The Theme of Racial Prejudice in Short Stories

776 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racial discrimination essay introduction

The Theme of Racial Prejudice in Short Stories

Racial prejudice is a form of discrimination. In the short stories

"Country Lovers" and "The Gold Cadillac" there are some good examples

of it. In both the stories the black people are being discriminated

against because they are black and they are "different" and are "not

as well off" white people.

"Country Lovers" is set in South Africa, and there are black and white

people living largely separate lives under apartheid. At a young a age

the black and white children all play together as if they were all the

same. This is because the pressure of society does not influence them.

However, when the white children go to school,

"The soon don't play together any more even in the holidays".

This is because society and the "Vocabulary of boarding school" have

influenced then to believe that the white people are superior to black

people.

The black children do go to different and weaker schools and they fall

behind. By the age of twelve or thirteen they begin to address the

white children (their old playmates) as "Missus and Bassie-little

master".

The white boy in the story (Paula Eysendyck) did not realize that

Thebedi (a young black girl) was one of the crowd at the kraal. She

was in his sisters clothes. This shows that the black children are

given clothes that the white children would not wear anymore. It also

shows that they are not of the same "social status".

They used to meet secretly because they feared what people would say

if they saw the educated white boy with the black farm girl "Down at

the dried-up river bed" was where they usually met. This is because

they were hidden from view. They would sometimes me at the boy's

house, But only when his parents were out. This also shows she's

scared to be seen by Paules' parents: "there was a risk of someone

would discover her or a trace of her presence".

Later on in the story she is looking in at Paules' house and compares

Show More
Related

  • Interpreting Choy's and Taylor's Short Stories: Issues of Modern Racism and Prejudice

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the time when humans were learning to use spears constructed out of sticks and stones and the

    Read More

  • Brownies By Zz Packer Analysis

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story, this group of brownies came from the south suburbs of Atlanta where whites are “…real and existing, but rarely seen...” (p.518). Hence, this group’s impression of whites consisted of what they have seen on TV or shopping malls. As a result, the girls have a narrow view that all whites were wealthy snobs with superiority like “Superman” and people that “shampoo-commercial hair” (p.518). In their eyes “This alone was the reason for envy and hatred” (p 518). So when Arnetta felt “…foreign… (p.529), as a white woman stared at her in a shopping mall you sense where the revenge came from.

    Read More

  • Racial Realism Essay

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    In America, essentially everyone is classified in terms of race in a way. We are all familiar with terms such as Caucasian, African-American, Asian, etc. Most Americans think of these terms as biological or natural classifications; meaning that all people of a certain race share similarities on their D.N.A. that are different and sets that particular race apart from all the other races. However, recent genetic studies show that there’s no scientific basis for the socially popular idea that race is a valid taxonomy of human biological difference. This means that humans are not divided into different groups through genetics or nature. Contrary to scientific studies, social beliefs are reflected through racial realism. Racial realists believe that being of a particular race does not only have phenotypical values (i.e. skin color, facial features, etc.), but also broadens its effects to moral, intellectual and spiritual characteristics.

    Read More

  • Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    “To Kill A Mockingbird” is marvelous and unforgettable novel. Not only show how dramatic, sad in and old town – Maycomb be like, but through her unique writings, some big conflicts about politics and critical is going on through this tired old Southern town. Not just in general like education, friendship, neighbors but also pacific in individuals like family and the people’s characteristics themselves. In one book yet can covered with such many problems, Harper Lee must have been experienced a lot and deeply understanding that time. That is why the book lives, becoming literature and get the love from the audiences a lot. One of the problem and mostly run along with the story and interest me is racism between white people and black people socially.

    Read More

  • Prejudice In West Side Story

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prejudice was the theme of this story, there are many examples.For instance, an act of prejudice in West Side Story was the Puerto Ricans disliking the Americans and vice versa. The PR's diskliked the Americans because the first day, Bernardo (leader of PR gang) was jumped by one of the Jets. The Jets wouldn't let the PR's come on their turf, such as Doc's store. The PR's were not wanted in the U.S. and they were given a hard time.

    Read More

  • Literary Criticism In Toni Morrison's 'Recitatif'

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Those two events may seem like nothing but it shows how even at the early age of 8, children are taught to spot the differences in race instead of judging people by their character. Directing after this Twyla mentions how her and Roberta “looked like salt and pepper standing there and that’s what the other kids called us sometimes” (202). On the first page of this short story we already have 3 example of race dictating how the characters think and act. With the third one which mentions salt which is white and pepper which is black we understand that one girl is white and one girl is black. The brilliance of this story is that we never get a clear cut answer on which girl is which. Toni Morrison gives us clues and hints but never comes out and says it. This leaves it up to us to figure it out for ourselves. The next example of how race influences our characters is very telling. When Twyla’s mother and Roberta’s mother meeting we see not only race influencing the characters but, how the parents can pass it down to the next generation. This takes places when the mothers come to the orphanage for chapel and Twyla describes to the reader Roberta’s mother being “bigger than any man

    Read More

  • Racism And Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, written by renowned author Harper Lee, was published on July 11, 1960. Her novel received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and has become a modern-day American classic novel. The book’s setting is in Alabama and occurs when widespread racism and discrimination are high in the South. The name of the book arises from the common belief and saying that, ’It is a sin to kill a mockingbird’. To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated by Scout Finch, about her father, Atticus Finch, a well-known lawyer who fights to prove the innocence of a black man (Tom Robinson), who is unjustly accused of rape, and about Boo Radley, her mysterious neighbor who saves both her and her brother Jem from being killed.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is a novel which was written by Harper Lee. In my essay I will discuss how Harper Lee explores the theme of prejudice by looking at the writing techniques and how they affect people.

