Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The theme of race in Harry Potter
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The theme of race in Harry Potter
‘To JK Rowling from Cho Chang’ by Rachel Rostad, is a poem that is narrated through the perspective of Cho Chang - one of the pivotal characters in the widely acclaimed Harry Potter series written by JK Rowling. It describes young Chang’s angst caused by issues of racism against her, which were inadvertently raised in the hit series. In the first stanza, Chang ridicules the position JKR presented her in the books, in a sarcastic fashion. Until her introduction into literature and eventually media, Asian girls living abroad didn’t have much choice for cosplay but to assume characters like Geisha and Mulan. Now, they had another globally renowned Asian character to take inspiration from. But then, sadly, she wasn’t bestowed with a role where …show more content…
She justifies that Cho and Chang are both Korean last names that are oddly irrelevant for naming a Chinese character. As a result of this vagueness of identity, she was unduly consigned to a stock Asian girl who might as well be wearing a ninja costume or chopstick hair ornaments on her tightly bunned hair. Chang acknowledges that JK Rowling wasn’t the first one to make Asian women into pitiful caricatures. There have been many instances in the past where writers and movie makers outside the confines of Asia took Asian women for granted in their characterization, typically by depicting them as tortured souls who get deserted by their white lovers and husbands, as were seen in the cases of Madame Butterfly and Miss Saigon. To add insult to injury, these dilettantes of literature and showbiz glamorize Asian women as diffident individuals lacking self esteem who wantonly commit hara-kiri over minor grievances. On the darker side of this puerile travesty rests the illustration of Asian women for the cheap pleasures of schoolgirl porn. It’s alright to fantasize, but it’s too unfair a stretch to deem Asian women as pathetic individuals who suicide for honour and bereavement, or who exude an aura of laughably naive …show more content…
Life was all roses and rainbows for Chang, but as was expected, it didn’t last long. Harry ditched her, leaving her shattered and forlorn, which however didn’t come as much of a surprise to her, considering her ethnicity. After all, she was an Asian. Pardon my French, and a Chink! Falling congruent to conventions, she couldn’t be united with a white guy, and certainly not the protagonist at that! She ruminates over the futility of her bond with Harry that manifested right from the start. This didn’t feed her remorse though, despite the aura of bleakness that engulfed her, because she had resigned to her fate, which came menacingly in the form of the cruel artifice. She wasn’t really drowned in sorrow enough to wail over the separation, but then she was driven to, according to JKR and her
...r own unique ways.; however, the authors focus on different aspects of prejudice and racism, resulting in them communicating different ideas and thoughts that range from racial discrimination to stereotypical attitudes. The range of ideas attempt to engage the readers about the reality of their issues. The reality about a world where prejudice and racism still prevail in modern times. But when will prejudice and racism ever cease to exist? And if they were ever to cease from existence, what does that mean about humankind?
In "The Meaning of a Word" and "Being a Chink", Gloria Naylor and Christine Leong examine words of hatred that are meant to scorn, hurt and disgrace people. But these same words could also be used without harmful intentions and in a fashion of endearment amongst the people those words were created for. They each had a different word to discriminate their different culture and ethnicity. These writers discuss the words "nigger" and "chink", which are words in our language mostly ignorant people use. Naylor and Leong are also both minorities who were raised in America. They talk about how discrimination and hatred towards minorities is almost always inevitable in America, which is mostly populated by Caucasians. Naylor and Leong observe how these racial acts of discrimination can unify a group of people even closer together. Naylor didn't know the true meaning of the hate word nigger until it was used against her in a degrading manner. On the other hand Leong already knew what chink meant but wasn't traumatized until she found out her father discovered it.
The author states racism is all around us and we should talk about racial discrimination. Throughout her book she explains the hesitation people have about talking about racialism. She argues that people are silent out of fear of being impolite, indiscreet and infringing boundaries.
In the next few chapters she discusses how they were brought up to fear white people. The children in her family were always told that black people who resembled white people would live better in the world. Through her childhood she would learn that some of the benefits or being light in skin would be given to her.
In “Citizens: An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine the audience is placed in a world where racism strongly affects the daily American cultural and social life. In this world we are put as the eyewitnesses and victims, the bystanders and the participants of racial encounters that happen in our daily lives and in the media, yet we have managed to ignore them for the mere fact that we are accustomed to them. Some of these encounters may be accidental slips, things that we didn’t intend to say and that we didn’t mean yet they’ve managed to make it to the surface. On the other hand we have the encounters that are intentionally offensive, things said that are
...Also an important quote is when she says, "But today I realize I've never really known what it means to be Chinese. I am thirty-six years old" (857). Even though she was in her 30's and still had that identity crisis, it was uplifting knowing that all it took for her to resolve that conflict was one meeting with her sisters.
