Dealing With Race

Toni Morrison addresses the issue of race (both protests and issues in schools) in her story Recitatif. This story is overall depressing, but really causes the reader to think and consider the aspect of bullying overall and not just in the racial sense. With Maggie, everyone makes fun of her because of her legs and because she can’t speak. Although people don’t have as painful or upsetting disabilities as this, people may be different in many senses, such as their interests or upbringings. As Twyla experiences with the bigger girls, people don’t care and children can be very cruel in the way they treat others.

Referring again to Charlie Chaplin, in his film The Great Dictator (1940), he deals with the terrible topic of the Holocaust and at the same time, he spoofs Adolf Hitler which everyone considered him crazy for doing. However, at the end of the film, he makes a very important speech that every person should hear. His words prove to be incredibly true, even today though the movie was made over 70 years ago. In short, the speech tells people that there is no reason for people to bow down to a dictator of any sort, even if it is just a small leader such as Roberta was in her protests outside of the school, or a higher up dictator such as Hitler or Mussolini and that we are the dictator of who we are and that we are the only ones who can choose how we treat others. As human beings, we must band together and diminish the hate that exists in the world. I have made a post about being part of the machinations of the modern times, and again, Chaplin refers to this in this speech.