Prompt:
Look for gender, race, or class inequalities and injustices.
Response Requirement:
* Provide a detailed example of equality/inequality appearing in our reading. Who has the power? How is it used?
* The book takes place in the 1960's, but is this inequality still present in society today? Explain.
Friday, March 5, 2010
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In the story there is a lot of inequality between white and black people. Most of the time it's against black people because at that time they were still hated for who they are and were often treated like they were just dirt witch could be kicked around and it would be alright. They didn't have much power during that time because they were a minority in the country. An example of inequality being shown in the book is when Rosaleen is in jail. When she didn't apologize for spitting the snuff juice she was chewing on three white men's shoes she got arrested for disturbing the peace but really it was the three men that were disturbing the peace by telling her to shut up even though she wasn't bothering them and was just humming and song about god. They kept on telling her to shut up until she got tired of it and spit her snuff juice on their shoes. They got really mad about it and told her apologize but she didn't listen. When Rosaleen and Lily went to jail and after T. Ray busted Lily out the sheriff let the three men who she spit the juice on their shoes go into Rosaleen cell and let them get their apology but when she refused they started beating her with a flashlight and the sheriff didn't do anything. That shows that Rosaleen was beaten right in front of an officer and the people who beat her weren't even stopped or even given a waring to back of.
ReplyDeleteI fell that there is still a little bit of inequality in present day times because there is always going to be racist or bias people. They can end up being the head of big companies or even leaders and that is really why there is still inequality and there is always going to be inequality. Groups like the KKK give strength to people who want to live in a life of being bias and racist. There is ways for even people who don't even realize that they are bias or racist to show inequality and that is really the big problem with ordinary not realizing that things that they say are really bad compared to think of what they think of as some kind of joke actually be racist or insulting to somebody else.
Prompt:
ReplyDeleteLook for gender, race, or class inequalities and injustices.
Response Requirement:
* Provide a detailed example of equality/inequality appearing in our reading. Who has the power? How is it used?
* The book takes place in the 1960's, but is this inequality still present in society today? Explain.
In the Secret Life of Bees, the country is at a strong point in the struggle of inequality. The two main, struggles are those for race and gender. In the very beginning of the story, Rosaleen was watching TV when they announced that President Johnson had signed the Civil Rights Act. Despite this, people still discriminated by color. For one, when Rosaleen was arrested the police, allowed the men to hit her several times. I believe that the police and the men, who were known racists, would have acted differently if a person with lighter skin was in that position. Also the whole reason Rosaleen was even arrested was because they men had been insulting her and she had told them that she had stolen the fans from church. Some of the insults were, “’Did you ever see one that black?’”, “’Where did you get the fan, (bad, nasty, and ugly word here)? ‘”
There is also some discrimination due to gender as well. For one, Lily states that T. Ray refuses to let Lily read because he claims it stirs up ideas for college. T. Ray believes that college is a waste of money for girls. This allowed Lily to believe the best she could go for is Beauty College. Over all, discrimination towards color is more prominent in the book, but discrimination towards color is there as well. Also Lily briefly mentions how the girls at school would think they’re better than her because of the fact Lily’s hair was a mess and the clothes she wore. This end up tying in with injustice for people who have less money as well as being a part of the lower class.
There is discrimination in present day, yet it is far less dramatic than it was in 1960. For one, people can prejudge others based on things like gender, class, and race. People still do that in modern times and inequality is evident every now and then, but it is far less prominent. Over all, there isn’t as much discrimination in modern times. Especially the US, because it’s the “melting pot”, and everyone, from one point, came from somewhere else.
In the time setting of this book, white men could do almost anything, while African-Americans were still treated like nothing. In the book when Rosealeen goes to vote and is humming a religious tune, two white men tell her to be quiet. When she would not they called her racist names which caused her to dump her ‘spit juice’ on their shoes. When the police arrived they didn’t care that the men had beaten her senseless. Women are also discriminated upon like how T-Ray is always trying to be the boss of Lily and Rosealeen even when they could take care of themselves. In all the men in this book, use their power over women and African-Americans to a terrible extent. Now-a day’s people mostly do not discriminate and if they do, it is not to an extent as bad as it was in the 60’s.
ReplyDeleteInequality is given to women and other races during this time. White males are the ones with the highest power. They control anybody who isn’t them. They feel as if it’s equal, but everybody else doesn’t, because it’s not. Inequality and equality play big roles in life, but in different situations and places. When Rosaleen did her action to the 3 white men, she should have known something would happen. I bet if she was white and a male, she would say sorry and probably not get so beaten.
