The two stories illustrate how the justice system is very racially biased and discriminatory against people of color. The kind of discrimination that Thomas faced in “the trial of Thomas builds-the-fire” was purely racial discrimination against him in a court of law because he was Native American. The judge in the matter did not want to hear him out just because of his race and skin color to the point where he was just straight-up telling him to shut up so that he could be judged unfairly and without his side of the situation being considered. Through Thomas’s case, we saw both discrimination, and iniquity against him, which even today we see in our justice system. Thomas’s rights were mistreated and neglected by the judge just so that the court could see another person of color having their entire life stripped from them just to satisfy their racist motives.
Fiction
Chopin
In my opinion, the race of the writer matters when the story is about race because the author has different complexation and without any experience. For instance, Kate Chopin’s story is great and well written but not very interesting to the reader because according to her biography, her family was actually a slave owned so in her point of view, she wrote it easy and simple in her story. In this story, Kate’s race matters because most writers will only have stereotypical knowledge about the other race. It is noteworthy to know that stereotypical interpretations are very problematic especially when dealing with sensitive topics in history like slavery. There would not be any dilemma if a white writer is willing to conduct extensive research and obtain information from sources about the black experience in America in order to reach a wider audience.
Armand
Armand shockingly read the letter again and again, his eyes wide open and full of fear. Thirty minutes have passed, and Armand is still at a loss for what to do because his mother’s words keep repeating in his head, “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” Sorrow and disappointment welled up in him, and he felt so bad for his wife and baby that he blamed Desiree for her skin color. In a panic, he stuffed the letter into his pocket and dashed off to get back his wife and baby from Valmonde. Before making a way to Valmonde’s, Armand cried as he burned the letter in his backyard. He realized he needed to make things right for the rest of his life by helping free the slaves since now he knows he is a part of them.
Discussion Post 2: Chopin
The writer’s race matters a lot when writing an article about racism. Since the author is white and has a taste of the way, the whites treat the blacks. It makes it easy for the author to develop a realistic flow of the story (Okun, 2010). The author shows how the whites mistreated the blacks. Race also matters because the author understands that the blacks are mistreated for faults they did not commit. It is not a burden being black since no one can control how or where they are born. The author displays how the whites blame the blacks for bringing black blood into their generation. In Armand’s case, the author shows that not only do the black play a role in bringing black blood, but the whites also do.
Writing about racism would be risky, but the author uses the freedom they have as whites to express their perceptions. The author uses their race to show that not all whites had a bad perception of blacks. Being white, the author also designs the story so that the whites have to face what they serve the blacks. I think that the author also tries to share the fact blacks and whites are equal and there is no difference in life. For example, before Armand discovers that he is black, he leads a “normal” life just like the other whites. Therefore, even after discovering he is black, he can move on with life. Also, Desiree is not black, but she is treated as black and undergoes the struggles blacks had to face despite her being white.
Discussion Post Topic 1: Armand
From the display in the ending scene, it is clear that Armand had a very negative perception of people with black ancestry (Chopin, 1893). His reaction is based on the fact that he does not value the people with black ancestry, meaning he does not value himself. He is in denial that he has been disregarding what he is. I would have made Armand feel the challenge of not being wanted by society. The challenge of trying to fit in a society that does not value blacks. I would have introduced a scene where he is chased away from a place and denied access to basic commodities. All these just to help him understand the burden of being rejected by society.
After the scene, I would picture Armand in a lonely place where he thinks of how life was before he discovers that he had black ancestry. Afterward, I would make him accept that his discovery that he has black ancestry changes nothing but makes him understand that all are equal and all races are entitled to the fact that they have to lead a life as everyone does. Accepting that all races are equal would make him rethink his take on blacks. Additionally, I would make Armand act as a fighter against racism in society. As he has a taste of both races, he can make a good character in the fight against racism. All the reactions would be reactions of a changed man who knows how it feels to treat others badly, where there is no gain, and be treated as such.
Discussion Post: Feminism in Ichiyo
The setting of “The Thirteenth Night” reflects the historical era perception of women. Its setting shows how women were viewed as just helpers who had no right to make decisions in the family. They were designed to perform house chores and take care of the children. For example, Oseki was urged by her parents to stick to her husband despite it being an abusive and unhappy marriage (Ichiyo, 1981). Because they thought that Oseki could not work for herself; hence she had to stick where her needs were satisfied despite the challenges. The story displays the woman characters as those who cannot make decisions but must follow what the men want.
