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Problems with racism in literature
Racism in literature essay topics
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Naylor disagrees with the fact that "Nigger" is a internalization of racism. Which brings us to wonder if this term should really be racist.We learn that she is colored, and has family that is the same race as her, but they address one another by this term. Its not until a boy calls Naylor out after seeing his test grade where she actually hears this term be used negatively, even though she had no idea it was used for a bad term. She fount out later when she asked her mother. When the boy called out the term she had heard the term so many times it became apart of her everyday dictionary although she never said the word it became apart of her. When the boy called it out she heard it used negatively for the first time. On
In this response to the derogatory term, Naylor’s essay offers a tool to fight racism and a message of hope for the innocent minority children which Cullen’s "Incident" lacks: In the process of socialization in a racist society, a child may lose innocence, but a child may also gain strength and character by rising above any racist stereotypes society applies to him/her.
To be a part of Naylor’s target audience one must have obviously had experience with language and how people use it. She is targeting those who have heard and/or used the word “nigger” before.
In both their essays, Naylor and Leong introduce a word that is meant to humiliate, hurt and ridicule. Naylor, being of African decent, was introduced to the word nigger at a very early age. Naylor asked her mother what the word meant, but she knew it meant something terrible. Black people raising their children in America would have to explain what nigger meant sometime in their childhood. Naylor's mom explains that the word
Another controversial aspect of the book would be the use of the word "nigger" and its being in the book over 200 times creates constant scrutiny. I feel the word was not used to be racist and its usage in the book gives great representation of the way life was during the pre-civil war era. People need to grasp the concept that that's how black were treated then. In today's society, we would find quotes such as, "Good gracious! Was anybody hurt?" "No'm. Just a nigger," APPALING! But in fact, it was written in an earlier time setting when quotes like that were okay to say.
“Nigger: it is arguably the most consequential social insult in American History, though, at the same time, a word that reminds us of ‘the ironies and dilemmas, tragedies and glories of the American experience’” (Kennedy 1).
In the two essays, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” by Brent Staples and “I’m Not Racist But…” by Neil Bissoondath, there are both differences and similarities. The two authors differ in their opinion on the causes of racism and life experiences involving racism, but are similar in regards to the use of stereotypes in the world
You may not know any bigots, you think “I don’t hate black people, so I’m not racist”, but you benefit from racism. There are certain privileges and opportunities you have that you do not even realize because you have not been deprived in certain ways. Racism, institutional and otherwise, does not always manifest itself in a way that makes it readily identifiable to onlookers, victims, or perpetrators; it is not always the outward aggression typically associated with being a hate crime. Racial microaggressions are a type of perceived racism. They are more subtle and ambiguous than the more hostile or overt expressions of racism, such as racial discrimination (CITE). Microaggressions are everyday verbal, visual, or environmental hostilities, slights, insults, and invalidations or mistreatment that occurs due to an individual’s race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation etc. (CITE). The concept of racial microaggressions has been around since the 1970s, but much of the current research is rooted in the work of two professors, Jack Dovidio, Ph.D. (Yale University) and Samuel Gaertner, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), and their explanations of aversive racism. Their research has its foundation in the idea that many well-intentioned Whites consciously believe in and profess equality, but unconsciously act in a racist manner, particularly in ambiguous situations (CITE).
In O'Connor's "The Artificial Nigger" the essences of prejudice and degradation are captured to a great extent. Reality shows us with needless consistency people in a need to feel better about themselves only achieve it by being better than someone else. Therefore every opportunity at hand, including racism, is taken advantage as a form of gratification. Mr. Head, the grandfather, is an example of one of these people. He is in competition with seemingly everyone he encounters while in a day trip to the City.
“Never underestimate internalized racism. People can be oppressed, yet continue to express their oppression in their own choices.”- Susan Morris
Gloria Naylor begins her essay “The Meanings of a Word” with an analysis of words, their meaning, and why the power placed behind a word is more important than the word itself. This entire essay seemed to be about the weight a word can carry, and how no matter the permanent structure of the word itself, the weight can be shifted and transformed into something completely different. Specifically, the essay is about the word nigger, which feels as though it’s italicized constantly as some sort of defense mechanism for the writer. She goes on to describe the first time she heard the word, but by the end of the essay, we understand that this is only the first time that she recognized a hint of the cruel meaning behind it, because it is likely she heard the word many times before. This solidifies the idea that it is not actually the word that contains the power, nor the definition, but the connotation that the word
Race has been a controversial issue throughout history and even more so today. The idea of race has contributed to the justifications of racial inequality and has led to the prejudice and discrimination of certain racial groups. Race and racism were constructed to disadvantage people of color and to maintain white power in America. Today, race has been the center of many political changes and actions that have affected people of color. The idea of race has played a role in how people from different racial groups interact amongst each other. Interactions within one’s own racial group are more common than interactions among other racial groups, at least in my own experiences. Therefore, because I have been positioned to surround myself with people from my own racial group since a very young age, I have internalized that being around my own racial group is a normal and natural occurrence.
In Gloria Naylor’s Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean?, Gloria describes her confusion when the word “nigger” is used to degrade her and how this word has taken on many meanings throughout her community to eliminate the strength this single word had on African-Americans. Gloria states towards the end of her essay, “Gathering there together, they transformed “nigger” to signify the varied and complex human beings they knew themselves to be.” Her audience is anybody who has heard or used the term “nigger” and can relate to what it may or may not mean to them as an individual. Since she appears to speak only from her experience of the word, it is up to her audience to make any inferences and judgements based on their own experience.
Anger can be projected in different forms, for it is one of the many universal, natural emotions. Now, it is not easy to assert whether anger is an individual trait or a collective emotion, social and cultural. Due to the increase of violence in recent times, it is incredibly easy to experience the emotion anger in daily lives. Living in a time where racism is still very relevant, and anger is an emotion that plays a big role can be difficult. Racism, a worldwide issue, can be studied to better try to understand how anger plays a role in it. Many emotions and specifically anger demonstrated as racism are where individual biology meets cultural or collective “symbolic racism”. (Redlawsk. et al. pg. 681). As
The Development of Racism Slavery's twin legacies to the present are the social and economic inferiority it conferred upon blacks and the cultural racism it instilled in whites. Both continue to haunt our society. Therefore, treating slavery's enduring legacy is necessarily controversial. Unlike slavery, racism is not over yet. Loewen 143.
My perception of our world is that racism exists everywhere, even in the land of liberty, America. I am aware of the fact that there is racism against not only blacks, but also whites, Asians, along with people from all other ethnicities. I believe racism is deplorable in any form. Therefore I do my best not to be racist in any way.