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A Mercy: A Blend of Racism and Gender Discrimination

Introduction:

Racial prejudice is an illogical and baseless behavior which has prevailed in the society since the birth of humans. According to LaBennett (2007), racial prejudice is one of the most common kind of prejudice that has been experienced and is still being experienced in many areas of the world. It only cultivates hatred and negative feelings among the people of society. Besides racism, the gender-biased is the ruthless weapon for destroying the societal ethics and norms. Lauretis (1987) calls the gender discrimination as the rejoinder of inferiority complex and the superiority complex, and ultimately that becomes the poison for social and intellectual growth.

Thesis Statement:

“A Mercy” basically discusses the calamities of an adolescent girl during her crucial slavery times, and being a tradable product she had to pay a huge price. The novel reveals the dark spheres of early American Slavery history and testified how racism and gender biased approach was not only prevailed but sustained. Racial prejudice along with sexism is one of the most common kind of prejudice that has been experienced and is still being experienced in many areas of the world (Morrison, 2008).

A Mercy: Main Theme

Before reading the book, “A Mercy”, I was expecting that the book would be an informal explanation of the impacts of racism and sexual discrimination on daily living habits and activities of humans. But after reading it, I learned a lot from it as it is written in a very rational and logical way and it contains the stories that inspired me a lot and opened a new window of learning and knowledge, especially about the gender-biased racial harassment.

Morrison (2008), the writer of the book “A Mercy”, investigates the roots of racism in the early slavery days of American society, and put forth various glances, as for how it was destabilizing the society and how black slaves were treated. Prejudices and racism are commonly based upon social and cultural stereotypes that people receive from their surroundings. The story revolves around Florens and her harsh slavery tales, that were loaded with racial discrimination and gender biased approach. The novel was set during the 1680s, the story focuses on the family unit of Jacob Vaark, an Anglo-Dutch broker who has made a property in the unforgiving Northern regions. It is told from the viewpoint of the young ladies who have cleaned up there from different submits: his mail-order bride Rebekka, who has persevered through the fearsome Atlantic intersection from England; Lina, a local American lady whose clan was crushed by smallpox; Sorrow, the unhinged little girl of an ocean chief; and Florens, a wild youthful black adolescence girl, who Vaark, in spite of his aversion for managing "in tissue", has gone up against as installment for an awful debt.

According to Morrison (2008), stereotypes about gender are made and followed in almost all parts of the world. Different assumptions that do not hold any logical reason are carried in the mind which directly affects people’s behaviors and attitudes towards the other gender. Gender-hate is a strong form of prejudice which is present on the whole globe in different shapes. The same happened with Florens in the novel who was slaughtered in the cause of race and her identity.

Morrison (2008), not only highlighted the racism but, she also pointed out gender difference in her book. At one place she writes about Florence's ship voyage when she was coming to America from her origin, the African continent. Morrison (2008) writes: “What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had nothing in common with the views of each other, they had everything in common with one thing: the promise and threat of men.” (A Mercy, p 89). She chiefly pointed out that women are different in every course of life, but fear of man is common everywhere, that is the seed of racial discrimination they have observed.

A Mercy: A Tale of Gender discrimination

“A Mercy”, begins with the story of a sixteen-year-old girl Florens, who became the victim of racism and gender bias. Morrison (2018) discusses the story of Florens, and quotes when Lina, an American white lady tells Florens that we women “never shape the world ……. The world shapes us” (A Mercy, p 66 ). Morrison (2018) basically emphasized on the gender discrimination that afflicted Florens in a series of catastrophes that never ended. Morrison’s novel focuses on the racial discrimination that has not only ruined the early American slave life but also left the horrible effects on the culture. Here is an example from the book: “There is no protection. To be female in this place is to be an open wound that cannot heal. Even if scars form, the festering is ever below.” (A Mercy, P143).

The lesson of A Mercy, however self-evident, is expressed in a compact, rather unforeseen way by Florens' mom. Toward the end, we will figure out how her clan in Africa was attacked by another clan. Amazingly, her kin was constrained into subjugation by other African blacks. The individuals who endure the voyage adrift were absolutely deprived of their humankind in America. Remarkably, she says: “to be given dominion over another is a hard thing; to wrest dominion over another is a wrong thing; to give dominion of yourself to another is a wicked thing. (A Mercy, P145). At last, again Florens mother said to her daughter: “There is no protection. To be female in this place is to be an open wound that cannot heal. Even if scars form, the festering is ever below.” (A Mercy, P143). She felt deep sorrow and told her daughter Florens to understand why she gave her away. She said her three times that there is no protection, but in the end, she said to Florence that there is a difference. In fact, there are no miracles from God, but mercy from a man.

