Racism and Prejudice Effects

Black people are known to have been marked as unequal. And those who are white and think of themselves as being supreme, are the very ones that make their life a living hell. The white race perceives itself as being the privileged one, living a life full of richness, mostly at the expense of black people. Racism and prejudice lead people to behave in a harmful way. It seems that colored people are simply born to suffer. Injustice and scorn are believed to have been with them forever. But, is this going to change? If so, when?

Racism and prejudice are the worst issues facing any society. Racism may affect a whole society in many ways and it might spread over the citizens like a virus. Consider how this manifest and seen in “Time to Kill”, when Pete Willard and Billy Cobb rapped Tonya Hailey; Jack Brigance has to fight against the entire society just to help Carl Lee. Jack tries to make justice for the black people for the first time in history. White supremacy has existed before and still exists in the present day. The U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics conclude than an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a white male only has a 6% chance.

Since the medieval times and through the XIX century, in Europe a wrong and poor interpretation of the Bible, has been spread. It is believed that three human races exist stemming from the descendants of the three sons of Noah: Shem, Cam and Japheth. From Shem comes the Jews and Arabs, from Cam colored people of the earth, and from Japheth come the whites. Canaan, son of Cam, has been condemned by Noah: “Cursed be Cannan, a salve of slaves shall he be to his brothers”. The racist interpretation of the Bible, said that the curse of Canaan has been a course to serve the white race. And since then racism has become a transmission between generations. A clear example of this can be seen in the “Short stories of Apartheid”, where it tells about the injustice of Apartheid Law and how innocent people have suffered from the horrible consequences of racism and prejudice. That system has killed the ideas and hopes of the colored race under the dominance of the white race; injustices that have been made by people who are convinced to be superior race.

In 1859 a scientific work by Charles Darwin is published, “The Origen of Species”. His theory of evolution has created a problem. People who have accepted his ideas began to talk of advanced and inferior races. So the people who were colonized became recognized as an inferior race. It can be seen as racist and can be so pretentious to believe they have been the superior race. Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mocking Bird” was punished because a white girl accused him of raping her and everyone believed her just because she was one of them, a human who belongs to the superior race.

The humble, the poor ones are always discriminated. The people who have to work to survive have always been discriminated. Once again teachings of the Bible can be found as a wrong and incorrect concepts. It has been believed that work is an obligation imposed as a result of divine punishment because of original sin. God told Adam “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread…”Then and especially in the medieval time, the manual work has been considered as something unworthy and dishonorable.  Even present day beliefs and conditions of people who work hard might exclaim “I work like a nigger”; showing differentiation between beliefs of a superior race.  In “Apartheid”, “Time to Kill” and “To Kill a Mocking bird”, we have clear examples of the colored race working for the whites. Examples like, cleaning houses, cooking, or doing any kind of service, that a superior class cannot or should not do for themselves.

On the whole, it is clear that in actuality there is still insufficient tolerance for human diversity. There are many examples that show how much suffering it is caused each day against minorities groups as a result of racism and prejudice. Racism and prejudice lead people to behave in a harmful way, but it seems apparent that the lesson is never going to be learned.

 

“The Cask of Amontillado”- “The Fall of the House of Usher”

 Since the beginning of humanity different cultures have seen death in different ways. It has been perceived as an event of justice, an event of reverence to different gods, and even seen as gateway and door to a continuation of life for many cultures. However, in most cultures, life has been in the hands of some perceived supreme being. Nowadays, death is still being seen as a kind of justice, though for others it might be thought of as a peaceful ending to our loved ones.  So, can a human being take someone’s life? Is humanity taking attributes that do not belong to them?

Some people believe it is morally correct to take someone’s life as justice. Many believe that some people have to pay for their mistakes with their own life; an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We could say this might be correct for some citizens, but not for others; clearly there are many mixed opinions about the role and ethical dilemma of capital punishment within the judicial system. Nowadays people have had to develop strategies to cope and manage the pain that is associated with the many horrible crimes that take place in the world, and for many, they seem to feel that justice does not exist and as a result of this feeling of injustice they sometimes decide to take justice into their own hands. A clear example of this situation can be seen in “The Cask of Amontillado” when Montresor killed Fortunato for revenge.

