Essay On Social Injustice in Literature

📌Category: Interpersonal relationship, Sociology
📌Words: 1187
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 08 June 2022

People are connected through literature to their common humanity, which gives them the knowledge to speak up about social injustice and how despite all of their minor differences, humanity is a whole. The knowledge of social injustice allows people to recognize the truth of power and how the power is being misused by the privileges. Nonetheless, the minor differences between people do not change who they are as a person, which is why everyone should be treated equally and as a member of humanity. Moreover, the story of “So What Are You, Anyway?” and the poem “Revolution Will Not Be Televised” both expose social injustices and speak the truth about power. On the other hand, the story of “Thank You Ma’am” and the poem of “Human family” reveal the common humanity and reflect the truth that every member of the community deserves the same amount of rights and respect. Furthermore, by connecting community and social injustice through poems and stories, the power of literature will be reveal as it enables people to honour and share equal living opportunities with humanity as a whole.

To begin, stories of the community reveal the common humanity and expand with the concepts of acceptance and equity. First of all, stories of community unite people into a social unit and enable them to participate in activities that benefit their community and help others, which is also demonstrated in the narrative “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. Roger, who has no family and support, leads him to commit a crime where he attempts to steal the handbag of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. As the story progresses, the more she learns about Roger, the more Mrs.Washington begins to sympathize with him, from viewing him as a thief to accepting him as one of her own. In addition, after learning about Roger's situation, Mrs. Washington decides to help Roger by providing him with the acceptance and care he deserves, in which she prepares dinner for him and said “Eat some more, son,”(Hughes, 03). Next, connecting to the topic of community, Mrs.Washington reflects the definition of community by presenting kindness and care to Roger in her ways. Additionally, the word “son” indicates that Mrs.Washington has accept Roger as her own and supports him. Moreover, Roger’s situation has compelled Mrs.Washington to provide support and prevent Roger from committing more wrongdoing as she believes the act of acceptance and kindness could warm up his heart and give him another opportunity to live a new life. This action illustrates how Mrs.Washington, when face with supportless children like Roger, provides care and guidance in their life that reveals the true meaning of community. Furthermore, the poem of community “Human Family” by Maya Angelou, also makes people feel connected to a world where everyone has an equal opportunity to live despite our skin differences. There are many cultures, languages, and skin colours around the world, but humanity is what ultimately binds people all together despite all these minor differences. As Maya Angelou stated “In minor ways we differ, in major we’re the same.”(Maya, 31). As Maya put it, “In minor we differ, in major we’re the same”, throughout her statement, she acknowledges the differences between people, and she reflects on how these differences often create a barrier between people. However, when she continues to use the word "major," it is evident that she is suggesting that when all of humanity is all one piece, faith and humanity will bind everyone together, unite the people, and also allow them to love one another. In summary, the character Mrs.Washington and the poem by Maya Angelou demonstrate the concept of the community, due to the fact that they do not judge others by their minor differences, but empathize and accept them as they are part of the human family and encourage the reader to be willing to help the ones that are in need. Therefore, people's minor differences do not change who they are and separate them from one another; it is their common humanity that binds them together as one unit.

Nonetheless, egoism is a form of self-empowerment that will emerge as the truth of power gets revealed and social injustice is exposed. To start, from the story “So What Are You, Anyway” by Lawrence Hill, the privilege of others will be revealed, so that the truth of power could be spoken, and self-empowerment will no longer exist as everyone is all alike despite people's differences in minor ways. In the story, Carole, as a young innocent girl, is confronted with many racial questions by Newton couples that confuse her due to the fact she has a black doll. In addition to Newton's continuous questioning of Carole and the concept she doesn't comprehend, results in Carole rages and yelling “So what are you anyways? What are your parents? How would you colour them?”(Hill, 06). As a result of Carole's statement, it implies that self-empowerment has resulted in an egocentric feeling and a feeling of power inside the Norton couples, causing them to believe they have the privilege to criticize Carole. Carole, however, instead of remaining silent, decides to speak out and expose the misuse of power by the powerful against the weak who do not resist. Furthermore, a chance to expose social injustice is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and remaining silent would not make a difference. Hence, under extreme pressure from Norton and their privilege position, Carole decides to speak out and exposes how power is being misused against people like her. Moreover, In the poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron, coloured people have been subjected to social injustice just as other groups have been subjected to unjust treatment. In addition, the author also states that revolutions do not come easily and cannot be achieved through watching television as it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Moreover, as the author stated, “The revolution will not go better with coke”(Scott-Heron, 54). This statement by the author is revealing that remaining silent and choosing entertainment to anaesthetization and expecting society to change when people wake up in the morning would not be achieve unless a revolution happens. Coca-cola is used to demonstrate how nothing will go better without any effort or contribution. Additionally, Coca-cola is also a representation of a less challenging life because they are easily addictive and make people lose focus on making changes and starting a revolution but get used to the environment. Overall, Carole and the author of the poem are exposing and revealing the misuse of power by self-empowered people who believe that they have the privileges, and despite the challenges they face, they will still be able to remain on the path to the goal that they are striving for. Consequently, the poem for revolution expose social inequality by revealing that revolution is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that does not come easily or without significant effort.

Literature gives recognition to the importance of social justice and the importance of honouring others as they are all human beings. In addition, by reading literature, people also come to realize the importance of equal living opportunities and go on to explore the common humanity that they all share. From the stories of community, the authors reveal the goodness of humanity and the feelings of safety and acceptance that people have when being in a community. Nonetheless, stories of self-empowerment also reveal the truth about power, and how this can give a person a set of privileges that others desire and frequently result in tragedy. Overall, these characters in the story and poem, choose to speak up for their rights instead of remaining silent. They are not only speaking for their own rights but also representing hundreds of thousands of people who are also suffering.

+
x
Remember! This is just a sample.

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Order now
By clicking “Receive Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails.