Sunday, October 13, 2019
Ways of Racial Categorizing Essay -- Racial Relations, Discrimination
What is discrimination? Discrimination is a combination of representation, stereotyping and ideology set by society to rank different groups of people. In an excerpt of ââ¬Å"The Woman in the Windowâ⬠, Ramona Lowe shows that there is a racial discrimination toward African-Americans in America. The story focuses on Mrs. Jackson, an African-American who lives in the north, and the struggles she faces at her work place. She was hired to cook in front of a restaurant window dressing as a stereotypical ââ¬Å"Southern mammyâ⬠(Lowe 3) to attract customers. While cooking in front of the restaurant window, Mrs. Jackson was laughed at by a group of white kids who called her ââ¬Å"Aunt Jemima and niggerâ⬠(Lowe 3). Clearly, Mrs. Jackson was mistreated because the society she lives in ranks her race, Black, lower than her bosses', which is white. Loweââ¬â¢s short story, ââ¬Å"The Woman in the Windowâ⬠, demonstrates a racial discrimination against Blacks during the 194 0s by incorporating representation, stereotyping and ideology in the text. In order to illustrate the segregation of African-American, Lowe uses representation in her work. The characters in the story represent a social status based on race: the owners, Mr. Parsons and Kraft, represent the high-class and Mrs. Jackson represents the low-class. First, letââ¬â¢s discuss how Lowe shows the audience that Mr. Parsons and Kraft represent the high-class. For instance, the narrator frequently refers to Mr. Parsons and Kraft as ââ¬Å"the proprietorâ⬠(Lowe 2) but always refers to Mrs. Jackson as herself. By using the word ââ¬Å"proprietorâ⬠instead of their names, Lowe shows a separation between Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Parsons and Kraft. This use of word declares that the owners are a representation of high-class. They are different... ... So by using ideology, Lowe can reveal the racial discrimination against Blacks. After the establishment of the Jim Crow law, America faces the problem of African-American segregation. An excerpt from Ramona Loweââ¬â¢s short story, ââ¬Å"The Woman in the Windowâ⬠, demonstrates a racial discrimination against Blacks during the 1940s by incorporating representation, stereotyping and ideology. First of all, the representation of the owners as high-class and Mrs. Jackson as low-class shows that representation can be use to demonstrate racial discrimination. Secondly, the ownersââ¬â¢ assumption that Mrs. Jackson is from Georgia and that she needs money proves that stereotyping can be use to demonstrate racial discrimination. Lastly, the white children laughing and calling Mrs. Jackson ââ¬Å"Aunt Jimima and niggerâ⬠is evidence that ideology can be use to demonstrate racial discrimination.
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