Throughout our discussion of Puddn'head Wilson, we've analyzed race from a comfortable distance by keeping the novel situated squarely in the 19th century. Do you think that our society today still faces the same issues of race and classification that Twain questioned and satirized in his works? Is our sociey better off? Worse? The same? Can you think of any specific examples to support your opinion?
Feel free to address not only Puddn'head Wilson but also Ethnic Notions, Social Darwinism, "freak shows" and human circuses, and any other issues that have coincided with our study of the text.
Before you respond, please read a short article published today by clicking here. You may use this article in your response if you wish, but please don't feel limited by it (you may address other, non-related topics as well).
As always, remember that this is a conversation; be sure to read and comment on each other's posts.
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25 comments:
I believe that we do still face some of the same issues of race and clasification but on a quieter scale. I believe that unfortunatley people still hold predujices agaisnt not only races but other clasiffications such as sexual preference or disabilities. However these prejudices are not as outspoken as they were during the time of Puddn'head Wilson. People today find more defiante ways to show disapproval for a race, classification, etc. such as the article said, not supporting a presidential candidate because they are African American.
It is hard to decided whether or not our society is better off. Yes it is true that we no longer have slaves or hold people as property, but that does mean that these people are not being treated unfairly. So I would argue that our society is about the same, although we may not violently show disapproval, we still find many ways to show dissaproval for a certain classification.
I think that our society today faces some of the same issues of race, like Blair said, but mainly though the roles that people live in society. For instance, the positions of mothers to me has somewhat stayed the same in the sense of how some mothers' children are their prize possesions and how mothers will devote their lives to their children and forget about themselves. If people have no idea where I'm getting this from Pudd'nhead Wilson, think about at the beginning after the switch when Roxy was Tom's "slave." Though this is just one example of the different roles, I think that the roles of citizens has generally stayed the same in the sense of how people as a whole are easily influenced into changing their decisions due to a simple change. For instance, in the end, how Wilson was suddenly not a pudd'nhead anymore because of the simple noble action. I think that now, with such a wide number of opinions, that people with less knowledge of the subject might easily change their opinion through a simple act.
I think that society is better in some ways because people have the opportunity to change their role in society unlike staying a slave with 1/16 of slave blood. For instance, nowadays, people can work hard to gain a better position in a job or something along those lines. From the article on the link, Barack Obama somewhat supports this idea because he believes that actions are better than what people look like and I guess that is kind of what I'm trying to get at.
I agree with both Blair and Kjerstin, our society today still faces the same issues of race and classification. I think for some people that it is hard to get over the fact of slavery and of our ancestors and how they treated African Americans 100+ years ago. I think that a bad eample was set, and just like in the case of an older sibling, the younger one is most of the time going to try to tag-a-long and be just like their "mentor" I believe that Twain's satirizing and questioning has gotten to be a little bit better, but still not where it should be. What everyone just needs to see is that we are all equal and we need to treat everyone as we want to be treated. Everyone needs to have respect for eachother and eachother's feelings and views. I believe that our society is NOT better off, because there is still mixed emotions about race. We all need to be able to feel comfortable around eachother and not be intimidated. I think that if every race could get along together then our world would be a much better and safer place for everyone!!!!
I think that our society still faces the same issues today that were in "Pudd'nhead Wilson". Even though they may not be as apparant today, I think they are all still there, if not even worse. Maybe our society is just better at covering them up, or making less of a deal out of them. If this is true, then eventually the issues with race, etc. will become a lot worse, and cause big problems to society.
On the other hand, I think that the issues that the general public has with society today, don't concern race as much as other things. Maybe issues with race was just something of the 19th century, and as time progresses, different issues will come about. There are definitely people still today that hold certain prejudices, but on the same note, slavery is not an issue today the way it used to be.
I think that in society today people are still classified by their race, religion, etc. The thing that is different from the past is that people use their position as a "minority" to swing rights unfairly in their direction. American collages often accept students from minority groups over whites because they feel the need to prove they aren't discriminating. The same thing goes on in the job world. Whenever someone of a "minority" feels wronged in any way, they commonly say that they were wronged because of their race, religion, etc. This of course is not always the case, but does happen a lot. People are still racist today and bring evil into the world because of it, but the world today is much better off than it was in Twain's time.
