Analysis Of Brent Staples Two Ways To Belong In America

Racism is a powerful world in societies all over the world today. Regardless of where someone goes, racism in an inevitable act that is inflicted on a person whether they like it or not. In the essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America”, Bharati Mukherjee shares a personal experience that gives a sneak peek on how racism can impact one individual as her and her sister face the new laws on immigration in America. Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By”, also shares a personal experience of Staples, though he mainly addresses the quick assumptions people make about him just based off of his color. In his article, “Shooting an Elephant”, George Orwell tells of a man who faces an inner conflict between two races, and how it can affect the way a person

These reactions are based off of what people would like to call a “security blanket”. Staples makes this point when he mentions how “the proprietor excused herself and returned with an enormous red Doberman pinscher straining at the end of a leash” (2). Since they were placed in a setting of a jewelry store, the lady automatically assumed, since he was black, that he was going to try and pull a crime, like stealing jewelry. However, based off of how he speaks throughout the rest of his essay, it is safe to assume that he is not the kind of person who would do such a thing. It was wrong of the woman to immediately shut him out, along with his skin color, without even giving him a chance. Just likely, Staples shares his experience with another woman who was walking the same street as him at night. He tells how “to her, the youngish black man . . . seemed menacingly close” (1). It is safe to assume that her quick assumptions were based off of knowledge that she had already attained from hearing of thugs in the ghetto part of town. However, while it is understandable to say how she rather be safe than sorry, because she did not know him, it is also a point to make that he has done nothing that would inflict upon her in any way. Likewise, Mukherjee shares a conversation that she had with her sister, Mira, and how she exclaimed that “[she] felt manipulated

Orwell portrays this storm on “the greatest joy . . . to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts” (1). This is a weight pulling down on an attitude because due to previous context clues, it is apparent to see that he is not the kind of person to follow through with such drastic measures. His feelings derive from the racism between the British and the Burmans, which ultimately impacted him, being a British originated officer in a Burman village. Along with that, Mukherjee’s attitude changed for the worst when new immigrant laws were introduced. Her attitude change showed another side of her when issues that involved racism appeared. She decided that “[i]f America want[ed] to play the manipulative game, [she’ll] play it, too” (Mukherjee 3). Racism brought her down when assuming that, when reading about her, she is a generally happy person. But racism turned the beauty of her happiness into a tyranny of anger. As the caboose that followed along beind the long train of bad attitudes, the woman on the street who “cast back a worried glance” (Staples 1) was considered as Staples’ first victim to racism. Racism, as the storm cloud over the woman’s head, was the leading cause of the look on her face when she saw a black male following behind her. Surely she was not happy about it, and any mood other than happy has been brought down at some point from an original state of