Common Racial Themes Shared in Faulkner and Morrison

Common Racial Themes Shared in Faulkner and Morrison Common Racial Themes Shared in Faulkner and Morrison In spite of obvious racial and gender differences between William Faulkner (1897-1962) and Toni Morrison (1931-present), both authors approach race as a means of social separation. American society throughout history has focused on such separations to establish a defined hierarchy, based both on race and gender. In Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye, race is used to demean black Americans; standards of beauty were based on what appeared to be the closest in resemblance to white Americans. Traditionally African features such as broad noses and full lips were deemed unattractive and therefore socially inferior, as evidenced by The Bluest Eyes protagonists with the fair-skinned Maureen Peal. William Faulkners Light in August approaches race as a means of gendered power. Faulkners works showcase the ambiguity in gender lines, and Light in August is no different. Miscegenation, a central topic, melds with gender differences in empowering white characters as masculine and black characters as ne utered. Joe Christmas, a character whose racial background is shrouded throughout most of the novel, is constantly berated and indirectly belittled by powerful white figures such as his stepfather and a later lover. His death, presented at the apex of the novel (also coinciding with verification of his mixed-race background), is most significant in its portrayal of Joe Christmas castration and murder at the hands of authorities. The Bluest Eye Morrisons portrayal of race touches on several important points reflecting the social climate of the time. First, being white is aesthetically more desirable than being black. Second, being black equivocates to hardship, and third, being white transcends all aspects of being black in the social hierarchy. Race and Ethnicity Claudia and Frieda encounter the phenomena of racial aesthetics with the introduction of Maureen Peal, a fair-complexioned black girl who, despite being born with an unusual amount of birth defects, is preferred by the black boys and girls. Maureen is born with six fingers on each hand with slightly noticeable stumps where her extra fingers used to be, a significant mutation and something that would erstwhile earn her the cruel taunting of most all the children had it not been for her fair skin (Morrison 63). More noticeable is the contempt Maureen garners from Claudia and Frieda, who take closer notice to her dog tooth, relishing what physical imperfections they can find (Morrison 63). If anything, the girls spite is a jealousy harboured because they too desire to be as light-skinned and supposedly beautiful as Maureen. Further accentuating the social favour of white aesthetic superiority, Maureen denigrates Claudia, Frieda and Pecola, screaming that she is cute [and they are] black and ugly black e mos [sic], presumably differentiating herself from the three by pointing out her fairness in comparison to theirs (Morrison 73). Identity Other forms of childhood naÃÆ'Â ¯vetÃÆ'Â © serve to further Morrisons grim portrayal of black race as being synonymous with a life of hardship and inferiority. Introducing Pecola in a narrative from Claudias perspective, Morrison demonstrates the perversion of a black society that would, in a blue-eyed Baby Doll, personify what adults assume to be a childs fondest wish (Morrison 20). Still worse is the infuriating tone Morrison evokes in her three protagonists upon Mrs. Breedloves interaction with a white girl smaller and younger than them who refers to their revered matriarch as simply Polly; told from Claudias point of view, what infuriates the protagonists and the reader is that not even the elder Pecola refers to Mrs. Breedlove by her first name (Morrison 108). Still more self-deprecating is Claudias implied realisation that she is at the bottom of the social chain. Stuck below her mother in age and black men in gender, she is further demeaned when she realises the white girl s transcendence of the black social order altogether. As a young, black woman, Claudia sees how inferior even her own people perceive her. A Light in August Identity Unlike Morrison, Faulkner uses race as a means of sexual empowerment. For example, Joes feelings of self-hatred as a man of colour is reflected in his beating of the shenegro in the barn, a means of projection against the demons he faces as an adopted boy (Faulkner 514). As a black man, Christmas further feels inadequate and filled with self-deprecation. He is demeaned into emasculation under the sexually charged Miss Burden, a reflection of black inferiority to the white race in all interactions. Christmas emasculation is complete in his murder at the hands of Grimm, who shoots Christmas five times and then castrates him in a kitchen, a symbol of the relegation of blacks into servitude and powerlessness. Faulkners inherent message is that to be black is to be not only socially inferior, but to also be genderless and dehumanized, a fact evidenced by his most gruesome and torturous death. Though Joe Christmas is not noticeably black as a product of miscegenation, he is forced into a b lack identity by a society who will not accept a white man with even a drop of black blood in his lineage. Race and Ethnicity Morrison and Faulkner both draw upon the inequities of American racial relations in order to communicate his disdain for the institution of racial discrimination. However, Faulkner is more fatalist in tone, evoking a manner of apathy and helplessness at the situation. Like Morrison, Faulkner demonstrates how racial association compromises character. Reverend Gail Hightower is shamed in society initially because of his wifes infidelities; however, what ostracizes him from the white community is a contemptuous rumour that he, as a reverend, had an affair with a black woman. People who wished to distance themselves from Hightower could not do so simply with the knowledge that he was a cuckold; instead, a far more negative rumour involving sexual relations and possible miscegenation was spread. Faulkner further shows the power of racial separation in the indictment of Joe Christmas by Joe Brown, who is questioned by Hightower and the sheriff. Unable to sway them from assuming his guilt a t the murder of Miss Burden, Brown spitefully accuses the two of [accusing] the white man trying to help [them] and letting the nigger run (Faulkner 470). BIBLIOGRAPHY Faulkner, William. Novels 1930-1935: As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, Pylon. New York: The Library of America, 1985. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Afghanistan :: American America History

