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Effects of racial discrimination in society
Essays on theory of alienation
Effects of discrimination in society
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When society thinks of the term alienation, are they referring to the person ostracized by society or are they referring to the person who is psychologically separated from themselves? There are several different uses of this term. However, two uses seem to be especially predominating: the sociological processes and the psychological states. In “The Revolver,” “Housewife,” and “How it feels to be colored me,” Bazan, Chughtai, and Hurston respectively, relate both the social and the psychological aspects of alienation with respect to fear, oppression, and identity. Exactly what is Alienation? Bloom’s Literary Reference states the definition as to “turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly.” While only looking at the sociological aspect, this definition does not address the term in its entirety. When alienation is present, there is a “divergence between human existence and human essence,” (political economy of socialism 84) meaning that the actual is not the same as the potential. German Philosopher G. W. F. Hegel coined the term alienation. Hegel believed it was the “gap between human consciousness and the natural world” (Quinn); the private life versus the public life. Karl Marx later added to the term to describe how workers are alienated from their work in a capitalistic society because they are no longer the creators of the product, they are simply part of the production line. “Through work man becomes a human being” (political economy of socialism 86), and when the workers are stripped of their work, they are no longer able to show off their own individuality. Emilia de Pardo Bazan wrote from an original female perspective relaying how women were treated in Spanish society. She grew up as part of the elite class ... ... middle of paper ... ...w the black community is somewhat dependent on the white community. For oppressed women, “the man becomes the central, focal point of their lives” (women oppression). Yet Hurston shows Zora’s spirit as being dependent on the whites, for it was their attention that kept Zora’s spirits high. The colored people “deplored any joyful tendencies in [her].” As a result, it is easily notable that any oppressed being is dependent on something to keep them going. Alienation is prevalent in all three of the works written above; whether it was sociological, psychological, or both. “The Revolver,” “Housewife,” and “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” all related how fear, oppression, and identity all apply within the different forms of alienation. Sociologically and psychologically, fear blocks one from logic, oppression turns to dependence, and one’s identity changes over time.
Both Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were great writers but their attitudes towards their personal experience as an African American differed in many ways. These differences can be attributed to various reasons that range from gender to life experience but even though they had different perceptions regarding the African American experience, they both shared one common goal, racial equality through art. To accurately delve into the minds of the writers’ one must first consider authors background such as their childhood experience, education, as well their early adulthood to truly understand how it affected their writing in terms the similarities and differences of the voice and themes used with the works “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Hurston and Hughes’ “The Negro Mother”. The importance of these factors directly correlate to how each author came to find their literary inspiration and voice that attributed to their works.
Hurston, sitting on her porch imagines it to be a theatre as she narrates her perspective of the passing white people. She finds a thin line separating the spectator from the viewer. Exchanging stances at will and whim. Her front porch becomes a metaphor for a theater seat and the passers Despite the current scrutiny that her race faces she asserts to the reader that her race and color define her as a person and does not determine her identity.
Alienation in All Quiet on the Western Front According to the Webster's New World College Dictionary, alienation is 1. Separation, aversion, aberration. 2. Estrangement or detachment. 3.
Alienation is feelings of powerlessness, meaninglessness, and social isolation associated with certain social relationships. For example, in the grocery store, which were owned by white people. The white cashier refused to touch the black peoples’ hands. When handing them their brought items, he would let it hit the counter instead of handing it to them. The same thing occurred when the cashier went to hand them their change. The white cashier treated the black customers as meaningless and powerless. But, Dr. Vernon Johns said that the black people in their community are not business oriented therefore, they have no choice but to shop at the white businesses. Black people need to own more business which would lead to power and meaning for black
Hurston does not concern herself with the actions of whites. Instead, she concerns herself with the self-perceptions and actions of blacks. Whites become almost irrelevant, certainly negative, but in no way absolute influences on her
Society has developed this standard way of leaving and when one is put out of this inner circle, they are left to look at life in a whole new perspective, challenging themselves against the norms in order to survive. No group of people knows this better than the “Mole people” introduced in Jennifer Toth’s book, The Mole people, where life is a constant struggle against others, police and what lurks in the abyss of the New York City tunnel system. The sociological concepts of accommodation, alienation, and culture play a key role in how we view and understand the lives of this counterculture based off of various sociological theories. These sociological tools will provide us with the ability to understand the lives of this group of people and
In conclusion, Hurston was a modernist writer who dealt with societal themes of racism, and social and racial identity. She steps away from the folk-oriented style of writing other African American authors, such as Langston Hughes, and she addresses modern topics and issues that relate to her people. She embraces pride in her color and who she is. She does not hate the label of “colored” that has been placed upon her. She embraces who she is and by example, she teaches others to love themselves and the color of their skin. She is very modern. She is everybody’s Zora.
Camus and Daoud use similar words to describe alienation. One example was when both Meursault and Hauraun were imprisoned and lost their sense of romantic love. Both of them missed their partner’s presence as well as physically touching them. They wanted companionship but could not have it because they were imprisoned and isolated from the world. In The Meursault Investigation, Harun describes the following about his alienation to love:
The first type of alienation is from “product of labor”. This is where the worker is separated from their work. This is basically saying that the work that the worker is creating does not necessarily show their creativity. Marx wrote:
In the novels Black No More and Passing addressed the issue of race identity and how race function in the normality of society. The novels depicted African-Americans finding stability during the time where white supremacy created social barriers. The narratives explored the authenticity of the disadvantages of a cultural norm that African-Americans encounter and why assimilation should be the standard or accepted. The texts inquiries on race and culture can be viewed in the context of perception, manipulation, and reality.
individuals, society, or work. Some sociologists believe that alienation is inevitably produced not by the individual but by the shallowness and the lack of individuality in modern society. The concept of alienation has been held to account for behaviour patterns. as diverse as motiveless violence and total immobility. Alienation is a state in which the creations of humanity appear to humans as alien objects.
One traditional cause for racism is the ignorance of one to additional races. Must to the time people have the propensity to fear what they do not comprehend. If a person has not grown up near a specific race previously, then the chance of the person being a racist to that particular group critically increases. Not always, but this happen when they do not have a real experiences with at list one of them. . The purpose of this essay is the people know the idea of being black, and I will explain how racism did not stop the dreams of a black woman. What Zora Hurston was as a person?
Do you ever feel trapped when you are in a place that you have never been before? Isolation criticizes society since it does not let everyone be equal or have the same rights. Isolation can completely change a person, and it is usually for the worst. Society “acts” like they try to prevent isolation, but in reality they isolate people for certain reasons, then those people get judged for being “different.” Upon closer inspection it is human nature to deny equal rights because people that do not act, dress, or look the same are labeled as strange, and unfortunately, many times are not accepted by the majority of society. This gives authors a way to shine a light on society’s flaws.
THE TERM "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. For Marx, alienation was not a feeling or a mental condition, but an economic and social condition of class society--in particular, capitalist society.
...nvironment. Ultimately, humans are creative, hardworking and productive beings. As we spend the majority of our day at work, we want it to be rewarding and fulfilling. In this theory of alienation, being a worker comes first and being a person comes second. Alienation makes people spend their lives working on things they hardly care about while they make money for someone else as they sacrifice their own interests and goals. Capitalism turns workers into machines and alienates them from their full potential. Workers are not content as they are unable to determine their own paths as they are at the mercy of their employers. Alienation produces boredom, stress, unhappiness, misery and low productivity.