Racial Discrimination: The Affect on America’s Past

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Recommended: The Effect of Cultural and Historical Situations on American Literature

Throughout American history, racial discrimination has been a huge problem. The affect it has had on African Americans over the years is drastic. The Caucasian Americans used to use the African Americans as slaves, when the country first began and they were treated almost like animals. If a person was only half African American would they be treated the same as a full African American? In Kate Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby, there is a great example on racial discrimination and how partially blooded African Americans were treated, compared to full blooded African Americans in the 19th century. Armand Aubigny fell in love with Desiree who was the daughter of a plantation owner with the name Valmonde. Monsieur Valmonde found Desiree abandoned as a baby and took her in to live with his wife and himself. Monsieur and Madame Valmonde could never be sure of Desiree’s heritage. When Desiree was all grown up, Monsieur Valmonde handed her over to be wed to Armand. Armand and Desiree had a baby and they both loved the baby very much. As the baby got older people started to see changes and the changes were not good. The baby started to develop African American qualities which made Armand very upset. Armand decided to ignore Desiree and the baby because he thought Desiree had some African American heritage in her past. Desiree was sure she did not and she even compared her skin to Armand’s and said “Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand.” Armand continued to ignore Desiree, so she took the baby, left and never came back. Armand later found out that he was the one with the African American blood, not Desiree.
Armand was greatly affected by race throughout his life. He started off as a slave owner and he did not treat them the best. Then he...

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...e, racism is still a problem and it needs to be dealt with. If everyone could have an experience like Armand and find out they somehow have some African American blood in them, then this world would be a lot different and racial discrimination would no longer exist.

Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "Desiree's Baby." In An Introduction To Literature , by William Burto, William E. Cain Sylvan Barnet, 82-86. United States, 2006.
Davis, James. PBS Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html (accessed January 30, 2014).
Nerad, Duvall and. ""Suddenly and Shockingly Black" The Atavistic Child in Turn into the Twentieth Century American Fiction." African American Review , 2007: 51.
The Jefferson Monticello. http://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-brief-account (accessed January 30, 2014).

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