Reading Response Essay's 'Social Grouping'
Maurice McKelley 1 May 2013
Professor Harper LE 300
Reading Response # 4
“Social Grouping” Since man’s creation we have been grouping things, trying to make sense of the world around us. We have grouped and classified all known flora and fauna in this world. The French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck classified over 1,634 species of marine animals. Carolus Linnaeus, often called the Father of Taxonomy believed through classification of plants and animals we would come closer to understanding the divine order. Johann German naturalist, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, offered his contributions to taxonomy by subdividing humans into five distinct categories: the Caucasoid race, Mongoloid race, Ethiopian race (later termed the Negroid race), American Indian race, and Malayan race, but he did not propose any hierarchy among the races (Wikipedia). The problem with the idea of classifying humans is the instinctive pride in each of us that boils over into …show more content…
competition. This leads to members in each group having a sense of superiority over the others. This social segregation amongst the races has led to some of the most horrifying times in world history. Charlene Harris argues that we practice exclusionism while preaching equality in her novel Dead Until Dark. Harris addresses exclusionism by introducing a new group of beings into the already troubled society of the rural southern United States. Harris introduces vampires as the new minority group to the world, but more especially the state of Louisiana. Many will identify the vampire’s struggle for equality with that of gays in America, but I feel that this would be selfish and too narrow a scope, because any minority group that has ever challenged the social views of the majority rulers of these United States would fit comfortably in their situation.
Harris demonstrates the attraction of people to things they don’t understand. She does this with the main character Sookie being attracted to Bill, a vampire, at first with basic curiosity which quickly turns into a deeper more sexual attraction. Sookie’s grandmother also shows a strong desire to learn about the vampires to get a better understanding of the past. Other characters have shown interest in the vampires in a more explicit nature and have been cruelly labeled fang bangers. This fictional term bears a striking resemblance to the more real terms of nigger lover, rump wranglers, and carpet munchers. These are a few examples of how society tries to resist change by categorizing in an attempt to exile through exclusion.
Harris did not place the minority groups in her novel in an inferior position.
But made them stand out as more in tune with society’s issues. First, one of the minor characters, Lafayette, a cook in Merlotte’s bar and grille is a gay male that demonstrates he is confident in his sexual orientation, and has a better understanding of others than they of themselves. Lafayette is later killed off in the novel, but lives on throughout the Dead Until Dark novel based television series “TruBlood” as a grounded voice of reason. Second, the vampires have their own government that provides everything that our existing government promises. They systematically provide swift justice and punishment for crimes. They have managed to exist for as long as anyone could remember as myth and legend indicating an extreme level of organization and control. We could stand to learn from their societal structure. Why do we fight an enemy of our own creation? We need to stop creating
enemies.
Our society fears change. As in Charlene Harris’ novel Dead Until Dark, society has to take a deep look into how it has viewed minority groups and find a way to accept those not of the status quo. We preach to be a great melting pot where all people of every race, color, or creed could coexist. In our history we have repeatedly, and still continue to fall short of that banner of equality we so proudly bear.
Works Cited
" Johann Friedrich Blumenbach." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 April 2013 at 21:21. Web. 5 May 2013.
Professor Harper LE 300
Reading Response # 4
“Social Grouping” Since man’s creation we have been grouping things, trying to make sense of the world around us. We have grouped and classified all known flora and fauna in this world. The French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck classified over 1,634 species of marine animals. Carolus Linnaeus, often called the Father of Taxonomy believed through classification of plants and animals we would come closer to understanding the divine order. Johann German naturalist, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, offered his contributions to taxonomy by subdividing humans into five distinct categories: the Caucasoid race, Mongoloid race, Ethiopian race (later termed the Negroid race), American Indian race, and Malayan race, but he did not propose any hierarchy among the races (Wikipedia). The problem with the idea of classifying humans is the instinctive pride in each of us that boils over into …show more content…
competition. This leads to members in each group having a sense of superiority over the others. This social segregation amongst the races has led to some of the most horrifying times in world history. Charlene Harris argues that we practice exclusionism while preaching equality in her novel Dead Until Dark. Harris addresses exclusionism by introducing a new group of beings into the already troubled society of the rural southern United States. Harris introduces vampires as the new minority group to the world, but more especially the state of Louisiana. Many will identify the vampire’s struggle for equality with that of gays in America, but I feel that this would be selfish and too narrow a scope, because any minority group that has ever challenged the social views of the majority rulers of these United States would fit comfortably in their situation.
Harris demonstrates the attraction of people to things they don’t understand. She does this with the main character Sookie being attracted to Bill, a vampire, at first with basic curiosity which quickly turns into a deeper more sexual attraction. Sookie’s grandmother also shows a strong desire to learn about the vampires to get a better understanding of the past. Other characters have shown interest in the vampires in a more explicit nature and have been cruelly labeled fang bangers. This fictional term bears a striking resemblance to the more real terms of nigger lover, rump wranglers, and carpet munchers. These are a few examples of how society tries to resist change by categorizing in an attempt to exile through exclusion.
Harris did not place the minority groups in her novel in an inferior position.
But made them stand out as more in tune with society’s issues. First, one of the minor characters, Lafayette, a cook in Merlotte’s bar and grille is a gay male that demonstrates he is confident in his sexual orientation, and has a better understanding of others than they of themselves. Lafayette is later killed off in the novel, but lives on throughout the Dead Until Dark novel based television series “TruBlood” as a grounded voice of reason. Second, the vampires have their own government that provides everything that our existing government promises. They systematically provide swift justice and punishment for crimes. They have managed to exist for as long as anyone could remember as myth and legend indicating an extreme level of organization and control. We could stand to learn from their societal structure. Why do we fight an enemy of our own creation? We need to stop creating
enemies.
Our society fears change. As in Charlene Harris’ novel Dead Until Dark, society has to take a deep look into how it has viewed minority groups and find a way to accept those not of the status quo. We preach to be a great melting pot where all people of every race, color, or creed could coexist. In our history we have repeatedly, and still continue to fall short of that banner of equality we so proudly bear.
Works Cited
" Johann Friedrich Blumenbach." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 April 2013 at 21:21. Web. 5 May 2013.