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Comparison of Racism in History
“ I have a dream... where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
We have come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Our cities are filled with numerous minority groups with different religions and cultures. We live in a multicultural society where we don’t have to think about hate crime too much. We can feel safe when going to the corner store without being pasteurized by a mob of “haters”. We live in a very safe country, but instances during the World Wars make us pray that non-of that will ever happen in Canada again.
This ISP will examine the similarities and differences of racism and racial issues between a “true-story” novel called Obasan, by Joy Kogawa, and a fictional play called “The Komagata Maru Incident”, by Sharon Pollock. Each story is set in a different period during Canada’s history: World War I and II.
In the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, Sharon tells a story of the racist Canadian Government. The setting of the play is in Vancouver and it takes place right after World War I. It’s about a group of 376 East Indian Immigrants who sail to Canada to start a new life, but are not excepted due to the racist immigration officials. The immigrants had a right to be in Canada because they were British subjects, but Canada decided to shut their doors. This shows how cruel the people were at that time. Slowly the East Indian communities within Vancouver were beginning to get racist threats. The “whites” complained about how the immigrants were taking over jobs because they were willing to work cheap. It is overwhelming to think that just because of a different race, it would mean non-whites couldn’t do what whites do: make a living.
In the novel Obasan, it describes the harRABhip of a young girl, Naomi, growing up in Vancouver, while in the miRABt World War II. During this period, her family was torn apart, due to government orders, and sent to camps or sugar beet farms in Alberta and Manitoba. The reason why there was so much focus around Naomi and other families like her was because her family was Japanese. It is so inconceivable to think that Canada, one of the largest multicultural countries, to have such an unpleasant past.
At that time, Japan was on the opposing side of the war against the British (Canada was on the British’s side). The Canadian government was fearful of Japanese spies on the coast of Vancouver. So the government decided to tally up all the Japanese within a hundred miles of the coast and put them into interment camps. Although the military said that Canadian Japanese were not a threat to Canada, the government felt it was “necessary” to deport all the non-citizens. This is what Joy writes about in her novel.
The novel and the play are similar because they focus around one main minority group and their problems. It would seem, in these stories, that when Canada is faced with a crisis, the government takes command and sometimes encourages racism. All the racism in Canada is just like racism throughout the world: people getting hurt for no other reason than they can help. These two stories reflect how racism made lives of non-whites suffer because of hate. This hate does not have to be there, but sometimes people feel there is no choice but to hate.
Other similarities like the setting tells the history behind what Vancouver is today. Although Vancouver’s past is filled with many discriminating stories, it now occupies many nationalities and races. This shows how racism can be over come and that’s how it should be. Another similarity that both have in common are the fact that both authors wrote their stories to explain why racism in the past should never be repeated. Joy wrote her story to present the fact that lives were tortured for no reason. She wants people to feel her pain, but without actually experiencing the horror of racism. Sharon wrote her play to show, for the first time, the feeling of frustration and helplessness that the East Indians encountered while attempting to gain entry into Canada.
There was a character in the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, William Hopkinson who was one of the immigration officials, that was trying not to be prejudice. This character was scrutinized and was told to do “his job” if he wanted to keep it. Therefore, he did as he was told: give no answer to the ship’s requests. In the end, he was killed. He, too, did nothing wrong. He was simply doing what he was told. The Indian man that murdered Hopkinson, cared not of whom he was, but cared only about the colour of Hopkinson’s skin. This racist act indicates another point: whites are also victims of racism.
The difference within each story was the person who was being discriminated. Each of the stories had a different race being alienated. Obasan was about Japanese and “The Komagata Maru Incident” was about East Indians. Each story had a different time setting; however, that didn’t seem to be much of a factor, except to show how things didn’t change much between in that time span. Also, since the play by Sharon is fictional, the reader may seem to be glad that such acts and corruption didn’t occur in our government. As the reader reaRAB the true-story novel by Joy, it seems just too barbaric that the Canadian government was paranoid enough to single out a race.
The novel Obasan and play “The Komagata Maru Incident” can be compared, but really shouldn’t be. The situations and level of racism are much too different to compare.
In conclusion, when looking at the exterior of a person, it is much too easy to get the wrong impression, due to their skin colour, religion, or culture. This leaRAB to the mind scurrying up stereotypic ideas about that person. Too often are projections about a person are totally inaccurate. It’s unfortunate that by the time we find out there’s much more to that person, it’s too late. Can Canada ever learn from it’s mistakes from it’s past? Or will racial conflict occur in Canada lead into another war? It’s too hard to say. With all the similarities in the novel Obasan and the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, it showed that racism is present in the past and will be in the future.
Bibliography
Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. Canada: Penguin Books, 1983.
Pollock, Sharon. “The Komagata Maru Incident”. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 1978.
