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racism

racism Racism and prejudice are themes that intertwine in the books The Garies and their Friends and The House Behind the Cedars. While prejudice is an opinion without adequate basis, which usually comes from ignorance, racism is a belief of superiority over a race because of prejudice. It also involves taking ones thoughts and turning them into actions. A person who is prejudice will hate another solely because they are different. The difference may be skin color, hair type, sex preference, or anything they don't understand. These people are ignorant; they jump to conclusions, and make negative assessments about people due to stereotypes. A racist is someone who truly believes that he or she is better then a person of another race and looks down upon other people because of their differences. Racism is manifested in many forms ranging from jokes, dirty looks, to not standing on line because a "nigger" is ringing up his groceries. In more extreme cases, people who believe that they are superior can act out their fears and insecurities with violence and terrorism. In the novel, The Garies and their Friends, some of the main themes were "racism" and "prejudice". Some examples of these themes being portrayed in the book would be George Stevens and his wife acting out upon the Garies, Clarence Garie owning slaves, Charlie not being able to get a job, and Birdie not wanting to marry Clarence. George Stevens, also known as "slippery George", was a racist. He had hated Garie just for marrying a white woman but it wasn't until he found out that they were related and that Garie would inherit money from a distant aunt, that he wished him dead. George had a mob of rioters attack the Garies' home and kill Clarence. Mrs. Stevens was a blatant racist. She had no resentments towards the Garies' untill she came to find out that Mrs. Garie was black. Once it was brought to her attention, she no longer wanted to associate with them or have her children go anywhere near them. She felt so strongly about the situation, that with the support of her friends, she had Emily and Clarence expelled from school. Mrs. Stevens explained to the teacher that if she did not comply with her request, she would shut down the school, so Miss Jordan had no choice but to accede. Mr. Garie was also a racist. He may not have been a flagrant racist because he did in fact marry a black woman, but he did own slaves. Because he happened to fall in love with one, that doesn't mean that his previous way of thinking had changed. People who owned slaves were racist and prejudice regardless of the fact that they were kind because the act of enslaving anyone is severe enough to place them in that category. Charlie Ellis was an example of someone who was subjected to racism. Charlie was an intelligent, eager, hardworking young man who only wanted to work so that he may help provide for his family. But whenever he tried to find a job, he was denied a position because he was black. Another example would be Clarence not being able to marry his one true love, Birdie. When Birdie and her father were informed of the fact that Clarence was actually black, the engagement was called off. Although Birdie loved him, she couldn't get passed it until it was to late. Clarence eventually dies of a broken heart and loneliness. "Clarence, cast a tear upon thy tomb-poor victim of prejudice to thy color!" In the novel, The House Behind the Cedars, "racism" and "prejudice" are also main themes. Prime examples of this would be Miss Molly thinking she was upscale because she was a fairer shade of black, Rena also dying of a broken heart. Miss Molly was lighter in complexion than most of the black people in her community. Because of her mulatto like skin color and the fact that she married a white man, she felt that she was better than a majority of the people that she came across. She raised her children to believe that they were superior to most and did not want them to interact with anyone who was darker than them because they had extremely fair features. An example of her racism would be when she had the party for Rena. Although Frank was always willing to help out their family and was of assistance in many occasions, Miss Molly still refused to invite him to the party. Because of the way that John was brought up and the fact that his "one-drop of Negro blood" limited the advancement of his professional career, he left home and concealed every aspect of his race. He chose to identify himself as a white man so that he may lead the life that he always wanted, even if it meant forgetting about his past. There is a thin line between the terms "racist" and 'prejudice" because racism is prejudice in action. A person can be a racist whether their actions are physical or verbal or by not doing anything at all. For example if someone chooses to not go to a park because black children play there and makes this decision because they feel that they are better than them because they are white, that makes them a racist. A person who is prejudice is just ignorant. They will go to the park but will have devious thoughts about the Negroes because they are different. A prejudice won't necessarily believe that he or she is dominant because of their race but a racist will. Bibliography:

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