Mobilizing The Bystander Essay

In America, social progress is based on the knowledge of the people of what is actually happening and actions taken by those who are affected. In every American life, there is the aspect of wanting to be a part of a movement and play a role in society. But, sometimes there are those people who wish to just watch and let everything go by them. These people are the bystanders, and they play a major role in how social progress evolves. By mobilizing the bystander, either the up stander or the resister will gain the upper hand, and this is shown in American literature and history. The study of American literature and history informs us that in order for social progress, one must first mobilize the bystander by exposing them to inequality, exploitation,

During the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate for social progress for African Americans. Dr. King was able to use the inequality shown to African Americans to teach the bystanders that without the mobilization of the bystanders in support of African Americans, social progress would never happen. By successfully exposing the bystanders to the oppression and inequality against African Americans, Dr. King and the civil rights activists were able to fight against the resistors and push for social progress. By utilizing the knowledge he already had, Dr. King was able to change public opinion and successfully mobilize the bystander to push for social progress. Often times in American history and literature, there are instances where certain people such as immigrants are exploited for the better of others. This exploitation is shown in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. In The Jungle, Sinclair writes about an immigrant named Jurgis Rudkus and his family who come to America to start new lives. Sinclair shows exploitation in everyday life in the book by using examples such as Jurgis’s landlord and his wife's boss. The book depicts that without giving knowledge to the bystanders, the social progress in which people look for will never