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Q: Discuss the theme of oppression . Based on your knowledge of egalitarianism and the many ways in which oppression can be executed, discuss the type of oppression communicated in Alvarez's "A White Woman of Color". Analyze the story- choose a significant passage and discuss theme. Is there a specific theme you would like to communicate based on this passage? How does the significant passage you chose to highlight exemplify this theme (you develop your own theme ). What is the author's purpose in writing this essay? Why is it so important to understand the government (Trujillo) and the time period as you highlight the oppression and theme in your published writing?
REMINDER ZOOM CLASS - THURSDAY 11am!
Joseph Esposito
ReplyDelete4/9/20
English 102
Rm321 9:25-10:40am
AWWOC Fishbowl
Oppression is the prolonged cruel/unjust treatment/control of a person or group of people. Based on my knowledge of egalitarianism and the many ways in which oppression can be executed, the types of oppression communicated in Alvarez’s “A White Woman of Color” are that they were treated brutally by the Dictator of the Dominican Republic (Rafael Trujillo), during this time period there was constant war and fighting over the land of the Dominican Republic so countries who had control over them forced the people of the land to adjust to their culture and laws.
The author's purpose of writing this essay was to show the audience that oppression is everywhere in the world and that there are people who are willing to fight for what is right and take their independence back and gain their freedoms. I feel it is so important to understand the government (Trujillo) and the time period as I highlight the oppression and theme in my published writing piece because during this time period the people of the Dominican Republic were controlled by a Dictatorship, they were stripped of most of their basic rights and life was brutal and harsh for them.
Thomas Dominic
ReplyDelete4/9/20
English 102 9:25
Prof. Mignano-Brady
In Julia Álvarez’s essay, A White Woman of Color, there is a consistent theme throughout. Sadly, this theme is constant oppression and discrimination. In order to truly understand her essay, we must first examine the time period in which she is describing. Because as we know, literature is a product of its time period. Julia writes about life under ruthless dictator Trujillo and the many hardships he created. The benefits of economic modernization were not equally distrusted to the people, instead they were given to Trujillo’s supporters and close friends. This is already sowing the seeds of dissent among the people, but it would get far worse. These newfound benefits for the upper class came at a price, many Haitians living in the D.R. lost many civil liberates. In fact, Trujillo heavily encouraged prejudice against Haitians, and in 1937 he did the unthinkable and ordered a massacre of thousands of Haitians. Sadly, this was carried out with machetes and knives in the most inhumane way thinkable. Thousands of Haitian’s lost their lives, and many more feared the same fate. However, as Mrs. Álvarez points out, Trujillo’s own grandmother was Haitian. This truly conveys just how far gone Trujillo really was, and how blinding racism can be even against your own people.
Now that we have a grasp of what life was like for Haitians during this time, we can fully appreciate the essay Julia Álvarez painstakingly crafted. She notes that even though they were all living in the same place and had similar backgrounds, they still were discriminatory. Many Dominicans refused to recognize any African heritage, and even worse believed the fairer the skin the better the person despite them being of the same creed. She summarizes this favoritism and prejudice perfectly in describing her youngest sister. “But the pride and joy of the family was the baby. She made heads turn-strangers approached her asking to feel her silken hair. She was white-an adjective which was repeated in describing her color as if to deepen the shade of white.” This quote jumped out a me, it clearly shows how those with fairer skin were treated better than those with the “less desirable olive skin.” They are members of the same family, and yet, discrimination runs rampant. However, if it was not bad enough already, Mrs. Álvarez also notes that women at this time were second class citizens, and often relegated to menial work. “There was no segregation of races in the halls of power. But in the atheistic arena-The ones to which we were relegated as females-lighter was better.” So not only was Julia Álvarez getting discriminated against for the color of her skin, she was also being treated poorly due to her sex. As she says, if you were unlucky enough to be a woman, you better have lighter skin if you want an easier life. This is deeply upsetting, and it is hard to even imagine such atrocities. Julia Álvarez was clearly a strong and intelligent woman, and it is a shame for what she had to go through. We can only hope that such an event would never take place again, and perhaps we can learn from these gruesome mistakes.
Nick Andrle
ReplyDeleteEnglish 101
4/9/2020
FISHBOWL 4/9/2020
During Alvarez’s “A White Woman of Color”, the theme of oppression is immediately established. Specifically, intersectionality, as well as an internal discrimination coming from Alverez’s own mother. For example, “Growing up in the Domican Republic, I experienced racism within my own family--- though I didn’t think of it as racism. But there was definitely a hierarchy of beauty, which was the main currency in our family of daughters...We were a progression of whitening, as if my mother were slowly bleaching the color out of her children” (Alverez 1). In this example, Alverez explains how growing up in the Domican Republic, she is subjected to her mother's “whitening” and hierarchy, the whiter you are the more beautiful you are. Alongside this, Alvarez experiences discriminaion upon her arrival to the United States. For example, “As my malapropping Mami might have said. People of color were treated as if they were inferior, prone to violence, uneducated, untrustworthy, lazy-- all the bad adjectives”(Alverez 2). In this example, Alvarez explains how she is immediately discriminated upon her arrival to the United States, whether it be being judged as an inferior being, or any of the other adjectives used to describe people of color in the 1960s. As the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement are in full swing, there is a more culturally accepting swing, however, Alverez does not agree with it, feeling that her culture had become a commodity which she had come to resent. All three examples show how intersectionality and internal discrimination are present during Alverez’s “A White Woman of Color.
The author's purpose for writing this piece is to show how there are many different forms of oppression. Alverez experienced many different forms of oppressions such as intersectional oppression and internal oppression, such as within her family. Also, during the cultural shift of the 1960’s saw Alverez’s culture become more of a commodity than a respected culture, this is also oppression. It is very important to understand the Domican Republic under Trujillo due to his harsh rule. Many citizens of the Domican Republic fled in response to the dictatorship, Alverez being one of them. This is directly related to the mistreatment and oppression of the incoming Dominican Republic.
Works Cited:
DeleteAlvarez, Julia. “A White Woman of Color”. Sping 1998 https://writingbb.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/alvarez_white.pdf accessed on 9 April, 2020
Annamaria Vaiano
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
9 April, 2020
English 102
In the essay “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alverez, she discusses her personal experiences with oppression throughout her life. For her, these pertain specifically to discrimination due to race in not only society, but also within her own family. Initially, Alvarez discusses the racism that occurred in her family and the favoritism or lack thereof in her case that she endured from them as a result of it. Her and her sisters all ranged from a variety of skin tones. Those with the darker complexions were considered to lack beauty whereas those with lighter ones were thought to be the most beautiful. Because of this unjust misconception, she faced great prejudice in her life.