How would you feel if an author published a book that contained a word that was once used frequently but has now developed into one of the most derogatory and unfriendly things a person can say? Since 1884, when the book was first published, there has been much controversy regarding the use of the word “nigger” in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Many people all over the world, predominantly the African-American population, feel that the word demoralizes the Blacks, and feel that the novel should be strongly censored from society. Some say that the constant use of the “n-word” forces the reader to conceive one of the main characters, Jim (Huck’s slave friend), as a buffoon, and it therefore embarrasses the African-American community through the use of stereotype. Although it may be hard for many people to read it without having a negative reaction, the censorship of this American classic would be preposterous. As one reads this novel, one can begin to notice that the main character, Huckleberry Finn, reached a turning point with his troublesome behavior and slowly but surely began to mature and settle down into adulthood. Mark Twain actually used the relationship of Jim and Huck to portray the moral values these characters come to learn and, therefore, his book should not in any way be censored or be kept away from the classrooms. This message is more powerful than the usage of the n-word in the novel.
Both the brains and the hearts of the audience have been convinced. She also used many rhetorical strategies, like emotional appeal to convey her rough childhood to the reader. She gave numerous examples of being discriminated, and stereotyped because of their race. Tan’s audience reaches out to family members who speak broken English. Amy Tan also comprehends that although people may not be able to speak perfect English, they can comprehend what others are saying, and that you shouldn't discriminate others because of their race. A persons understanding of someone who speaks “broken-English” could be very limited, but the wisdom of the “broken English” speaker is
Murphy expresses how justifying bad deeds for good is cruel by first stirring the reader’s emotions on the topic of bullying with pathos. In “White Lies,” Murphy shares a childhood memory that takes the readers into a pitiful classroom setting with Arpi, a Lebanese girl, and the arrival of Connie, the new girl. Murphy describes how Arpi was teased about how she spoke and her name “a Lebanese girl who pronounced ask as ax...had a name that sounded too close to Alpo, a brand of dog food...” (382). For Connie, being albino made her different and alone from everyone else around her “Connie was albino, exceptionally white even by the ultra-Caucasian standards... Connie by comparison, was alone in her difference” (382). Murphy tries to get the readers to relate and pity the girls, who were bullied for being different. The author also stirs the readers to dislike the bullies and their fifth grade teacher. Murphy shares a few of the hurtful comments Connie faced such as “Casper, chalk face, Q-Tip... What’d ya do take a bath in bleach? Who’s your boyfriend-Frosty the Snowman?” (382). Reading the cruel words can immediately help one to remember a personal memory of a hurtful comment said to them and conclude a negative opinion of the bullies. The same goes for the fifth grade teac...
Racism has always been a controversial topic in history. All people face racism, no matter what race you are, and it’s an injustice. Racism is a major issue in today’s society, because … THESIS STATEMENT
Racism is from a series of books that exploring ideas of social, political, and economic controversies from the national and international views of today. The author purpose for writing a book on racism is to show people different views of racism in America. Jennifer Hurley the author wanted to clear up the debates in current controversies of race problems in America. Some people believe the civil rights movement effectively eliminated racism in American society. Other people believe that racism is still alive and is prominent in African Americans lives, holding them back from their progression in American society. She focused on the history of racism, what was done to resolve the problems in America society, and what we can do towards the future to make the problem even better. She wanted to make an important resource for librarians, teachers, and student for many years to come. Having readers thinking about critical subjects will make their opinionated evaluation on racism enhanced. The author gives us the pros and cons of the issue of racism to have a well rounded ideal of the subject. The author did not just focus on one side of the story but both from the eyes of blacks and whites in America. Which gave it a theme gave it a theme of racism from eyes of all.
Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).
Racism is one of the most revolting things within the vicinity of humanity. Many times it haunts our past, degrading our future. However, a good fraction o...
Racism is based on the belief that one’s culture is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism begins with categorising by race, and therefore stereotyping particular cultures. A simple definition of prejudice given by St Thomas Aquinas states prejudice as “thinking ill of others without sufficient cause” (1. pg 21). Racism is a major issue in today’s society, affecting a large number of the world’s population and causing political and social turmoil. To evaluate the true meaning, effects and views concerning racism in today’s world, a number of literature sources were researched including novel, films, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, textbooks and magazine articles.
For hundreds of years, racial discrimination has been occurring in our society affecting families and underprivileged kids. Therefore, the racial slurs and the actions towards one another is based off bias, where we grew up and how we were raised as a child individually. From past experiences, to our current lifestyle, there will always be a discriminate person or group protesting and starting new revolutions because of the hatred and undoing actions that have occurred in our past society. Racism and bias opinions are understandable because they derive from from a person’s cultural influences, exposure to dominant racial organizations, and the tendency to conform to expected stereotypes.