Discrimination has been present in societies around the globe for centuries. It has caused harrowing events in history such as African American enslavement and even gets as gruesome as the Holocaust. While discrimination could be defined as just pure hatred, there is also an ignorance to it. Some who discriminate may have no idea, and others who haven’t been discriminated against most likely don’t have a clue what it feels like. Two short stories that shed light on the ignorance of discrimination are “Day of the Butterfly” written by Alice Munro and “When Greek Meets Greek” written by Samuel Selvon. Each of these works has literary elements, characteristics, and details that carry out the task of highlighting the universal topic of discrimination.
…show more content…
Since she is an outcast, she could also be described as a lonely kid. During recess, she and her brother both stood on the porch outside of the playground area, gazing in a gaunt position at the ground with a “weary look” on their faces (Munro 34). In other words, Myra was far from part of the in-crowd. It goes deeper than that, however. The girls in Myra’s grade left her out because she was different from them in specific ways. In other words, Myra was discriminated against because of her immigrant background. When all Myra wants is friendship, the only thing keeping her from getting it is the incorrect assumption that her personality must be a far cry from those of the other girls because of her background. The main character in “When Greek Meets Greek” is a Jamaican man nicknamed Ram because of his very long real name of Ramkilawansingh. Ram could be described as a simple Jamaican man just looking for a better life. He is much like Myra in certain ways. For example, Ram is an immigrant who moved to England from the West Indies. Just like Myra, Ram’s immigrant background gives him a lot of woe. It forces him to face the difficulties of pure racism. For example, when …show more content…
For example, one prevalent theme explored in “Day of the Butterfly” that isn’t found in “When Greek Meets Greek” is “the only true barriers that separate people are merely in the mind.” This theme is obvious when Helen, the narrator, decides to walk with Myra on their way to school one morning and gets to know more about her. They discuss things such as what they’re good at in school and what they want to be when they grow up (Munro 36-37). Soon, they find out that they read the same comics in the newspaper, which Helen admits surprises her. She also admits that it shocks her that Myra actually reads the comics (Munro 37). The reason for this could be that Helen had the idea that Myra was utterly different from her and the other students and simply wasn’t a normal kid. Therefore, the barrier that was keeping Helen and Myra from being friends in the beginning was just in Helen’s head. Had she gotten to know Myra sooner instead of assuming that she’s too different from her because she’s an immigrant, they most likely would’ve been friends from the start. A theme only from the story “When Greek Meets Greek” in this case would be “a sense of humor can make even the worst situation better.” This short story employs a lot of amusing situations that actually make a story about racism a little lighthearted and humorous. The ways in
Since she is an outcast, she could also be described as a lonely kid. During recess, she and her brother both stood on the porch outside of the playground area, gazing in a gaunt position at the ground with a “weary look” on their faces (Munro 34). In other words, Myra was far from part of the in-crowd. It goes deeper than that, however. The girls in Myra’s grade left her out because she was different from them in specific ways. In other words, Myra was discriminated against because of her immigrant background. When all Myra wants is friendship, the only thing keeping her from getting it is the incorrect assumption that her personality must be a far cry from those of the other girls because of her background. The main character in “When Greek Meets Greek” is a Jamaican man nicknamed Ram because of his very long real name of Ramkilawansingh. Ram could be described as a simple Jamaican man just looking for a better life. He is much like Myra in certain ways. For example, Ram is an immigrant who moved to England from the West Indies. Just like Myra, Ram’s immigrant background gives him a lot of woe. It forces him to face the difficulties of pure racism. For example, when …show more content…
For example, one prevalent theme explored in “Day of the Butterfly” that isn’t found in “When Greek Meets Greek” is “the only true barriers that separate people are merely in the mind.” This theme is obvious when Helen, the narrator, decides to walk with Myra on their way to school one morning and gets to know more about her. They discuss things such as what they’re good at in school and what they want to be when they grow up (Munro 36-37). Soon, they find out that they read the same comics in the newspaper, which Helen admits surprises her. She also admits that it shocks her that Myra actually reads the comics (Munro 37). The reason for this could be that Helen had the idea that Myra was utterly different from her and the other students and simply wasn’t a normal kid. Therefore, the barrier that was keeping Helen and Myra from being friends in the beginning was just in Helen’s head. Had she gotten to know Myra sooner instead of assuming that she’s too different from her because she’s an immigrant, they most likely would’ve been friends from the start. A theme only from the story “When Greek Meets Greek” in this case would be “a sense of humor can make even the worst situation better.” This short story employs a lot of amusing situations that actually make a story about racism a little lighthearted and humorous. The ways in