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Examples of discrimination in society
Examples of racism in literature
Examples of discrimination in society
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“Inclusion, not exclusion, is the key to survival.” What does this mean? To say the least, the definition is clearly stated in The Power of One. Initially, Peekay in The Power of One was isolated by members of his family, and as a result of that he was excluded by society because of his background. Ultimately, he was excluded within his own race because of his actions throughout this story. “One thing got to all of them more than everything else. They couldn’t make me cry.”
Peekay was isolated by his family and suffered through deaths and losses. Peekay’s father died early in his life and from there on out he had to learn to live with the idea of death. The next deaths came from Granpa Chook, his mother, and Nanny. Losses continued when Doc went back to Germany, and a camp guard killed Piet. Even when he picked up all his strength as a young man, his losses continued when Maria, his love, was also killed. It just kept on adding up, and Peekay kept taking blow by blow. “Don’t cry, Peekay. Sister’ll know I told you if you cry.”
Next, Peekay suffered exclusion, and for him it wasn’t much different. He was English, and the Afrikaners in his society hated him. The English took over and governed their territory. “I was a rooinek and a pisskop. I spoke the wrong language. And now I was obviously made differently.” Therefore, Peekay was discriminated against because of his background. For example Peekay was even whipped while hanging upside down. It’s amazing that something such as that occurred. Lastly, Peekay went through exclusion because of the way he acted. Peekay was a friend to the blacks, which was very uncommon. He even started a Saturday school in which to teach blacks to read throughout their tribes.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
Paton is able to convey the idea of racial injustice and tension thoroughly throughout the novel as he writes about the tragedy of “Christian reconciliation” of the races in the face of almost unforgivable sin in which the whites treat the blacks unjustly and in return the blacks create chaos leaving both sides uneasy with one another. The whites push the natives down because they do no want to pay or educate them, for they fear “ a better-paid labor will also read more, think more, ask more, and will not be conten...
During the course of this work, many ideas and themes are portrayed and readers are able to view subjects that surround the main topic of racial injustice and intolerance. With the three main narrators, Minny Jackson, Aibileen Clark, and Skeeter Phelan, the audience quickly gains an insight on how racial inequalities affected everyone. These thoughts help to form a plot that can easily keep readers entertained throughout the novel. During the course of the novel, there are many points in the plot that decide the actions and events other cha...
The book to ‘To kill a mocking-bird’ was written in the 1930’s and explores prejudice against black people. The book is portrayed through the eyes of two innocent children and shows the “irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South [of America] in the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one mans struggle for justice.”
She begins talking about her childhood and who raised her until she was three years old. The woman who raised her was Thrupkaew’s “auntie”, a distant relative of the family. The speaker remembers “the thick, straight hair, and how it would come around [her] like a curtain when she bent to pick [her] up” (Thrupkaew). She remembers her soft Thai accent, the way she would cling to her auntie even if she just needed to go to the bathroom. But she also remembers that her auntie would be “beaten and slapped by another member of my family. [She] remembers screaming hysterically and wanting it to stop, as [she] did every single time it happened, for things as minor as…being a little late” (Thrupkaew). She couldn’t bear to see her beloved family member in so much pain, so she fought with the only tool she had: her voice. Instead of ceasing, her auntie was just beaten behind closed doors. It’s so heart-breaking for experiencing this as a little girl, her innocence stolen at such a young age. For those who have close family, how would it make you feel if someone you loved was beaten right in front of you? By sharing her story, Thrupkaew uses emotion to convey her feelings about human
In Gulliver’s Travels by Johnathan Swift, through the groups Gulliver meets such as the small Lilliputians, the giant Brobdingnags, and the half-human Houyhnms, he learns there are no specific guidelines as to who can have power; it comes from the number of those on the opposing side. First, power is exemplified with the Lilliputians; Gulliver is completely submissive to them despite their small size, simply because he was outnumbered. Similarly, the Brobdingnags have control, and therefore power, over Gulliver not because of their massive size, but because there are many of them compared to Gulliver. Lastly, the Houyhnms, despite being less human than Gulliver, have severe power of him because there is one of him and many of them. When considering power, thoughts of superiority though size and type may come to mind, however, in Gulliver’s Travels, power is achieved through the number of those asserting it. Such is exemplified with the first group Gulliver encounters, the Lilluptians.
The author distinguishes white people as privileged and respectful compared to mulattos and blacks. In the racial society, white people have the right to get any high-class position in a job or live in any place. In the story, all white characters are noble such as Judge Straight lawyer, Doctor Green, business-man George, and former slaveholder Mrs. Tryon. Moreover, the author also states the racial distinction of whites on mulattos. For example, when Dr. Green talks to Tryon, “‘The niggers,’., ‘are getting mighty trifling since they’ve been freed.
To Kill a Mocking Bird is a novel that explores prejudice in a small American town in the Deep South. It is set during the depression. One of the main features that the novel explores is the theme of racial prejudice. In the novel Tom Robinson is being persecuted for the rape of a white woman, which he never committed. He is purely being prosecuted for being black but when Atticus who is a white lawyer is defending him in court he becomes somewhat outlawed in the white community. Atticus ignores the comments made by the white majority population and does not give in to the pressure of the community. This is apparent when Atticus says “I’m simply defending a negro… There’s been high talk around the town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man.” This is an important quote as it shows us Atticus’s will defend anyone no-matter what their race is. We learn f...
the racial hatred of the people. Black people were thought to be inferior to white people and in the 1960s when the novel was written, black communities were rioting and causing disturbances to get across the point that they were not inferior to white people. After Abolition Black people were terrorised by the Ku Klux Klan, who would burn them, rape the women, and torture the children and the reader is shown an example of. this in Chapter 15 where a group of white people, go to the county. jail to terrorise Tom Robinson.
The story of Peekay in The Power of One is something everyone can carry with them throughout their lives. Peekay goes through many ups and downs that many people can relate to throughout the span of the novel. He faces bullies, racism, inequality, and many problems we still have to face today, decades later.
There are many different destructive forces in the world that can ruin society and destroy one’s morals. Selfishness, arrogance, resentment, but out of all that, racism and prejudice against others is the worst. Discrimination is best apparent in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird when Lee shows the horrible prejudice that Tom Robinson, a falsely convicted black man, and Boo Radley, a neighbor who never leaves the house. Both characters received different type of discrimination, but in the end, both of their lives are damaged due to the prejudice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, discrimination against Tom and Boo demonstrates the theme that due to its close-mindedness, society can destroy individuals and ultimately itself.
In the novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, heroism is expressed in many different ways and in different characters. According to the dictionary a hero is defined as “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deed and noble qualities” (Webster). Forms of Heroism are expressed in ways such as, bravery, determination and intelligence.
...ayed here makes it clear that the blacks want equality. It also shows the two sides of society that are clearly demonstrated in both of these books. It is clear that people's opinions and government, which can influence society, affect the societal norms that keep equality from being reached. Each character that challenges society soon learns that these battles of politically correctness can be very difficult to win.
Despite the thought that all men were created equally, African Americans weren’t treated as though they were, and were excluded from certain public facilities. Some accommodations that were divided by race included schools, theatres, taverns, bathrooms, religious centers, etc. (Appiah and Gates). As described in To Kill A Mockingbird, “The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom like a second story veranda” (Lee 204). This passage exemplifies how colored individuals were treated differently than the white people. They weren’t just excluded from public facilities, but they were also excluded from society.
in any group of people, and there will be struggle to achieve it--be it a