Even before our team met to go over our ideas on what direction we were going with South Pacific I decided to sit down and read the libretto. I was already decently familiar with South Pacific, but I decided to watch the 1949 musical as well. I felt comfortable with the material and I sat down to start some background on the play. I quickly found information that the play had been based off of a book by James Michener called Tales of the South Pacific, so I picked it up and decided to skim through it and see the stories behind the musical. Pursuing the internet a little bit more I found the story behind how Rodgers and Hammerstein came to know Tales of the South Pacific. Based off of this and the background from reading the novel I wrote a background paragraph with this information and included the production history. While I found a decent amount on the history, I could not find any specific …show more content…
information except that all the critics seemed to love the show. When I finished the production history I went on to research the history behind the author and the composer of the musical. I found that Rodgers and Hammerstein were connected from college – they even worked on a show together in college. I delved into Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s personal histories separate from each other. I did a little internet research from PBS and found decent backstories for each, which I supplemented from the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s official website. After I had personal histories for each of the men, I did a history of the duo together. Starting with the information from their college days to their first show. I went through and listed several of their popular shows. I then moved into more historical research. I knew that I wanted do dive into the world of the soldiers who were stationed in the Pacific, so I did a little reading over the holiday break for some background. I found some things that were helpful, but I decided to call up my grandparents. My grandfather was not stationed in the Pacific, but I know that he knew plenty from my great grandfather and his own memory that would help me with this. My grandfather was in his early teenage years during this war and was full of stories. One was all about Jungle Rot–I think that we often think of the fighting and diseases that come from battle, but I had never heard of Jungle Rot, and I was pretty sure many others had not either, until talking to my grandfather. He told me that because it was so hot and humid that if someone had a minor wound or just sat in wet clothes for too long bacteria would form and basically erode away the skin (yeah, I know, I did not believe it at first either) and sometimes things underneath. I sorted out what stories I could from him and the information that I found from the reading to use as my information for soldiers’ lives while they were staying in the South Pacific. After reaching this point in my research, my group and director had decided to use the topic of racism as our theme.
With that in mind, we worked out several ideas and decided to use contrast in colors as our metaphor. Because of this decision I wanted to do a little research on the issue of racism. I once again turned to my grandfather and my reading to dig up what information I could. I did two small paragraphs on this issue to give the rest of the team some background into the issue; one paragraph on the racism of African Americans and one on the Japanese. Everyone knows the basics of the racism towards the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor; Japanese were placed into internment camps in the mainland of the United States and on the island of Hawaii, where the attack occurred. On the subject of African Americans, it was the standard racism that everyone is familiar with before the civil rights movement. I did find it interesting however that African American soldiers were not allowed to be placed in high level positions and they were often given simple tasks and
jobs. For my final paragraph, I wanted to summarize a little bit of the culture during this time period. I, once again, turned to my grandparents for help and advice. Both were young teenagers during this time, so they had a pretty good handle on the culture of this time period. My grandma told me many stories of going to the movies and nights spent dancing. I learned swing was popular along with some jazz, and that even though the country was at war people still had fun. When I asked about movies and novels, my grandmother was able to rattle off several books and movies of the period that are now classics such as; It’s a Wonderful Life. My grandmother also told me that she remembered only having two or three outfits that she would wear all week long; this was because they didn’t not have many materials to make clothing. They also did not feel the need for many outfits. After collecting this information, I included some photos from the time period as a visual example. I also wrapped up by including photos of the original production.
At the time when humans were learning to use spears constructed out of sticks and stones and the
Racial inequality is a disparity in opportunity and treatment that occurs as a result of someone 's race. Racial inequality has been affecting our country since it was founded. This research paper, however, will be limited to the racial injustice and inequality of African-Americans. Since the start of slavery, African Americans have been racially unequal to the power majority race. It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when African Americans received racial equality under the laws of the United States. Many authors write about racial injustice before and after the Civil Rights Act. In “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin tells a fictional story of an African American who struggles to achieve racial equality and prosper
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a fine example of many who had fought for equality between blacks and whites as well as many who had sought opportunity for blacks in those times, and had a high number of achievements and awards during their time in the military. Works Cited George, Linda and Charles. The Tuskegee Airmen. Canada: Children's Press, 2001. Brooks, Philip.
“For African Americans, World War II was a fight on two fronts. It was a struggle to prevail over the nation’s external enemies and a battle against a familiar home-grown foe: bigotry” (Allen). When World War II began in Europe in 1939, blacks demanded better treatment than they had experienced during World War I. Black newspaper editors insisted during 1939 and 1940 that black support for this war effort would depend on fair treatment. They demanded that black soldiers be trained in all military roles and that black civilians have equal opportunities to work in war industries at home.