To better understand the severity of the oppression that those living in the Dominican Republic faced at this time, it’s necessary to be aware of the person in charge and his beliefs. Many of Alvarez's experiences can be traced to Rafael Trujillo and the beliefs that he engraved into his people. Trujillo was a merciless dictator who controlled the Dominican Republic for 31 years. He feared the “darkening of Dominican people” and took extreme measures in an effort to ensure that his people wouldn’t develop darker skin tones (History). He even went as far as to order the slaughter of approximately 20,000 Haitians. These people were killed inhumanely and were shown no kindness, not even in death.
When Alvarez and her family had arrived in New York for the first time in 1960, her immediate impression of how she’d be treated was based on the instant cruelty she’d witnessed. “People of color were treated as if they were inferior, prone to violence, uneducated, untrustworthy, lazy - all the bad adjectives we were learning in our new language” (58). Sadly, the discrimination didn’t end for them when her family moved to New York, it only continued. The author's purpose of writing this essay was to shed light on the various forms of oppression as well as how greatly it can impact the quality of one's life. No one deserves to be judged solely based on traits that can’t be controlled or changed. Alvarez and her family were more than the colors of their skin, they were people. And no person should have to go through life being constantly made to feel like they’re less than.
Romana Pasha
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
9 April 2020
Oppression is defined as prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. Throughout time, many people have faced oppression in different ways such as discrimination, neglection, marginalization, etc. Individuals often face discrimination to this day and often argue the idea of egalitarianism, the idea that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. In Julia Alvarez’s story, A White Woman of Color, Alvarez portrays to the readers the theme of oppression in which she faced while growing up in the Dominican Republic. The story depicts to the readers the idea of inter-sectionality that many women, such as Julia, experienced from the public and within their own families as well. Intersectionality plays a major role in the story where women were often discriminated and excluded whenever they did not reach the “hierarchy of beauty” (Alvarez 1). Alvarez continues to depict the ideas of inter-sectionalism throughout the story with many examples.
In the beginning of the story, Alvarez conveys to the readers how discriminated “dark skinned” Dominicans were and that being “light skinned” was a privilege. Alvarez states, “There was no segregation of races in the halls of power. But in the aesthetic arena- the ones to which we girls were relegated as females—lighter was better. Lank hair and pale skin and small, fine features were better” (Alvarez 1). The quote portrays the idea of intersectionality where women had to look a certain way in order to be accepted by society. Although Alvarez stated how there was “no segregation of races in the halls of power”, the idea of discrimination and segregation was displayed where readers learned how Dominicans with darker skin were mistreated compared to lighter skin Dominicans who were far more accepted in their communities and in their families as well. The theme of inter-sectionality is portrayed in the quote because of the idea of how skin tone was used as a discriminative way to categorize Dominicans in levels of hierarchy. Alvarez wrote this story in order to leave readers to ponder about the ideas of discrimination, racism and gender inequality that occurred in the Dominican Republic. In order to understand the story, it is important to be informed about Rafael Trujillo, a former dictator in the Dominican Republic. Trujillo’s order of sending his military troops to slaughter thousands of Haitians left many Dominicans with the idea of how it was a disgrace to be Afro-Dominican which helped lead to the mindset of the superiority of being light skinned.
Nick Rella
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
9 April 2020
Throughout history, oppression has reared it ugly head in many different forms. There are countless examples of oppression throughout history. For example, there was American slavery of people of color, and even after slavery was made illegal, there were many laws and regulations put in place to make sure that people of color continued to be oppressed. This was done by doing things like paying them low wages, and making it nearly impossible for them to vote in elections. THere are many different forms of oppression. In the short story “White Women of Color” by Julia Alvarez, Alvarez demonstrates the everyday oppression that she and her family would face.
Throughout her childhood, one of the themes of Julia Alvarez’s life was oppression. While there are many types of oppressions, the one that she would face most often is exclusion and isolation . She would face exclusion and isolation both from her family, and from others. For example “ But the pride and joy of the family was the baby. She made heads turn- strangers approached asking to feel her silken hair.” The youngest of Julia’s sisters was the most white. So in many ways, the youngest sister was considered the favorite and got much attention that Julia and many others would not get. This can very easily make someone feel isolated and not wanted. Another example is “ It was clear to us then that growing up lighter, was better.” Julia as one of the darker skinned members of her family realized that she was being treated differently because of her skin color. She was not treated as well as her younger sisters, who were lighter than her. In this sense, she was excluded and isolated from her family. This is how she grew up and this is how the world was to her. It wouldn’t be until years later that she was being oppressed because of something she could not control. That is one of the themes of Julia Alvarez’s “White Women of Color.”
Rey Maloco Jr.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
ENG 102
9 April 2020
Fishbowl WWOC
Oppression is defined as a prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. In “A White Woman of Color” Julia Alvarez describes her experience of growing up as a Dominican in both the Dominican Republic and the United States. She begins the article with “Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I experienced racism within my own family… But there was definitely a hierarchy of beauty, which was the main currency in our family of daughters… We were a progression of whitening, as if my mother were slowly bleaching the color out of her children.” Julia Alvarez immediately displays an internal oppression that she has been through growing up. She explains that skin color has created a “hierarchy of beauty” even within her family. Julia Alvarez also experiences forms of oppression in violence and marginalization. While attending school in the United States, she and her sisters had to endure verbal and physical bullying from classmates (Alvarez 58). During this time period, oppression had to be endured; there wasn’t much one could do to prevent this, so it took a lot to tolerate the discrimination and oppression people faced.
Julia Alvarez’s experiences with discrimination, racism, and oppression, is what lead her to make this article. She emphasizes the different forms of oppressions that exist and how they differ between everyone. For example, she explains that she was fortunate to be white Dominicans during that time period. “An African American family who moved across the street several years later needed police protection because of threats” (Alvarez 58). This family went through this from of oppression that is unfair and cruel. She explains the discrimination that her aunt has experienced while living in NY. “One drop of black and you were black” (Alvarez 58). Her aunt experienced discrimination on buses and subways. She explains how “everyone back home would have known that Tia ana was no black;” (Alvarez 58), but because of her color, she was oppressed and discriminated by society. It is important to understand the time during the dictatorship of Trujillo because it highlights oppression at its worse. During his dictatorship, he believed that he needed to “protect Dominican race purity.” He did this by killing thousands of Haitians overnight. “So, black was not so good, thick lips were not so good…” (Alvarez 6). His dictatorship and time period only encouraged the oppression of people of color. Avoiding oppression from society, family, etc. was not possible.
