“On Being the Target of Discrimination” Argument Description
This piece, written by Ralph Ellison, is a powerful narrative documenting his childhood and his first encounters with discrimination. One compelling tool he uses in the beginning is his adolescent oblivion to it, explaining great excitement for his first day of school “…arrayed with seesaws, swings, and baseball diamonds” (page 1). All these things describe a school he didn't know he couldn't go to. It is an important aspect of this essay that he writes from the perspective of him as a child, who does not understand why he was treated the way he was. His point is that there is no real reason. Within the first paragraph, Ellison not only yanks you down to his eye level as a …show more content…
This is especially obvious in his mother, after being questioned at the zoo, combating unfair laws by saying ‘“Im here” (…) “because I am a taxpayer, and I thought it was about time that my boys have a look at those animals. And for that I don't need any white folks to show me the way!”’ (page 3). She even begins a running joke with that situation, and it is clear that day how she instilled that strength in her family. This is resurfaced at the end of the essay, despite a low he reached, that joke cracks through his sorrow. Ellison states, “Discrimination teaches one to discriminate between discriminators while countering absurdity with black comedy” (page …show more content…
A personal narrative is an impactful way to create emotion and pull a reader in. Ellison avoided logic and statistics and subtly tapped into our brains as human beings to make you feel his story. Unlike other argumentative essays, the nature of Ellisons purpose is found between the lines and rather than leaving you with a black and white type of turnover, he leaves a plague of understanding. He offers a glimpse into the wretchedness of what it was to be him, and the strength his community maintained. There can only be an introduction of understanding to someone who doesn't already possess it. Therefore, this essay was loosely aimed at white americans who carry less weight on their hearts regarding discrimination, certainly because they don't understand it. He wanted to make them understand it. Also, in order to do so, he uses second point of view to put “you” in the situation. Ellison arranged his essay in a chronological manner, providing a timeline of his experiences and struggles. Also, the author has a tendency to close his experience-driven paragraphs with a powerful, lingering statement. For example, after describing his observations between him and his white friend, he states “Even your school’s proud marching band was denied participation in the statewide music contests so popular at the time, as though so airy and earth-transcending an art as music would be contaminated if performed by musicians of
This piece, written by Ralph Ellison, is a powerful narrative documenting his childhood and his first encounters with discrimination. One compelling tool he uses in the beginning is his adolescent oblivion to it, explaining great excitement for his first day of school “…arrayed with seesaws, swings, and baseball diamonds” (page 1). All these things describe a school he didn't know he couldn't go to. It is an important aspect of this essay that he writes from the perspective of him as a child, who does not understand why he was treated the way he was. His point is that there is no real reason. Within the first paragraph, Ellison not only yanks you down to his eye level as a …show more content…
This is especially obvious in his mother, after being questioned at the zoo, combating unfair laws by saying ‘“Im here” (…) “because I am a taxpayer, and I thought it was about time that my boys have a look at those animals. And for that I don't need any white folks to show me the way!”’ (page 3). She even begins a running joke with that situation, and it is clear that day how she instilled that strength in her family. This is resurfaced at the end of the essay, despite a low he reached, that joke cracks through his sorrow. Ellison states, “Discrimination teaches one to discriminate between discriminators while countering absurdity with black comedy” (page …show more content…
A personal narrative is an impactful way to create emotion and pull a reader in. Ellison avoided logic and statistics and subtly tapped into our brains as human beings to make you feel his story. Unlike other argumentative essays, the nature of Ellisons purpose is found between the lines and rather than leaving you with a black and white type of turnover, he leaves a plague of understanding. He offers a glimpse into the wretchedness of what it was to be him, and the strength his community maintained. There can only be an introduction of understanding to someone who doesn't already possess it. Therefore, this essay was loosely aimed at white americans who carry less weight on their hearts regarding discrimination, certainly because they don't understand it. He wanted to make them understand it. Also, in order to do so, he uses second point of view to put “you” in the situation. Ellison arranged his essay in a chronological manner, providing a timeline of his experiences and struggles. Also, the author has a tendency to close his experience-driven paragraphs with a powerful, lingering statement. For example, after describing his observations between him and his white friend, he states “Even your school’s proud marching band was denied participation in the statewide music contests so popular at the time, as though so airy and earth-transcending an art as music would be contaminated if performed by musicians of