I think that our nation is in a far, far far away place from where it was during the Scottsboro Boys trials...However, I still think we have a long way to go. I think the reason why so many people like to say that we are so accepting, is because when we compare our present to our past, we are immensely more accepting than we used to be. I think we're allowed to be a little proud of our accomplishments, but I don't think we should be too satisfied. Even now, our country still has inequality and racial tension. Just today, "Save the Last Dance," happened to be on the television and my roommate and I began talking about interracial dating--to think we even have a term for dating amongst races, I feel says enough about our stance as an accepting culture today. If, "interracial dating," were not something people are concerned about, we would have never felt need for the phrase.) On the part where Julia Stiles' black boyfriend's sister gets mad at her for dating her brother because Julia is white, I mentioned to my roommate that I didn't see what the problem was with them dating. I said that if his sister thinks that, "white women" keep taking away all of the decent black men, why should it matter, can't they just find someone who is decent who isn't black if there are not any left? I felt that ultimately what she was saying was she would rather date an indecent black man than a decent man of another race. My roommate said that her dad would not be happy with her if she dated a black guy and that the reason his sister said that was because she was feeling tension about her black husband leaving her with a baby, and also that African American's deserve to still feel anger towards white Americans because of the way we treated them in our past. I could see what she was saying, but it made me sad to think that we are still not over our past mistakes. While it's true that most of us as two races can get along with each other and accept each other, it's clear that there is still some tension between us, whether we would like to admit it or not.
In this cartoon, there is black paint covering the majority of the image, with just one white square open revealing a pair of eyes. There is then a man's large, hairy arm holding a painting tool that is about to paint over the eyes, and the arm hair actually reads as, "Afghan Radicals." I feel that this portrayal of the Talaban's control over women is very true; I wouldn't think the issue would be a concept of debate amongst many Americans. It is very clear these men feel they have complete control over these women, and it's unfair. The eyes seem to be seeking and wanting something, but with only eyes and no other body parts, they cannot control what they are seeing, only obey. The arm in front of the beautiful eyes is very ugly in comparison, as if to show that what these men are doing is hideous, and destroying beauty and capability. The painted darkness represents the evil that they have created and spread around. I feel like the eyes peeking out of the darkness are like a speck of hope contrasting amongst all of the desperation.
Scout's ideas about race and prejudice mature more and more as the novel goes on. Like the above comic, her eyes see the wrong-doings occuring and contemplate and acknowledge the discrimination that is going on, but at this time she is incapable of doing anything about it. At the very last part of the novel, Scout sees everything clearly for the first time. Boo Radley, who was a monster in Scout's eyes at the beginning of the novel, turns out to be a decent guy near the end. She realizes that she has put the same prejudices on Boo that the rest of the town has done towards Tom Robinson. During a conversation with her father about the trial, she says that charging him with murder, would be like, "shootin a mockingbird," reminding her father of his own compassionate advice. I feel like this scene above all others shows Scout's maturity of mind, because she is thoughtful enough to apply metaphores to real-life instances and find what is wrong with adult situations--situations which most children would naturally find to always be correct, but Scout has grown already to learn adults can't always be right. By the end of the novel, Scout Finch has gone through a deep transformation of her view on life, from childish points of views, to ones that would be considered more mature than most of the residents of Maycomb.
3 comments:
I agree with you we have come a long ways in the fight for equality. We have come alongs ways but we still have a long way to go. With the whole issue of wquality I feel everyone should stop pointing fingers as to what has happened in the past, realize we are all unique, and we each briong something different to the table. It would be boring if we were all the same. I feel everyone should be treated equal, but enough with who is to blame for what happened in the past, we should put our best foot forward and move on.
I never even thought about the fact that we name dating between races. I like your perspective, though America use to be a lot worse, we have still only made a smudge on the map of change.
I thought about chosing the same cartoon, but wasnt sure if my interpretation of it was correct, it was cool to se what you thought of it.
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