The power of knowledge is something every human should attain, but it does not always come at an ease. In Bich Minh Nguyen’s, “ The Good Immigrant Student,” she writes about the hardships and racism she endures while trying to receive a good education. Frederick Douglas, a former slave and author of, “ Learning to read and Write”, describes his determination to be literate, while at the same time explains the obstacles he had to overcome. Both Nguyen and Douglass use imagery, include personal anecdotes, and create tone, to explain how in order to receive an education hierarchies are maintained in the process.
When Nguyen and Douglass use imagery in their writing, they illustrate the hardships they faced while trying to educate themselves. …show more content…
It is evident she became a target of bullying and racial stereotyping. Due to racial disparities, the kids in her school feel they need to marginalize her hence forcing her to the bottom of the social pyramid. The visual image depicted can be seen as a group of kids surrounding her and pointing and laughing at her. By using the description of the kids, “pressing back the corners of their eyes”, one can create an image of students mocking Asian features. Correspondingly, Douglass reclass when his education was oppressed and states, “Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper. She seemed to think that here lay the danger. I have had her rush at me with …show more content…
Nguyen describes how she works hard in the classroom to receive a stuffed lion and admits, “ I waited for the stuffed lion the rest of that year, with a kind of patience I have no patience for today. To no avail. In June, on the last day of school, , Mrs. Alexander gave the stuffed lion to Brenda to keep forever” (87). The stuffed animal is a motivation for her to excel in the classroom, however Nguyen’s race withheld any awards despite the fact that her work surpasses her classmates’ . Mrs. Alexander, the authoritative figure in this situation, controls the power of whom the lion will be given to, thus making inferior. This is one of the many cons of the education system, in which people of color are deemed to be lesser than other races.Douglas explains how at a young age he received an education through the little boys he saw and
When Nguyen and Douglass use imagery in their writing, they illustrate the hardships they faced while trying to educate themselves. …show more content…
It is evident she became a target of bullying and racial stereotyping. Due to racial disparities, the kids in her school feel they need to marginalize her hence forcing her to the bottom of the social pyramid. The visual image depicted can be seen as a group of kids surrounding her and pointing and laughing at her. By using the description of the kids, “pressing back the corners of their eyes”, one can create an image of students mocking Asian features. Correspondingly, Douglass reclass when his education was oppressed and states, “Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper. She seemed to think that here lay the danger. I have had her rush at me with …show more content…
Nguyen describes how she works hard in the classroom to receive a stuffed lion and admits, “ I waited for the stuffed lion the rest of that year, with a kind of patience I have no patience for today. To no avail. In June, on the last day of school, , Mrs. Alexander gave the stuffed lion to Brenda to keep forever” (87). The stuffed animal is a motivation for her to excel in the classroom, however Nguyen’s race withheld any awards despite the fact that her work surpasses her classmates’ . Mrs. Alexander, the authoritative figure in this situation, controls the power of whom the lion will be given to, thus making inferior. This is one of the many cons of the education system, in which people of color are deemed to be lesser than other races.Douglas explains how at a young age he received an education through the little boys he saw and