“Inclusion, not exclusion, is the key to survival.” What does this mean? To say the least, the definition is clearly stated in The Power of One. Initially, Peekay in The Power of One was isolated by members of his family, and as a result of that he was excluded by society because of his background. Ultimately, he was excluded within his own race because of his actions throughout this story. “One thing got to all of them more than everything else. They couldn’t make me cry.”
Peekay was isolated by his family and suffered through deaths and losses. Peekay’s father died early in his life and from there on out he had to learn to live with the idea of death. The next deaths came from Granpa Chook, his mother, and Nanny. Losses continued when Doc went back to Germany, and a camp guard killed Piet. Even when he picked up all his strength as a young man, his losses continued when Maria, his love, was also killed. It just kept on adding up, and Peekay kept taking blow by blow. “Don’t cry, Peekay. Sister’ll know I told you if you cry.”
Next, Peekay suffered exclusion, and for him it wasn’t much different. He was English, and the Afrikaners in his society hated him. The English took over and governed their territory. “I was a rooinek and a pisskop. I spoke the wrong language. And now I was obviously made differently.” Therefore, Peekay was discriminated against because of his background. For example Peekay was even whipped while hanging upside down. It’s amazing that something such as that occurred. Lastly, Peekay went through exclusion because of the way he acted. Peekay was a friend to the blacks, which was very uncommon. He even started a Saturday school in which to teach blacks to read throughout their tribes.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
During these times people weren't treated fairly. This novel teaches us not judge one another at all, let alone about their physical or social appearances. God created us all the same, he just made each of us special individuals with special differences, including the color of our skin, the amount of money we have, the people we talk to, or the way our minds imagine. We fail to accept who we are and the choices we can make. Our human rights should not be defined by our race like in To Kill a Mockingbird; race, economic status, and social standings were the only factors of justice.
When various men at the jail refused to be in a picture with Geel Piet, a black man, he understood that “racism is a primary force of evil” (265). He hated the fact that a close friend and boxing coach of his was discriminated against by people he thought were good men. After Peekay’s school for black people got shut down, Peekay knew that not only was racism evil, but “It’s a disease, a sickness” (456). He tried to create something positive for the black African community, only for it to be shut down by racist policemen. He followed the rules with his school and didn’t break the curfew, yet the police still tried to get rid of the school because of their racist instinct. The unfair acts against his close friend and innocent Africans caused Peekay to remind people of the good in them. After Geel Piet’s death, he created a song dedicated to him, as an attempt to bring light to such a wonderful spirit rather than allow the negative claims about his race define
He compares their situation as being on a “lonely island of poverty” (2) in a “vast ocean of material prosperity” (2) which displays the atrocious position of colored people and further expands on this by describing how “The Negro is still at the bottom of the economic ladder” (2) which presents the injustice faced by these impoverished population. His adopting of these phrases is in order influence his audience to not only realize the harsh realities, but to prompt them to seek true freedom for everyone. The examples employed by King leave the reader with a sense of understanding of why King has his powerful ambitions.
The story “To kill a Mockingbird” takes place in an old tired town in Alabama during the Great Depression. In the story the main conflict involves a black crippled man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell. The Ewells were the lowest of the low in Maycomb; they lived in the town dump and had no education. The Accusation of Tom Robinson was caused by the Ewell’s in an effort to better their lifestyle and increase their rank in the town. Although the story is told from Scout’s eyes, the whole story revolves around this questionable trial and shows that being vulnerable and innocent is a dangerous characteristic to have and can easily be taken advantage of.
The racial prejudice exhibited in TKAM was done so by most members of the Maycomb community. Their negative and discrimatory attitudes towards African Americans could be obviously seen at Tom Robinson’s trial where Mr Ewell said “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” not only is his use of derogatory language incredibly degrading and offensive, his compares and associates Tom with an animal by
Ironically that he was born as a white South African, he was perceived as riffraff. Resettled to an all African bordering school because of his mother’s breakdown, the roles of society were reversed for Peekay. Becoming publicized as a servant rather than proclaimed as an equal, Peekay was institutionalized by an African schoolboy. The boy name was The Judge, and he’s revealed throughout the story as the counterpart of Peekay. Being the youngest child to attend the boarding school, The Judge as a senior led the other students to verbally and physically humiliate Peekay.. Regardless of being birthed into the same country the antagonist of the story held a great amount of resentment towards the main character. Going as far as to murdering his pet, The Judge was a deadly shadow, engulfing Peekay into a world of torment for his
Discrimination and prejudice were very common acts in the early and middle 1900's. Prejudice in this book is displayed by the acts of hate and misunderstanding because of someone's color. People of color were the majority that were treated unfairly. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, sections in restaurants, churches, and even go to separate schools. Although much of the discrimination was directed towards blacks, there were plenty of accounts towards impoverished families by those that had money. Discrimination is prevalent when people that are different are called names. Some people thought blacks were automatically dumb because of their color. They weren't allowed to do anything but menial tasks (such as chopping wood) and hard labor because they were thought too dumb.
