Racism in America

Andrea Simmons
Mrs. Kilbox
ENG 3U
Thursday, September 24 2013
Overcoming Racism of America The Melting Pot by Dudley Randall, Everyday Use by Alice Walker and Identity: How Do I Define Mine by Althea Samuels are all connected through the topics of culture and racism. The connections made throughout the texts demonstrate that one must be able to accept their heritage and skin colour and not be overcome by the racist ways of America. The struggle of each speaker and characters path to overcome racism is proved with each authors use symbolism, diction and cliches. Racism is shown in the poem The Melting Pot by Dudley Randall. People come into the ‘pot’ of America who they are, whether that be Czech, Greek or Scott and are ‘melted’ into America’s idea of a person. America accepts all white immigrants and strips then of their identities. “Keep out, this is our private pot. We don’t want your black stain”. (Randall, 15) Sam, a black man, is introduced in the poem as he struggles to be accepted into America because of his skin colour. The ‘private pot’ or ‘melting pot’ is used to symbolize stepping across the American border and having the american culture forced upon oneself. Once one steps across the border, they will leave a different person because they have been exposed to different culture. Exposure to different cultures and have positive and negative effects on how one sees their own culture. The short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker also connects to the topic of racism. Dee, the daughter of a black family, is sent to school in America and attempts to remove any connection between her and her family because she is embarrassed of her heritage. “I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people that appress me.” (Walker 25) Dee changes her name to ‘Wangero’ so that she has no relation between her and her aunt Dicie whom she was named after. Dee, now known as Wangero visits her family very little and when she does, Dee makes it clear that she does not approve of her mothers and sister way of life. Alice Walker uses diction by changing Dee’s name to show how resentful she is towards her family. Both The Melting Pot and Everyday Use are about the huge impact America has on people all over the world. These stories also demonstrate how difficult it is to be accepted into America, as well as how important it is for people to feel like they are American but your heritage is something they can never change and need to learn to accept it. Identity: How Do I Define Mine, a story written by Althea Samuels presents a speaker struggling to define her Jamaican culture and identity while living in Canada. The speaker is used to receiving racist comments by her teachers and those around her, she stands out being a coloured individual living in an all white culture. This story relates to both The Melting Pot and Everyday Use because they all involve speakers and characters being impacted by racism. The speaker in Identity: How Do I Define Mine does not let the cultural impact of Canada and all the comments change her beliefs. “Identity. How do I define mine? That’s the key. I define mine.” (Samuels 3) The author uses this cliche to prove that no matter where you live you define your own culture. The speaker in the story attends an anti-racism rally and is asked by a young girl where she is from because she is not the same skin colour as everyone else. She then considers how she should define herself when she is asked, she thinks about how she was born in Canada so that classifies her as an American Citizen. Although her parents are Jamaican she wasn’t born there nor has she ever been to Jamaica. “I don’t call Canada my home because I know i’m not accepted here.” (Samuels 2) The speaker states that home is somewhere that one knows they’re loved, and she does not feel that in Canada. She feels judged and out of place and that is not how someone should feel in their ‘home country’. Dealing with racism, the speaker learned who she is and how she is the one to define herself, not where she lived or what colour her skin is. In conclusion America has a big impact on what people think of other cultures because America is a very influential country. America gives the idea that white are more accepted, this is why is in both The Melting Pot, Everyday Use and Identity: How Do I Define Mine, all speakers and characters feel intimidated at first by America, or Canada because none of them are white. Whether a person is an African man living in America, or a Canadian woman living in Europe their original culture will never change so they should not try and change themselves into someone they are not.