    Read More

  • Themes of Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill a Mockingbird

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a time when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasizes the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters and their interactions within the Maycomb community. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racial Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

    170 Words  | 1 Pages

    The colour of one’s skin does not indicate a class, it indicates a community of people. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird sets place during the 1930’s in a small rural county of Macomb, Alabama. In the novel, Atticus Finch is a civil, intelligent, and an idealistic father of the two main characters named Scout and Jem. He is a white liberal Alabama lawyer who is against racism and is not ashamed to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent African-American. In the novel, Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell due to his ethnic group by Meyella herself along with her father Bob Ewell. Racial discrimination is the worst kind of prejudice in the community which has an extremely effective impact on the characters

    Read More

  • The Theme of Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the widely recognized controversies in American history is the 1930s, which housed the Great Depression and the post-civil war, the ruling of Plessy versus Ferguson and the Jim Crow Laws, and segregation. While textbooks detail the factual aspect of the time there is only one other literature that can exhibit the emotion experienced in the era. To Kill a Mockingbird is the acclaimed novel that displays the experiences of the South, through inequality and segregation, social class differences and the right to fairness. The novel’s experiences are narrated through a grown Scout, who appears as a little girl in the novel, offering her innocent views on the happenings in Maycomb County. The most observed aspect of the novel is race and racism; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the prime focus of the novel, the issue of race is bound to be discussed throughout the novel is race, racism and segregation; with Tom Robinson’s trial being the focus of the novel, the issue of race is heavily represented throughout the novel. With Mockingbird being a common book among English Language Arts and Literatures classrooms, the topic of race is bound to surface amid a young, twenty-first century group of student of students with the inevitability of this discussion, the question remains on how to approach the conversation as an educator. As an educator, one should seek to establish the context of the times, prepare the students for the conversation and examine the other characters and situations similarly to race. Educators must also be introspective before examining their students’ feelings, so that they are not surprised by their emotions and can also express their feelings to their students. The discussion should target a goal, one of examin...

    Read More

  • Racism in Children's Literature

    2373 Words  | 5 Pages

    For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Children's Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the delicate subject of racism in children's literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn.

    Read More

  • Grotesque Character

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    This short story makes the gender roles in the Southern culture very clear. Even though the grandmother is very talkative it is her mouth that put them all in danger. If she had not claimed to recognize the Misfit he probably would have let them go, but the grandmother also foreshadowed the dangerous situation happening before it happened. This irony is what I believe the author uses to draw attention to the gender roles within Southern culture. I believe the author allows the grandmother to have insight of how this misfit she saw the newspaper would be ultimately the end of their lives. If her son would have considered what she said about encountering the Misfit, he could have prevented their death. When her son chose to ignore her, it was a representation of how women’s opinion was ignored in society. The short story didn't seem to have much tension or mention about race other than the display of how the family interacted with themselves and with other African Americans. Finally, this story raises questions about class because it shows how the children treated people with a lower economic status. This family is portrayed as a working or middle-class family because the daughter knows how to tap dance, and their family is going on a vacation. The children treat people with a lower economic status poorly with a lot of disrespect. On page 4 the daughter speaks disrespectfully

    Read More

  • Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Famed novelist Ernest Hemingway believed that “[a]ll modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…the best book we’ve had.” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American tale with all the essentials of a story that feeds our imagination. On the surface, the novel appears to be a very unpretentious tale of adventure, and self-discovery that has earned a place on every high school required reading list. However, if the story is closely examined, it takes on darker undertones of a racist culture replete with derogatory language and glimpses into the ugliness and turmoil that followed in the years immediately after the Civil War, and that still exist today. Controversial and racist are two words commonly used to describe Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is considered to be the quintessential American novel, yet it remains in the middle of a debate over whether or not it should be taught in schools.

    Read More

  • Racism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most white people are dumb or uneducated. Mark Twain is not racsit in anyway it's just how it was back then and he was just showing us how it was. It was nothing to be racist like I said in my essay that taking the N'Word of out the Huckleberry Fin was like taking nazi out out texts book today. If you took it out it would take away the historical importance of slavery and how bad it was. Most of the black people are educated. Most of them have good jobs and are smarter than most white people. Also Mark Twain is involved in 21st century politics; when against the censoring of “Huck Finn,”.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is again being said to be a book you to wouldn't want to read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in a language and dialect that Twain heard a lot growing up in MIssouri. This writing type is call regionalism which means''a writing feature different to a certain region and not part of the regular language of a country”'.In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremist form of the backwoods Southwestern diale...

    Read More

More about The Theme of Racial Prejudice in Short Stories

Open Document