These days with the advances in medicine and healthcare, people have the propensity to live longer, even though they may be suffering through the adversity of a terminal illness. Yet for some people the fear of suffering a long and drawn out death has led them to believe that it is better to die without experiencing any suffering, and thus they choose to end their own life. Some may even call it a dignified death. Those who decide to traverse the path of this kind of death have lost all hope and simply hope to stop their pain. It is said that families who support suicide believe this act as representing the only way to assist those who walk the roads of despair and hopelessness. So, it might be correct to give someone a peaceful death, but in the story “The Fall of the house of Usher” we see that Roderick Usher buried his sister in the house; however continued to feel quite uneasy and even feel sure that she is yet still alive. Roderick also believes he might help stop her suffering but ultimately is tormented by his conscience in not letting him be in peace as a result of his actions.

At least once a week we can see or hear in news broadcasts that someone has killed for revenge. People want to take justice into their own hands. And revenge may transform a normal person into and evil human being. They are fed up with widespread injustice, so much so that they have become blinded by rage and grow into a state of madness, deciding to take justice into their own hands. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor is convinced that Fortunato has to pay the humiliation committed on him.

Another fact in a daily life is that there are many cases in the news about normal people that suddenly kill someone. A clear example of this is in the story of “The Cask of Amontillado” when Montresor finds Fortunato, he invites him in for some wine, and he appears as a normal human being, perhaps even inoffensive. It is a fact that mad people might seem harmless. These people however might become overwhelmed with different situations, which as a result, cause them to enter into a deep internal crisis, resulting in impaired situational judgement; that tends to escalate a silly circumstance into a huge crisis or event.

In conclusion, we could say that by and large it may just depend on people’s perception of culture and how they pay respect to human life. However, it is always going to be an ethical discussion on whether or not human beings have the right to decide between the delicate balance of capital punishment and the right to life for those who commit heinous crimes against society. And it is a fact that society is becoming crazier which is leading to an increased number of people with mental disorders. So, we can confirm that mental insanity might cause people to commit a crime and that people from around the world and from different cultures have seen death in different ways since the beginning of humanity.

“To Kill a Mocking Bird” – “Apartheid” – “A time to kill”

ST: Racism and Prejudice

LT: Racism and Prejudice effects

TS: Racism and Prejudice lead people to behave in a harmful way.

 

Black people are known to have been marked as unequal. Those who think to be supreme are the ones that make their life hell. The White race is the privileged, living a life full of richness, mostly at the expense of the blacks. It seems coloured people are born to suffer. Injustice and scorn are believed to have been with them for ever. But, is this going to change? If so, when?

TS: Racism may affect a whole society in many ways.

TS: Innocent people can suffer from horrible consequences.

TS: Racists can be so pretentious to believe they are superior.

TS: The humble, the poor one is  always discriminated.

“The Cask of Amontillado” - “The Fall of the House of Usher”

ST: Death and Madness

LT: Punishment as death

TS: Different cultures have seen death in different ways.

 

Since the beginning of humanity different cultures have seen death in different ways. It has been used as justice or to pay reverence to different gods and it has been seen as a continuation of life. However, in most cultures, life has been in hands of a supreme being. Nowadays, death is still being seen as a kind of justice or for some people it might be used to give a peaceful end to someone.  So, can a human being take someone’s life? Is humanity taking attributes that do not belong to them?

Ts: People believe it is morally correct to take someone’s life as justice.

Ts: It might be correct to give to someone a peaceful death.

Ts: Revange may transform a normal person into an evil one.

Ts: Mad people might seem harmless.

" The Black Cat"

The Black Cat
Started topic: Alcoholism
Limited topic: Alcoholism and madness
Thesis statement: People’s life can be destroyed by alcohol.
Topic sentences: Handling the stress of the daily life may lead to a physical and mental exhaustion.
Alcohol may be thought to be the solution to the problems.
Alcohol might destroy families if they do not assume they have a problem with it.
Alcohol abuse can lead to a rational person to become an irrational being.

Well-done!

Plot " The Story of William Wilson