Prejudice strongly relates to Edward .R. Murrow’s idea that everyone is a prisoner of their own experiences. This means that prejudice and discrimination can cause a person to feel trapped and imprisoned in their own life. When you judge someone on the basis of something that isn’t their fault it’s called prejudice. Prejudice is usually polarised; this means that people victimise others that appear opposite to themselves. For example, different races tend to victimise each other. Insecurity is going to be a key theme in this essay, due to the fact that discrimination can affect someone’s personal stability and cause someone to become extremely isolated and insecure. In this essay I will be talking about the effects of racial discrimination on society. I will be comparing and contrasting John Steinbeck’s book: Of Mice and Men – set in the 1930’s, John Agard’s poem: Half-caste set in 2004 and Maya Angelou’s poem: Still I rise – set in 1978. All of these pieces link to racial discrimination and prejudice in some way. I am going to be exploring the similarities and differences in these pieces. I am also going to be explaining how these pieces help us to understand how prejudice can affect personal and social insecurity.
In the book: Of Mice and Men Curley’s Wife is polarised by the other ranch workers simply because, she is a women and is considered useless. The quote: “You God damn tramp,” highlights the fact the other men have minimal respect for her. The word “tramp”
' “ (Steinbeck 32). Curley 's Wife, innocent just like Crooks, is also judged and persecuted by others. She is not even given a name, which does not give her any dignity. Curly’s wife is always called out by the ranchers. Even after her own tragic death Curley 's Wife is still seen as the cause of trouble. Candy believes that Curley 's Wife is at fault. Candy lets his anger out on Curley 's Wife because he has more power than her, “ 'You God damn tramp, ' he said viciously. 'You done it di 'n 't you? I s 'pose you 're glad. Ever 'body knowed you 'd mess things up. You wasn 't no good. You ain 't no good now, you lousy tart. ' “ (Steinbeck 95). Candy calling out Curley 's Wife represents society treating her as a cast off. Curley 's Wife is lonely because she is the only woman on the ranch, however because of this, she is always being treated cruelly and without respect.
Curley’s Wife was a subject of Prejudice because she was a woman. During the 1930’s a woman’s place was to be at home raising a family, also women were seen as second class citizens and property of their husbands. Before we meet Curley’s Wife, the reader already has an opinion of her because of what the character Candy calls her- “jail bait”; George calls her a “tramp”. It’s implied that she is a tart and a promiscuous woman; she craves the attention her husband doesn’t give her.
People have been stereotyped into a certain group because of their skin color or they have been discriminated against because of how they dress, their name, or even their hairstyle. Minorities such as African Americans deal with this type of racial discrimination every day because of their skin color and the way they might sound despite if they do not sound as the way they appear. For example, if an African American person walked into an interview dressed nicely and clean and a caucasian went in for an interview dressed just as nice and clean, the Caucasian application is more likely to get the job and receive a higher rating than the African American applicant. (Zimmerman) It might seem to the naked eye that minorities in general somewhat have the same opportunities as Caucasian people but in fact they do not really have them. All in all, there is still racial discrimination in America and African Americans do not have the same opportunities as Caucasians in housing, education, and jobs.
Chapter one covers the history and definition of racism. It also covers different pathways of racism and how racism is manifested. Within this chapter the impact of racism of people of color is discussed and its effects, such as depression. Symptoms beyond the mental and physical aspects are also discussed such as incarceration.
Curley’s wife, who is never given a name, but always called “Curley’s wife”, is shown with a lot of sexual prejudice. She is referred to as a “looloo” (51) with a very flirtatious nature and “she got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody”, and she might “even gives the stable buck they eye” (51). A "ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like
In the literary work Of Mice and Men, the reader is introduced to the ranch as a world of its own, within which prejudice plays a significant part. The characters in this novel act as a community in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society. A strong point, enforced through many examples in the book, is the constant ability of the stronger to overcome the weaker. The prejudices of the majority towards the minority, at the ranch are the white-males, who retain power over the lesser groups of people. This inequality, as well as the influence of the time period, causes discrimination against people of color, women, and those that are disabled, either mentally or physically.
