Throughout the course of the 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses fire to symbolize multiple different things. As people know today, the outlook on the use of fire can vary from scenario to scenario based off of its effects, but Bradbury takes those outlooks and meaning to the extreme. Bradbury uses fire in many different instances to powerfully symbolize the destruction, or even the purification during several parts of his prophetic novel to empower his work with a deeper meaning. To begin with, the future turns to a world flooded with pyromaniacs searching for a way to completely engulf their problems in flame. These people adore fire, adore the reason for a lack of confrontation, because, “its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences” (Bradbury 115).
The battle itself is the greatest symbol, which represents the battle of the blacks trying to reach for equality. The battle illustrates the African American effort to surpass oppression and slavery despite the malevolent white society portrayed in the story. Before giving his speech the narrator is beaten severely and suffers physically, yet he bites his tongue and copes with the pain to deliver his speech. This is a rendition of the narrator's beliefs that he can win his way eventually if he obeys everything the white people demand. His ideology is favorably prospected when the narrator speaks of equality in his speech and the room fills with "sounds of displeasure", followed by "hostile phrases" (Ellison 270).
Overall both Robert Staples and Roger Clegg have pretty interesting views on Affirmative action. Both men established points that of course contradict each other, but in other words carry a vast amount of knowledge. Robert Stables, Black Deprivation-White Privilege: The Assault on Affirmative Action, exemplifies every view that would agree that Affirmative Action is needed to achieve racial equality in the United States. Staples announce that many of us in a way are “perplexed”, and that the image of black people has altered into a true characteristic of a not only criminal, but as inadequate. On the other hand Clegg is proclaiming that affirmative action should be appointed everywhere or in this case “employment preferences.” Clegg undergoes
: Friends United Press, 1972, ©1954), [ 10 ]. Howard Thurman, The Creative Encounter: An Interpretation of Religion and the Social Witness (Richmond, Ind. : Friends United Press, 1972, ©1954), 58 [ 11 ]. Howard Thurman, The Creative Encounter: An Interpretation of Religion and the Social Witness (Richmond, Ind. : Friends United Press, 1972, ©1954), 34
In Steele’s examination of race relations in America, he states that, “the long struggle of blacks in America has always been a struggle to retrieve our full humanity. But now the reactive stance we adopted to defend ourselves against oppression binds us to the same racial views that oppressed us in the first place” (34). It is this statement that is the basis for Steele’s arguments that show us how Americans have become trapped in this never ending cycle called racism. Innocence Innocence and guilt are two elements of racial conflict that Steele presents. He explains how the motives of blacks and whites have been dominated by a desire of innocence.
“No man is above the law and no man below it.” This is an excellent quote by Theodore Roosevelt, and is self-explanatory. Time stands witness to the difference in the practices between what is written in the codes of law and what happens in the real world. Discrimination on the basis of color, caste, creed or religion has been the major issue at all times. The biggest example that stands in the history of Canada is how Aboriginal people were deprived of their human rights and were exploited physically, emotionally and sexually. The exploitation of human rights, within the borders of Canada, is not just limited to the aboriginal community, but also extends to Arabs, Muslims, and many others from countries such as India, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Korea.
All are white. The one man of honor in this phantasmagoria is 'Nigger Jim' as Twain called him to emphasize the irony of a society in which the only true gentleman was held beneath contempt.”-Russell Baker of the New York Times, 1982. This quote emphasizes the greatness of this book as an anti-racist and anti-slavery book. Anyone that thinks that Huck Finn or Twain are racist needs only to read this quote and their beliefs will immediately change because they will realize the context in which Twain was writing, and the point he was trying to emphasize; slavery and racism are horrible. They will only be able to do this if they think for themselves and challenge themselves to be open to new ideas.
Olaudah strongly drew attention to the fact that White Americans were terrifying savages by the way they had treated the African American slaves. He briefly exposes that, “The ship, which was so crowded that, each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us.” The essence of Olaudah writing this, was so that the audience reading this passage would get a feel, or slight image of how it was for the African Americans that were packed in the cargo of this very ship. Because the slaves were chained and stacked upon each other, it was very difficult for them to breathe. The position that the African American slaves were put in, was highly uncomfortable. Slaves had no particular clothes laid out on their back, once they were put together, as days went by, human waste and urine was usually spread throughout the cargo causing the slaves to inhale horrible oxygen that was given, and carry on any developed diseases.
He questions whether it is even feasible for an African American to merge into society as both an American and as an African, without being held back or looked down upon. Dubois writes that this prejudice engenders self-abasement in the black individual. Their struggle is that they want to be both “Negro and... American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.” Their American identity slips under their African identity and this dominant identity is the only one that people see them as. Dubois equates the experience of black America with striving to create a singular consciousness out of an identity made up of dual perspectives. His goal is to combine these two perceived identities into one and let all the prejudices fall away creating an equal, fair community.
The "n-word" is perhaps the most emotionally-loaded term in the English language. Throughout its history, the n-word's usage was primarily meant to dehumanize, debase and dishonor African-Americans. In the "good old days," the word was used by bigots with either contempt or patronization. Its underlying meaning, however, was always the same. Increasingly, many African-Americans use the n-word as if to say, "Yes, we are worthy of dehumanization, debasement and dishonor and we're darn proud of it."