Hey there everyone!
I support almost everything that has been said thus far and I want to point out KYLE'S POST. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Kyle brought up a very interesting and unique point I had not considered before. So go on, CHECK OUT KYLE'S POST. You know you want to...;)
I think that there are all different kinds of "racism" in our society today, and that different ones have arisen as well. Because of the prominence of Mexican and Chinese Americans in America today, views on racism have shifted a bit. Is that fair? Well, no. But I believe it is true.
The inherent fascination people have with someone who has something "wrong" with them has not changed from Twain's time. There is still that sick fascination present in our society today. Pregnant teens, gay people, small people, tall people, people with acne...heck, ALL different people are targeted today. Britney Spears can't so much as breathe without our hearing of it, because her breath might smell like alcohol! Or so on and so forth. Even within Arapahoe, how many of us can say we don't look at what a person's wearing? How their makeup is (guys excluded, usually;)? Whether they look tired, whether they are strong, whether they are thin or fat or somewhere in between? There is enormous pressure put on everyone to be prettier or handsome enough, smart enough, good enough for themselves and others. If this "racism" between all different classes and within ourselves can't stop, we will have a difficult time moving forward.
An interesting thought, for all those of you who have not fallen asleep reading my long long blog: I have an aunt, my mom's youngest sister, who is Romanian-Irish-European like us. She married a man who's father is African American and mother is Japanese. Their sons, my little cousins, are the most handsome boys in the world. Jack, the oldest, has skin that is golden like a permanent tan or coffee with cream, with sandy blond hair and blindingly blue eyes. Kaleb's skin is a couple shades lighter, he has darker hair, and his eyes are a deep laughing blue. They have the same smile, the same good nature. they are clearly brothers.
So my question is: why can't we see that we have the same smiles? Why can't we laugh that we all have scars, inside and outside of us? I mean, really...isn't what makes us different supposed to be what makes us special?
*Note: I just feel the need to ask everyone to send a kind though to the Ledger family. Heath Ledger passed away yesterday, and I am sure they must be going through a super tough time. Love to all!
I definitely think that we face issues with race and classification, but of different kinds than that of Twain’s time. In school, if you don’t wear certain things, or live in a certain area of town, talk constantly to people, or even quietly keep to yourself, you are being judged. On the surface, this is a completely different kind of judgment than of Twain’s era, but deeper it is exactly the same. It is human nature for a person to think someone is strange or not valuable or worthy of friendship, for whatever reasons. In post Civil War America, people were judged for other reasons, like race, and social class. In the end, it is the same.
Race is still an issue in America, and it will probably always be that way. People have their opinions, and, because we live in free America, they are given the rights to those opinions as long as they live. Today, race sometimes determines where you live in town, or how many job opportunities a person has. This isn’t just because they are of different race than the people living in the higher parts of town. It is sometimes because of their social circle, and how many opportunities they take. Everyone can have the same future, if they only go for it.
I definitely do think that our society today still faces the same issues of race that Twain satirized in his works, but I feel that our society is much better off. This is because although there are still some issues of race and classification today, it's not to the extreme of slavery.
For example, today many people are prejudice towards Hispanics because of the whole illegal immigrant issue. It seems like in a society when anything is different than the "normal", we fear it and want to destroy it. This reminds me of the freak shows when people with rare medical conditions were put basically in cages to get made fun of for money.
Just like the article said, today we do still have racial prejudice, but it’s not extreme, especially since it hasn't been that long since slavery ended. I think it will just take time for racial prejudice to end.
I think the United States has come a long way in terms of making racism less of an issue than it was in the 19th century but we still have a long way to go. Political correctness has added a whole new aspect of racism to the prejuidice arsenal. People are afraid of saying the wrong thing because it may offend a certain race, but what they are forgetting is that thinking a whole race will be offended is empowering the stereotype.
Racism is better masked in today's society because it is less acceptable. I think because I've had the opportunity to hang out with people from other races I see people as individuals and not as part of a race. Unfortunately, many of my classmates won't find it as easy to meet people from other races because of where they live, so they have to go off of what they see, hear, and read about other races.
I agree with everything that has been said. I believe that our society still faces issues of race and classification, just not on as great of a scale as Twain questioned and satirized in his work. Obviously, at least as far as I know, slavery is no longer an issue in the United States. This is a huge change from this time period. But, just as blair said, I believe racism, although hidden, still exists. Just as the lady said in the article, her father didn’t support a black president and thought America wasn’t ready for a black president. A generation still exists, particularly in the south that lived in a time when racism was still strong. I think in Twains time, racism was more outspoken and today, it exists more privately.
There is another thing I wanted to address that kyle mentioned. I agree that people today use the fact that they are a "minority" to gain advantages such as in college or in the business world. It is amazing how often people are accused of being racist when I believe racism is not truly the basis of the issue. For example, if someone didn't support Obama, it doesn't mean they are racist. Perhaps they just don’t agree with him on certain issues. And yet, there will still be someone out there that will accuse this person of being a racist. The same issue applies to being "politically correct". I think that people and the media make it more of an issue than it really is. I don't want to get too into it, but I will just say I agree with kyle in the aspect that people use "racism" for their advantage. And also like kyle said, this isn’t true in all cases, but it does undoubtedly happen.
This being said, I believe that society is better off today than it was in Twain's time. However, there is still room for improvement. I think we have taken great strides towards complete racial and classification tolerance, but racial issues still exist.
I believe we still face the same problems as he did in his time. He sattired the role of whites and blacks which is still an issue. Barrack Obama is almost breaking that but there are still those who are reluctant to vote a black into the presidents office. we are definetly better off just by that fact that Barrack is running is a sign of progress.
Chelsea-
I believe that because the issues of race and classification are so deeply rooted in our country's history, even if not one we are proud of, they cannot be expected to cease existence a mere 100 years after its continuation of 300. As our society continues to revolutionize and change, yes, racial issues and stereotypes change, become less prominent, and more hidden. These issues still exist but not in the same fashion as when Twain was alive.
Racial prejudices, rather than being up front and center in our society, direct it backstage. I cannot decide if this is better off or not. It is now almost as if sometimes our society pretends racism does not exist and therefore acts oblivious to a very real issue. At the same time, with it being more behind the scenes, minorities have opportunities and are becoming less repressed communities.
As long as humanity stays true to our nature this will always be a prevalent and hard-solved problem. All throughout history, the powerful are seen preying on the weak or different. Humans' insecurities cause prejudice and racial tensions. I believe in this society the same issues that were portrayed in "Pudd'nhead Wilson" are still alive today just transformed into different faces and disguised places.
I think society today resembles the racist and sexist culture portrayed in Puddin’head Wilson. I agree with Blair, because sexism and racism are usually kept quieter now than in Twain’s time. Even then, both of these forms of discrimination continue to exist, and their subtle power continues to influence society today. However, with the coming presidential election of 2008, both sexism and racism have become a persuading force for voters, exposing the fact that American society has not changed as much as we think. Hillary Clinton, for example, has been discriminated against because she is a woman. Countless Americans have made it clear that they do not believe she is qualified to run our country for this reason. Also, as we read in the article provided in the blog question, Barack Obama is seen as unfit to run this country because he is black. I think both of these examples show us there are Americas who are not interested in learning what each candidate stands for, because they are too preoccupied with a candidate’s gender or race.
I also agree with Meghan. I think we overlook the human aspect of each person we meet. I think people in general feel that the can only define themselves when they define those around them. Focusing on what makes each individual special is difficult because there are so many diverse and beautiful people in the world. I can relate this to the Aristotle’s classification of living organisms. He came up with three groups to classify all living things: land, water, and air dwellers. However, this system was eventually found inadequate, because some organisms fit more than one group or none at all. Therefore, more groups were created, and more ways to classify those groups into sub-groups were created, and so on. The point of my long explanation was that I think it is human nature to define our world, so that we can separate ourselves from the crowd, and find a group to identify ourselves with.
I think that in the south today, there is still a lot of racism. One of my best friends moved to Arkansas two years ago, and she acts like it is practically a whole different culture there, with the things they like to do, the much larger diversity, and the accents, oh wow with the accents. :]
The article certainly relates to a conversation Mrs. Leclaire and I had last Thursday, which was about the idea of the election being "racist now" and how people are turning it into a "racial race" through misinterpreted quotes and such. It's so ridiculous to even think someone wouldn't vote for a candidate just because they're black. This could kind of relate to a question I wrote today in my Pudd'nhead book:
Would the jury have decided differently if Roxy and Tom were white? I feel like in that time period, the race certainly could have effected a trial's outcome. Or did their black roots give them a sympathy card to play? Or is sympathy card the right word, even?