ReplyDeleteInequality is definitely still in present society. Racism is a major part of it. Even though we live in a more classed society, there are still people that are racist and don’t treat people equal. I feel that most of this happens in rough towns or cities, or in the south. From where I’ve gone and what I read and watched on TV, it seems like that. Life now a days has advanced, but nothing will be perfect.
In The Secret Life of Bees, due to time frame in which this book takes place, people discriminate against people who are colored. An example of how they are not considered equals is when Rosaleen gets beaten up and cops are standing right next to them and they don’t even bother stopping the men who are beating her. Which shows that even cops considered colored people not equals. Even Lily discriminates against colored people; she talks down to Rosaleen and never lets her speak for herself. Although it’s not her fault that she feels this way about her, it was the way she was raised. She grew up with T.Ray and he thinks that colored people are never smart, which is not true, but this is what Lily believes.
ReplyDeleteIn present day society the discrimination against anyone with differences is low, but there are many people who still judge people because of their differences. Most people understand that it is wrong, not everyone.
In The Secret Life of Bees, due to time frame in which this book takes place, people discriminate against people who are colored. An example of how they are not considered equals is when Rosaleen gets beaten up and cops are standing right next to them and they don’t even bother stopping the men who are beating her. Which shows that even cops considered colored people not equals. Even Lily discriminates against colored people; she talks down to Rosaleen and never lets her speak for herself. Although it’s not her fault that she feels this way about her, it was the way she was raised. She grew up with T.Ray and he thinks that colored people are never smart, which is not true, but this is what Lily believes.
ReplyDeleteIn present day society the discrimination against anyone with differences is low, but there are many people who still judge people because of their differences. Most people understand that it is wrong, not everyone.
Unfortunately, one of the many themes present in out stories is the theme of discrimination. But what makes up “discrimination?” The basis of discrimination can be found in the bowels of the human heart, the part of the individual that rears its ugly head when the individual isn’t getting enough attention or is just jealous on another individual. To make the first person feel better about themselves, they either do two things. They either try to make themselves look better, or they try to put down the person that they despise, by using the saying “strength in numbers,” and getting people to join their side, which is the tactic Hitler used, or they use propaganda to make people who have no idea on what the situation is shun the person that the first person was jealous of. If anybody actually managed to follow my train of thought, good for them and for the person that got lost in the train wreck, here are many examples of inequality in society in the novels, and in our lives.
ReplyDeleteIf you just break the outer layer of inequality in the novel, you’ll find the constant inequality against African Americans. That entire time period was set upon the controversial issue of the Civil Rights Movement. For example, Rosaleen, Lily’s motherly figure, is discriminated by two of the town’s most racist people. Due to this incident, the reader can easily see who has the power in the novel, and that would be white men. Also, when Rosaleen is admitted into the hospital, they have the rooms separated into two sections, the white section and the black section. I bet you my leg that the white section is many times better than the black section. Also, if you dig deeper into the novel, you’ll see that women are also unequal in social stature to men, which is like a double whammy for Rosaleen. T.Ray always says “It would’ve been ok if you were a boy,” which is prejudice that only he has shown so far in the story.
Even in our “advanced” times, there are still people living in the 1960s. In these times, inequality isn’t about race or gender. (In most cases) It is about wealth and occupation. For example, most people would deem garbage man as a less “honorable” job than a billionaire. It’s this kind of inequalities that cripple our society and make it no better than it was in the 1960s. So in conclusion, people will always feel jealousy between one another, which will always result in inequality.
There are a couple of inequalities that we have already read about in the novel Secret Life of Bees. One of these inequalities is race. Rosaleen is discriminated for being black in different ways. She was beaten by white men because they started to call her names just for being black. Also Rosaleen isn’t allowed to go into certain restaurants and sections of hospitals because she was colored. Even though the Civil Rights Act was signed during this period the white males really had the power. However, these men didn’t use their powers in a good way. They would use their force just to beat on innocent black people. Since this book took place in the 1960’s this inequality is not in society today. It’s a good thing that this still isn’t present today because America would be very different than it is now. Everybody has the same rights and there is no discrimination against colored people in America today.
