Telephone Conversation
by Wole Soyinka
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"
This poem is basically a conversation of two main characters: the narrator, a black, who is trying to rent a flat and the landlady, who is trying to rent her flat. This poem was able to bring out a strong feeling of racism and prejudice against the black within it as they made us of the two skin colour to show the displease and unhappiness between the two colours.
In this poem, we can see that the landlady who is renting her place was very prejudiced against blacks and had a strong sense of racism. This is evident from the point where she started speaking into the phone saying "How Dark?". This meant that she was very concerned about the skin colour of the narrator, thus showing the fact that she was unwilling to rent her room away to someone who is indifferent in colour with her as she was also hesitating alot in the conversation, which can be seen from the long silences. Also, the fact that she said "What's that" and "Don't know what that is" could also mean that she was not very smart and did not understand the meaning behind why blacks should be discriminated and only did it because everyone else was doing so too.
Thursday 3 March 2011
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Favourite Poem
Blog Prompt: Pick a poem or prose extract that has left a deep impression on you. Write about why it left such a deep impression on you. Write about why it left such a deep impression and what you learnt from it. Include the poem/prose extract in your post.
Racial Understanding - James Di Fiore
Racial Understanding - James Di Fiore
I wasn't asked at birth
When mamma squeezed me out of her still slight girth
If I preferred my skin to be dark or light or in the middle
Nobody asked me to fiddle with
My pigment
So how am I to explain the actions of my ancestors, even a little bit?
I know the history, I just wish it were her story
Instead of the bloodshed washed through the claims of glory
I'm sorry
but I don't think I can say I have any pride
Take a ride through the past and you might see where I reside
They looked just like me those who committed homicide
They looked just like me those who committed genocide
They looked just like me men who brandished weapons at their side
They looked just like me but they never really looked
They never looked at all, from proverbs to graffiti in the bathroom stall
and voices in the hall laughed as they watched them fall
But it wasn't me
But I can identify with those who believe they have a right to look down on me
I can see their frustration and can almost agree
With sentiments that state they hate what people who looked just like me
did to their family's fates
It's crazy
But stillit just wasn't me
I wonder what it would be like if I woke up black
Given my temperment I know I'd fight back
And want to lynch those who looked just like you
But what did you do?
Nothing that you can undo
Nothing that makes you the epitome of the evil that men do
If I woke up Chinese would I hate the Japanese?
If I woke up Japanese would I hate the Canadian authorities
from the 1940s?
If I were a Jew would I hate a modern day German?
If I were made of two races, would I hate the puritans?
I'm through man, with all of this hate
I can't take it
Is there anybody that can take racism and bust like me?
And if I were a black man, would I hate someone who looked just like me...?
I like this poem very much as aside from being in such close reference to the issue of racism, this poem also brought out a very deep sense of feeling that was not only able to discuss the issue of racial understanding, but also brought out a very special feeling in the second stanza when the phrase "They looked just like me" was repeated several times.
In this poem, however, I liked the last stanza the best as I felt it made a lot of sense. We can't change our past, what has happened has already past by; why are we still dwelling on things that happened and maybe hate those people who caused this? What's the whole point of this? Hatred for pride? Wouldn't it be much better, if the world could just live harmoniously, with no issues of discrimination or racial tensions? Quoting from Martin Luther King, Jr., a member of the Civil Rights Movement "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
Ku Klux Klan
This post would be about the history of the Ku Klux Klan in America. The Ku Klux Klan engaged in many terrorist activities and members of this Klan also wore white costumes, consisting of robes, masks and conical hats, which is meant to be terrifying. The history of Ku Klux Klan is separated into 3 different Klans, the first started in 1860s and died by the early 1870s. The second Klan started in 1920s while the third started after World War 2. As such, this post would be focusing more on the timeframe of Mississippi burning, which would be the third Klan.
