The Blindside
Blacks vs. Whites: Michael Lewis’s accurate portrayal of racism in America through his
Biography The Blindside.
Mike Ballou
February 11, 2011
English 2 CPE-Mrs. Manzo
Research Report
“An eight year old girl in South Africa recently told Ted Koppel on Nightline, ‘White people are better then black people, I wish I was white but I am not’” (Racism in America’s Schools). This statement is believed to be true by many people. People all over the world feel hatred or dislike toward a certain group of people for no apparent reason, other than because they are different from themselves. Michael Lewis wrote the biography The Blindside that captures the issue of racism through an athletic black man’s life. In his biography, The Blindside, Michael Lewis accurately portrays racism by exposing prejudice attitudes, demonstrating segregation, and using real world examples about how blacks are treated differently. Throughout his novel, Lewis illustrates that prejudice attitudes are formed from the environment in which the person was raised. Parents model their children, kids grow up wanting to be exactly like their parents and they regurgitate their parents’ behavior. Collected research emphasizes, “Parents are the earliest and most powerful source of racial attitudes” (Racism in America’s Schools). This is significant because if every generation grows up with racist parents they will continue to raise racist children. In addition, children spend a lot of their free time watching TV, and certain programs may affect their racial attitudes. The article Mass Media And Racism asserts, “Mass Media has played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans” (Mass Media and Racism). Many children at young ages see the media portraying blacks in a certain way and build prejudice against them. Lewis accurately demonstrates racism stemming from one’s upbringing through the character of Leigh. Leigh’s father was a very racist man; he
Biography The Blindside.
Mike Ballou
February 11, 2011
English 2 CPE-Mrs. Manzo
Research Report
“An eight year old girl in South Africa recently told Ted Koppel on Nightline, ‘White people are better then black people, I wish I was white but I am not’” (Racism in America’s Schools). This statement is believed to be true by many people. People all over the world feel hatred or dislike toward a certain group of people for no apparent reason, other than because they are different from themselves. Michael Lewis wrote the biography The Blindside that captures the issue of racism through an athletic black man’s life. In his biography, The Blindside, Michael Lewis accurately portrays racism by exposing prejudice attitudes, demonstrating segregation, and using real world examples about how blacks are treated differently. Throughout his novel, Lewis illustrates that prejudice attitudes are formed from the environment in which the person was raised. Parents model their children, kids grow up wanting to be exactly like their parents and they regurgitate their parents’ behavior. Collected research emphasizes, “Parents are the earliest and most powerful source of racial attitudes” (Racism in America’s Schools). This is significant because if every generation grows up with racist parents they will continue to raise racist children. In addition, children spend a lot of their free time watching TV, and certain programs may affect their racial attitudes. The article Mass Media And Racism asserts, “Mass Media has played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans” (Mass Media and Racism). Many children at young ages see the media portraying blacks in a certain way and build prejudice against them. Lewis accurately demonstrates racism stemming from one’s upbringing through the character of Leigh. Leigh’s father was a very racist man; he