Theme Of Prejudice In Poisonwood Bible And The Concubine's Children

Prejudice - “an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.” In a world filled with a plethora of races in the world, prejudice still seems to be alive and well. Prejudice is something that does not discriminate who it affects and in what situation. The judgements people make based on stereotypes can truly cripple someone or it can even not allow people to resist immersing themselves in culture. The novels The Poisonwood Bible and The Concubine’s Children both show evidence of prejudice but on different sides of the spectrum. On the one side, the Chinese workers were the victims of prejudice by the Canadian born citizens. On the other side, the Price family had a lot of preconceived prejudices about …show more content…
The roles of women increased in the western world but women were still significantly under the men. Working women would definitely have a hard time living an even lifestyle compared to a man at the same level. Women were so underappreciated in the Chinese culture that May-ying and Chan Sam were disappointed with the arrival of their new baby girl. “So great was May-ying’s disappointment that she could hardly bring herself to look at the useless girl child.” (pg. 104, The Concubine’s Children). The thought of a girl ,in their culture, makes them feel as though she will be useless to the family. When it comes to marriage time, the woman 's family usually has to pay a dowry so that the male’s family will let the marriage occur. Once the marriage occurs, the women leave their families but a male does not have to leave his own family. This is why they feel males are more beneficial in the long run. From the beginning women are not seen as equal and even working Chinese women in Canada must work in environments like gambling establishments where they are continuously objectified by the men there. The women are never respecting in their professional or personal life. Mrs. Price’s professional and personal life seems to be binding together in an unfortunate way. Since her husband is a Reverend, the whole Price family must go on a mission trip in Africa, which has proven to be a big change from their home in Georgia. In the …show more content…
When someone thinks about racism, it is usually a thought associated with the past. Even though it is not as prevalent as it is in the two novels, it does still exist. Racism comes from one’s misunderstanding of another person based on a variable one cannot control about themselves… their race. It is interesting that the two novels give the point of view of both sides. In The Concubine’s Children, the characters are actually on the receiving end of the racism from the Canadian government. The Chinese people are not respected as the average citizens. They do not receive the same opportunities as the white Canadians. The only jobs that are given to the Chinese immigrants are ones that the Canadians don’t want or the ones they create for themselves (ie: coffee shops, gambling bars, etc…). “They were forbidden by a Vancouver city bylaw to hire white women, and at the same time, they could find virtually no local Chinese help.” (p.67, The Concubine’s Children). The government openly discriminated against a whole group of people. The Chinese never had a chance to prove themselves because everyone needs to get money however they can and the government took this idea and ran with it. In combination with the fact that the Chinese received sub par jobs, they also lived in rough areas in which they had to protect themselves from people who had ill intentions. On the other side of the racism battle comes the Price family. The Price