Sam Injustice In Lewis Buzbee's Bridge Of Time

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Moreover, as Sam indulges his story of the Chinese gentleman who was almost beaten to death, Joan could not help but vividly picture the whole gruesome scene. As continues the his anecdote and describes how “The butcher in his bloody apron spit on the Chinese mas as a last insult and, laughing with his companions, fairly waltzed away” (Buzbee 112) At that instant, Joan looks down at her own hands, and can’t help but think of her own heritage. “One of the darker aspects of nineteenth-century American history is the manner in which certain ethnic groups were treated by the largely white ethnic majority” (Kanazawa 779) The Chinese were the main target of such discrimination that even the white pollution turned a blind eye to the violent situation. Even as Sam …show more content…

Joan and Lee embarked on a time travel journey that taught more about their San Francisco 144 years ago. Both of the main characters are ignorant to Joan’s history background. As a result to their unexpected time travel journey, they are taken aback when they learn about the implications Joan brings into their journey when Sam points out her Chinese descent. Through his use of historical events, Buzbee was able to vividly deliver the mistreatment of the Chinese during the time frame of the gold rush. Along with his historical anecdotes in the form of Sam recounting them, the author was able to enlighten both Joan and Lee to the hardships the Chinese had to face in order to have rights just like any other citizen. Modern age children are taught about the importance of slavery and how African-Americans were captive and exploited with hard work, but many children in the public school system are oblivion about the Chinese Exclusion Act. It is through Joan and Lee, that Buzbee points out such historical blissful ignorance that present children face

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