Prejudice and racism are often used interchangeably, however, they are not the same. Although racism is the form of prejudice that gets the most attention, there are other forms of discrimination that are equally insidious and pervasive. In Willa Cather's novel, My Antonia, Cather creates several groups with distinct characteristics and values in Black Hawk, Nebraska- the town in which most of the story takes place. Citizens of Black Hawk discriminate against other groups by criteria other than skin tone, holding them in contempt and less deserving of basic respect due to their differences. The behavior of the well-established groups toward those they considered inferior reflected the levels and types of bias and prejudice they practiced. By focusing on the behavior of the citizens in Black Hawk, Cather drives home the notion that there are other forms of prejudice beyond racism that need to be understood.
The primary form of intolerance depicted throughout My Antonia can be best described as classism or elitism- discrimination based on a person's position on the social ladder. Respect is derived from a person's background, wealth, and upbringing. Earlier in the story, Antonia's father, Mr. Shimerda, tells the Burden family about life back in Bohemia. "He wanted us to know that they were not beggars in the old country; he made good wages, and his family was respected there," (Cather 50). Mr. Burden knows that he, a poor immigrant, will encounter social discrimination in America. He is attempting to deflect the discrimination he anticipates his family will face. As the Shimerda family is depending on help from their neighbors, he feels as though his family will be treated as inferior to the rest of society. He wants to let people know that at one point even he was high in social standing, and that his position in the lower class does not diminish him as a person in society. Mr.
Discrimination at its Worst Affirmative Action is wrong and does not help solve the problems that minorities face. It is wrong is because it's discrimination. It has no place in today's society because what it does detracts from society far outweighs its benefits. In fact most Americans don't even enjoy its presence. ... Why isn't discrimination against whites awful? ...
For the first 15 years of my life I had never really experienced discrimination, nor had I seen it first hand. ... It wasn't until then that I had my first real experience with discrimination. ... After the first incident, not a day went by that I was not called "Lukuah," or "Mollungew," which is the worst possible insults in their culture that could be said. ... However, I also realize that discrimination is not placed on just on ethnic background. ... Hopefully racism and discrimination in all its forms will someday end and the world can be a safe place for all of any race or ...
One of the causes of racial discrimination is superiority. ... The main body of employment discrimination laws is composed of federal and state statutes ("Employment Discrimination" n.pag.). ... Another cause of racial discrimination is stereotyping. ... The elimination of sanctioned discrimination in education has been achieved virtually everywhere ("Education Discrimination" n.pag.). ... The worst bias-motivated hate crimes are perpetrated on individuals and groups of individuals in the United States of America because of their race, particularly towards African Americans ("Hate Crimes" n.pa...
Discrimination is and always will be a prominent issue in life. ... "You can't fight discrimination with discrimination."" 2. ... Discrimination at its Worst Affirmative Action is wrong and does not help solve the problems that minorities face. It is wrong because it is discrimination. It has no place in today's society because it does detract from society and outweighs its benefits....
These are sad figures and the worst is that these figures more or less reflect the situation in the most of the countries all over the world. Lets have a look at Article called " Age and Sex Discrimination in the Workplace". ... In the article "Wal-Mart Workforce Woes" the author tells about Wal-Mart Law suit due to its engagement in company-wide gender discrimination in its practice of promotion, compensation and job assignment. 90 % of the top management positions in the company are held by male workers and on the other hand female workers who are the majority of the workforce in Wal-Mart ...
The story starts by describing its setting. She wonders why the house hadn't been rented for so long and why its prize is so low. ... There is a part when we notice Johns wife is getting worst. ... Men's discrimination against women is clearly shown in this story. ... Now, when everyone sees her as in her worst moment, she is really at her best. ...
The beauty of life and its features, in my opinion, relies specifically in the integration of different civilizations. ... Time moves fast, in the days of wretchedness and stupidity, the power is to be stuck in its ways and unconscious of the correct future for all mankind. ... Police officers are deemed to be enemies of the Afro American people and named the source of our struggles due to their natures of discrimination and racial profiling. Discrimination is and will always be a thing as far as I know it to be. ... I believe this form of discrimination is the worst because it has affected mo...
Gender discrimination, racism, and discrimination towards the disabled and less fortunate have been acknowledged, dealt with, and handled. ... Yes, one might definitely think we live in a time where peaceful equality is at its best. ... Its pathetic! ... Some of the worst criminals in history have been your average looking "boy/girl next-door". ... Its amazing though, even after others have seen this side, how many people still chose to down class us. ...
This act of aggression aggravated the already existent discrimination against the Japanese immigrants in America. ... They had to deal with day-to-day discrimination by the public. ... More than 2,000 Japanese immigrants were "rounded up" from Hawaii and the mainland U.S. before the FBI ended its hunt. ... The United States always claims that we are better then everyone else but when push came to shove, we responded in the worst way. ... The U.S. may be a melting pot, but the history of this country proves that it does not always react well to the diversity of its people. ...
