Racial Boundaries in Burmese Days by George Orwell

They were hated and powerful. Chua opens the book with her aunt’s murder. Her aunt was a part of the market-dominant Chinese population in the Philippines. Her aunt was murdered because of her ethnicity and fortune. It is unfortunate because the murderers even confessed to the crime, but no jail time was enforced because the justice system is corrupt as well. The police officers could care less about what happens to non-Filipino citizens because the minorities aren't undergoing the same struggles as the general population. Ironically, it is these minorities that control a huge percentage of the country. In Burma, the 5% Chinese population control majority of the country; this includes, politics, the economy, and the government. Almost 70% of the population consists of indigenous Burmans, who have absolutely no control. In fact, roughly 40% of them are peasants or are landless. Not all minorities are perceived in the same way though, especially in Latin America. In countries like Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay, the general population is either light-skinned or wants to be. These societies envy the “white” people to a point where majority of people say they are white themselves. There is also a very prominent interracial mix within these countries. This meant that everyone had some sort of European descent in his or her bloodline. It has progressed to a point where countries were forced to establish a system to distinguish how “white” you were. This was known as the Society of Castes. The Society of Castes was a spectrum that people were placed on based off the actual pigment of their skin. Chua also mentioned that people that fell on the “light” side of the spectrum possessed more power and had the higher paying jobs in society. The darker-skinned people were the ones that had the low-paying, tedious jobs and were considered to be inferior, falling to the

America is the land of freedom and opportunity. It is a place where anyone can take refuge from harm and pursue their own dreams. However, the novel, The Refugees, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, portrays another perspective of being a refugee in the United States. The retelling of him becoming accustomed to America practices indicated that he faced an identity crisis. Specifically, he faces a contentious dilemma concerning how he would strike a balance between seeing himself as a person of Vietnamese heredity or of his American lifestyle. He amplifies the significance of this issue through the inquiry of certain practices of the community, his mixed views about fighting Communism, and his interactions with his family.

Eventually, there is a shift and distinction in class divisions Orwell shows, beginning with “the mob of sheep, whose chant used to be ‘four legs good, two legs bad,’ have been coached to chant ‘four legs good, two legs better’” (Orwell quoted in Gardner). The one thing that will never arise for these animals, or in a larger picture, society as a whole, is equality between the classes.

In the very first paragraph of the story the character tells of his experience on a football field. He stated that “when a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter” (Orwell 1). The character also recounts of other experiences he has where “insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance” (Orwell 1). In his own words the character describes how he feels about these situations. He states how the Burman’s actions badly got on his nerves. He explains how overwhelming and upsetting his job makes him, so much so that he wants to quit. It is important to note the characters perception of the Burmese because it shows that his rancor towards them does not affect his longing for respect. This is a basic point that helps set up the story to show what the characters

In the story Chopin expresses symbolism within the social class distinction by placing one race in a higher social ranking than the other and, by the abandonment of one race.

“The british empire was a racial construct in which whites were of higher status than non-whites” (Document K). Whites, being considered superior, caused segregation. No one can control their race, but countries are constantly fighting to be on the top of the social ladder.

Oftentimes conflicts are only considered to be only an international difference in opinions, however, conflict can be present as a national issue. In the United States of America, although considered a relatively peaceful country, experiences national conflicts regularly. Dennis Prager says “Since neither black animosity nor the Left’s falsehood of ‘racial tensions’ is based on the actual behavior of the vast majority of white Americans, nothing white America can do will affect the perceptions of many black Americans or of the leftist libel.” This quote defends the idea that in most cases, the racial tension is one sided and without clear evidence.

Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary

Race is a social construct that has influence all aspects of the American world view and life. The idea of race was constructed in America to justify slavery of Africans, stealing from and killing Native Americans, and prejudice against immigrants. Boas was took a stand on this subject that was not in line with mainstream perceptions on the subject. Another differing view was Du Bois who had some similarities in view and differences from Boas. Even with their legacies showing that race is not a biological reality, the power and impact of race can still be felt today, even though it is seen as a social construct by anthropologists.

