Sen Qiao
Teddy Chocos
Seminar 126G
2015/11/14
Discrimination influence people
Race discrimination is and always a controversial problem in America both in the
past and present time. Racial issues make lot of people feel helpless or vulnerable and
it influence colored people a lot. Maya Angelou, the author of “Momma, the Dentist,
and Me”, she has been through a horrible time that attacked by a white dentist when
she was a little. The other article’s author Alice Walker who writes “Childhood”
learned how to deal with discrimination in the south of America from her family. Both
of these two stories show to us that discrimination from society once lead their family
to a huge issue but it makes them feel even stronger and learn many things from their
family; meanwhile they want us to know that family is the most reliable source to
support us
Angelou once feels painful by toothache and the insult from white dentist but the
reaction from her grandmother makes her feels reliable and happiness. Little Angelou
feels her Momma had solved all the problems and proud as what she describes as the
text “I was so proud of being her granddaughter and sure that some of her magic must
have come down to me, she asked if I was scared. I only shook my head and leaned
over on her cool brown upper arm”. Angelou’s momma’s behavior make Angelou
feels proud, the brave make she feels she could be a powerful women just like her
grandma. HS also mentioned “Her brown upper arm” it shows the courage of momma
provides that black people deserve a place in this society and it makes little Angelou
feels comfort to be a black people and no longer feel ashamed to being black. The
unconditional trust makes her feels safety and proud to being a part of this family and
the influence from her grandmother make her have a faith to deal with discrimination
issue in the future of her life.
Walker was growing up at a black people family in the south of America, the
insult and discriminate once confuse her but her family’s encourage make her feels
much stronger than before. Her family wants her raises the sense of confidence from
planting and the result shows it worked. It influence her a lot from text as “Years later
I would write poems and essays about the way growing up in the country seemed the
best of all possible worlds, regardless of the hardships that made getting by year to
year, especially for a family of color in the south half a century ago, heroic affair.”
Walker was encourage by her family make her starts to ignore the discriminate from
white neighbors and focus on her own work; her family makes her believes that
hardworking will change the old concept of black and perseverance could lead people
to an achieved career. She learned from her family’s planting that as long as people
really hardworking on something they must success sooner or later. It is because the
influence from her family, Walker makes a huge progress on plant and it helps her to
write poems and essays in the future. She calls this as “Heroic affair” because she
feels the progress from weakness to success is a hero behavior and she will inherit the
concept to her next generation as well.
Family has the magic to make their children feels stronger and reliable; Walker
and Angelou were both examples to prove that. Angelou’s family makes her feels
much braver than before and Walker’s family teaches her hardworking can change the
old position of black people. The influence from family is non- ignorable and what
really matter is people should have the courage to make the change and live for
themselves instead of compromise