The third Klan which appeared was strongly against the Civil Right Movement as well as the idea of desegregation. It adopted the anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist and anti-Immigrant perception. Some common acts the KKK carry out would be to burn crosses as a form of warning that the KKK was there. This Ku Klux Klan was also closely allied with the police forces and as such, was able to lay down attacks at appropriate times and places, carrying out several bombing and assassination in the 1960s. To curb the issue of the KKK, the FBI paid informants in the Klan in places like Birmingham as they seemed more concerned about Communist links to civil rights activists than about controlling Klan excesses against the citizens.
The third Klan which appeared was strongly against the Civil Right Movement as well as the idea of desegregation. It adopted the anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist and anti-Immigrant perception. Some common acts the KKK carry out would be to burn crosses as a form of warning that the KKK was there. This Ku Klux Klan was also closely allied with the police forces and as such, was able to lay down attacks at appropriate times and places, carrying out several bombing and assassination in the 1960s. To curb the issue of the KKK, the FBI paid informants in the Klan in places like Birmingham as they seemed more concerned about Communist links to civil rights activists than about controlling Klan excesses against the citizens.
Lynching
As I was quite curious about this topic of lynching and more specifically about how lynching occurs, I have done some research on this topic.
Lynching is basically an unofficial, an illegal execution of someone which is carried out by a group of people. Some methods of lynching, besides hanging being the most common, would be burning, or even shooting. As such, between 1882 to 1968, up to 3,500 African Americans, the blacks, were lynched. Now, in United States, the government and the nation strictly adhere to the law that lynching of a person is a serious crime and those who were found to portray acts of lynching would be punished seriously.
Lynching is basically an unofficial, an illegal execution of someone which is carried out by a group of people. Some methods of lynching, besides hanging being the most common, would be burning, or even shooting. As such, between 1882 to 1968, up to 3,500 African Americans, the blacks, were lynched. Now, in United States, the government and the nation strictly adhere to the law that lynching of a person is a serious crime and those who were found to portray acts of lynching would be punished seriously.
Blog Post - Mississippi Burning
Reflect on the phrase, 'Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing'. What have you done when you have seen people being discriminated against? What more can you do the next time you witness discrimination taking place?
The phrase "Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing" is especially applicable to this film, "Mississippi Burning". In the story, we can say that not all of the whites were discriminating the blacks; at most to the point where they just ignore them entirely. However, this people are also guilty in not standing up for the right values that blacks should not mistreated by the whites. Some examples would be the supposedly "unprejudiced" police force of the town. When they saw that a black was being dragged into a car and beaten up, all they did was close one eye and acted as though it never happened.
When I see others being discriminated against, I have the same thought in mind as what those police in Mississippi Burning would do; "close and eye and avoid trouble unless necessary". I do understand that this form of thinking is a very selfish thought, only caring about yourself and not willing to spare a thought for others, especially the one being discriminated. However, seeing how these innocent people were being lynched in Mississippi Burning, I feel that someone must initiate and step up to defend this poor people like how the FBI agents were helping the blacks in the town. As such, next time, upon encountering situations of discrimination, I would first try my best to break the argument up. If all does not work, I would inform a teacher of this incident for him / her to take over.
The phrase "Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing" is especially applicable to this film, "Mississippi Burning". In the story, we can say that not all of the whites were discriminating the blacks; at most to the point where they just ignore them entirely. However, this people are also guilty in not standing up for the right values that blacks should not mistreated by the whites. Some examples would be the supposedly "unprejudiced" police force of the town. When they saw that a black was being dragged into a car and beaten up, all they did was close one eye and acted as though it never happened.
When I see others being discriminated against, I have the same thought in mind as what those police in Mississippi Burning would do; "close and eye and avoid trouble unless necessary". I do understand that this form of thinking is a very selfish thought, only caring about yourself and not willing to spare a thought for others, especially the one being discriminated. However, seeing how these innocent people were being lynched in Mississippi Burning, I feel that someone must initiate and step up to defend this poor people like how the FBI agents were helping the blacks in the town. As such, next time, upon encountering situations of discrimination, I would first try my best to break the argument up. If all does not work, I would inform a teacher of this incident for him / her to take over.