Mac Kenzie Tierney
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
ENG 102
9 April 2020
Fishbowl WWOC
Oppression is pictured in many ways, prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control, the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control, and even mental pressure. Based on egalitarianism and the many ways in which oppression can be carried out. In “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez, her and her family were treated harshly by Rafael Trujillo, the Dictator of the Dominican Republic because of their race, appearance, education, religion, and family background. Alvarez and her sisters were silenced in their country by the way they looked. During school, their classmates would throw stones at them, and tell them to “go back to where you came from” this is oppression right here. Their mother had to send them to boarding school because of the treatment her and her sisters were getting from their classmates.
The author's motive to share her story and enlighten us on oppression was to teach us, oppression happens everywhere and you may not even notice it. Alvarez implemented the theme of oppression throughout her whole story. She showed us how it affected her childhood and her growing up. But she also showed us how her own family was silenced by oppression. Alvarez painted us a picture when she stated, “The sister right after me had my skin color, but she was much paler, her hair a golden brown.But the pride and joy of the family was the baby. She made heads turn- strangers approached asking to feel her silken hair” (Alvarez). The picture painted here was to show us what being accepted looked like. Oppression followed her everywhere she went and never went away. No one should feel like they are accepted in society nevertheless by themselves. The thing that matters most about you is what it is on the inside not they outside.
Christina Ruggiano
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
7 April 2020
Oppression is when a dominant group is subjugating another minority group. Keeping this diversity in mind, we can identify oppression with the act of being prejudice. Oppression can be expressed through neglect, intersectionality (discrimination and exclusion), poverty, violence, imperialism (power obtained by violence, colonialism (conquering), military force etc.), and exploitation. Egalitarianism is a belief in human equality. It is a social philosophy that promotes for the removal of any inequality among people with differences in race, gender, and social status. Alvarez discusses all three of these differences and personally experiences them all. She believed in equality amongst everyone coming from a Latinos point of view. In “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez, the theme of oppression is constantly noticed throughout her story. She writes based upon the ruling of Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic during this time period.
Julia Alvarez’s short story “A White Woman of Color” takes place in the mid 1900’s. The themes of entrapment and violence are two types of oppression that are strongly expressed, which enhances the meaning of prejudice and its outcome. Trujillo was a murderer because he wanted to protect Dominican race purity. Violence was his way of handling situations he did not approve of. For instance, he “ordered the overnight slaughter of thousands of Haitians by his military, who committed this atrocity using only machetes and knives in order to make this planned extermination look like a “spontaneous” border skirmish”. This massacre was so brutal and horrid which is why Julia Alvarez discusses the issue of oppression. Her skin color, ethnicity, and the mistreatment her and her family received when they arrived in New York in 1960 is reasoning for the theme of entrapment to be communicated through her story. The theme of entrapment is like a force that pushes someone to go on a quest for personal freedom. Alvarez is in search for her personal freedom because “Americans were so blind” and associated anyone who had a little black in their skin tone as African American. Kids were “throwing stones” at her and her sister for being on the playground and yelled “Go back to where you came from!”. Alvarez discusses the skin tone of everyone in her family and whether their lighter or darker skinned. This is an example of how much skin color mattered to everyone. Julia Alvarez writes about how she took a questionnaire asking her to check off her race. That’s a common question people today see on any questionnaire, even on college application. But Alvarez found it unnecessary. Her choices were Caucasian, Black, Native American, Asian, Hispanic, and Other. She asks “How could a Dominican divide herself in this way? Or was I really a Dominican anymore? And what was Hispanic?” She found this question to be absurd. Julia Alvarez expresses her feeling on violence and entrapment throughout her story and acknowledges the constant oppression that the world had to tolerate.
Julia Alvarez wanted to stop discrimination and wanted people to choose acceptance and peace. Racism was surrounding her everywhere, even within her own family. She described her sisters and their skin colors and the rest of their appearance. “But the pride and joy of the family was the baby. She made heads turn---strangers approached asking to feel her silken hair. She was white white---an adjective which was repeated in describing her color as if to deepen the shade of white.” Alvarez expresses her feelings on discrimination and “racism within her own family” but could never do anything about her because she did not think of it as that. There was favoritism over “beauty” in her family of daughters due to skin color. Julia Alvarez wrote “A White Woman of Color” because she wanted discrimination to come to an end and never wants what she went through to exist in today’s world. Trujillo was dictator of the Dominican Republic and resorted to violence as ways to deal with protecting the DR. He was a murderer and his actions highlight oppression and the themes of violence and entrapment. Trujillo was prejudice against Haitians, which is why he has the title of a murderer. The government during this time period was a dictatorship explaining why violence and entrapment took place. In today’s world, we have a federal government allowing the people to have a choice. Julia Alvarez is not looking for sympathy, she is trying to avoid the discrimination that went on during the time period and does not want the mistakes that people made in the past to reoccur.
DeleteThe feeling of being insignificant and tied down from expressing your rights as a basic human is a form of abuse. In other words this is called oppressed; it is unjust treatment that is controlled usually by a higher power. This is a continuing theme throughout the story of “A White Woman With Color “ by Julia Alvarez, as you can see she is restricted from expressing her ethnicity, more importantly her skin color. A factor that is uncontrollable from changing was becoming worse as she began to grow up. In the beginning of the story she explained that “beauty” was defined by the color of your skin, the whiter your skin was the more beautiful you were. Therefore, she and her sisters had to stay inside to prevent any more darkening of their skin. Although “it was clear to us that growing up then that lighter was better, but there was no question of discriminating against someone because he or she was dark skinned”. Nor did being white determine “a sign of moral, intellectual, or political superiority”. Being a dark dominican began more oppressive when Trujillo became dictator of the Dominan Republic, he ordered a mass killing of thousands of Haitians while declaring the nation white. As Julia became older she and her family moved to the United States where there was discrimination of colored people. This is the point where she realized true oppression of who she was, “at the local school, we endured the bullying of classmates. ‘Go back to where you came from’ they yelled at my sister and me on the playground". The theme in the beginning was oppression, however, Alvarez turned it into being proud of who you are. She learned that being different was a good thing as she found ways to accept who she was even though others didn’t.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of writing this is to inspire those to be proud of being different, whether it's in race, religion, ethnicity, even skin color. It's good to stand out from everyone else because it's what makes you special. Julia Alvarez stated “it is in my blood: it comes from that mixture of biology, culture, native language, and experience that make me a different American from one whose family comes from Ireland or Poland or Italy”. All these factors of culture, language, and experience is what defines her, gives her an identity. She highlights the importance of redefining what it means to be Latino/a and to embrace all the differences in hopes to “provide a positive multicultural, multiracial model” to America.