In Gulliver’s Travels by Johnathan Swift, through the groups Gulliver meets such as the small Lilliputians, the giant Brobdingnags, and the half-human Houyhnms, he learns there are no specific guidelines as to who can have power; it comes from the number of those on the opposing side. First, power is exemplified with the Lilliputians; Gulliver is completely submissive to them despite their small size, simply because he was outnumbered. Similarly, the Brobdingnags have control, and therefore power, over Gulliver not because of their massive size, but because there are many of them compared to Gulliver. Lastly, the Houyhnms, despite being less human than Gulliver, have severe power of him because there is one of him and many of them. When considering power, thoughts of superiority though size and type may come to mind, however, in Gulliver’s Travels, power is achieved through the number of those asserting it. Such is exemplified with the first group Gulliver encounters, the Lilluptians.
The book to ‘To kill a mocking-bird’ was written in the 1930’s and explores prejudice against black people. The book is portrayed through the eyes of two innocent children and shows the “irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South [of America] in the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one mans struggle for justice.”
Peter Philip Keith grew up with a black nanny and her son. P.K. never had any problems or questions about race mixing, nor did he care. All he knew was that they were very helpful and nice people. P.K then goes to attend school away from his mother so that she can get better. But when he is at school he does not understand the logic behind the hatred towards the blacks.
Scout learns that by yielding to prejudice, we often hurt and cause strife unto others. For example, Scout is harassed and becomes the target of insults when her father decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. This is a plajurized essay. The hate felt towards black people by the majority of the Maycomb citizens causes them to bother and harass those who attempt to befriend the black people. Forgive me for stealing this essay. Scout realizes that the only reason she must undergo this torment is that her father is defending a black man, which has become taboo because of the corruption that racism has caused in many people. In addition, Scout watches Tom Robinson undergo unfair treatment and false accusations. Please dont tell my parents I stole this essay. Although Atticus provides the jury and the people of Maycomb with overwhelming evidence benefiting Tom, and ultimately proving him innocent, this is not enough to overcome the powers of hate and racism. Scout watches as the jury deliberates and convicts Tom Robinson of murder because he is a black man. This is a stolen essay. Although Scout witnesses a myriad of injustices occurring against black people, she also sees an exiguity of kind and compassionate movements towards black people.
Paton is able to convey the idea of racial injustice and tension thoroughly throughout the novel as he writes about the tragedy of “Christian reconciliation” of the races in the face of almost unforgivable sin in which the whites treat the blacks unjustly and in return the blacks create chaos leaving both sides uneasy with one another. The whites push the natives down because they do no want to pay or educate them, for they fear “ a better-paid labor will also read more, think more, ask more, and will not be conten...
Racial prejudice is widespread in the county of Maycomb, and a prime example is the Tom Robinson case. Tom, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella, a white woman. Atticus puts forward all evidence from his witnesses that clearly proves Tom was innocent, Jem even says, ?and we?re gonna win Scout. I don?t see how we can?t? (pg 206), but Tom still received a ?Guilty? verdict. Atticus tried removing the prejudiced thoughts of the jurors by saying, ??the assumption - the evil assumption - that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings??. (pg 208). Atticus? saying insinuated the point that all of God?s children were created equal. To the jury, the only important thing was that Tom was black and the accuser was white, he never stood a chance under those conditions. These racial tensions between blacks and whites had made their way into the courtroom, a place where everyone should receive a fair trial no matter what race or colour, but an unjust verdict was reached. The prejudice that was felt towards Tom made him lose all hope of freedom, and as a result, he died upon an escape attempt. Tom was victim of racial prejudice and loss of hope.
In the novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, heroism is expressed in many different ways and in different characters. According to the dictionary a hero is defined as “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deed and noble qualities” (Webster). Forms of Heroism are expressed in ways such as, bravery, determination and intelligence.