Frankenstein And Tanzania's Albinos Face Constant Threat Of Attack

Jackie Robinson once said,“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me…. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” What Robinson is trying to say, is that he is not interested whether someone is contemptuous towards him or not, he just wants people to treat him like every other human being. This quote can apply to two pieces of literature. Both the poem “Frankenstein,” by Edward Field and the article “Tanzania’s Albinos Face Constant Threat of Attack,” by John Burnett, explore the issue of discrimination. In the poem, Frankenstein has been stitched up together made by other body parts of corpses, escapes his dungeon where he is held captive. He is chased by violent mobs and hides in a cottage which is owned by an old blind

man. From there, the monster learns the true meaning of friendship while learning how to actually live like everyone else. In the article, the author talks about albinos in Africa being apprehensive about their life for what they look like. They may feel despondent because they can not go outside without feeling afraid. Albinos are hunted down by crowds to receive their body parts, for they have pale skin that is seen as magical. I think these two passages are paired together because Frankenstein and the albinos have similar experiences with discrimination.
In spite of having inequality, Frankenstein and the albinos share similarities.

For one thing, some people view them as any other humans and attempt to help them as best as they can. The monster is being pursued after he escapes the dungeon from his captor and is chased by savage and ignorant villagers. Although, he finds an escape and enters a straw cottage, and suddenly is greeted by an old blind man. “Hearing him approach, the blind man welcomes him: ‘Come in, my friend,’ and takes him by the arm. ‘You must be weary,’ and sits him down inside the house. For the blind man has long dreamed of having a friend to share his lonely life,” (Field, Stanza 3). The monster is being tracked and runs for his life to instantly is thrown into the definition of true friendship. The villagers hate him because he is ugly and makes strange noises, therefore he is not like the villagers. Also, the old blind man is different because he is blind, so no one likes him. They share something in common because they are outsiders, they are not like the rest; they are discriminated because they are different. The old blind man welcomes the monster right away not knowing who he is and what he looks like. He can not judge the monster by his looks like everyone else has so that makes him more open to starting a new friendship, and he has been closed off to the rest of the villagers so he has no friends, so this is a great opportunity to make one. The blind man helps the monster by showing the basics

of living like drinking, eating, smoking a cigar, and even talking. In addition to helping the discriminated, the albinos have an organization that does their best to educate people about them and works hard to protect them from the harm that is aimed at their way. People attempt to help albinos try to educate others who do not understand what they are thinking about when they talk about how albinos have a “magical power.” Vicky Ntema who is a Tanzania executive director of Under the Same Sun talks about the process of educating people about the true meaning of albinos. “It's going to be a very, very difficult for every Tanzanian all of a sudden to forget about the myths and then believe that persons with albinism are human beings,” (Burnett, 2). Vickyy Ntema is trying to explain that educating people will take a very slow process to obliterate the myths and rumors about the albinos, and comprehend that they are human beings like everyone else. Albinos are not used for fallacies nor do they have magical powers. In other words, they may feel like they stand alone, but there are other people that acknowledge their true identity.
Not only are they helped, but also they are hunted for various reasons.

The monster finally escapes the dungeon, however, he is driven away by villagers with threatening weapons. “He is pursued by the ignorant villagers, who think he is evil and dangerous because he is ugly and makes ugly noises. They wave firebrands at him and cudgels and rakes,” (Field, lines 7-10). The monster does not do anything towards the villagers, yet he still is threatened with deadly weapons. No one knows who he really is, but once they see what the monster looks like, they automatically assume he is evil and attempts to eradicate him. They attack him because he is different and does not belong in the village with the rest of the villagers. As well as Frankenstein, albinos also are hunted. However, unlike Frankenstein, albinos are seen as valuable when they are hunted while Frankenstein is seen as a threat. Isaac Timothy explains how albinos are seen as valuable. “In society there are people such as witch doctors who look for body parts; people will kill albinos to make magic,” (Burnett, 1). Timothy also says, “When you bring [a witch doctor] a body part, such as an arm, a leg or a finger, the witch doctor will make a potion with it,” (Burnett 1). Timothy is trying to say is that albinos are the center of attention in Tanzania because their body is a prized possession that can be useful for magic potions. This can cause them to feel formidable because they do not anyone trying to hunt for them.

Albinos are seen to be very special because of their unique pale skin color and the pigment in their eyes. Due to them acquiring these physical looks, they have been rumored to be special creatures. People hunt for albinos and take them to witch doctors. From there, the witch doctors use the body parts to make a potion out of it. The potions are used for good fortune like making more money, or having to chance to receive good health. This being the case, Frankenstein and albinos both share a similarity but in a different way.
Although they are hunted, they are still like everyone else. Frankenstein may look abnormal and not like the average, everyday human, he is still considered a human. “He was kept by the Baron who made him with knobs sticking out from each side of his neck where the head was attached to the body and stitching all over where parts of cadavers were sewed together,” ( Field, lines 2-6). Frankenstein is considered to be a human because he is stitched together by cadavers body parts which are corpses. He may have an unusual appearance that is abnormal, comparing to human features, but he is still considered as a human. As well as albinos, they are humans too. Albinos are humans, the same skin but different colors, same body just different features. “Many people don't understand for instance, that albinos must protect their pale skin with long sleeves, hats, and sunscreen to avoid skin cancer, which kills 98 percent of Tanzanian albinos before they reach their 40th birthday. And in class, teachers are often unaware that albinos have impaired vision that prevents them from reading a blackboard like the other children,” (Burnett, 1 & 2). Albinos have the same body as other humans but to a certain extent. Albinos have the same skin as humans, but their skin is very pale and is very vulnerable to skin cancer. They both have the same eyes, but albinos have impaired vision which they struggle to see in areas such as school blackboards. Many people in Africa can be cantankerous on the subject of albinos because they believe they are magical creatures but they are not. To summarize, both are still considered as humans but others do not seem to acknowledge that.
These two authors use different genres and styles to discuss a similar idea. By analyzing these texts, I have learned that features are only skin deep, and there are more things than just that and people should not assume someone because everyone else is. This can apply to everyday life, Frankenstein and albinos. However, I prefer the Frankenstein poem because reading the albinos and how they constantly live in fear made me sad, but Frankenstein is not real so that's why I like it. I better understand the message of this poem when the poet describes the monster acting like a human showing its feelings when everyone doubts and attacks him because he is not like everyone else. After reading these two examples of discrimination, they both leave me thinking about reality and how hard we have tried in the past to end discrimination against ethnicity, race, and color. People can not accentuate enough how wrong it is to assume and discriminate others by what they look like. So many people today act indifferent towards what is happening all around the world today. Many people can feel indignant because many people are treated respectfully while others do not. However, the world still does not show any signs of clearing this misunderstanding, there are signs of progress, but it is a slow progress that will take a great amount of time.
As has been noted, the authors of these passages explore the main idea of how humans are misunderstood and treated negatively by their physical features. By examining the theme, readers can learn that what really matters is invisible to the eye. As time goes on, people grow to see people by their looks and not their personality. However, what really matters in a person is what a human eye can not see.