Oppression is defined as the exercise of power in an unjust and cruel manner. In the short story "A White Woman of Color" by Julia Alvarez, Alvarez illustrates the struggles that her and her family had to go through as a result of oppression. Not only did she witness discrimination when she moved to the United States, she also witnessed it when she was in the Dominican Republic. People with lighter skin and nicer hair were favored over the darker skins. Even though everyone was from the same country it did not mean they would be treated the same. It is also important to understand the government in this time period. The government played a huge part in the oppression against darker skins, under the dictator of Trujillo a slaughter of thousands of dark skins was ordered, even though Trujillo had Haitian blood himself. People had no escape from the prejudice and as a result thought that it was alright to discriminate against the darker skins.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that Alvarez is portraying to her audience is the importance of society to be more accepting. At first when Alvarez and her family moved to the USA they faced discrimination everywhere they went. Even while on the playground children would yell to them to go back to where they came from. Many years later society changed its perception and being a Latin immigrant became accepted and even celebrated. However by the time society started to be accepting, Alvarez started losing her Dominican culture and started acting more Americanized. What was once hated now transformed to be celebrated, but if society was just more accepting from the beginning then no one would have had to be discriminated against and feel like their culture was less important and was an embarrassment.
English 102
ReplyDelete4/9/2020
AWWOC FISHBOWL
In Julia Álvarez’s “A White Woman of Color,” a dominant theme that is seen throughout the majority of the essay is oppression. In her essay she talks about life under the rule of dictator Trujillo and the hardships she experienced growing up. Trulijo was extremely prejudiced and bigotry towards Hatian people, even going as far as grusomely ordering the murder thousands of Hatians by his soilders during his reign of tyrany in the mid 1900’s to “Protect Domonican race purity”. The Hatians lived in fear of their lives because of what he might do to them for simply being Hatian. It was so bad that even though many Domonicans had some African background - Dictator Trujillo’s own Grandmother being Hatian - many of them refused to acknowledge this reality due to the prejudice towards the African race. They would try to distance themself from that truth in order to be accepted by society. Julia Álvarez talks about this bias in paragraph 4 where she mentions “It was clear to us then lighter was better… a sacrosanct entity in our culture”.
The writer's purpose for writing this essay is to highlight the racial prejudice and how persons are treated based on the color of their skin and also to highlight the many ways in which these people, including herself have been oppressed by society. Another purpose may have been to inspire persons to be proud of who they are no matter your background.
It is important to understand the timeline of where all this is taking place for you to truly understand the pain these people were going through. Back then, it wasn't like nowadays where you may be able to get a lawyer or call the police, you could be hung for the slightest offense and no one could do or dare say anything about it for risk of being killed themselves.
Nicholas Semetsis
ReplyDeleteOppression, not only in the story, but everywhere in the real world, comes in countless forms. Many of these forms are the tangible, experienceable instances, like when a person is given dirty looks because of their race, sexual orientation, gender, etc. However the majority of these situations lie in the culture, the misconceptions, and the predetermined narratives.
In this story, an example of this would be just the culture as a whole regarding the idea that women with darker hair and darker features were less attractive and desirable, whereas women with lighter hair and lighter skin gathered the complete opposite reception. The oppression lies largely in the idea that these people have been conditioned to try and suppress their own unique culture and expressiveness to conform to the culture they wish to assimilate too. In this instance, it is their self-expression that is being oppressed. Perhaps one of the most vivid occurrences of this is when the narrator said, “black was not so good, kinky hair was not so good, thick lips were not so good.” This was troubling to me, as I’m sure it was to everyone as it is stated so simply, and yet is describing the primary features of an entire body of people. It is hard to completely comprehend how this can be the mindset people have, especially people that have these features. But unfortunately it only serves as further reminder of the culturally-based oppression perpetrated on these people.
The purpose of this piece is most certainly to provide a perspective on the oppression these people face, even when some may not be able to recognize it as such. It is equally as important to recognize, as the reader, the context of the story. During this time, the dictatorship that was in power had no tolerance for opposition, which of course bred widespread oppression of mind and body on all fronts. Rafael Trujillo, or “El Jefe”, was a notorious leader for many reasons, a major one being the oppression his people withstood under his rule, and it only makes the narrative of the story more powerful to consider this was created under the mental confines of such a terrible regime.
Laura Canela
ReplyDeleteProfessor J. Mignano- Brady
Eng 102
08 April 2020
Oppression is the malicious and unjust treatment that one receives, and can be relative to violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism. In “A White Woman of Color,” Julia Alvarez communicated different types of oppression like cultural imperialism and marginalization in her essay. Alvarez described how she faced unjust treatment when she arrived in New York in 1960. She stated, “People of color were treated if they were inferior, prone to violence, uneducated, untrustworthy, lazy…” (Alvarez). In other words, people of color were often marginalized by being treated as less important and essentially worthless compared to white people. Cultural imperialism is also highlighted throughout the passage. Dictator Trujillo slaughtered “thousands…of Haitians by his military” (Alvarez). Trujillo oppressed Haitians through cultural imperialism and violence because he strongly favored the Dominican race. He believed Haitians compromised his views on creating a pure “white” Dominican race.
In the passage where it discusses that Trujillo orchestrated a massacre of thousands of Haitians, it highlights the theme of racial discrimination. By slaughtering as many Haitians as he could, Trujillo displayed extremist views on protecting the purity of the Dominican race. Furthermore, he discriminated against Haitians because he wanted to declare the Dominican Republic “a white nation” (Alvarez). By eliminating the darker people, he would achieve his goal of creating a nation of a superior race, which is “white” Dominicans. The author’s purpose in writing this essay is to show that our skin color does not define us; as people discover their true identities and evolve as a person, their ethnicity and race evolves too. Since skin color does not define us, racial discrimination should not take place because their race doesn’t represent them. It’s who they become and how they are characterized, so racial paradigms should not be limited.
As oppression and the themes of racial discrimination are highlighted throughout the passage, it is important to understand the government and the time period. The period Trujillo was dictating the Dominican Republic was around the 1930-1950s. At this time, racial discrimination was very common around the world, especially in the United States. In the 1960s, Jim Crow laws were enforced to segregate White people and Black people. Overall, during this time, racial discrimination was prevalent and universal.
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Laura Canela
Brittany Cooper
ReplyDelete9 April 2020
English 102 – 12:15-1:30pm
Oppression is the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control. In Julia Alvarez’s, “A White Woman of Color”, she tells the story of how her skin color caused for her to experience years and years of oppression, although she was in fact a native of the Dominican Republic. In the story it reads, “Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I experienced racism within my own family—though I didn’t think of it as racism” (Alvarez). Her mother was her first oppressor, painting this picture that to be whiter meant you were beautiful. Her younger sister experienced the unconditional love and protection that the older sisters including Alvarez were never able to experience because they were darker in skin. Their mother would try to condition or what one would call “whiten” her girls so that they acted more like her and her side of the family not their fathers. Whenever the children would act in a wild manner, Alvarez’s mother would retaliate, calling them names and saying that they belong to the country.