In America there are still several parts of our society that remain racially unequal including, the workforce, the wealth gap between minorities and whites, as well as incarceration rates and police behavior. The unemployment rates in America are relatively high and because of how hard it is to get a job, the employers prefer to hire someone that they feel more comfortable with, which typically aren’t minorities. The wealth gap between minorities and whites is continuing to grow as the years move on and because the wealth gap many people are starting to turn to criminalism. Because of the amount of people turning to criminalism, the incarceration rates of minorities is steadily increasing. Racial inequality in one section of our society can affect all of the other sections as well. It is a “snowball effect” of sorts. One small aspect of racial inequality can lead to another and another and so on and so forth until our whole society is unequal. Racial inequality has a negative impact on our society
Throughout the Americas, the notion of race has been commonly used for making social distinctions (Telles, & Paschel, 2014) Race continues to influence power relations, construction of identities and resource distribution (Jenkins & Dillon 2012). The consequences of slavery led to desegregation and since then there has been ongoing issues of discrimination, prejudice, hate crimes, regarding race in the United States (Lee, & Bean, 2007). W.E.B. Dubois, in 1903, predicted that the issues of the twentieth century would be problems of the color line, by which he meant a metaphorical line that divides the country for historical reasons (Lee, & Bean, 2007). His prediction was spot on, because what was set in motion was a series of black and white
In the novella Of Mice and Men. George refers to Curley's Wife as a tramp. In some respects, both George and Curley’s wife could be considered a tramp. The exact definition of tramp is “A person who travels from place to place on foot.” Curley’s Wife could be seen this way because George thinks that she is traveling from man to man, flirting with everyone.
Prejudice, the chain of hatred and ignorance, has haunted our history at every step. In the twenty-first century prejudice and its destruction can be viewed in many forms of modern literature. Two of the most famous and rejoiced literatures that examine the theme of prejudice are Harper Lee’s realist fiction novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Martin Luther King’s heart warming speech ‘I Have a Dream’. Both texts explore the theme of prejudice of white Americans on the Blacks in the racially tense times of the early twentieth century. Unlike Harper Lee, Martin Luther King goes a step further to persuade the audience that there is prejudice present and we should be motivated to stop this evil from blossoming in our world.
For centuries it has seemed that African Americans have been fighting a never ending battle for acceptance in society. Although this is somewhat true, it appears that the rest of minorities being discriminated against are left in the shadows. I understand African American citizens might have an immense population of people that are being discriminated by the authorities, but people need to also understand and realize that it is not only African Americans. Instead of the recently popular quote being “Black lives matter”, it should instead be, “All lives matter”. Society must take into consideration that it's not just african americans that have it rough in the world we live in today. There are countless times where hispanic americans, Muslims,
The African Americans had to deal with discrimination as well as the Mexican Americans. When getting through the rough times they had to come up with something that made people rethink the African Americans are not bad that they are harmless. The African Americans came up with the double victory plan, there not bad but people look at them like there a animal. People feel the need to tell them that they are not equal and they have no right to live. This is why they came up with the double victory plan, to show that they are fighting for the same thing.
Perhaps as a further representation of her apparent insignificance she is always referred to as `Curley's wife', never given a name. She experiences further sexual prejudice in that none of the ranch hands will talk to her. This is partly because she can make up things about those she dislikes who will subsequently get `the can' and also because she is a `looloo' with a very flirtatious nature. "She got the eye goin' all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck they eye. I don't know what the hell she wants" says
With all of the advances in modern society and human behavior, racism is still a crisis that many people have to cope with. It can occur at any place or at any time, including in the workplace. Racial discrimination arises when someone is treated differently based on their actual or perceived race. Many people believe that if one were to be in the vicinity of a respected workplace that they would be respected by all co-workers and employers; this is in no way true. A big amount of minority employees, mainly African-Americans, are affected by racial discrimination in the workplace whether it’s from their employers or their fellow co-workers, and it is not at all acceptable. Racial discrimination is a situation that has always been a problem, so we must show an effort to try to eliminate it from our society.
“I believe discrimination still exists in society and we must fight it in every form,” as stated by Andrew Cuomo the current governor of New York. All throughout history, discrimination has been an underlying issue and is one that must be stopped and fixed. Throughout time African-Americans have been the most notable victims of discrimination. Dating back to the early seventeenth century, blacks have been discriminated and enslaved for absolutely no reason. There have been many attempts to end the discrimination, but as hard as people try this is an issue that seems unconquerable. Despite the fact that the Jim Crow era has passed, it is evident from history and peoples experiences that racial discrimination still does exist today.