Skip to main content

Using examples, compare the story "The Flowers" by Alice Walker to the movie "Crash" by Paul Haggis.

Alice Walker's story "The Flowers" is similar to Paul Haggis' Crash in the sense that both works explore the theme of racism and its effects on society.


In "The Flowers," a little girl's innocence is shattered when she encounters the body of a man who has been lynched. After discovering the almost rotted remains of the noose, Myop lays down her flowers: to take the flowers home would be to ignore the import of what she has just seen. Thus, a joyously carefree afternoon becomes marred when the reality of Jim Crow America stares into the face of an innocent girl.


In Crash, an African-American power couple (television director Cameron Thayer, and his wife, Christine) are harassed by racist LAPD officer, John Ryan. Meanwhile, Farhad (a Middle Eastern shop owner) and his daughter, Dorri, have to endure racially-tinged insults when they try to purchase a weapon at a gun store. The store owner is persuaded that Farhad has evil intentions, and he does not hesitate to let Farhad know what he thinks of him.


In yet another incident of racial animus, Daniel Ruiz (an Hispanic locksmith) finds himself facing distrust from Jean Cabot (the wife of the district attorney, Rick Cabot). Jean is visibly uncomfortable when she sees Daniel's tattoos; she thinks that he belongs to a gang and that he will lead his gang-banger friends to their home (to rob them).


So, both works explore the theme of racism and how it affects those who are exposed to it. In laying down her flowers, Myop lays down her innocence as well as her trust that she can lead a safe life. Similarly, minority characters in Crash have to navigate a treacherous social landscape due to recent events that have ignited the fears of mainstream American society.


Unlike "The Flowers," however, Crash also illustrates that racism is not exclusive to any particular segment of society: in the movie, various characters demonstrate instances of racial intolerance that mirror the challenges of race relations in America. For instance, after two black carjackers, Anthony and Peter, hit a Korean man, Peter immediately labels the man a "Chinaman." The two carjackers then unceremoniously dump the injured Korean man in front of an emergency room entrance before making their getaway.


In another incident, Farhad angrily harasses Daniel (the Hispanic locksmith), because he thinks that Daniel is trying to cheat him. Farhad accuses Daniel of not wanting to fix the lock on his shop door, while Daniel tries to tell him that a new door would be a better investment. Because his English skills are limited, Farhad has a difficult time understanding Daniel. Later, Farhad's store is robbed, and he discovers that his insurance company will not cover the damages. Farhad bitterly blames Daniel for his predicament and lies in wait to shoot the Hispanic locksmith.


In many ways, Crash demonstrates the intricacy of race relations in America, a topic which is not addressed in "The Flowers." When Cameron and Anthony are surrounded by white police officers, Officer Hanson tries to defuse the tense situation by vouching for Cameron. For his part, Cameron basically tells Anthony that he is embarrassed to be associated with black men like him (who commit crimes and lead dangerous lives). The delicate issue of race relations is further highlighted when Rick (the district attorney) laments that the two carjackers are black; he's afraid that if he prosecutes them, he will lose the black vote. Conversely, if he doesn't, he will lose the "law and order" vote.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more