It was horrible enough to have a mother who seemed to despise her family, but Julia had to face this treatment from their dictator, Rafael Trujillo. During the time period of which Alvarez experienced all of this, it was imperative for those under Rafael Trujillo control to conform to his standards of living. He treated his people, especially those that were Haitian like something that was under his shoe. Under his ruling many Haitians were killed and many of them were in constant fear that too would lose their lives. Trujillo’s reasoning was that their skin complexion was too dark for his liking and didn’t fit the standards of what his people should look like. These times were upsetting for Alvarez and it only got worse when she moved to the United States. There was no way for her to escape this idea that she would not be accepted unless her skin tone somehow became lighter. Alverez shared her story to not only share her experience but to show how oppression has ruined the lives of so many. It has taken innocent lives and has scarred those that lived through it. Skin color was a bigger problem than it should have been and even today it this problem presents itself in our lives.
Nathan Germain
ReplyDelete04/09/20
English 102
Prof. Mignano-Brady
Oppression is a use of power to control certain people. It has been used in the past to control people of color, and females alike. In the short story, “A White Woman of Color”, by Julia Alvarez this is shown to be how the dominicans were treated as well. Alvarez was a dominican who constantly had to face marginalization, and oppression. She faced it in her home country because she was a “tomboy”, and thus not girly enough. Then when she moved to New York she was further marginalized for having a “colored” voice and accent.
When Alvarez moved to the United States, her family were still oppressed, although in a different way. In her home country it has been more that people were considered better when they were more white, and acted more their gender, but minimal to no violence. While when they moved to New York it was more of blatant racism towards them for them not being completely white, and violence added in. I think that the author wrote this essay to help illuminate a few of the forms racism can occur in, and that racism is not just about someone's skin color, but can even be affected by their voice. When we look at the time period, it was a time where the United States was going through a civil war. And while Alvarez lived in one of the tamer parts of the war, that being New York, it was still far from safe for people of color.
CJ Odom
ReplyDeleteEGL 102
4/9/2020
AWWOC Fishbowl
Oppression is a theme presented across multiple forms of literature and throughout history. Oppression is the cruel or unjust treatment or control even on a mental level. In “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez, she recounts the years of oppression she experienced due to the color of her skin. Her earliest experience with oppression and racism were from her own family that disregarded the oldest sister with the darkest complexion and the kinkiest hair in favor of the youngest child who had the palest skin and blonde hair. “Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I experienced racism within my own family—though I didn’t think of it as racism” (Alvarez). This highlights that her mother was her first oppressor and first person to ingrain a certain thought process into her. Her mother instilled an ideology, that being white with blonde hair was the standard to be beautiful, into Alvarez and her sisters. Alvarez was always also expected to act a certain way that leaned towards the values of her mother’s side of the family and would be reprimanded if any of the girls acted in a manner that resembled their father’s side. “My mother would snap back that we looked like jibaritas who should be living out in the country. Of course, that was precisely where my father’s family came from” (Alvarez). This exemplifies the oppression that Alvarez and her sisters were expected to deal with seeing as they could not change it, especially when such oppression comes from your own mother.
Oppression also came in the Dominican Republic’s government at the time. With dictator Trujillo in power he ran the country with an iron fist. Trujillo believed that everyone should fit into a certain standard of living that he approved of, unfortunately this resulted in him killing many Haitians as they were too dark for his liking and didn’t fit his mold too well. This also reinforces Alvarez’s learned mentality that pale skin is not only beautiful it was a way of life. Alvarez tells her story to illustrate how oppression can leave negative and damaging effects on many. Oppression comes in many forms, however in Alvarez’s place and time skin color was a severe issue, one that would take a long time to fix. Alvarez’s story gives us a clear insight into internalized racism, and how being taught that you are not good enough based on things you can not change such as physical appearance is damaging and can lead to some serious mental scarring.
Ivana Davila
ReplyDeleteEnglish 102
Fishbowl
04/09/2020
Oppression is a known concept that is seen throughout history. “A White Woman Of Color” by Alvarez demonstrated the types of oppression she saw throughout her life. Throughout the short story, oppression based on race was apparent. The way a person was seen was all based on how one looked based on their skin color, facial features, and hair texture. It was not the government's shunning minorities themselves but more as society as a whole. The culture in New York was not very fond of diversity and different cultures. It was preferred if a person moving to New York City adopted the culture and customs of new yorkers. Different customs were seen as a threat since it was not common among the majority of people living in the city. “When I began looking for a job after college, I discovered that being a white Latina made me a non-threatening minority in the eyes of these employers.”(Alvarez 6) Alvarez was able to make it in an environment with whites as the majority by having genetics that made her complexion and features not as “Dominican” as other Latinas. Hiding her differences and adapting to “white culture” allowed her to be treated with more respect and equality than her fellow Dominicans.
Oppressions for Dominicans were not just in New York City but in the Dominican Republic as well. Alvarez speaks about how her mother treated her children differently based on their features. Alvarez’s mother saw beauty as being as white as possible, she would ask Alvarez to stay inside to keep her skin as pale as possible. Other Dominicans, not just Alvarez’s mother, saw white as better. Rafael Trujillo, the leader of the Dominican Republic was known for treating Haitian immigrants with disregard for their civil liberty. It got so bad to the point where Trujillo ordered a massacre to kill specifically Haitian immigrants. The oppression is all based on predisposed ideas of what type of people, others assume based on one's color. Alvarez makes it clear the effect of oppression has on others, not appreciating differences but forcing an outline for everyone to follow.
Gabriel Moses
ReplyDeleteEnglish 102
Fisbowl
04/09/2020 T&Th 9:25-10:40
Oppression is defined as a prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. The theme of oppression identifies with prejudice, and it can be associated with race, ethnicity, gender, religion, political stance, or even sexual orientation. Throughout Alvarez's "A White Woman of Color" one of the main themes is colorism. Colorism is discrimination towards certain skin colors. It generally takes place between people who are the same race. Many family members can be a colorist. In "A White Woman of Color" we read of how Alvarez's family thought of her eldest sister as lest pretty just because she was a darker skin tone. In the passage, it says, "But the pride and joy of the family was the baby. She made heads turn-strangers approached her asking to feel her silken hair" (Alvarez 6). In this line, we see that the family has more admiration for their children if they have a lighter skin tone. Many people do not realize that their family consists of a colorist, but in our society, colorism is more commonly occurring.
