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Green Grass Running Water Comparative Essay

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In Hollywood, the portrayal of certain groups of individuals in film can be seen as a negative portrayal of these ethnic groups. The novel Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King deals with the negative portrayal and discrimination of Native Americans in Canada. The novel consists of a community of natives as they prepare for the Sun dance with the impact of their daily struggles, three old Indians and the trickster god by the name of Coyote. Green Grass, Running Water discusses the ideas of discrimination and community. King displays these ideas through: Eli and the dam, Alberta and her relationships with men, the Sun dance and the references between GGRW and Benito Cereno.

Firstly, discrimination as defined by Oxford dictionary as “the …show more content…
Those two characters being Sgt. Cereno (Benito Cereno) and Babo Jones (Babo). The relevance of these two characters lies in their similarities and differences in both texts. In both texts Babo is African-American but in Green Grass, Running Water Babo is female, thus that is one more reason she can be targeted for discrimination. Babo Jones is a more laid-back individual in Green Grass, Running Water then the mutineer and murderer in Benito Cereno. Having a reference such as Babo in Green Grass, Running Water plays a key role because in both texts Babo works in the opposite manor than Benito Cereno or Sgt. Cereno. Melville and King both display to the readers that African-Americans were not treated as equals and who’s purpose was to aid and serve the dominant white culture. The main difference between Babo (the slave) and Babo Jones is that Babo (the slave) murders Benito Cereno and Babo Jones is able to ignore and alter Sgt. Cereno thinking so he believes he is right. Sgt. Cereno on the other hand has the same personality Benito Cereno. The purpose behind both of these characters is to be a characterization of stereotypical white men. While only Benito Cereno is rich, Both Cereno’s are selfish and treat others as less than themselves. This shown in Green Grass, Running Water when Sgt. Cereno is more focused on his cup of coffee than Babo Jones’s

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