“ I have a dream... where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
We have come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Our cities are filled with numerous minority groups with different religions and cultures. We live in a multicultural society where we don’t have to think about hate crime too much. We can feel safe when going to the corner store without being pasteurized by a mob of “haters”. We live in a very safe country, but instances during the World Wars make us pray that non-of that will ever happen in Canada again.
This ISP will examine the similarities and differences of racism and racial issues between a “true-story” novel called Obasan, by Joy Kogawa, and a fictional play called “The Komagata Maru Incident”, by Sharon Pollock. Each story is set in a different period during Canada’s history: World War I and II.
In the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, Sharon tells a story of the racist Canadian Government. The setting of the play is in Vancouver and it takes place right after World War I. It’s about a group of 376 East Indian Immigrants who sail to Canada to start a new life, but are not excepted due to the racist immigration officials. The immigrants had a right to be in Canada because they were British subjects, but Canada decided to shut their doors. This shows how cruel the people were at that time. Slowly the East Indian communities within Vancouver were beginning to get racist threats. The “whites” complained about how the immigrants were taking over jobs because they were willing to work cheap. It is overwhelming to think that just because of a different race, it would mean non-whites couldn’t do what whites do: make a living.
In the novel Obasan, it describes the harRABhip of a young girl, Naomi, growing up in Vancouver, while in the miRABt World War II. During this period, her family was torn apart, due to government orders, and sent to camps or sugar beet farms in Alberta and Manitoba. The reason why there was so much focus around Naomi and other families like her was because her family was Japanese. It is so inconceivable to think that Canada, one of the largest multicultural countries, to have such an unpleasant past.
At that time, Japan was on the opposing side of the war against the British (Canada was on the British’s side). The Canadian government was fearful of Japanese spies on the coast of Vancouver. So the government decided to tally up all the Japanese within a hundred miles of the coast and put them into interment camps. Although the military said that Canadian Japanese were not a threat to Canada, the government felt it was “necessary” to deport all the non-citizens. This is what Joy writes about in her novel.
The novel and the play are similar because they focus around one main minority group and their problems. It would seem, in these stories, that when Canada is faced with a crisis, the government takes command and sometimes encourages racism. All the racism in Canada is just like racism throughout the world: people getting hurt for no other reason than they can help. These two stories reflect how racism made lives of non-whites suffer because of hate. This hate does not have to be there, but sometimes people feel there is no choice but to hate.
Other similarities like the setting tells the history behind what Vancouver is today. Although Vancouver’s past is filled with many discriminating stories, it now occupies many nationalities and races. This shows how racism can be over come and that’s how it should be. Another similarity that both have in common are the fact that both authors wrote their stories to explain why racism in the past should never be repeated. Joy wrote her story to present the fact that lives were tortured for no reason. She wants people to feel her pain, but without actually experiencing the horror of racism. Sharon wrote her play to show, for the first time, the feeling of frustration and helplessness that the East Indians encountered while attempting to gain entry into Canada.
There was a character in the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, William Hopkinson who was one of the immigration officials, that was trying not to be prejudice. This character was scrutinized and was told to do “his job” if he wanted to keep it. Therefore, he did as he was told: give no answer to the ship’s requests. In the end, he was killed. He, too, did nothing wrong. He was simply doing what he was told. The Indian man that murdered Hopkinson, cared not of whom he was, but cared only about the colour of Hopkinson’s skin. This racist act indicates another point: whites are also victims of racism.
The difference within each story was the person who was being discriminated. Each of the stories had a different race being alienated. Obasan was about Japanese and “The Komagata Maru Incident” was about East Indians. Each story had a different time setting; however, that didn’t seem to be much of a factor, except to show how things didn’t change much between in that time span. Also, since the play by Sharon is fictional, the reader may seem to be glad that such acts and corruption didn’t occur in our government. As the reader reaRAB the true-story novel by Joy, it seems just too barbaric that the Canadian government was paranoid enough to single out a race.
The novel Obasan and play “The Komagata Maru Incident” can be compared, but really shouldn’t be. The situations and level of racism are much too different to compare.
In conclusion, when looking at the exterior of a person, it is much too easy to get the wrong impression, due to their skin colour, religion, or culture. This leaRAB to the mind scurrying up stereotypic ideas about that person. Too often are projections about a person are totally inaccurate. It’s unfortunate that by the time we find out there’s much more to that person, it’s too late. Can Canada ever learn from it’s mistakes from it’s past? Or will racial conflict occur in Canada lead into another war? It’s too hard to say. With all the similarities in the novel Obasan and the play “The Komagata Maru Incident”, it showed that racism is present in the past and will be in the future.
Bibliography
Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. Canada: Penguin Books, 1983.
Pollock, Sharon. “The Komagata Maru Incident”. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 1978.