Worthless
During
the early American time when slavery was allowed, many African American were treated
like animals or property. Europeans judge Africans by the way they act, talk,
dressed, lived not being use to Africans living they would call them the same
thing as they called American Indians “Savages.” American believed that because
good sent them to be in high position and African Americans were dark skinned
because they were being punished because they were evil and dumb that African
Americans were meant to serve them. “A lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines
it proves how many African American were being humiliated and where taken their
dignity during the 1940s in states that African were not really treated as
humans after a hundred years that slavery was abolish.
“A lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines.
Is about an injustice that has been committed against a young African American
boy named Jefferson. They humiliate him and treat him like he is worthless. “But let us say he was (guilty). Let us for a
moment say he was (guilty). What justice would there be to take his life?
Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair
as this.” (Page 8) Jefferson’s Attorney tries to win his case by
humiliating Jefferson by calling him a hog and that it really would not matter
if he was sentence to help. He really didn’t care so he just treated him like
nothing and did not really try to help out Jefferson’s life. By telling him
that he is nothing, that he is ignorant, he couldn’t possibly kill the owner of
the store. Humiliating him in front of the whole courthouse in front of those
he loved. Little by little talking his dignity, freedom, and humanity away.
For many different cultures
there was trauma a treatment that made other cultures feel less by taking
everything away American Indians is a good example of treatment that leads them
now believe something they are not. UK Pubmed Central stated, “American Indians
experienced massive losses of lives, land, and culture from European contact
and colonization resulting in a long legacy of chronic trauma and unresolved
grief across generations. This phenomenon, labeled historical unresolved grief,
contributes to the current social pathology of high rates of suicide,
homicide, domestic violence, child abuse, alcoholism
and other social problems among American Indians.” For there American Indians
were treated as well like animals they were taken out their homes treated as
well as slaves, raped many women and men, and taking their humanity away.
As Hispanic women
many stereotype that Mexicans are lazy, and are made to have babies and people
that live in the United States treat Hispanic people like they are not worth
anything. For some that traumatized them and start believes something they are
not. They started acting like people society wants them to act. Instead of
proving them wrong they are proving them right and makes it harder for upcoming
people generation and start generalizing. Jefferson was called a Hog so because
he already was sentence to die he did not believe that he could change the way
people look at him. He started acting like someone he was not. He acted like an
animal, he ate like and animal.
During the Jewish Genocide many
families were separate, murdered, raped, treated like animals. Hitler managed
to influence people to treat other people like animals. Debbie came to Animo
Locke Tech Charter High School. She told us of her experience of the Jewish
holocaust. Even though it was very sad she still tell us her story to help
others understand what happen from a persons first had experience. She told the
class that in order for her to survive she told us that she would prick her
finders and use her blood as make for her to look like she is healthy so they
would not kill her. If you where sick they would kill you because that’s what
they wanted them to die slowly. Suffering. They lived in in a room with a lot
of people it was crowded. Many families where torn apart like her family that
was torn apart. Many people where treated like animals they got them like
animals like sheep’s getting them and slaughtering them.
A for Jefferson he was treated like
a hog he started to believe it he “Gentleman of the jury, look at him-look-look
at this. Do you see a man sitting here? Do you see a man sitting here? I ask
you, I impure, look carefully-do you see a man sitting here? Look at the shape
of this skull, this face as flat as a palm a murder of intelligence? Do you see
anyone here who could plan a murder, robbery, can plan-can plan any-thing? A cornered
animal it strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited for his ancestors in
the deepest jungle of blackest Africa-yes, yes, that he can do-but to plan?”
(Page 7) The attorney who was supposed to represent him helps him out off this
situation. To show him that he is innocent. He is did not commit the crime. But
the attorney does not like him because what he is really doing is humiliating
him in front of many people. People that he loved that he cannot him self.
People that are judging him. Feeling that everyone the whole world is against
him he feels that whatever the attorney and what he always been called that is
true. That he is and animal that he cannot be anything in life that he degraded
and de humanized.
Work Cited
Brave
Heart MY, DeBruyn LM. "The American Indian Holocaust: Healing Historical
Unresolved Grief." UK PubMed Central. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.
<http://ukpmc.ac.uk/>.
Gaines,
Ernest J. A Lesson before Dying. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1993. Print.