Another theme that is brought up in this passage is discrimination or judgment through the location in which you were raised. Throughout the passage, we witness how Alvarez's moms' side of the family views her fathers. They brought judgment towards his side of the family just because they were raised in the country and their family had a significant number of members. Alvarez's mom judged them even though many of her father's brothers went to university and became professionals. The significance of this theme relates to our modern time period because many people today are still being discriminated against because of the environment they were raised in. The author's reason for writing this essay is to inform us that there are numerous forms of oppression that existed not only in the Dominican Republic but all over the world. It is important to understand the government being led by Trujillo and the time period because we see how people had to flee from oppression to be themselves. The period when Trujillo ruled was a point in time where the slightest difference in opinion would cost you your life. Alvarez is showing to us the difference in time, and how society today is more privileged and less oppressed than when she was growing up.
Salma Abdeltawab
ReplyDeleteEng 102
Prof.Brady
Egalitarianism means that all people are equal and deserve equal opportunist, on the other hand, oppression is the opposite when there is a great amount of unjust treatment and is controlling people's views on cultural perspectives. Throughout the story “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez there are many themes that can be analyzed one major theme would be the dehumanization of the girls when they were younger. Dehumanization prevents someone from embracing and showing their identity through freedom. In the story, Alvarez states “We were a progression of whitening as if my mother were slowly bleaching the color out of her children.”(Alvarez 6). This statement portrays how becoming assimilated to white culture was as harsh as being bleached, it shows that the environment can be shown as a toxic environment. Alvarez goes on to state that “She was white white -an adjective which was repeated as if to deepen the shade of white”(Alvarez 6). While Alvarez explains the encounters of racism it goes hand in hand with the oppression of dehumanization, to show us getting accepted into the environment they degraded people of color especially if you were not qualified for the beauty standards, such as “white-white”, “blonde-haired”, and ”silken hair”. This is a significant passage because it highlights that at a young age their minds are warped with the idealization of white culture or certain beauty standards, which dehumanizes them and makes them unable to embrace themselves freely.
Throughout the story, Alvarez portrays dehumanization as a major theme but it also correlates to the governmental structure of Rafael Trujillo dehumanization. Rafael Trujillo not only oppressed “peasants” and used them to profit from, but he dehumanized an entire culture which was the “Dominican Republic’s Haitian migrants” (Biography.com Editors 1). This dehumanization was more extreme than Alvarez’s encounters. Trujillo went as far as massacring Haitians when they opposed the laws that he had placed on them. He also ignored the civil liberties of Haitians which caused an uprise and an “orchestra the massacre of thousands” (Biography.com Editors 1). This is not to disregard that Alvarez at a young age was exposed to something so harsh, and having to accustom to that at a young age could have been detrimental to her and her sisters. Both the disregard of civil liberties towards Haitians and Rafael Trujillo dictatorship towards Haitians is a close parallel to Alverez’s exposure to oppression at a young age, both having an extreme effect on humans of color.
Channon Lawrence
ReplyDeleteProfessor Mignano-Brady
EGL 102 9:25 AM- 10:40 AM
9 April 2020
Oppression occurs when an individual is subjected to unjust treatment. However, oppression itself comes in many forms and does not necessarily mean that something is black or white. Individuals can experience oppression due to their gender, social class, religion, immigration status, hair texture, and sexual orientation. Typically, people who are oppressed tend to be the "underdogs" of society. Oppression is a common theme in the essay “A White Woman of Color" by Julia Alvarez and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Kate Chopin. Both stories express different forms of oppression that greatly influence the characters discussed in their narratives.
In the essay "A White Woman of Color," Alvarez discusses oppression in terms of race and immigration during the rule of dictator Rafael Trujillo. She first begins her essay by discussing the racial oppression: she experienced growing up in the Dominican Republic. In her country, there was "a hierarchy of beauty," which was especially evident in her family dynamic (Alvarez 6). For instance, her younger sisters were favored more by relatives due to their light complexion and silky hair compared to Alvarez's older sister, who had a deeper skin tone and coarse hair. Individuals who assimilated with white culture were more desirable in the Dominican society. According to Alveraz, "The denial of Afro-Dominican part of our culture reached its climax during the dictatorship of Trujillo, whose own maternal grandmother was Haitian" (6). Trujillo ordered the mass murder of thousands of Haitians to protect the race purity of the Dominican Republic. Thus, he declared the country as a white nation. Alvarez states, "A black Dominican was referred to as a "dark indian"...the real blacks were the Haitians who lived next door..." (58). There was a divide in the culture that separated Dominicans from Haitians based on color. The government of this time was a political system that enabled the oppression of Haitians. On the other hand, Alvarez focuses on the issues of race and identity in relation to privilege. She discusses oppression on two-levels, one as an immigrant in New York and the other as a woman of color. Despite being white in America, she still experienced prejudice due to the color of her skin, her accents, mannerisms, and other factors of her identity that gave hints about her culture. She experienced a cross-section of oppression in America, unlike in her native country.
Within the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper" the theme of confinement appears. There seems to be a lack of independence and self-expression for the main character. The main character, Jennie is the domesticated housewife of John, a physician. For a summer vacation, the wife and husband stay at this grand mansion for three months. However, while in this strange home, Jennie begins to lose touch with reality as her fascination with the wallpaper increases. While confined in the home, she realizes that she was trapped. However, she did not realize that she was the creature trapped within the wallpaper. Jennie states, "I didn't realize for a long time what the thing was that showed behind, that dim sub-pattern, but now I am quite sure it is a woman" (Chopin 653). The changing pattern of the wallpaper provided Jennie’s life with excitement. As her husband continues to ignore her emotional and mental wellbeing, she drives herself further into madness. As a result, she finds herself while losing herself. Jennie was living in her husband's shadow, and her lack of freedom limited her potential as a woman. The author's purpose in writing this essay is to bring light to a taboo topic. During the 19-century women's health was not acknowledged. Yet, Chopin’s writing highlights the oppression of marriage, gender roles, and motherhood on a woman psychologically.
Cassandre Decady
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
09 April 2020
The state of oppression in our society has taken on a toll on many minorities for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the battle against oppression and racism is still not over and still remains an issue today. In the essay written by Julia Alverez, she discusses a different kind of discrimination that she faced growing up as a Dominican girl. Growing up Alvarez was looked at as less beautiful by her family, especially her mother because she was a little darker than her older sister. This way of thinking was not something she faced alone. In her culture the lighter skin color you had the more beautiful you were. It was mostly about who looked like they could be white. This type of oppression is especially damaging to young girls because it can lead them to grow up to feel like they do not belong. Especially being that skin color is something you are born with and cannot control.