(Khan) But the fact that the world believes is that Dutch are white, based on Khan’s race people never believed in her nationality stating that you cannot be Dutch. Therefore, Khan used emotional appeal to show a remorse for the racial minorities showing that “the minorities can die from lack of money for medicines while we vacation in proximity”. (Khan) Khan used this statement for the devalued people of the society who were forced to give away their land to the wealthy for their use. (Khan)

When I was young I remember moving cities and I thought it was going to be the end of the world for me. One of the thoughts that always went through my mind was what if I do not fit in? or will I be able to make any friends? Luckily for me I was able to speak English and I knew I could communicate with people if I had to. This was not the case for Cambodian refugees when they moved to the United States because the Khmer Rouge was attacking Cambodia. Thousands of people moved to the United States and many of these people were kids who did not have a saying whether they wanted to stay or come with their parents because they could not take care of themselves. Many of these kids are now suffering because they fell into the wrong crowds and committed a crime when they were young and due to the antiterrorism and death penalty act they are now being deported back to Cambodia, which they know nothing about, and some of them do not even know how to speak the language. I will be talking about the Cambodian kids that were affected by their parents moving to the United States and how the antiterrorism and death penalty act has affected some of them.

Falguni Sheth's Toward a Political Philosophy of Race is an endeavor to air conditioning mean the social production of races utilizing Heideggerian and Foucaudian methodo gy. Sheth's point is to join post-frontier writing about alterity with racial hypothesis in rationality and political race hypothesis. Sheth's portrayals of her hypothetical and methodological commitments, and her short scrutinizes of the insightful conventions she tries to supplant, are probably going to event sharp contradiction. Aside from her hypothetical contraption, be that as it may, Sheth prevails with regards to building up a conceivable autonomous and unique record ofrace-creation by the state, as acontemporary and not only authentic process. In the Introduc-tion,

Critical race theory “ is an academic discipline focused upon the application of critical theory a critical examination of society and culture, to the intersection of race, law, and power. Critical race theory is often associated with many of the controversial issues involved in the pursuit of equality issues related to race and ethnicity” ( Luis Tyson). The movement is loosely unified by two common themes. First, proposes that white supremacy and racial power are maintained over time, and in particular, that the past may play a role. Because of the experiences of slavery, most slaves repressed these memories in an attempt to forget the past. “This repression from the past causes a fragmentation of the self and a loss of true identity. Sethe, Paul D. and Denver all experience this loss of self, which could only be remedied by the acceptance of the past and the memory of their original identities. Beloved serves to remind these characters of their repressed memories, eventually causing the reintegration of themselves” (Sparknotes). Toni Morrison’s Beloved goes into the individual story that was captive, and their human responses to slavery through their voices. “The manipulation of language and its controlled absence reinforces the mental enslavement that persists after individuals are freed from physical bondage” (Emily Clark). Reading through a critical race lense in the novel Beloved, by Toni Morrison, the experience of minorities have given Sethe, Paul D, Baby Suggs, and

Although race does not exist in the world in an objective way, it still is relevant in today’s society. It is obvious that race is real in society and it affects the way we view others as well as ourselves. Race is a social construct that is produced by the superior race and their power to regulate. “The category of ‘white’ was subject to challenges brought about by the influx of diverse groups who were not of the same Anglo-Saxonstock as the founding immigrants” (Omi and Winant 24). Frankly, ‘white’ was the norm, the others were considered an outcast.

The character in the essay even says “Theoretically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” (Orwell Elephant 1) Throughout the essay there is also a tone of pity when speaking about natives. For example, “he was only an Indian and could do nothing” (Orwell Elephant 3), the tone that this is written in makes the reader sympathize with the natives far more than the British. The author does a brilliant job at using the authority figure to convey a sense of remorse for those living under imperialism.