Ichiyo’s life story also reflects how women in the past were trained to be housewives. Ichiyo is displayed as a poor girl; this shows society’s perception of ladies. Ichiyo does not enjoy her right to study as her mother took her out of school despite being a bright young girl who understood what she was doing (Dexter, 2016). At fourteen, Ichiyo was enrolled in a school where she learned a lot. It helped her navigate her way through the systems of power. The education she got helped her manage the property left by her father. She became a very good writer, and she could have a say in a world where women were regarded as incompetent. Her mother never allowed her to continue with school; Ichiyo uses this as an example to show how she had struggles even with her family members, who never wanted her to prosper in her deeds because she was a woman.
Discussion Post Topic: Marxism in the Thirteenth Night
Isamu is wealthy as he owns many apartments compared to Roku. Isamu’s social status is defined by how Oseki’s parents address him. They say they are afraid of calling Oseki due to the fear of Isamu’s status (Ichiyo, 1981). On the other hand, Roku is a rickshaw driver who seems unorderly when he meets with Oseki. It is evident when Roku tells Oseki that he is ashamed of his appearance (Ichiyo, 1981). The appearance of Roku shows that he is of a lower social class compared to Isamu. However, there are some similarities between Roku and Isamu’s social status. Both believe that a man is the supreme leader in a marriage and should provide for the wife. Isamu provides all the required things for his wife. Also, after meeting Oseki, Roku takes the responsibility of leading Oseki. The difference in social class statuses, however, does not affect the fact that the woman must submit to the man.
Oseki’s meeting with Roku teaches her several things. Oseki understands that no matter how unhappy marriage might be if the man is providing all the required necessities, the marriage will still be active. Additionally, she learns that all marriages have struggles that make the couples unhappy. The meeting is significant in Marxist theory’s lens in that Oseki learns that both Roku and Isamu are working toward the common good of society. If everyone works to satisfy their needs, then the issue of the social class will be based on the outcome of everyone’s work. The meeting helps highlight the issue of social classes, which brings conflicts to society.
Open Lab Post Topic: Government
After reading the stories by Sherman Alexie, it is clear that the system is characterized by racial discrimination and violence. The court appears to be ruthless when dealing with the Native Americans. When Thomas is charged, the judge does not give him the chance to defend himself, and the judge appears to have already decided to punish him even without listening to his story (Alexie, 1993). Violence is displayed when Thomas explains how the colonel had killed many people (Alexie, 1993). Killing is a form of violence in a system that shows that those around the system could not be secure since the type of the colonel could easily interfere with their peace.
Thomas is treated as an allegorical character in the justice system. Firstly, Thomas is important to his story as he narrates a story about himself (Alexie, 1993). Additionally, Thomas is used as an example to show how the system practices racism and discrimination against the Native Americans. The court does not listen well to the story of Thomas as they believe that his storytelling is irrelevant because he looked Indian. Allegorical figures represent themselves as important in their story and represent the different meanings of ideas. Thomas is a storyteller who uses his storytelling abilities to caution using past events. The court further pushes him to accept things he did not commit to indict violence upon him (Alexie, 1993). The court uses Thomas because they think that since his stories are from the past, they can confuse him to accept charges of things he did not do.
Topic 1
Armand after reading what he found, he stood there for a while in shock trying to comprehend what he had in his hand. As a lot runs through his heard from what he was going through, he didn’t know what to do next. The first thought that came in his head was to head out to look for Desiree and the child and his first destination was at Valmonde’s. He gets there in a rush looking for Desiree and the next thing he heard was that “Desiree is no more” said Valmonde. He turns back and was never found because he didn’t want people to find out how disappointed and embarrassed he was from what he had done to Desiree and the child.
She turned away like one stunned by a blow, and walked slowly towards the door,
hoping he would call her back.
“Good-bye, Armand,” she moaned.
He did not answer her. That was his last blow at fate.
This evidence from the text depicts how Armand didn’t care when she was leaving and how terrible he begin treating her and baby when he knew the baby was not white.
Topic 2
I think the race of the narrative matters a lot because the story about Desiree’s baby is a story that deals with the race of an individual and how shameful it was to not being white. The narrative did a great job with this story with having to be fair in her writing without having no bad perspective to any race. This narrative is a white person who is writing about such thing is a very sensitive thing to black race and she was very professional in her writing.
Discussion Part 2
In my opinion, the race of writers is matter when the narrative deals with issue of race. First, having the same race will understand the culture and the background more than other race. Although we can learn about the history of each race now, we do not experience it by ourselves. So, people will not have the same feeling as the same race. Then, the same race will produce more resonate. The same-race writer have the same experience. It is more easy to write about how the issue of race affect his race. His own feeling also may be could stand for his race. At last, it is matter that the race of writer is matter when the narrative deals with issue of race, but it doesn’t mean the perspective of other race’s writers are valueless. Instead, more perspective we have, more solution we have. I believe all of the writers who writes about the issue of race are having the same goal—Our world is peaceful, and the racism do not exist anymore.
