The lyrics from the song, “Carry On” By Fun, can be used to help Evan, from the non-fiction novel, who will tell my brother? by Marlene Carvell deal with the pain in his life. The song lyrics would have helped Evan along his journey of trying to change the mascot and during the saddest parts of his life if Evan had listened to the song.
Evan Hill was a senior in high school whose father was Native American. It was during a pep rally that Evan saw the disrespect and ignorance of the Native American culture, and his heritage, and decided to start a campaign against the mascot. The mascot was offensive to Evan because the mascot was portrayed as a savage and a monster, scalping people with a cardboard hatchet in the crowd. Evan had been offended because the way that the mascot was
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Why would we want to do that?” (Carvell 32). When Evan had brought up the subject of changing his mascot to the kids on the newspaper publishing team, his friends, he was immediately shot down. They did not understand why after Evan’s brother, Jacob, had tried to change the mascot while he was in school, and had failed, why Evan would want to try again. “Your brother tried and failed, he says, “and though you thing the time is right to change the mascot we’ve had for years, are you prepared for what you know, for what I know, for what everyone here knows will occur?” (Carvell 33). His friends had shot him down and had discouraged him against changing the mascot from an Indian. But as the song “Carry On” by Fun says, “Carry on” (“Carry On” 16). If Evan had heard the song “Carry On” by Fun then the times that he felt and was alone, with nobody at school publicly supporting him, it would have helped Evan work through the hard times and the pain that he felt. The song “Carry On” by Fun would have inspired Evan to keep standing up for what he
In Sacramento, California there are crusades to get rid of school’s with Indian team mascots. There are other offensive team mascots aside from Indian mascots as the Imperial Valley College Arabs and the Hollywood High Sheiks. (Bustillo, 1). People from California are trying to pass a bill AB 2115 that would rid public schools of any racial or ethnic groups. (Boghossian, 1). This has been a issue since the late 1960’s. The National Congress of American Indians has been trying to rid team sports from ...
The author Justin Angle says how in a study the mascots and names were shown to people unfamiliar with Native American culture and the sport teams, in the end of the study most of the participants viewed Native American’s as “war like”, which can carry negative consequences in the real world affecting the views of some future employers, creating a view that though Native American’s can be seen as strong and bold they can also have been perceived as violent and irrational. The uses of Redskins also create the belief that it is culturally appropriate for the constant use of Native American culture this has led to thousands of schools and sports teams to have questionable mascots and names. Such as the Savages from Salmon High school and the baseball team the “Indians” whose mascot was a hooked nose red skinned Indian with bucked teeth. Comparing this to the now frowned upon depiction of African American as black red lipped stereotyped popular in the 1920s advertisements does it not show similarities in a cultures becoming a caricature. While one is view as racist the other is view and honorable due to it representing one of the greatest passtimes in America,
In a generation focused on social justice and the elimination of prejudice from our society, there is still a use of offensive language and terminology in the area of professional sports. In “The Indian Wars” by S. L. Price, Price attempts to make the reader aware of sports teams that use derogatory terms as their team name and their mascot. He does this by highlighting football, and trying to determine whether Native-Americans are offended by team names in sports, or more specifically, the Redskins. Price’s essay is ineffective because although he raises good points, he doesn’t help the reader to form an opinion by adding historical context to the derogatory names used. He also uses inaccurate poll results to make assumptions about the feelings
Cultural stereotypes have always existed and while they may have been acceptable to society in the past, that does not compel us to accept them in today’s society. One such stereotype which is used is that of Native American names and imagery for sports teams and in particular The Washington Redskins of the National Football league. While for many people, this is an argument that has just recently arisen, in actuality, the debate over the use of native names and images has been an ongoing issue for over 50 years. The subject of the Washington Redskins name has been debated across politics, media, academia, religious backgrounds and in the public square for many years.
In his Sports Illustrated article, “The Indian Wars,” S.L. Price argues that there is no easy answer to whether or not the use of Native American mascots by high school, college, and professional sports teams is offensive. “It's an argument that, because it mixes mere sports with the sensitivities of a people who were nearly exterminated, seems both trivial and profound -- and it's further complicated by the fact that for three out of four Native Americans, even a nickname such as Redskins, which many whites consider racist, isn't objectionable.” Whereas Price provides ample evidence that his claim is true, I disagree with the way it was presented and I still insist that Native American names and mascots are offensive. “The Indian Wars” troubles me because of (a) its pronounced bias, seemingly intent to distract from the history and implications of mascots as it derails efforts to challenge them; (b) its use of polling and representations of opinion; (c) the impression it undoubtedly leaves on its audience that mascots are unproblematic, particularly because indigenous people say so; and (d) the legacies of such inappropriate and inaccurate renderings for public debate and social justice. The Sports Illustrated article leaves much out.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding elementary, middle and high schools using Native American mascots because it gives them stereotypes of the tribe or people before they learn about them. It is felt that it would give them stereotypes of the Native American people being fierce and wild people who kill and hunt. The problem with this is that for many Indian tribes, that is the case. In the case of the Seminoles, they have an entire war named after them, and people want us to believe that they did not kill. The arguments provided by people opposed to these mascots also state that it is racist and demeaning to the tribe.
