African Americans were segregated from the whites and also Women had no rights because Men were seen as the alpha male. The obstacles of the two would probably fit into the race and gender of how America was back in the twentieth century. African Americans were always hard to be put in society in the 1900’s because of slavery. Even though slavery had ended in the 1950’s, they were still not accepted into society. The northern parts of the United States accepted African Americans, and many try to escape to the north to try to get employed and leave the racial segregation in the south.
By reading the principal’s speech, Richard was saying what the white power wanted him to say and to Richard this would be giving in to the very thing he hated so much. Richard was willing to leave school without a diploma instead of this. White people alienated Richard from his environment because he did not accept the way of life that other black people did. Richard’s relatives never understood Richard and because of this he was alienated from his family and his own people. Shorty is the young black boy who gets beat by the white people and jokes about it.
Rather than being a judge of his people, he was merely a citizen complaining about social injustices in his country. Paton’s condescending tone when speaking about the white people’s unfairness towards the blacks adds to his argumentative diction. For instance, Arthur writes, “We shift our ground again…and feel deep pity for a man who is condemned to the loneliness of being remarkable.” The words “deep pity” and “loneliness” contrast “remarkable”. When something is remarkable it is held in high esteem. The white people’s view of a black man was so low that even if he was more successful than one of them, he’d still be at the bottom of society.
Bigger is not the typical guileless protagonist, in fact, he evolves into an antihero as he rapidly becomes rancorous and reserved towards the society surrounding him ruled by white people. Despite his best efforts, Bigger is faced with the inevitable demise of his soul by selling it to the Devil, which is in his eyes the white people. He undertakes the position as a chauffeur for a prominent and wealthy white family, the Dalton’s. Although Mr. Dalton treats Bigger with more respect than the average white person would over the course of Bigger’s employment at the Dalton residence, it was very obvious that Mr. Dalton’s caring nature towards black people was simply a charade to make Page 2 himself feel and look better. This is a simple example of how white people could not bare to believe that the African American race was of an equal standpoint, even if they tried.
Harper Lee shows the racist social values that most of the inhabitants of Maycomb County follow are one of the factors that cause Atticus Finch’s defense to fail. In Maycomb, hating black people is a never-ending trend. Even though almost everyone follows it, Atticus does not. He is one of the only characters in the novel that has good social values and does not judge one by his or her skin colour. Although he has a feeling that he is not going to win the case, he still does the right thing by
Crooks, named for his crooked back, is one of the most vulnerable characters on the ranch, mostly due to his race combined with general racist attitudes at the time. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch, and he has been so beaten down by loneliness and prejudicial treatment of that he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives. Crooks is painfully aware that his skin color is all that keeps him separate in this culture. This outsider status causes him to lament his loneliness, but he also delights in seeing the loneliness of others, perhaps because misery loves company. When Lennie arrives at his room, he turns him away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him.
Although we have been given the same rights as white men have, through the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the crimes committed by white men make it seem as if we are still slaves and “vile” animals in the society we live in today. Below I will list and explain some of the rights we are denied access to. I earnestly wish you would read this letter and advocate your help for our race through other laws, protection, or anything you can find that will benefit the free black men and women in our country. One of the many major problems that we face is how we are accepted in society. In fact, apparently we are not well accepted or even accepted at all to the dominant white race.
The white and Native Americans are the one’s who get the jobs as supervisors and of course the place is ran by a white man while the Mexicans and African Americans do the dirty work. LeDuff also notices that there is much tension between the Blacks and Mexicans yet they do not realize that while they are against each other, the White boss is against them both. “The blacks who kill will become angry with the Mexicans who cut, who in turn become angry with the white superintendents who push them.” (Leduff 2000:366) How can the American Dream be accomplished amongst minorities when they are holding each other back and not helping one another? Especially when our race itself is already a set
His family tried their best to mold him into a better man in order to survive the later years to come. Wright had to realize the harsh realities of the consequences of being a black man in the early 1900s. In that time, many blacks were tortured for the simple fact that they were not white. Black people experienced much violence. Jim Crow Laws promoted the idea that blacks were naturally mediocre to blacks in all important ways, including intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior.
At the time, in the 1930s, there were two distinct groups, as seen by society. There were the black savages and the cultured and sophisticated, rich whites. The upper class, being the caucasians, looked at the blacks very lowly. They assumed that they were not very intelligent and they would never make it very far in life, compared to white people. Bigger, however, was not like many typical blacks.