As everyone has already said, racism is still very common today's society. Race is a discriminatory factor in society in that people still use it in when considering someone for a job or a person's first impression. I have to admit my first impression of someone is based on apperance. When a person has dark skin i subconciously view them differently and sometimes i act more reserved and protective.
Contrary to my reaction, african american people can be racist or biased towards whites. Like Kyle said, black people are now able to say as a minority that they are being discriminated against for whatever reason; whether its being accepeted to a college or the way that police treat them. Much has improved since the time of Mark Twain but racism is very prevalent and should continue to be ousted form society.
I think it definitely does, stereotypes is actually what I wrote my in class essay on. I think that Twain addresses race in a way that makes us think, not just accept, and by doing so it opens our eyes to what is actually going on around us every single day. Race doesn't stop with color, it also involves the classic jock, nerd, theatre kid stereotypes that everyone is so bent out of shape about all the time.
Our society is almost worse because we have found a way to classify almost every group of human beings on this planet, if not all, even the people who have no group have a name. I agree with Chels V., that racism will always be a problem as long as people are so focuses on differences.
Pudd'nhead Wilson takes the classic lawyer, and twists it into a lawyer with a bizzarre sense of humor. This immediately gives him the stereotype of being a "pudd'nhead" and it takes until the end of the novel for him to break that label. Society today is just the same, once you are in a stereotype of a box, it takes a lot to break free of it and get out. Twain makes very good points about racism just by making fun of it and showing how ridiculous it all really is.
I grew up in the Cherry Creek school district, where there is much more diversity then Littleton Public schools. I grew up with people from other races and was friends with a lot of them. Even one of my best friends at the time was born in Iraq.
Not everyone has the opportunity to grow up with such diversity. Like Zach, I see these people as individuals, and I could care less what nationality they are.
I believe that our country has come and incredibly long way from Twain's time. I do believe that we are better off. Looking at the Civil Rights Movement, blacks were separated so they even had to use different water fountains. We do not see this today.
I agree with most of what people have had to say; there is definitely still racial tension but it is not nearly as prolific as it once was. I think one of the biggest differences between current and former perceptions of race is how comfortable people are with it. Now, for the most part, people who have somewhat racist beliefs keep them to themselves. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, but people have definitely become more conscious of how society views their opinions on race.
I think one of the main issues Twain satirized was the idea that society is key in shaping an individual. This is plainly demonstrated in Chambers' harsh mannerisms despite his "first family of Virginia" bloodline. I think this is still highly prevalent in todays society. The question proposed by Alex in sixth hour about stereotypes involving how similar we are is just one example of this.
Brian sums up how I feel quite nicely; we are better off now (racially) then we were doing Twain's time, but there is still work that can be done.
I think that we are still divided somewhat...I mean people are divided in social classes, race, and gender every day. Something that amazes me about the division of social class is that wealth is also divided by where you live. For example: if you said that you lived in Aurora, people might stereotype you and think that you're poor, whether you are or not. But if you said that you lived in Englewood, people would assume that you were probably very wealthy.
Gender is divided everyday in the work world. Men make more money than women and women are discriminated against simple because they are a woman.
Race is something that I believe will never stop being segregated. There will always be people who think that black people are inferior to other races. It is so sad to live in a society where some races see themselves as superior to others just because of the color of their skin or the shape of their eyes.
When you think about it, how can superiority be determined? If the people who settled in America had two noses and that is the only thing that they ever knew, then all of a sudden people started to come that only had one nose, would the two nosed people make them slaves simple because they were different? We continue to be afraid of change and differences in people today.
The article that is linked in the blog talks about how people in America aren't ready for a black president yet...in my opinion, I think that a black president is exactly what we need. I think that maybe it would teach us that difference is okay and that it should be embraced instead of feared. If I was of voting age, I would completely vote for Obama. America needs to see a change in the not only the government, but of the overall attitude that we live with here. People need to realize that sometimes what we're used to isn't as good as it used to be. Something new might really make things better in the long run.