The narrator hesitates to start but goes to support his brother; while at the club Sonny introduces his brother to a few his band members like, Creole, the band leader. Once they began to perform, Sonny was a little shaky, but eventually adjusted just fine. At this moment the narrator finally saw Sonny doing what he loves, it made him look at his brother and his passion differently; the way Sonny and his band played almost brought his brother to tears. “Yet, there was no battle in his face now, I heard what he had gone through, and would continue to go through until he came to rest in earth… I saw my mother’s face again… I say the moonlit road where my father’s brother died… I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel’s tears again, and I felt my own tears begin to rise”
The story chronicles situations that illustrate the common stereotypes about Natives. Through Jackson’s humble personality, the reader can grasp his true feelings towards White people, which is based off of the oppression of Native Americans. I need to win it back myself” (14). Jackson also mentions to the cop, “I’m on a mission here. I want to be a hero” (24).
“Sonny’s Blues” is a short story in which James Baldwin, the author, presents an existential world where suffering characterizes a man’s basic state. The theme of tragedy and suffering can be transformed into a communal art form, such as blues music. Blues music serves as a catalyst for change because the narrator starts to understand not only the music but also himself and his relationship with Sonny. The narrator’s view of his brother begins to change; he understands that Sonny uses music as an outlet for his suffering and pain. This story illustrates a wide critical examination.
In our current generation, the year 2016, one may think racism would be diminished but it has yet to be acknowledged. Most people would have thought discrimination ended with the time of slavery, but it continues to exist in indirect ways. When people think Native Americans, they think about how they were the true Americans and how they aided Columbus’s settlement into the Early Americas. Native Americans experience discrimination to this day, yet nothing has been said about the Indian’s existence and rights. In Kimberly Roppolo’s essay, “Symbolism, Racism, History, and Reality: The Real Problem with Indian Mascots,” constructs the reason and gives us an idea on why this type of racism still exists and why people continue to unknowingly discriminate
For example, in the local school, stereotypes such as the image of the ‘wild man’ are consolidated by claiming that there was cannibalism among the indigenous people of the northwest coast (Soper-Jones 2009, 20; Robinson 2010, 68f.). Moreover, native people are still considered to be second-class citizens, which is pointed out by Lisamarie’s aunt Trudy, when she has been harassed by some white guys in a car: “[Y]ou’re a mouthy Indian, and everyone thinks we’re born sluts. Those guys would have said you were asking for it and got off scot-free”
In the story, Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses music, jazz, and hymns to shape the story and show how it shapes Sonny’s life and how music is inherent to his survival. All of this is seen through the older brother’s eyes; the older brother is the narrator and the reader begins to understand Sonny through the older brother’s perspective. Baldwin writes the story like a jazz song to make a story out of his father’s past and his brother’s career choice and puts them together, going back and forth, until it creates a blending of histories and lives. He shows how the father’s past is similar to the narrator’s life; the older brother has conflicts with his younger brother, Sonny. Music heals the relationship.
The next reason we’ll be looking at are the stereotypical images commonly seen in literature and mascots. Mainstream media such as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Lone Ranger”, and “The Last of The Mohicans” and mascots in professional sports teams like Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Blackhawks all include representations of Native Americans that for some, are offensive. With this in mind, ...
However, throughout the story the narrator’s thoughts on the music begin to shift to a more positive view. As Sonny explains the ways of coping to the narrator, the narrator begins to understand why Sonny needs music in his life and during Sonny’s performance fully understands the meaning of music in Sonny and his life. The narrator has flashbacks of his life and the feelings that were associated with those events while he listens to Sonny’s Blues and becomes aware of the struggle going on on the stage. In this event, the narrator turns from a negative view on music to an absolute positive view on the importance of music in people’s lives.
Music is an application of human creativity through instrumental and/or vocal sounds, which express emotions of the writer and are appreciated by others for its beautiful sound. A powerful emotional tool that may enlighten and entice some, as well as mystify and repulse others. Either way it is an art form that invokes a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts for listeners to comb through. In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin music plays a vital role in the life of his characters. The story portrays two brothers that grew up in harlem struggling with their environment as well as their emotional detachment from one another. Sonny one of the brothers in the story suffers from a heroin addiction that distances him from his family. The narrator Sonny’s brother, willingly creates a distance between him and his brother