Divakaran 1

Sayan Divakaran

Ms. Jeon

ENG 3U1

5 June 2017

ISU theme Essay

Many people are treated differently. This is mostly determined by class, and/or race. One gets

much more benefits than others. The theme within these three books is, the existence of race and social

inequality towards one or more people. The books Ive selected is To kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My book is, Obasan by Joy Kogawa. The first main point is

racism towards one or more people. My second point is the wealthy class vs the poor class. My final

point is the responds from the main characters towards the classes and racism.

After the pearl harbor incident, the tension between japs and non-japs have increased. Many

are afraid of them of being Spys. They were all sent to labor camps as well. This is just like camps like

Germany but better as they werent executed. They were forced here to work on behalf of the

government and make little pay for doing this. This shows race inequality as of blaming every single

Japanese person for someones acts. A real-life connection is terrorism. Since a lot of Muslims are

terrorist, all of them are terrorists. Thats what is being defined over here, so this shows the race

inequality within the novel. From the book Obasan, Obasan . . . does not dance to the multicultural

pipers tune or respond to the racists slur. She remains in a silent territory, defined by her serving

hands. She serves us now, pouring tea into Mr. Barkers cup. She is unable to see and stops halfway

before the cup is full (Joy Kogawa, 30). This is an important quote because this shows the frustration,

and sadness from the racial slurs they are being thrown at towards them. The book, To kill a mocking

bird shows racism because the issues between the whites and the blacks within the novel itself. During

one point, the two kids were heavily bullied for their father was defending a black man for an alleged
 Divakaran 2

crime in which he didnt do. Within the final book, Pride and Prejudice the entire story is heavily white,

but sometimes throw shade towards blacks and other minorities and made a lot of racist comments

towards them.

The book, To kill a mocking bird takes place in Alabama, Maycomb. The city is developed like,

White people in the middle, then they are surrounded by the rich black people, from their it is the poor

black people. The first proof of the theme of existence between race and social inequality is the rankings

of the class between the rich and the poor. A fact is that, even the poorest whites are placed higher than

the rich blacks. This shows the disrespect towards them. A fact about this is that many of the rich blacks

have many great qualities to, and can contribute towards the society. But, these classes were also

ranked based on racism towards each other as well. Another proof is within the book, Pride and

Prejudice where the urban rich upper class shall only speak to the rich upper class. While, the poor class

can only talk to the other poor class. The rich class also shows much disrespect to the poor class. Finally,

within the book Obasan, the class issue is noticed how after the pearl harbor bombings, the Japanese

were ranked all the way to the bottom, far lower than the homeless. Another fact, if a crime was

occurred to them, like a robbery, Cops will not respond or make lies. A quote from the book Obasan

stated that am supremely safe in my nemaki, under the heavy bright-coloured futon in my house. The

house in which we live is in Marpole, a comfortable residential district of Vancouver. It is more splendid

than any house I have lived in since. It does not bear remembering. None of this bears remembering.

(18). This is important as many bad stuffs happened to them during those tough times and she is trying

her best to forgot what happened.

Finally, theme of race and social inequality is the response or how did they deal with racism or

the social class. The first proof is from Obasan. In the ending of the book, the main character, Naomi,

aunt created a group that fought for the rights of every single Japanese. They also demanded for money

for the stuff they stole from their houses and many more stuff. Within the novel, when Naomi chicks
 Divakaran 3

were attacked by a hen, Mother removes the live chicks first, placing them in her apron . . . there is

calm efficiency in her face and she does not speak. Her eyes are steady and matter-of-factthe eyes of

Japanese motherhood. They do not invade and betray. They are eyes that protect, shielding what is

hidden most deeply in the heart of the child. (Joy Kogawa, 60) This is an important quote because, this

shows the proper behavior of a Japanese person during the tough times. Despite being attacked, robbed

and called racial slurs, they show respect, a proper behavior of a proper Japanese. Within the book, To

kill a mocking bird, the main characters get into a huge problem within the black and the whites and

people going after them end up getting killed. This may show that the problem not solved, but maybe

showing steps being placed to help the blacks and the whites getting back together as once. Finally,

within the book Pride and Prejudice, this breaks barriers between the upper class and the lower class as

a rich upper lass male married a lower-class female.

Therefore, in conclusion, the theme of the race and social inequality within one or more

persons, from the books To kill a Mocking bird, Pride and Prejudice and Obasan all display this theme,

due to racism, the class between rich and the poor, and the outcome out of both of those.