I think that in todays society we do still encounter the same issues. Although people might not be as vocal with racism, I know that everyone is slightly racist in their own ways. This makes society better because people are not lynching and killing people of other races freely, but it is still prevalent in todays world. For example, the KKK is still an organization that many people belong to and believe in, but they are not allowed to walk in parades and are not as public as before. Compared to the 19th Century the issues of racism are better because blacks and other races have more rights than they did before.
I also think that society making fun of freak shows and people that are not "normal" is better today than it was before. There are not as many people today that are singled out because they are weird. Of course there is always someone, but it is not as common as having an entire circus full of people. The difference is, today it is not acceptable to show off people because of their disabilities. People would still love to see people that are freaks, it is still entertainment to a degree. People just see them on the internet, they are not paid to be in a circus and perform like animals.
I agree with Blair, and many of the other people that have posted already. I think that we are defiantly still prejudiced, we just don't show it in the degree that we used to. It is odd, because although most of us are prejudiced in some degree or another, the social attitude towards racism has changed drastically, changing how we deal with these feelings, even though we know they are wrong. Instead of openly showing prejudice against minorities, we often unconsciously discriminate against them. When we realize what we are doing unconsciously, it often scares us, because we thought that we were above prejudice.
I believe that for the most part, we are much better off regarding prejudice than we were during Twain's time. We no longer hear of lynchings and hate crimes and the like in the news every day, and these acts are highly frowned upon by the community. I know that this makes the community safer for everyone, but I can't help but wonder if the new, subliminal type of prejudice is just as bad. This masquerade of equality just makes things worse, causing us to believe that there isn't a problem, when the problem is really still there, just wearing a different disguise.
Our society today definitely faces the same problems of race that our country did in the 19th century. I think that we have said that we have gotten better at racism, but we have only done so only a little. We still hold stereotypes against certain races, whether we admit it or not. Certain races in the community might not even get paid the same amount as others and such. There are even groups like the KKK that still exist that spend all there time talking about their hatred for certain people. We haven't necessarily gotten better, but we just have forgotten about it because it is not as much as a hot topic as it used to be.
This is much like the obsession America had with "freak shows." People with physical disabilities, caused by rare diseases, were mocked by the so called "normal" people. This was just part of life and everybody didn't see it as being totally wrong. Today we might still marvel at bizarre things that might happen to people, but like Liz said, they are not treated like animals and ridiculed by their peers.
I think that prejudice and racism are still around today, but not to the extent that it was in the 19th century. The most obvious difference is that there are no longer slaves. One thing that you find is that the some people of the oldest generation that is alive today are still racist and very prejudiced. This is shown in the article about Obama when it talks about the girl and her father. It is a huge step for America in this year's election because there is the possibility of either a woman or an African-American could become president. This shows that America is starting to get past racism and look at people for who they are.
This is just something I wanted to put out there.:)
I completely agree with what Brian said about "minorities" and getting scholarships into colleges. For the most part in America, people think of minorities as blacks, Hispanics, or Asians. The fact of the matter is, these groups are not truly the only minorities in the world. Redheads make up only 2% of the world's population, and the number is decreasing every day. So, where is my college scholarship?
I think arguably, more social classifications are self-imposed today than in Twain's time. People attempt to cultivate an identity by pigeonholing themselves into "cliques", with a predetermined way to act, to think.
I live in Denver and was in Denver Public Schools all the way through middle school, where white students are a minority. It's no secret that, save for a few schools, the district (like many inner-city districts) is failing miserably. I think there's an attitude with the higher-ups that a district composed largely of poor, Hispanic kids is never going to achieve anything anyway, so why bother (even if it isn't overt). I agree with Blair (and who doesn't?!); prejudices today are toned down, but people still hold them subconsciously.
Then again, the people of Twain's time would never have seriously considered electing a woman or a black person for president.
This is kind of tangential, but race is an entirely artificial creation; if the government didn't ask for our race, no one saw races, we could eventually phase out racism. But as long as on every standardised test, every legal form, there is a little bubble for filling in your race, you are constantly reminded of this ultimately worthless distinction.
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