Socratic Seminar On Native Son 3/30/09

Questions:

1. How did you like the novel?  Did you anticipate the ending?
2. Do you believe the novel accurately portrays race relations in the 1930s?
3. Obviously, our society has been integrated publicly and minorities now have equal rights, but is there still social discomfort and disliking with regard to different races?
4. Has Racism subsided or has it merely changed forms?  Has it just become more covert?
5. Do you think people will ever overcome racism and live as one?
6. Would Bigger's trial have been as large an event if he had been white?  Would it cause so much uproar?
7. Do you think Bigger's murder of Mary was inevitable due to the suppression of blacks by white people?  Are white people to blame for this incident as much as Bigger?  By suppressing a whole race, does this not increase their feelings of estrangement and lead to and inevitable rebellion?
8. If society had not been segregated, and blacks and whites interacted on a regular basis, would all of these events take place?
9. Is this all Bigger's fault?
10. What do you think of Mr. Dalton?
11. What was the purpose of the communist part?

Racism in the Work Force

In the article Study: Black man and white felon - same chances for hire by Devah Pager, researchers set up an experiment to determine if racism played a role in the hiring of job applicant with a criminal record. The researchers categorized applicants into four categories: black ex-convicts, white ex-convicts, black men, and white men. All the men were given similar qualifications on their fake resumes. They found that non-criminal white men were twice as successful in getting a job as non-criminal black men and criminal white men were just as successful as non-criminal black men! “Being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one’s chances of finding a job” (Pager).
Based on the results of this experiment, blacks do have a tougher time getting jobs, and must work much harder than similarly skilled whites to accomplish similar goal. Employers seem to prefer white employees over black ones for several reasons. They may feel that their costumers will be more comfortable with white people and therefore bring in more business. Employers may also simply be racist themselves and not want to work with black people. They may have preconceived notions regarding work ethic or criminal behavior. They may also fear the different culture and prefer their own. Besides being uncomfortable, employers may feel unsafe or threatened by black workers. In the Native Son, black protagonist Bigger feels restricted and confined in the white society. Bigger said that whites won’t let blacks do anything and that he feels like he is locked in prison. This is interesting because whites who have been locked in prison fair the same as black men with no criminal record. Bigger is subjected to this double standard for blacks and will realize that if he wants to conform, he must work extremely hard, and that it is not worth the effort for him. It is much easier for Bigger to commit crimes and rob people than to live honestly in the white community. Bigger’s employment by a white man is very rare for a black man in his community, so he doesn’t know how to handle the situation and is surprised when his expectations are wrong. Bigger’s initial interaction with his white employers is very awkward for him. In the 1940s, racism was much more prevalent and conspicuous: employers openly refused to hire blacks just based on their skin color. Today, employers can’t be as open about racism, and sometimes hire less qualified blacks for affirmative action.
Black people must work much harder than whites to achieve the same results simply because of the color of their skin. White people often feel uncomfortable around black people because they are not used to their culture and are only aware of rumors and stigmas, which are extremely broad generalizations that are often untrue. Due to poverty and the conditions of many black communities, a life of crime is much easier to pursue than one of an honest living. Gangs provide the only security young blacks have, and often engage in criminal actions. The work force has been integrated a lot over the past few decades and has certainly improved; however, there's obviously still room for more improvement. Blacks may still have to work harder than whites, but it is no longer impossible for blacks to attain high-level positions working alongside whites. The integration of our culture progressively improves as we move away from the segregated era, and blacks' value to employers will eventually equal that of comparably skilled whites.

Pager, Devah. "Study: Black man and white felon - same chances for hire." Weblog post. Anderson Cooper 360°. 9 Aug. 2008. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 18 Mar. 2009 .

Heterosexism

In The Seinfeld Episode, The Cadillac, the heterosexual perspective is promoted. None of the characters are gay and they all try to find members of the opposite sex to date. George is engaged to marry Susan, but is trying to find a way out of the commitment. Jerry starts dating a girl exactly like him, and Elaine pretends to have a boyfriend to help George create a lie to tell Susan because he was spending time with another woman. Kramer is having a battle with the cable guy throughout all this and Jerry's dad is impeached from his senior community presidential office. Homosexuality is never mentioned or alluded to in the episode. However, heterosexuality is shown frequently. George and Susan are free to marry because of their sexuality and they can publicly display their affection without fear of harassment. The characters are all straight and don't associate with any homosexuals in this episode (and most others).

Susan could be analyzed because after dating George for the first time, she became a lesbian until Kramer brought her back. However, that spanned several episodes.

Click here for a link to the script.
Click here for the Heterosexual Privileges.
Check out the Seinfeld gadgets below.