Majoritarian is a person who is governed by or believing in a decision by a majority. White privilege tells their own story to benefit them. In the movie, “Freedom Writer’s” a teacher named Erin Gruwell, becomes a first-year teacher at a diverse school. She begins to teach freshman and sophomore level English classes with most of her students only being able to read at a fifth- grade reading level. Many of her students are on probation. Mrs. Gruwell wants to change all of her students for better. She decides to help each of her students with their problems in their lives, which includes identity and racism. Majoritarian One way majoritarian is used is on the front cover of the “Freedom Writer’s” DVD. They show Hilary Swank as the center character …show more content…
Every student has encountered violence and gangs. Yosso states that, “Counterstories seek to document the persistence of racism from the persistence of racism from the persistence of racism from the perspectives of those injured and victimized by its legacy” (10). Most of the class has lost at least one friend or family member due to gang violence. Mrs. Gruwell gave each of her students a notebook to write a journal entry or a diary daily. It is used to help her each of students through difficult times in their lives. Eva, a Hispanic girl, observed her friend, Paco murder another man. She and her friends drove to a convenience store, Paco attempted to shoot a black man from their school. However, Paco missed the black man and murders another student. Eva witnessed the whole thing. She and her friends just got back in the car and drove off. Eva felt guilty about this situation, every one of her friends advised her that she needed to defend her own race. Then, Paco goes to trial for the murder of an innocent student. Furthermore, Eva was required to speak as a witness. She doesn’t know if she should just say what people wanted say in order to protect Paco, or if she should tell the truth. During the trial Eva tells the truth to the judge. After the trial, her father won’t talk to her anymore. Then, some of Paco’s friends see Eva walking alone. She attempts to make a run for it, but they catch up to her and then …show more content…
The English honors class consists of all white students, and one black female student. However, none of her classmates anticipate her to be intelligent because of her race. Mr. Guilford is the teacher for the English honors class. In the movie, he explained how the school used to have all white students who wanted to learn and get an education. Now the school has become so diverse that the students don’t want to learn anymore and many of them end up dropping out. Yosso states that “Every day majoritarian narratives-embedded with racialized omissions, distortions, and stereotypes-perpetuate myths that darker skin and poverty correlate with bad neighborhoods and bad schools”(9). They are many students in this school who not intelligent because many them grew up in run-down neighborhoods and never had anyone motivate them to do well in school. Then, the name of the black girl in the English honors class is Victoria. However, Victoria’s classmates don’t think she belongs in the class due to stereotyping her race. Even, the teacher is racist against Victoria because during class time they were reading about black and white people and he distinctly asked Victoria the black person aspect. Moreover, she becomes very upset with him, saying that kind of stuff to her. Mr. Guilford expected her to know the black history behind it because she’s black. Victoria was very angry that her teacher would ask those kinds of
The focus of Miller’s The Crucible is an appalling witch trial that morfs the once-peaceful town of Salem into a cutthroat slaughterhouse. As a lucrative playwright and a not-so-subtle allegory author, Miller is a seasoned wordsmith who addresses people akin to himself, and is not secretive about that information. The Crucible best serves its purpose as a learning device and a social statement, especially at the time of its publishing. Miller‘s piece showcases the appeals in an easy-to-identify manner that is perfect for middle or high school students who are new to the appeals, or for English majors who have no problem pinpointing them, making this play ideal for a classroom setting.
He shows respect and kindness for his students (who eventually love and appreciate him) while using humor on occasion to find common ground and a new attitude about race relations. The knowledge he offers dampens the oppression of their ignorance and instills pride in who they are and what they know about the outside world and about themselves. The school principal perpetuates ?? her disdain ?? for what she calls her "babies" as she prepares them for the hard knocks of the world she experienced and envisions for them. She tells Conrack, "I don't have your advantages. I've always known I was colored. When I was a negro, I knew I was colored. And now that I'm black, I know which color that is" (Conrack, n.d., "Did you know?"/Quotes section). Vineberg (2015) characterizes her as "a formidable mixture of African American resentment and righteous superiority and black self-hatred." Eventually, she tells him she sees that he loves the
The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how authority is a characteristic that can easily become a problem throughout a society. Many subjects were addressed in The Crucible such as guilt, hypocrisy, justice, hysteria, and courage. However, the most important subject throughout the play would be the nature of authority. There is a fine line between the concept of having authority and having power. In the book, the authority weakened and led to the antagonist Abigail Williams leading the law as opposed to the law leading Abigail Williams. At the instant that Abigail was granted authority over the townspeople she acted on it in order to have power. Not only is there power that comes with authority, but there is also responsibility which was demonstrated
Oppression; an extended treatment of cruelty or injustice towards an individual or a group of people. If looked for, it can be found in every society expressed in a number of different ways. Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, puts it in a way that is easy to understand. "It is still impossible for man to organize his social life without repressions." This is evident in his play, The Crucible, demonstrating that within a society, oppression will always be present due to personal motives, disputes and misuses of power, as well as distorted religious beliefs.