After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were looked at loathingly by whites. Eventually, with the passing of Executive Order 9066 the Japanese-Americans’ homes were taken away, they were stripped of their property, livelihoods and most importantly their freedom. Even those that were born in the United States were stripped of their rights and forced into internment camps. The racial issues of course did not stop at just the Japanese. African Americans were expected to fight in a war for freedoms that were not even given to them in their own country. At times, they were even denied the ability to enlist in the Armed Forces. Although many African Americans found a new start in the many war towns, they were still discriminated against and still had to deal with segregation. Whites kept African Americans in the low un-skilled jobs. When Roosevelt signed the federal order for the Fair Employment Practices in the defense industries that called for equal opportunity and prohibited discrimination, the new changed caused a lot of problems. Trouble really came when 12 African American workers became welders, whites started a riot because they wanted African American workers to remain in inferior roles. African American workers were then bombarded with racial slurs and violence, which caused some to leave the war towns to protect themselves and their families. Once again proving that the United States was involved in a war for “freedom” that its own citizens were not able to experience fully.
When a book uses the "N-word" 213 times (Carey-Webb 24) and portrays the African American characters as inferior to their white counterparts, it becomes easy to assume that the book’s author Mark Twain is using this novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as a form of racist propaganda to display upon America in the late 19th century post-Civil War Era. By the late 19th century slavery had finally ended across the United States, but racial tension, discord and discrimination were still very much at large. For those opposed to slavery in its original iteration, and, therefore, opposed to its continuation in this form, the only thing left to do was to continue fighting the battle for equality and rights in any way they knew how.
Racial inequality is a disparity in opportunity and treatment that occurs as a result of someone 's race. Racial inequality has been effecting our country since it was founded. Although our country has been racially injustice toward many different race this research paper, however will be limited to the racial injustice and inequality of African-Americans. Since the start of slavery African Americans have been racially unequal to the majority race. It was not in tile the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when African Americans received racial equality under the law of the United States. Many authors write about racial injustice before the civil rights act and after the civil rights act. In “Sonny’s Blues” James Baldwin tells a fictional
The first example of this came during WWII, when Black and white American regiments fought side by side for the first time in American history. Deploying black soldiers during the Civil War allowed for African Americans to gain respect, even if it took sixty years (“Lynch”).
First, racism still plays a big factor in today’s society as it did fifty years ago. Some might say that everyone has equal opportunity, but some people in America will never see that blacks and whites are equal. Humans have the tendency to judge what is on the outside before seeing who the person really is. The South is the main area where the darker colors mean there is less opportunity and lighter colors mean that there’s more. In today’s society the ability to attain the American Dream is heavily influenced by race. While it is still p...
The True History of the Kelly Gang is a fictional novel written by the Australian writer Peter Carey. The novel is presented as an autobiography written by the Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, to his daughter. It portrays Ned’s life as a child and as an adult. The audience also reveals the struggles of discrimination he overcomes as an Irish in the Australian world. This novel is packed with many themes but the most obvious and eye-catching would be racism. We are also able to identify many quotes and passages used within the text to demonstrate this theme. Carey’s persuasive language and point of view plays a crucial part in promoting the theme of racism.
Harada possessed property before acquiring property from Gunnerson, “suggesting this method of purchasing property processed easily.” His neighbors noticed the purchase and attempted to dispose of his Japanese family by offering an exceptional amount of profit. The People of the State of California versus Jukichi Harada favored Harada, indicating his right to own and purchase property “in good faith, with the funds of the children, and not as a circumvention of the Alien Land Law.” Americans in California responded negatively insisting Harada violated the Alien Land Law, which eventually reached the press throughout the state and the eastern regions of the United States. Additionally, Oyama versus California guaranteed “equal access to property regardless of race” in 1948. This case supported the impact and the defeat of the California Alien Land Laws several years after the decision. Americans sensed their racial superiority over the Asian community and attempted to subdue their chances of employment.
Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.
Famed novelist Ernest Hemingway believed that “[a]ll modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…the best book we’ve had.” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American tale with all the essentials of a story that feeds our imagination. On the surface, the novel appears to be a very unpretentious tale of adventure, and self-discovery that has earned a place on every high school required reading list. However, if the story is closely examined, it takes on darker undertones of a racist culture replete with derogatory language and glimpses into the ugliness and turmoil that followed in the years immediately after the Civil War, and that still exist today. Controversial and racist are two words commonly used to describe Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is considered to be the quintessential American novel, yet it remains in the middle of a debate over whether or not it should be taught in schools.
Most white people are dumb or uneducated. Mark Twain is not racsit in anyway it's just how it was back then and he was just showing us how it was. It was nothing to be racist like I said in my essay that taking the N'Word of out the Huckleberry Fin was like taking nazi out out texts book today. If you took it out it would take away the historical importance of slavery and how bad it was. Most of the black people are educated. Most of them have good jobs and are smarter than most white people. Also Mark Twain is involved in 21st century politics; when against the censoring of “Huck Finn,”.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is again being said to be a book you to wouldn't want to read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in a language and dialect that Twain heard a lot growing up in MIssouri. This writing type is call regionalism which means''a writing feature different to a certain region and not part of the regular language of a country”'.In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremist form of the backwoods Southwestern diale...