Throughout the movie "Driving Miss Daisy," there is a constant juxtaposition between Miss Daisy and Hoke. The contrast of their roles reminds the viewers of the prominent racial segregation that existed during that time. Because the movie spans over 25 years of their relationship, that is significant to the time that engrained social prejudice takes to diminish.
In the beginning of the movie, Hoke is "below" Miss Daisy because he is her chauffeur. Her mental stability is slightly beginning to decline and although she denies it at first, she actually needs him. The fact that Boolie intervenes and actually creates their relationship may represent the fact that blacks and whites during that time were forced to interact with each other. Hoke is definitely at a disadvantage at the start because society has deprived him of opportunities –he cannot even read.
It is ironic that she is a white Jewish woman, and he is a black man, yet they are both elderly and have experienced the harsh past when people of each of their cultures were wrongfully victimized. Even though Miss Daisy claims she is not prejudice, society has shaped her mentality into subconsciously thinking that whites are above blacks.
She blindly acts on this prejudice thoroughly the movie until there is a shift along with the civil rights movement which leads to a progressive change. For example, she never allows Hoke to accompany her to the places she has him drive her to. This is exemplified especially at the Martin Luther King dinner when she has an extra ticket, and thinks it’s a “silly” idea for him to go with her, yet she ignorantly claims she “likes the change that’s happening.” Another example of their character juxtaposition is when the temple is bombed. He presents a story of his that relates to prejudiced crime and violence, yet she refuses to acknowledge that they relate as victims during that time period.
Through out time, their juxtaposed roles begin to shift to mutual respect and friendship. When Miss Daisy starts to develop a mental illness, her and Hoke seem to be on the same level while he is even at an advantage. This is shown symbolically when she is sitting holding his hand and he is standing above her. Miss Daisy is older and is disabled, and he is younger, able to walk, and even has to feed her. Because this is the closing scene, it shows a final equality among the two which also reflects what was going on during that time period. People were starting to get over racism and the efforts of radicals like MLKJ were beginning to show in the development of society.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In the book Leanora Sutter and Reynard Alexander undergo occurrences of violence, threats, and overall inhumane treatment. All of the hate from the Klan is predicated towards race, religion, and personal views. Both characters…
- 441 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The theme is the second section (chapter 3 and 4) of The Secret life of the Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is that the prejudice of others can weigh heavily on an individual’s judgement. Lily has finally found her next clue which has brought her to the Boatwright sisters. They are highly successful beekeepers that happen to be black. Due to being raised by a father who “did not think colored women were smart” (78), she is surprised by August being “intelligent” (78) and “so cultured” (78). This displays the role of the others in this case her dad who has influenced her to look down on blacks because that’s what he was taught. Although Lily comes to the realization that she had “some prejudice buried inside [her]” (78), many do not. Many fail to question…
- 162 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The main character in the story is actually prejudiced and makes many statements using racial remarks. For example, Mrs. Turpin, the main character, refers to the higher class woman as “well-dressed and pleasant”. She also labels the teenage girl as “ugly” and the poor woman as “white-trashy”. When Mrs. Turpin talks with her black workers, she often uses the word “nigger” in her thoughts. These characteristics she has given her characters definitely reveals the Southern lifestyle which she was a part of.…
- 876 Words
- 3 Pages
Better Essays -
Bingham would describe Daisy as a somewhat typical rich woman. She would also say that it is somewhat of an anomaly that she is aware of her precarious situation. She knows that her power and abilities in life are limited by her social status when she says that she would wish for her daughter to be "... a beautiful fool..." it must not only be very discouraging but also hurtful to realize that the system and situation the keeps Daisy and all rich women well dressed and well positioned in society is also a system that subjugates them. Bingham would however disagree with the wish to not be aware of this situation. She insists that women empower themselves and always try to resist this system of domination because to be…
- 729 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
She uses the fact she is a vulnerable female against Crooks and is very racist towards him. ‘Well you keep your trap shut then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’ This is a definite threat to Crooks. This shows that the social attitudes at the time were extremely racist and she chooses him because he is the most weak and least able to defend himself. She was going to accuse him of sexual assault and his black skin she knew would add to the problem. This gives her some status and power despite her because she is the only woman though her unpopular husband actually makes her an outcast on the farm. Nobody will want to converse with her because they fear her husband, and because they would automatically tar her with the same brush as they had him, which is to be extremely unreasonable and disrespectful, not to mention…
- 1130 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Has an affair with Daisy even though she is married and of a different social class…
- 897 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As the story develops the reader gets an insight into the contrast between Ben and his mother. It is clear that Ben only wants to play he doesn’t care about the colour of Daisy’s skin however Mrs Preedy does not allow this at all. Daisy begins to cry after the young boy telling her to leave. Ben doesn’t know any better as he is only doing what he is told by his mother. Mrs Preedy behaves in a horrible way, she is controlling person especially towards her son. After she calls Ben in the house she gives him a lecture about the importance it is not to be friends with ‘that nigger’ this shows how low the mother is a how much of a bad influence she is towards her son. Ben then try’s to…
- 598 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the 1920s, the perception of the American Dream was that an individual can achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if they only work hard enough. However, Daisy doesn’t work hard for her slice of success and social popularity, she marries into it. This can be seen due her superficiality as she masks the inevitable pain she feels as Tom has an affair with Myrtle. (Through inferring, it can be seen that money is a dominant factor as Tom commits the sin of infidelity due to wealth and power.) Furthermore, Daisy is portrayed as a woman who is beautiful, vibrant and attractive thus, she is able to portray the Roaring Twenties as it is conveyed as vivacious although, when peeling away at the exterior like Daisy, they are both full of shallowness and phony. On the other hand, sympathy can be felt for Daisy due to her shambles of a marriage with the bigot and brute that is Tom Buchanan. As his brutality is seen when Daisy blames him for her bruised knuckle that is “black and blue”.…