Gender Discrimination in Theory

Gender and prejudice hold a strong relationship since ages. We can never separate them.

The gender theory was also discussed by Lauretis (1987), where she says the feminist writings of the 1960s and 1970s, establishes the critical relationship and societal differences on the basis of sexual and gender biased. According to Lauretis (1987), the weakness of the women had reasons behind it which show that this frailty is acquired and it is not inborn. Women were made to think and believe that they were weak and too immature to think about anything and they were nothing without men. Women were always controlled and manipulated by the dominant gender which was the males of their families. They were thought to be not only a weaker gender but they were believed to be unfaithful as well. They were too naïve to believe their own skills and they were made to depend on males for everything including the biggest decisions of their lives Lauretis (1987).

Lauretis (1987) says, Men and women when they are born, they are conditioned to think that men and women are different. Women are expected to sit in a certain way to “show” that they are female. Even something as petty as certain colors is dedicated to genders. Race and Ethnicity, in particular, are the two important and decisive patterns of any culture or society. The man has reached Mars, and the technological development and the era of artificial intelligence are disclosing a spectacular saga but still, humans are divided on the basis of their skin color, religion, faction, and ethnic background. When arrogance appears between the race and ethnicity, the problem emerges. This wrongful identification sometimes gets biased and people tend to relate their customs and ancestral tales, as the identity of their origin.

Racism – An Overview

Bennett (2007) discusses about racism that the race and color difference was so evident and huge that once upon a time, it was considered that white color means the wealthy, tax-free special person, whilst the black color, who belonged to an African origin, became a sign of less opportunity, heavy tax, and inferior poor person. This inferiority complex made the culture more dirty and sluggish. The history of Native Americans began with their slave identification and lasted long until the civil war, which enabled them to fight for the basic rights. The old African migrated slaves became the Native Americans later on. Their role in politics and other walks of life emerged significantly. The African Americans or Native Americans or the Blacks penetrated their steps in almost every field throughout the United States of America (LaBennett, 2007).

The misconception regarding the racial differences based on human biology, as the opening of human evolutionary history and its social restructuring, the race system is heavily injected into the mind of people, and almost, most of the people believe that it is all a biological sign. That is a wrong perception. History begins with theories, philosophies, and differences among the people of different times, different regions, different races, different religions and different minds regarding the existence and birth of humans. On the other side, Lauretis (1987) has assembled myriad examples in supporting his hypothesis. He believes that all the human history narrates the same version that perhaps right in one sense, but the misconceptions prevail all around. He further elaborates his hypothesis and believes that human nature is so varied and contains so many ambiguities that are not easy to be learned.

Conclusion

One or in another way, it is an absolute truth that human cycling is not dependent on the race and ethnicity that is wrongly implanted into the minds of many people. People tend to believe easily that suits them better or in other words that they digest easily. But, they do not know the intensity of their belief, which might be a problem for someone. That is the reason we see the racial difference all around the world and people are divided into tribes and caste systems. The divide generally breaks the social models and particularly divides the countries regions, based solely on race and ethnicity (LaBennett, 2007).

There is a lack of proper gender education system which imparts the true meaning of race and ethnicity, as it is observed that the children, from the beginning of their learning life, learn the different models of race and ethnicity. And, it is obvious that their co-partners and friends belong to different cultures and races. So, we can presume the fact, more conveniently that a child learns the same message, what we blame our ancestors learned from their forefathers. The list is long when we speak about the racial discrimination that has ruined many cultures and countries. Just looking at the historic events around the world, the race and gender bias emerges as a potential breaker. The union of people and the union of countries can be molded if the persistence on this specific stance is removed (Lauretis, 1987).

Works Cited LaBennett, D. M. (2007). Racialization. In KEYWORDS FOR AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES (p. 212). American Cultural Studies. Lauretis, T. d. (1987). The Technology of Gender. Morrison, T. (2008). A mercy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.