The people of the Dominican Republic were not born with these ideals, a dictator by the name of Raphael Trujillo began in an attempt to erase the afro-Dominican part of his culture by ordering the slaughter of thousands of Haitians. After the murder of thousands of Haitians, he declared the Dominican Republic a white nation despite the fact of Mulatto senators. This is what led the mindsets of Dominicans for years, they were taught to erase the Afro-Dominican side of their culture and become something they believed was more desirable. This relates to the theme of a disconnect with culture in passage 1. I believe that a girl who is taught that her skin is
not beautiful at a young age may grow up feeling a disconnect between herself and her culture. She may feel unappreciated and an outcast to her own people. This person may grow up also having trouble feeling like they belong in other situations nonrelated to their culture. For example, when Julia came to America she thought she would finally be accepted at school but once they heard her accent she was automatically different again. I believe this topic is very important because even myself as a young black girl growing up, being a dark-skinned girl was never something that was recognized as beautiful. Light-skin girls had always been put up on a pedestal in comparison to darker-skinned girls and even as a young girl I remember I used to say things like “ I wish I was light skin” because that is what society had taught me what was beautiful. Now that I have grown up and realized how extremely sad that was I wish I could tell my younger self how beautiful I was already was in my own brown skin.
ReplyDeleteWaldina Lopez
ReplyDeleteIn the short story “A White Women of Color” by Alvarez she was oppressed by society. If you were too dark they saw you as ugly. If your features were, as Alvarez stated “coarse” you weren’t seen as a “beautiful woman”. She was the second darkest but she was never seen as beautiful as her youngest sister who was white and had “good hair”. “Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I experienced racism within my own family” (Alvarez). This wasn’t only within her family but as well as in society in general. While she was still in the Dominican Republic Trujillo had become in power and on night her decided he did not want any Haitians in his land. Which was ironic in itself because his own grandmother was Haitian. Alvarez’s father was Haitian but due to the fact that her mother came from a rich family they were able to hide the father and a couple of the maid from the dreadful night where a mass murder had occurred.
They eventually had to move to America for the fear of their own safety because of Trujillo. She experienced a lot of oppression by society in America. When she started school kids would scream at her and her sisters to “Go back to where you came from!” (Alvarez). All though Alvarez was “dark” she was still able to pass by looks alone just because she clearly had an accent. Stuff like this was ridiculous because at home she was seen as ugly because of her skin color but in America she was able to pass off as being “American” just tan. If she or her family were darker they would need police protection because America was very racist against people of color. Their neighbors need police protection because they were African American in a certain community. Alvarez eventually lost herself and her sense of identity. She wrote this to prove that people cannot be oppressed by society. People lose themselves and their roots.
Thomas Vierling
ReplyDeleteOppression
Throughout history there have been different groups of people that have been oppressed by different social groups. In Alvarez's "A White Woman of Color", Alvarez gives an example of the ways in which a person can be oppressed by society. A passage that illustrated the oppression inducted by society is the passage were Alvarez talks about how the beauty of her sisters and herself was dependent upon how “white” they were. This passage shows the theme of the story that society places value on people by the way that they look. It is not that Alvarez’s family values one child over the over but, the society that they live in.
The author’s purpose for writing this work is to illustrate to the audience how subtle oppression can be. It does not always have to be an action from government sometimes it can be the viewpoint of a society that diminishes the rights of the people. In the case of Alvarez, there was no law in the Dominican Republic that restricted people that had darker skin. The society of the Dominican Republic holds the viewpoint that lighter skin is better, which makes many young women stay inside in an effort to prevent their skin from getting darker. This restriction on a person’s personal freedom does no good for the community but instead passes on this disruptive viewpoint. It is important to understand the place and time in which a piece is written because it gives the reader an understanding on the struggle the characters faces.
Faryal Ahmad
ReplyDeleteA White Woman of Color
The theme of oppression is expressed by Julia Alverez in the essay “A White Women of Color”. Due to the time period, she experiences different forms of oppression including imperialism that stripes her of her own culture as well as the inter-sectionalism she faces from her own community. She writes about her difficult life under the cruel dictatorship of Trujilo. His prejudices allow him to discriminate against Haitians living in the Domanican Republic. She faces difficult circumstances due to the darkness of her skin and the biases of a new tyrant.
The most important theme discussed throughout the essay is Blindness. The theme of blindness is introduced in the first sentence, as Alverez states that she “experiences racism within [her] own family-though [she] didn't think of it as racism”. Although her family shares the same culture and biology, their biases towards dark colored skin allows for discrimination to exist within her household. She continues on by saying that her little sister was the “pride and joy of the family” because of the fairness of her skin. The theme of blindness created by prejudice is also expressed when Alverez points out that the dictator Trujilos own grandmother was Haitian. In spite of Trujilos descending from Haitian blood, he still chooses to discriminate against them. He is so blinded by his beliefs that he does not realize the animosity he has towards his own people. The author's purpose is to show the different forms of oppression. She tells her story to teach others that the worst form of oppression is silence.
Bismah Dhar
ReplyDeleteEGL102
The definition of oppression is unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power over a certain group or minority. Most people who are subjected to this are marginalized groups under a larger or more powerful group that poses more of an authority to the ‘inferior group.’ There are many groups that are subjected to oppression currently and in history. Ways oppression may be used is in ways to take a certain groups’ power and maintain the ‘superiority’ over that group. There are many historical examples relating to oppression, relative ones like Native Americans being subjected to much cruelty and marginalization. Native Americans were pushed to reservations, separated from their culture and stripped from their lands; they were also subjected to massive amounts of abuse and pain which they currently still face although it isn’t as spoken about. Oppression is still constant in the world and occurs in many different cultures and societies.
In “A White Woman of Color,” Julia Alvarez speaks about the kinds of experiences she faced growing up as a Dominican. She discusses the discrimination she faces because of her culture and her skin color. In this, she touches on the importance of skin color and how individuals may treat people based on how light or dark their skin color is. Alvarez speaks of her experience in emigrating to America and the importance of being able to keep her heritage and maintain her “latino-ness” due to the fact that she and her family are light-skinned. It is important to realize that during the 1960’s, America’s racism was much more explicit so being able to assimilate as someone who is Dominican is much more difficult.
For Julia Alverez, being a fair skin Dominican child in the early 1960’s, she experienced both sides of the racism spectrum, something that most people aren’t able to live through. However, being exposed to this led her to realize the cruelties that one side faces and exposed the oppression the other side deals out. Within her own family, she witnesses a form of a hierarchy that was the “social norm” all throughout the country.
