Exclusion of
Others
Maddy Woodard
Period: 6th
Why do we
exclude others
and what does
this say about
our (supposedly
collective) civic
society?
Langston Hughes poems
pgs. 593-594
Langston Hughes was born Feb. 1st of
1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents
were mixed races. He was African
American, European American, and
Native American descent.
A famous man of the Harlem
Renaissance, Langston Hughes was
known for his use of rhythmic jazz
forms in his poetry.
Issues that were important to him
dealt with things socially and
politically.
Langston Hughes Poems cont.
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Around the time period
these poems were written,
racial discrimination was
close to being abolished.
Langston Hughes’ poems
connect to the time period
because they talk about
racial prejudice and the
struggle most African
Americans went through
during this point in time.
“I, Too” quote # 1
“I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes…” pg. 594
We exclude others because of their
skin color or their ethnicity. Because
they aren’t the same as everyone
else.
“Ghandhi is Fasting” quote #2
“You know quite well, Great Britain,
That it is not right
To starve and beat and oppress
Those who are not white.” pg. 594
We push those who are not like us
in looks away, making them feel
insignificant, just like the slaves
did.
Connections
There is a book called Burn.
And it’s a book about
bullying and how this boy is
teased for not being
masculine at the beginning
of ninth grade. And I think
we exclude those who
aren’t appealing or those
who don’t live up to our
expectations.
Desiree’s Baby
by Kate Chopin
Kate was born on Feb. 8th of 1851 in
St. Louis, Missouri. After her
father’s death, she began to
read fairytales, short stories,
etc. She started to go to school
and kept a commonplace book
where she began to write.
This time period was when slavery
still existed and was still widely
accepted among the Caucasian
culture. It’s connection to my
big question is that slavery is a
great example of exclusion
throughout our society.
Quote #1 of Desiree’s Baby
“ ‘It means,’ he answered
lightly, ‘that the child is
not white; it means, that
you are not white.’” pg.
495
Armand is rejecting her, all
because of what he
thought to be her skin
color. He is basically
kicking her out.
Quote #2 of Desiree’s Baby
“He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly
and unjustly with him; and felt, somehow,
that he was paying Him back in kind when
he stabbed this into his wife’s soul.
Moreover he no longer loved her, because
of the unconscious injury she had brought
upon his home and his name.” pg. 495
Again, he is condemning her; excluding her,
because she had brought something bad
upon his name; meaning her ethnicity. But
in reality, he was the one who had gene
that carried on to his child. A lot
exclusion comes from selfishness of the
self.
Connections
My connection with this piece to
my big question isn’t an exact
one but overall.
Being human, we have a tendency
to be selfish and inconsiderate
of others. We are more then
likely to blame someone else for
our mistakes.
I hate to use this example, but one
of my brothers is like this. No
matter how much evidence you
have against him, you are still
wrong and he is still right.
My answer
I believe that we exclude others because those we
exclude are different then what we as individuals
want them to be. We look at media and see what they
perceive us to be. When we see those aren’t the ideal
image, we have a propensity to reject them.
Bullying ties completely into my question. We exclude
those who are weaker or less appealing then us, based
on size, skin color, or even sexual orientation.
My Answer cont.
What does this say
about our society?
It declares that we are all about
ourselves. Going back to our class
discussion, if it’s not “directly”
affecting you, you have a
tendency to push aside; like
nothing happened. Exclusion is
happening everywhere and we
just look past it because it isn’t
happening to us.
We are a selfish community and in 20
years, I guarantee that we will
still reject those that aren’t seen
as what we want them to be.
Film Clip
I chose Hairspray as the
example film clip.
I chose this movie because
it shows racial
segregation; and of a girl
who’s weight is a
problem for her to be
accepted among the
“popular” group. And she
teaches others how to
look differently at those
who are diverse.
Discussion Questions
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Why do you think we, as a society, look
past those being excluded?
What would it take for us to change how
we view others?