Afghanistan The King was overthrown in 1973. Muhammad Daoud took the power as President of the Afghanistan. He established an autocratic, one-party state, later had purged his government of leftists, and in the last years of his rule had sought financial support form Iran, ruled by the Shah, and Saudi Arabia in order to make Afghanistan less dependent on Soviet economic aid. On April 28, 1978, the regime of President Mohammad Daoud ended violently. Military units raided the Presidential Palace, in Kabul. Killed the president and most members of his family. All happened after the assassination of Mir Akbar Khyber, April 17, a Marxist ideologue a member of the Parcham faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. (PDPA) was a Marxist-oriented party. On April 19 the party organized a mass rally and march in the honor of Khyber's funeral. Marched through the streets of Kabul and shouted anti-American slogans in front of the United States embassy. President Daoud ordered the arrest of seven top PDPA leaders. The PDPA Central committee member Hafizullah Amin was placed under house arrest shortly. He planed a coup d'etat. PDPA leaders were liberated from a government prison. The plan for the April coup, according to Amin in a press conference that it had occurred two years ahead of the PDPA's schedule for revolution. Taraki, Amin, and Karmal were the central player in the leftists' revolution of the Afghanistan. Taraki was born in 1917, was the oldest. His father was a livestock dealer and small-time smuggler. His family's described by Dupree in Nyrop (pg. 218) as semi nomadic, traveling frequently between Ghazini Province and British India. He attended a provincial elementary school and a middle school in Qandahar and was. He began to write short stories. In 1940s his stories refluxing the living condition of Afghan peasants, which approved by Soviet critics as Scientific Socialist themes. Amin was born in 1921, in Paghman, a town near Kabul. His father was a minor civil servant. After study mathematic and physics at Kabul University, he became a high school teacher and later promoted to the principal position. In 1957, through a scholarship he went to study at Teacher's College at Columbia University, in New York. He returned for further studies and that time he joined with students who were interested in Marxism. *Karmal, was born in 1929, a member of the social and political elite. He was a son of General Muhammad Hussain Khan, who served as governor of Pakita Province and had close ties with the royal family.

Dangers of Drugs

There are many persuasive arguments you can give to convince middle school students not start using drugs. One argument is the pain you would put your family through. Not only is it dangerous to using the drugs, it is also very dangerous to be around the people that sell the drugs. One of the best arguments I could give it the very harmful affects that the drug does to your body. There are endless arguments that you could give to students not to buy and use drugs but I believe those are the best arguments. Using drugs are very dangerous to not only you but your family too.When people start using drugs, they do not think about the pain and suffrage that your family will have to go through. Your family will have to go through the challenge of overcoming your addiction with you, which will put a strain on your relationship with them. It would be very hard for your mother or father to see you using a dangerous drug. Not only will it affect you but it will affect the people that you love most. When somebody said â€Å"drugs† they only think about using them. They do not think about the extremely dangerous people that you have to be around to get the drugs.These types of people are not nice, and could hurt you. These people have probably committed crimes and have been in prison. There is so much more to the word â€Å"drug† than people think about, such as the people you have to be associated with. The first time that you use a drug nobody thinks that they will be addicted to it. When addiction takes place you have to use the drug everyday, even multiple times a day. After using the drug for so long is does major damage to your lunges, mouth, skin, liver, kidneys, and even your facial features. These are major parts of the body and most are replicable.Using drugs after awhile will eventually kill you. After learning that all those things that take into account when using drugs- would you ever try them? After hearing three great arguments on why not to u se drugs, I believe those three are the best. Using drugs not only affects you but also your loved ones too. Being around those types of people are potentially dangerous. Last but not least, the dangerous affects that the drugs could do to your body. No one deserves a life of addiction; so I hope that you have learned something and will never touch a dangerous drug.

Argument in Favor of Euthanasia Essay - 1913 Words

Introduction Today, medical interventions have made it possible to save or prolong lives, but should the process of dying be left to nature? (Brogden, 2001). Phrases such as, â€Å"killing is always considered murder,† and â€Å"while life is present, so is hope† are not enough to contract with the present medical knowledge in the Canadian health care system, which is proficient of giving injured patients a chance to live, which in the past would not have been possible (Brogden, 2001). According to Brogden, a number of economic and ethical questions arise concerning the increasing elderly population. This is the reason why the Canadian society ought to endeavor to come to a decision on what is right and ethical when it comes to facing death.†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, voluntary euthanasia is described as a situation in which the critically ill patient requests from someone else to help them die. They may either influence someone to assist them in s uicide, or refuse life-saving medical treatment (Ramabele, 2004). Euthanasia and the Elderly Population When it comes to people’s attitudes towards euthanasia, age has a very strong impact. According to Brogden, elderly, terminally ill individuals are considered vulnerable. They might be short of the ability and understanding of lessening the pain of their symptoms, and could experience apprehension regarding the future and what the consequences of their illness are (Blank et al, 2001). The elderly individual’s decision making about euthanasia may just be because of confusion, depression, dementia, or a number of other symptoms, however, these could all be relieved with suitable treatment and support (Blank et al, 2001). However, great pressure is experienced by elderly people to request euthanasia because many of them already feel a burden to their families and caregivers (Brogden, 2001). 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But in modern usage, it has come to imply that someone’s life is ended for compassionate reasons by some passive or active steps taken by another person. The euthanasia controversy isRead MoreFor Euthanasia Persuasive Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pagespain and suffering. Euthanasia is a word that most people avoid because it is very controversial. But why? Euthanasia is a way of ending the prolonging of suffering, while leaving life in peace. Euthanasia is derived from the Greeks where Eu means good and Thanatos means death. When these phrases are combined the word euthanasia is created; meaning â€Å"good death† (6.) There are three types of euthanasia although only two are authentic forms. The first type is active euthanasia. It is described as