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La Noire De Ese Character Analysis

Decent Essays

In determining someone to be an other—someone seen as separate from the rest of the community—many factors are at play. One of the biggest of these factors is a person’s race. Primarily, this concept causes people who are not white to be treated different, as others, in their society. However, the drive between races and the ignorance of people towards other races can be driven by other aspects of life. Things like an individual’s belongings, the environment he is in, and the attitudes of others around him further perpetuate his separation from society by his race. One can become an other by owning, or not owning, something different than the people around him. Diouana, in Sembene’s film La Noire De…, is an example of being an other based on the things she has. In order to be accepted and attempt to fit in when she first moves to France, Diouana wears old clothing from her employer. Nevertheless, as she begins to continually dislike and feels oppressed by Madame, Diouana reverts back to wearing her clothing from home. This clothing is markedly different than the fashion of France and sets her apart. She is asserting her otherness through this. The clothing Diouana wore in Africa set her apart from France and the French employers because they did not have or use the same style of clothing. Similarly, Roddy Doyle’s “Guess Who’s Coming for the Dinner” highlights this separation of people by material objects through Larry meeting Ben for the first time. Larry was immensely

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