The Crucible is a play with many underlying messages and themes. One of which is the idea of power. Power is a very important term in this play in that whoever holds the power, holds the fates of others. The hysteria within Salem has directly effected society. Everything has turned upside down and has gotten distorted. Arthur Miller is telling us that all the power in Salem is given to those who are corrupt and their abuse of it is directly shown through: the actions of Abigail throughout the play, the corruption and desires of Parris, as well as the witch trials held by Judge Danforth.
In public schools, students are subjected to acts of institutional racism that may change how they interact with other students. In the short story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Packer, readers are allowed to view firsthand how institutionalized racism affects Dina, who is the main character in the story. Packer states “As a person of color, you shouldn’t have to fit in any white, patriarchal system” (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 117). The article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” by Brodbelt states “first, the attitudes of teachers toward minority group pupils” (Brodbelt 699). Like the ideas in the article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” Dina encounters institutionalized oppression on orientation day at Yale.
Lacking the necessary support, many start to devalue the importance of doing well in school deciding that perhaps school isn’t part of their identity. In Susan’s case she’s eliciting multiple forms of subordination, and within each dimension she’s being subjective to different types of oppression; racial oppression, gender oppression, and class oppression, she’s experiencing cultural alienation and isolation and is not only based on her ethnicity as a Latina but is also influenced by how she is treated as a female, as a member of a certain socioeconomic class, and in relation to her English language proficiency, and even her perceived immigration status. In this sense, students like Susan experience different forms of discrimination or marginalization that stems from
She could not understand how boys and girls could be allowed to behave in such hateful and often physically abusive ways. She learned, too, that the white students attending Central High were not the only ones who displayed such hateful behavior, as many of the school’s administrators as well as the members of the local and state police forces stood by and watched the white students torment and abuse Melba and her eight black classmates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
A crucible is a severe test or trial; at one point in their lives everyone is going to be faced with a crucible. When this severe test comes people are often put under a lot of pressure and do unexpected things. During the 1690's many people were put under a test when they were accused of witchcraft and put on trial for it. The test that some people had to undergo can be demonstrated in, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The characters Paris, Hale and Proctor were all put under pressure and revealed their true colors when they acted under the stress of the situation; Parris entered a power struggle, Proctor stood up for what was right, and Hale’s actions turned into regret.
The deterioration of Salem's social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The togetherness of the community, the church and legal system died so that the children could protect their families' social status.
The desire for power and authority has always been a part of the human nature. Today’s society most often use power to dominate one another and fulfill one’s personal intentions, which can affect other people in many ways. Having power and authority is truly gratifying but it is terrifying if abused and used for selfish acts. The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is an example to illustrate the consequences of abuse of power. The characters Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth and Reverend Parris use their power over society by manipulating people and using their authority to fulfill their personal intentions, like material gain, vengeance, maintaining social status and reputation, and attention, which eventually lead into a mass hysteria.
How good a reflection is The Crucible by Arthur Miller of Anti-Communism in the McCarthy era of America?
Great events, whether they are beneficial or tragic ones, bring change in a person. These scenarios can give one an entirely new perspective on life, and turn around his way of thinking. Events such as the Salem Witch Trials show the people involved what they could not see before. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor gain valuable insight into themselves, as well as others.
The Role of the Community in 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller Part 1 = == = == Written by Arthur Miller, the play The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. According to the introduction to the play, Salem is less than 40 years old, and is not very large – probably around hamlet sized.
In Salem, the governmental system is theocracy. In a theocracy, the church makes and enforces the laws, which were created through divine guidance. In such a case, the church officials take a high ranking in society. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it is this government that helps propel the action in the play forward.