“Wetback” Through my life I have usually been on the receiving end of racist comments, such as wetback fieldworker etc. In seventh grade I had to go to a public school because of moving reasons and that is where the comments started. I can honestly say that it was the worst experience of my life. There were only two Mexican in my class; I was one of them. The other student was also Mexican, but the catch was that he was a well know soccer player. I also played soccer, but I was not the all-pro player. Since he was so good and so well know no one ever said a word to him. The first day at school everyone was nice to me. The first couple days were great, Everyone was friendly and willing to accept me. Going into my second week of school I met a girl Amy, she was beautiful. I was sitting at the lunch table one day and she walked by and I commented on how hot she was. One kid who I thought who was my friend said, “Since you are new here, I will let that go. I respond, “What do you mean?” Chad said, “l like Amy also, and whoever I liked no one tries stepping in, do you understand?” “Whatever dude” I said. Chad said, “Now listen, I like you and its is better off that way.” So naturally I did what I wanted to do, I asked Amy for her number. That weekend Amy and I went out on a date. I sure did have a good time. That following Monday, Chad heard about it that date and got very upset. Just after second period I heard someone yell out “HEY WETBACK, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE” I sort of had...
Some people go through life thinking they are invincible or a bad until events happen in your life where you find out whether your bad or not. People go through this all the time and this is part of growing up. In "Greasy Lake:" by T.C. Boyle, the narrator of this story undergoes a "character arc;" by the end of the story he has developed more as a character (i.e undergone changes), and is noticeably different than he was at the onset of the narrative.
Barry Levinson’s Rain Man is an uplifting and comical film, based in the 1980s, in America. Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a car dealer, who discovers in the shadow of his father’s death that he has an autistic brother called Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). Charlie’s vulgar attempt to seize his late father’s inheritance from his brother, entices the audience into a journey of self-discovery, culture and self-awareness.
Although Rudy Baylor, in The Rainmaker, is a new and unaccustomed lawyer, he certainly has his strengths and weaknesses, and with taking a case for the first time, his complexion as well as his professionalism is shown.
Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, “On the Rainy River” from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers himself a coward for doing something he does not agree with; on the other hand, thinking about the outcome of his decision makes him a brave man. Therefore, an individual that considers the consequences of his acts is nobler than a war hero.
Greasy Lake is the story of three friends who are bad characters. Until they run into a situation where they question, just how bad they are. Just because they act badly and look bad does not mean they are. They are teenagers in a period, “when courtesy and winning ways [are] out of style when it [is] good to be bad, when they [cultivate] decadence like a taste.” (112) They look bad, wearing torn-up leather jackets, slouching around with toothpicks in their mouths and wearing their shades morning, noon and night. They have the attitude, they drive their parents cars fast, and burn rubber as the pull out of the driveway. They have the bad habits. They drink “gin and grape juice, Tango, Thunderbird, and Bali Hai, [sniff] glue, and ether and what somebody [claims] [is] cocaine.”(112) What starts out as a harmless prank on the third night of their summer vacation turns into a situation where they get into a fight, attempt to rape a girl, find a dead body and see first hand the destruction a bad character can do to an automobile.
The incident actually occurred in my home in a banal everyday interaction with a plumber who was fixing our shower. Firstly, the plumber who was Caucasian continually bombarded his younger, Latino assistant with racial insults mostly to the tune of "you stupid Mexican". When he realized that we were staring at his comments he explained that his assistant "gets it from his mother's side". This young man was in fact the plumber's son! He then went onto talking about how America is today, and how being a fellow American, I should understand that. Of course I immediately responded with: "I'm not American," to which he countered: "Oh! I thought you were white!.....I mean American."
One day I went to Starbucks to get a drink for my aunt. While I was in line the man behind said, "You should go back to your own country where you belong." I corrected him by telling him this was my birth country, yet he continued to perter me by saying "You didn’t deserve to be born here." Argument broke out between bystanders; however, I decided to rise above his expectations of me by staying calm and not being rude. I kept my head high showing I was proud of who I am just like Rosaleen did when she was getting discriminated. Both Rosaleen and I have reliable experiences with verbal harassment because of our skin color. The only difference was that I wasn’t physically attacked in any way like
BLACK RAIN by Masuji Ibuse The main character in the novel is in some ways like myself. Mr. Shizuma is a person that is intrigued by many things and likes to see what reaction people have from any action. Throughout the novel he feels the need to go to different parts of the city and surrounding communities in order to see the effects of the unknown bomb. Mr. Shizuma was not only interested in what happened to the people of the community but he was also interested in finding out what the weapon used was called and made out of.
Were you ever put in a position where you go through some difficulty at home evan at school which first it seems all great but people judge you because the people you hang out with calling you names that evan offends others that is to say, they'll judge you because of the race your friends are. Having to get bullied for that same reason.
The hit musical "Singin' in the Rain" may possibly be one of if not the greatest musicals of all time. With it's tale of the film world of the mid 1920's and its creative underlining love story between Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), it provokes the interest of someone who would not generally be attracted to a musical. It is a classic masterpiece that set the standards that musical films of today will be judged by. It is a classic performance by the great Gene Kelly and displays outstanding performances by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. As well as starring in this brilliant movie, Gene Kelly teams up with Stanley Donen to make their mark in film history.
I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has
I am an Asian with yellow skin very differ with Staples's skin color, but I still was discrimination by some people surrounding me. I remember the first year I lived in America, I was in Middle School, eighth grade; I never forget the day I get in a school bus, everybody: Black, White, Asian, they placed their backpacks on empty seats, because they did not want me to sit with them. I went through all seats and looked around; I was lucky, there was only one back seat left for me in a corner, but when I stepped close to having a sit, a white young girl said, “This seat is taken.” All of them laughed very l...
The beginning of the development of my education started in Kindergarten. The surrounding was new to me and I felt out of place by having various cultures around me. At the beginning of class, my teacher Ms. Pinto asked me for my name. I didn’t comprehend what she was asking me, therefore I didn’t respond. When she asked other children for their names, one of the english speakers said “Juan”- a traditional name for a Mexican then I understood that she had tried to ask me for my name. While the teacher was explaining what we were going to do in class, I wanted to ask her a question. I did not know the language she was speaking and she did not know mine, therefore I felt as if I couldn’t communicate. I found out that the class contained students from two races which included a smaller amount of American’s and mostly Hispanic. Whenever the teacher asked for answers on the material; only the English speaker children would be able to answer and I was ashamed that even if I wanted to answer I couldn't. The spanish speaking children didn’t seem to mind that we were academically behind, except for me. When the teacher would ask any of the sp...
I will admit, I have belittled others before without even realizing it. I am taking action within myself to terminate that prejudice side within me. My belief in equality is robust because I myself have faced discrimination. My encounters were not as drastic as those faced by African-Americans in the 1950’s but they were encounters nonetheless. In the summer of 2013, my immediate family and two of my best friends traveled to Phoenix, Arizona. We had heard stories about the discrimination against Mexicans but we all assumed that they were hyperboles to start a social eruption. Upon our arrival to the hotel, we all decided to cool off in the pool. At first, we were the only ones in the pool area. Within 20 minutes, a white family of about 8 enters the area as well. None of them stepped inside the pool because we were there. Instead of sharing a pool with us, they stuffed themselves in the Jacuzzi in 100 degree weather. Once we left to
The American Alligator is an amazing reptile, having survived almost unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. Having been hunted almost for extinction, this reptile has made an amazing comeback in recent years. Inhabiting almost every body of water in Florida. American alligator are not considered endangered species, but these harsh looking creatures are threatened.