TKAM Blog Post 5
What memories of your own childhood come to mind as you read Scout’s experiences?
As I read about Scout's experiences, I recall the times where all we had to do was to go to school, learn simple ABC, have fun, get back home, have fun, take a shower, have dinner, play again and go to sleep; that simple. Back then, life was so much more carefree; not worries at all. Perhaps the only worry we had back then was which toy to buy, which show to watch. However, seeing Scout's experiences, I could see that Scout's maturity level was growing at a much faster pace then I had, learning about issues of prejudice and discrimination at the young age of 7 to 9. However, nonetheless, looking at Scout's experience during summertime, where she just laze around all day doing nothing, similar to what we did when we are toddlers and when she was in school, where her level of curiosity was very high, questioning at every single question she had in mind.
As I read about Scout's experiences, I recall the times where all we had to do was to go to school, learn simple ABC, have fun, get back home, have fun, take a shower, have dinner, play again and go to sleep; that simple. Back then, life was so much more carefree; not worries at all. Perhaps the only worry we had back then was which toy to buy, which show to watch. However, seeing Scout's experiences, I could see that Scout's maturity level was growing at a much faster pace then I had, learning about issues of prejudice and discrimination at the young age of 7 to 9. However, nonetheless, looking at Scout's experience during summertime, where she just laze around all day doing nothing, similar to what we did when we are toddlers and when she was in school, where her level of curiosity was very high, questioning at every single question she had in mind.
Posterous Prompt 1
Have you ever been part of a group of people that were unkind to one or more individuals? Describe the circumstances. What caused you to behave the way you did? How did you feel then? How do you feel about the circumstances / events in retrospect?
I have been in this kind of situation or have seen this kind of situation several times before. During the incident, there would also be this person in the whole group who is segregated, ignored. From his facial expressions and actions, I could see that he wanted to join this group in engaging a discussion or just playing with them, but was actually instead, discriminated against and chased away from the pack. Up to now, I still cannot understand why people would discriminated others so much. In this case, the guy being discriminated against did not do anything at all to irritate this group of people, but was still singled out. However, because I found that "the situation was none of my business", I did not stand up for that guy.
I find it enraging and weird how people would actually pick upon and "bully" these people when they've done nothing at all. All of us are humans, are no human's life is worth more than another. How these people are actually treating this guy, I feel quite pissed at their actions. Everyone in the world needs friends, be it you or me. For those people who actually have lots of friends since they were born, maybe because their wealth attracted these people, who would never be able to understand the loneliness of someone who is being ignored and thus, become the one ignoring and telling others to segregate this particular person. Quoting from a famous person, ""Whoever says Friendship is easy has obviously never had a true friend!" This quote would be especially applicable to these people; those who were spoon-fed since young.
I have been in this kind of situation or have seen this kind of situation several times before. During the incident, there would also be this person in the whole group who is segregated, ignored. From his facial expressions and actions, I could see that he wanted to join this group in engaging a discussion or just playing with them, but was actually instead, discriminated against and chased away from the pack. Up to now, I still cannot understand why people would discriminated others so much. In this case, the guy being discriminated against did not do anything at all to irritate this group of people, but was still singled out. However, because I found that "the situation was none of my business", I did not stand up for that guy.
I find it enraging and weird how people would actually pick upon and "bully" these people when they've done nothing at all. All of us are humans, are no human's life is worth more than another. How these people are actually treating this guy, I feel quite pissed at their actions. Everyone in the world needs friends, be it you or me. For those people who actually have lots of friends since they were born, maybe because their wealth attracted these people, who would never be able to understand the loneliness of someone who is being ignored and thus, become the one ignoring and telling others to segregate this particular person. Quoting from a famous person, ""Whoever says Friendship is easy has obviously never had a true friend!" This quote would be especially applicable to these people; those who were spoon-fed since young.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)