ReplyDeleteInequality and equality are very big themes in The Secret Life of Bees. An example of equality is when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act. It said that all people, regardless of color, had equal rights. To be truthful, this is an example of an attempt at equality. No one automatically took to this law. It took a long time for people to start acting like this law wanted them to. Even after it was passed, Rosaleen was harassed by two men because of her color. It’s obvious that the white people have the “power” during this time. In a place like Sylvan, it’s clear that no one is taking the Civil Rights Act seriously. That is, except for the people it benefits. The people who have this “power” use it to keep African Americans out of their lives. They act like African Americans carry some disease, and that they are way below them. This is definitely not true! Everyone, regardless of color, deserves the same rights.
ReplyDeleteToday, not that much inequality is present. However, it is still around. For example, the Rodney King incident took place only a few years ago, when it was supposed to be public knowledge that everyone was equal. Even today, I’m sure there are some people who still judge by skin color or religion. Personally, I have never witnessed this. I surround myself with good people who I know would never do anything racist to anyone. In a perfect world, everyone would get along, and no one would judge others by color. Do you think we live in a perfect world? I know for a fact that we don’t. I wish that no one would be judged by their color, but sadly, this still occurs. Hopefully, one day we can become a nation in which no one is ever judged by their color. This day may not come soon, but I hope it will come eventually.
In the Secret Life of Bees, there are many examples of inequality, racism, and sexism. Since this took place in the 1960’s, there were still a lot of people who didn’t consider African Americans ‘normal’ people. The three men who Rosaleen spit snuff on were being derogatory towards her and she wasn’t going to take that. Then, she was put in jail, and the racists wanted her to apologize. She was too stubborn and decided not to apologize, and instead, she was beaten until the people at the jail finally told the men to stop. Sexism also plays a big part in the book. Men during this time thought that they could control women, and women didn’t do much about it. If you asked a woman what her job was, you probably would get an answer something like, “I don’t work. I stay home and care for my family”. Women weren’t independent, and they strongly depended on their husband to support the family. Because of this, men think that they can take advantage of women. An example is with T. Ray and his wife. When she was packing her things to leave, you could clearly see how awfully she was treated by T. Ray. During this time, white men had all of the power, and in my opinion, they abused that power too much. These days, women have taken a stand and have become more independent. Also, although there is still discrimination against African Americans, society has become more accepting of them. This book shows equality because the ‘calendar sisters’ as Rosaleen refers to them, are very accepting towards Lily, who is white. Even though they probably take a lot of bullying, they have good hearts towards Lily and Rosaleen, even though one is white and the other is black.
ReplyDeleteThere are many Inequalities in society in this novel. The main inequality though, is the discrimination against african-americans. Even though the Civil Rights Movement was passed people still acted way differently towards them. For example, while Rosaleen was walking with Lily she walked passed two white men who called her very mean name and after she stood up for herself she got beat and arrested. She was hit over the head with a flashlight and got a gash on her head that was sure to need stiches. In situations between black-americans and white-americans white americans always have the power. They abuse their power and do terrible things against them.
ReplyDeleteThis inequality is not present in society today but there is discrimination. The discrimination today is against people who look differently but its not magnified on only black-americans. It is more discrimimation against people in different groups like, losers, popular people, jocks, est. There is not as much discrimination but it still exists.
The biggest example of inequality was when Rosaleen poured disgusting black snuff spit all over Franklin Posey and his friend’s shoes. She did this because they called her a racial slur. After all of that happened Posey jumped her and started to beat her. The police eventually came and arrested Rosaleen for disturbing the peace and stealing fans. Posey and his buds did not get in trouble at all even though they did assault her. It is very stupid to send a person that was attacked to jail without sending the person that attacked the victim to jail. Afterwards when Rosaleen was in jail Posey attacked her once again. The white males definitely dominated this era. They used their power mostly to do bad things like be racist and not get sent to jail.
ReplyDeleteThis does not happen in our society today because most people have come to learn that we are all equal. There are still some miniscule groups of people that do not like other races because they are ignorant. They do not have a definite reason to hate a whole race but they just have no heart. These are dangerous people that believe they are the best and nobody is better than them. Overall racism does not happen as much as before and if it does happen then the racist person will get sent to jail.
There is a lot of inequality in the book The Secret Life of Bees. For example, African-Americans were not treated the same as white people. Rosaleen was arrested for spitting on a white male’s shoes. While she was arrested, the officers treated her very poorly and aggressively. They allowed the white men hurt her, and yell at her saying hurtful words. The white men obviously have the power, and they use it against the African-Americans. They try to show that they are much stronger by hurting them.