ReplyDeleteAlverez explains how her family, like many others in the Dominican Republic in the 60’s, based their child’s beauty based solely off their hair texture and the color of their skin, highlighting how skin tone determined a person’s social wealth. She explains that her father was always considered “ugly” because of his dark complexion, and his children with Alverez’s mother was no different. Her eldest sibling was categorized with their father due to her dark skin tone and coarse hair. Those born after her became lighter and had silkier, more blonde hair, which led them to receive better treatment from their mother and the rest of those in society. Being that Alverez was of lighter skin, she was not treated like her elder sibling, but she did not receive the same love that her younger siblings did. This is what the rest of the people in the Dominican Republic faced during that time. Paler skin Dominicans tried to mimic the lifestyle of Americans, while darker skin Dominicans ands Haitians were subjected to prejudice and work of low standards. The Dominican government was even ordered to massacre thousands of dark-skinned people to “…protect the Dominican race purity”.
Alverez was able to understand the inequality that was running rampant because she was neither oppressed nor privileged. She was given access to places that others would not, yet was treated differently than her lighter sisters. There was no true egalitarianism because theor standards that had to be met to be treated with dignity and respect. Though you could say those of similar skin complexions were treated equally: most darker skin people were all treated unfairly, and most lighter skin people were treated with respect. Though not everyone was treated equally, within their “groups” they were “equal”. This is what life was like during the 1960’s, and this is what Alverez depicted throughout her story.
Devin Scali
ReplyDeleteProfessor Mignano-Brady
EGL 102
Oppression is cruel, unjust treatment and having control over a very long period of time. Many people have gone through this terrible type of thing. In the short story “A White Women of Color” shows a lot of these struggles that they all went through. She was discriminated against wherever she went. They were treated extremely poorly and were forced to just obey all the laws. Also they experienced oppression in all different ways including violent ways and bullying ways.
There were a couple of different themes of this short story but the one that I thought fit the quote is discrimination. “She looked the most like Papi’s side of the family and considered least pretty” (Alvarez 1). This really shows the time that they were living in and all the struggles that they all went through. Also being too light or too dark would determine if you were pretty or not. I think the authors purpose of this passage is to show how bad oppression was and how it impacted people. The time period was so different and the author really portrayed that through this short story.
Deon Hoppin
ReplyDeleteAlvarez expressed oppression in how the lighter your skin tone was the more beautiful you were considered. Oppression can make people lose themselves. Alvarez especially experienced this when she moved to America. When the kids screamed “Go back from where you can from!” (Alvarez) it made her feel as if she didn’t belong there even though she knew the language and had came to include American culture into her day to day life. When everyone started accepting “hispanics” she still didn’t feel as if she belonged. She wasn’t only hispanic seeing as her father was from Haiti but she also came to adapt so much of the American culture she felt she couldn’t be categorized by just simply ticking a box. She didn’t find herself until later on when she started reading books from other authors that weren’t only white and she started writing stories herself about the oppression people are faced with.
Before she moved to America she still experienced racism and oppression. She was the second darkest of her siblings and everyone made sure to let her know she wasn’t as beautiful as the baby in the family who had very pale skin and “good hair” (Alvarez). Her mother was Dominican while her father was Haitian. Sadly when Trujillo came into power he wanted to white wash the Dominican Republic, he sent out an army to kill any Haitian in the Dominican Republic. Thankfully Alvarez mother came from a rich family so they were protected and they protected several of their maids who were also Haitian. This is the reason they went to America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. They thought it would be a better experience for them but sadly the racism in America was just as bad as it was in the Dominican Republic. She was saw to be the inferior race. Although Alvarez went through all of this she wrote this to spread awareness and to also create a support system. She showed this is what happens when people oppress other people and to show to those people who have been through a similar situation that they are not alone in this world.
Steven Rosich
ReplyDeleteEnglish 102
Professor Brady
In the essay “White Woman of Color”, Julia Alverez expresses the theme of oppression and how it affected the way many people lived during that time. Throughout history, people of different race, religion, and ethnicity have experienced oppression Julia Alverez was a Dominican Woman who constantly faced oppression due to her skin color. One of her experiences involved Julia and her family when they disregarded their oldest daughter since she had the darkest skin. Many people favored lighter skin and nicer hair in the Dominican Republic and even when she moved to the United States. The government had a major role in oppression since they ordered thousands of dark skin Dominicans to be executed. There was no escape from prejudice during that time and many people had to discriminate against dark skins in fear of what the government would do to them. While in the United States, Julia and her sisters were discriminated and even had to go to boarding school because of the way their classmates physically and verbally treated them.
The author’s motive for sharing her story of oppression was to teach readers that oppression happens everywhere. Julia shares the difficulties growing up discriminated as a Dominican woman. Julia discusses the topic of skin color and how people judge each other based on their skin color. The theme internal oppression is important in her story because oppression happens in her own family as they did not like how dark skinned their oldest sister was and it causes conflict since their own family is turning against her just because her skin is darker. It is important to understand that the Dominican Republic under a dictatorship was harsh and that many people lived in fear as a result. Many Dominicans fled to the United States was it was their only option to get away from the harsh dictatorship.
In the essay by Julia Alverez “A White Woman of Color” talks about the experience of oppression throughout her life. To describe oppression is the state of being subject to an unjust treatment or control. She talks about how she discriminated because of her race and skin color. She experienced this in both society and even in her own family. She talks about how she was treated unfairly different from her other sibling because her sisters were a lighter skin color. She even talked about how she was in school when they moved to New York the kids will tell her and her sister to go back where they came from. It was said that those with lighter skin had more beauty and those who were darker lacked beauty.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning it already started with the theme of inferiority like “There was no segregation of races in the halls of power. But in the aesthetic arena- the ones to which we girls were relegated as females—lighter was better. Lank hair and pale skin and small, fine features were better” (Alverez). This shows that people who were lighter skin Dominicans were the more favored ones and those who were darker skin Dominicans were treated unfairly. Just because of their skin color they were being treated unjustly. She talks about how her mother’s side was more on the lighter side who went to school abroad and developed manners from North America and had money in Chase Manhattan bank. Her father’s side of were more darker and went to school but on the island and their wallet smells like of earth. This shows how the theme of inferiority related to the essay.
Why Alverez wrote this essay is to leave the readers an idea how racism, unjust treatment, and the oppression in the Dominican Republic. To understand the essay by Alverez one has to know about the government. The country was under the dictatorship of Trujilo of his harsh treatment. The reason why her and her family fled to New York. He didn’t want his people become dark skinned so he wanted to kill all the dark skins so this wouldn’t happen.