othello’s tragedy and downfall.
Topic: racism

By and large, Othello’s racialized and marginalized situation contributes to his downfall. Othello’s Moor background influences and alters his identity, while subjected racism brings about feelings of suspicion and jealousy in Othello. Lastly, marginalization results in the destruction of Othello’s manhood and leads to his collapse. Overall, Othello’s tragedy and his downfall give readers some ideas about the impact of marginalization and racism. It is very difficult for someone’s values and world views to not alter if their surroundings are filled with preconception and discrimination. Therefore, people in society need to abandon their views of racism in order to develop a harmonious society.
Topic: racism

One of the major ways in which both authors convey childhood experiences is through the childish behaviour and language of the narrators. In ‘The Gold Cadillac’ they use language such as ‘daddy’ and use short and simple sentences. This shows the childish language and the maturity level of the narrator. In the text of ‘Crackling Day’ it says “Good idea……Race to the fork!” This shows a childlike game that shows that they are more interested in playing than getting the food.