ReplyDeleteThe inequality of racism is not still present in today’s society as it was in the 1960’s. We have learned throughout time, that everyone is equal. We also learned not to be judgmental, and not to judge a book by its cover. This is a much better way to live because there is a lot less hatred, and everyone can be friendly with everyone. This has even led to the first African-American president, Barack Obama. We are continually progressing to create this a more equal country.
The inequality and equality is abundant in The Secret Life of Bees. One equality in the book is the African Americans are to be know as the inferior class that is denounced by the White Americans. This pulls into how the inequalities of Africans Americans are the one with less authority then the white Americans. The fact that it was the 1960’s African Americans were treated as if they were nugatory. The power no doubt is given to the white Americans. An example of inequalities are the words that Mr. Gaston said to Rosaleen only because she was African. The idea of racism was plentiful back in the 1960’s entirely because of the Civil Rights Movement that was in affect. Before that historical event racism as performed by Mr. Gaston was proliferating. In the novel the racism or inequality is used by words. The positive side is the equality of Lily and Rosaleen who are of different racial backgrounds according to color, yet they are secured together by the undying support they constantly give each other. These are the equalities/inequalities occurring in the 1960’s.
ReplyDeleteThe inequality of racism still occurs today, but not on a substantial basis. There has to have been compromises such as the one Martin Luther King Jr. introduced that brought mant in a unamity amongst each other. To this day, there has been less racism, but it is still around in areas of the world. Racism is going to be about somewhere in the world because there will be disagreements. In society today there is racism or prejudice about occurring everywhere, but as I said not a significant intensity as in the 1960’s
An example of inequality in society is the color of your skin. Back then the white people had the power and African Americans have to do what they say. When Rosaleen gets into a fight the police officer lets the white man keep hitting her. That is unfair and racist. The people abuse their power in society. Today is better but there is still discrimination.
ReplyDeleteToday people still discriminate. Like with gender matters in society today. Some men think that they are better than women. And with race people can still be really mean to one group of people. It is still very bad today but not as bad as it was in the 1960’s.
An example of inequality in the novel is the hospital when the wings are split into two different sections, one for blacks and one for whites. I think that the sections are split because they are treated differently in the hospital. The whites have better doctors and the blacks are treated worse and are forced to pay more because the whites think that they can take advantage of them. Yes, inequality still is present today. An example is when people are prejudice to other people. White people make fun of black people and the same thing happens for black people. They both are friends but there are people who still don’t like people from other races.
ReplyDeleteWhen Rosaleen was taken to jail and beaten, it was a hate crime. She dumped spit juice all over the worst racists in town, and when she got arrested, and was supposed to be put in a safe jail house, she ended up worse off than she was at first. Rosaleen was black, and the men, the monsters that beat her, were white. The jailer, Mr. Avery Gaston, only told the guys who attacked her, “‘Hold on now Franklin, now’s not the time.’” Saying that, he not only implied that it was okay he hit Rosaleen over the head with a flashlight, he implied that they could come back later and do that, and worse things.
ReplyDeleteNot only was Rosaleen abused for her skin color, she was simply on the way to vote like any upstanding citizen would. Though before she could vote, she had to practice her signature. Any white person registering to vote would just have to scribble a signature and walk away. Anyone who wasn’t white was going to have to “write their names in perfect cursive and refuse them a card if they forget so much as to dot an i or make a loop in their y.”
Clearly anyone white could do anything they wanted to a black person without any other white person so much as blinking an eye. The white people had the power, and heavily abused it in the deep south.
Though the inequality is less present, it still clearly does have a presence. In 2008, our entire country’s government went through a change that my grandparents never thought they would see; a black man became president. If some inequality wasn’t present, it would be no big deal to have any group become president: black, white, asian, hispanic, male, female. Just as the south went through a big change, our entire country still has more change yet to come.
An example of inequality that had appeared in my reading was when Lily and Rosaleen were looking for a place to go and everywhere they could think of, African Americans were not allowed. I believe that the people have the power because even though the people with “higher power” say to do something, didn’t stop a lot of people from doing something else. This is used to keep segregation in certain areas in the country. Inequality is still present in society today by the way some people discriminate against people of different races or religions. I believe that in some way, that is inequality.
ReplyDelete