- 791 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the novel “The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy is described ieaders in various ways. In the beginning of the story Daisy is described “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville”. This quote described by Fitzgerald tells the reader that Daisy holds a degree that she has immense beauty which has blinded many men. It means that she holds the popularity status because of the beauty she has. She is also described as “ a beautiful little fool.” This also indicates that Daisy is simply just beautiful just like an angel pure and white. And in which white could also means lack of morality.…
- 595 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This confusion of character only creates an image of someone who is missing something in their life, and tries to replicate and mirror an image she biologically wasn’t born into. This sense of amusement is noted due to this scenario being so unique in it’s own ways, or the fact she had claimed 9 allegations of hate crimes of a race she isn’t necessarily a part…
- 724 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This proves the corruption of the character associated to white. The character of Daisy is surrounded by white and lightness. The reader thinks that she is an innocent, true and gentle character. In the throwbacks throughout the book F. Scott Fitzgerald stresses this purity by describing how “she was dressed in white, and had a little white roadster” when she met Gatsby for the first time. She continues to wear white when she grows up, but it doesn’t have the same meaning. Her “red and white Georgian colonial mansion [...] The windows were ajar and gleaming white”. This shows how white is now filled up with yellow like an egg. Daisy’s “white face” hides her real personality of a person who now materials are more important than love. She falls in this world of corruption when she marries Tom who buys her with a pearl necklace of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She stays with him for money even though she could get back with Gatsby that is now wealthy enough for her and Tom stays with her for her beauty however he has several mistresses. It’s ironic when Daisy cries on his shirts because she realises that she probably made the biggest mistake of her life and she could have gotten love and money. Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship is not about love anymore, because he’s attracted to her to make his dream complete and she has “her mouth full of money” so she attracts him to her just because money is more important to her now. Daisy is like a mermaid because she attracts a sailor (Gatsby) by singing to him (money) to actually kill him. Daisy led Gatsby to death because when they kissed on that “one autumn night” she attracted him forever and he was blinded by her so he did the impossible for her to get her. When she kills Myrtle he covers it up for her or he’s willing to take the blame for it to protect…
- 973 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
were both in white" (p. 13) Daisy's car (back before she was married) was white. Daisy is…
- 467 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Judy Jones and daisy Buchanan are beautiful, wealthy, and shallow young women who love but money. Both Judy and daisy dress flimsy clothes witch shows a lack of character. They know that they can get men with their cute voices and there money. They both have instances in their lives where love, money, and materialism come into play. Like when daisy accidentally kills myrtle on the streets and she thinks she’s too good too take the blame or when every time things aren’t going good for Judy, she runs off and finds a new man of the night.…
- 292 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
her. The beginning of the story is told from the white people 's perspectives as they see an old black woman come to their church and go inside. Inside the church, the point of view switches to the usher who tells the old black lady to leave. The point of view then switches back to the white women inside the church, who take it as a personal insult and feel the most threatened about the old black lady being at their church. They rouse their husbands to throw the old lady out. The perspective then changes to the old black lady. This constant changing of point of view is useful in that it portrays the fears, thoughts, and feelings of almost everyone in the story. Firsthand, the reader is able to know what the people are thinking and why. In the end, the point of view briefly returns to the white people who were at church that day. The story ends with the perspective of some black families wher. The beginning of the story is told from the white people 's perspectives as they see an old black woman come to their church and go inside. Inside the church, the point of view switches to the usher who tells the old black lady to leave. The point of view then switches back to the white women inside the church, who take it as a personal insult and feel the most threatened about the old black lady being at their church. They rouse their husbands to throw the old lady out. The perspective then changes to the old black lady. This constant changing of point of view is useful in that it portrays the fears, thoughts, and feelings of almost everyone in the story. Firsthand, the reader is able to know what the people are thinking and why. In the end, the point of view briefly returns to the white people who were at church that day. The story ends with the perspective of some black families who witnessed the old lady walking down the highway. ho witnessed the old lady walkiher. The beginning of the story is told from the white people 's perspectives as they see an old black woman come…
- 1561 Words
- 7 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
She makes sure that the reader understands that racial issues will be a major theme in the essay. This topic is first introduced amidst a happy memory of eating a home-cooked meal in the train, when Lorde is reminded that they cannot eat in the dining car with the excuse of financial and sanitary reasons. Lorde writes, “My mother never mentioned that black people were not allowed into railroad dining cars headed south in 1947. As usual, whatever my mother did not like and could not change, she ignored,” (Cohen, 255). In order to protect her children, Lorde’s mother ignores the fact that racism exists. This is accompanied by the information that Phyllis was unable to attend the Washington D.C. trip with her classmates because the hotel would not allow Black people. Her casual and curious tone suddenly escalates to anger when the family is kicked out of the ice cream shop. “No one would answer my emphatic questions with anything other than guilty silence. ‘But we hadn’t done anything!’ This wasn’t right or fair!” (Cohen, 257). She catches the reader’s attention by visualizing her pain by placing her reaction next to her family’s subdued reaction.…
- 555 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays