CRITIQUE ANALYSIS OF “SO WHAT ARE YOU, ANYWAY?” By Lawrence Hill
Racism and ethnic discrimination in the North America has been a biggest issue since the colonial times. The segregation continues to take place in many social areas such as housing, education, employment, especially for Afro-American people. 1970’s was the crucial time of the racism, many students killed by the national guards in U.S. during their protests against racial injustice. The violence followed by the Civil Rights Movement and caused awakenings of the anti-racist ideology in literature because” white against black” was not a determinable social impact. The mixed-race Canadian author Lawrence Hill’s works are irreplaceable examples of the awareness of violent racism. …show more content…
The conflict in this story is racism and the author clarified this conflict by using racist words such as “Negro”, “Mulatto”: “When you say brown, do you mean he is a Negro?”, “So you’re mixed?, You are a mulatto!”(Hill). He also uses symbolism like Carole’s black doll to make it clear the discriminative behavior of people. It is also a metaphor when Mr. and Mrs. Norton are harassing Carole due to her doll is black and also her father is black: “That’s a Negro doll. That’s race. Negro. What’s your race?” (Hill). The author uses empathetic tone to influence reader about racism. This empathy appears especially in Carole’s monologs. “How would you, like it if happened to you? So what are you, anyway? What are your parents? How would you colour them? Well, I don’t care! I don’t even care!” (Hill). Also, Hill is analyzing the human psychology about how people willing to see themselves more superior than others. Most people like separate people about their racial identity. The author shows actually racism is so primitive and crucial. Because of nobody borne as a racist, the society and the system teaches discrimination: “you know, what you are? What race?”, “Carole’s mouth drops. Race? What is that? She doesn’t understand. Yet she senses that the man is asking bad questions” …show more content…
The author’s writing style allows reader to deeply inspect into character analysis. The story also educates reader historically about how people’s outlook about racial identities in 1970’s. it shows reader there are two different groups of people that who starts to understand that it s wrong to separate people with their racial identity and who still thinks that to be black is enough miserable, so biracialism is awful. The author himself is mixed-race person. So, he is point of view is biracialism always attract extra attention mostly in a negative way in the society. However, he also pointed that this pessimism about biracial people starts to change that appears on minor character’s protective behavior to Carole: “How would you like to come and sit with me? I will make you a special drink” (Hill). Moreover, the story makes a sensation about why Carole is going away from her family. This mysterious situation allows to reader to think about possibilities like she is going away because of the society’s pressure on her family. So, the story improves reader’s intellectual
Racism and ethnic discrimination in the North America has been a biggest issue since the colonial times. The segregation continues to take place in many social areas such as housing, education, employment, especially for Afro-American people. 1970’s was the crucial time of the racism, many students killed by the national guards in U.S. during their protests against racial injustice. The violence followed by the Civil Rights Movement and caused awakenings of the anti-racist ideology in literature because” white against black” was not a determinable social impact. The mixed-race Canadian author Lawrence Hill’s works are irreplaceable examples of the awareness of violent racism. …show more content…
The conflict in this story is racism and the author clarified this conflict by using racist words such as “Negro”, “Mulatto”: “When you say brown, do you mean he is a Negro?”, “So you’re mixed?, You are a mulatto!”(Hill). He also uses symbolism like Carole’s black doll to make it clear the discriminative behavior of people. It is also a metaphor when Mr. and Mrs. Norton are harassing Carole due to her doll is black and also her father is black: “That’s a Negro doll. That’s race. Negro. What’s your race?” (Hill). The author uses empathetic tone to influence reader about racism. This empathy appears especially in Carole’s monologs. “How would you, like it if happened to you? So what are you, anyway? What are your parents? How would you colour them? Well, I don’t care! I don’t even care!” (Hill). Also, Hill is analyzing the human psychology about how people willing to see themselves more superior than others. Most people like separate people about their racial identity. The author shows actually racism is so primitive and crucial. Because of nobody borne as a racist, the society and the system teaches discrimination: “you know, what you are? What race?”, “Carole’s mouth drops. Race? What is that? She doesn’t understand. Yet she senses that the man is asking bad questions” …show more content…
The author’s writing style allows reader to deeply inspect into character analysis. The story also educates reader historically about how people’s outlook about racial identities in 1970’s. it shows reader there are two different groups of people that who starts to understand that it s wrong to separate people with their racial identity and who still thinks that to be black is enough miserable, so biracialism is awful. The author himself is mixed-race person. So, he is point of view is biracialism always attract extra attention mostly in a negative way in the society. However, he also pointed that this pessimism about biracial people starts to change that appears on minor character’s protective behavior to Carole: “How would you like to come and sit with me? I will make you a special drink” (Hill). Moreover, the story makes a sensation about why Carole is going away from her family. This mysterious situation allows to reader to think about possibilities like she is going away because of the society’s pressure on her family. So, the story improves reader’s intellectual