Good Essay About Half-Breed Essay

Racial segregation and discrimination is an old habit among different communities that has refused to die. The more the issue is condemned and laws implemented to protect communities from the vice, the deeper it gets. The only difference is the form in which such kind of discrimination ends. This proves the fact that race is not a skin problem but an attitude problem. In as much as people are educated and even exposed to the dangerous of racial discrimination, they still show it. Unlike past years where discrimination was openly shown by having separate public facilities for different races, currently, it is shown in a rather cold and silent way that makes it difficult to trace and prosecute. A person can only complain of being discriminated, yet lack the evidence to prove that it actually happened. In this paper, we shall be focusing on modern form of racial discrimination as we look at the memoir by Campbell, Maria as an example of many other struggles that people go through because of discrimination.
Irrespective of a person’s cultural background, economic status and even skin color, the attitude of racial discrimination cannot be avoided in any given society. Discrimination is not just among people of different races but has also grown to class and even cultural background. Maria faced discrimination, not from people that were from her, but close people that she shared a life and even a culture with. Just because she was from a particular ethnic community, she could not enjoy her childhood life. Hers is a story where hard work is never enough to deliver a person from being discriminated. Discrimination is an attitude problem that differs from one individual to the other (Campbell, 1973). For instance, one individual may show dislike based on social class, the other on cultural roots and yet another on skin color. This hence means that a person is likely to be discriminated in all the areas of the lives by different people depending on what they dislike about them.
Just when Maria thought that her issues were because of her skin color and economic status, she was disapproved after being married to a Whiteman who turned out to be abusive. When the root causes of discrimination are not well dealt with, escaping from them only complicates the issue and plunging one into more situations that will make them to be discriminated even the more. This is because, when a person has an escape plan against discrimination, there is a lot of expectation that once the decision is implemented, then the issue will be solved permanently. The latter state of the individual changes to the worse, especially when such expectations are not realized. For instance, a person facing discrimination because of their economic status will expect that once they increase their income they will be respected. As such people achieve greater levels of economic growth, they realize that the people they once associated with have changed and start despising and avoiding them because of the higher class they are into. In their level growth, they may also realize that they are being discriminated based on their gender, culture or even race.
Maria faced a higher level of discrimination in the process of solving her current status of discrimination. She grew and lived in poverty and believed that she was being discriminated simply because of her economic status and the skin color she was associated with. She failed to adequately deal with the issue and instead opted for an escape strategy that made her feel even more inferior than she was before. She realized that being associated with a different race will not necessarily give one the identity he or she needs. The best solution is for a person to understand when they really are and fight towards changing their identity without necessarily running away from their backgrounds (Campbell, 1973). Maria found herself in an abusive marriage that led her into drugs, prostitution and even suicidal thoughts. She was only able to regain herself after she realized that she could not run away from whom she was. Maria had to be confident in her own identity and therefore facing her challenges boldly at every step of life.
Later in life, as she discovered her interests and passions, she was able to improve her life and even the life of others around her. This proves that society is selective and will always appreciate hard work, rather than being sympathetic on the economic status of a person. Maria realized that to achieve and grow to the higher heights that she desires, she had to work hard. It is through her writing literature that she has been able to be recognized by touching the lives of people. Poverty is a disease that can only be cured through hard work and perseverance. Waiting for handouts or even acts of charity may not work out well for a person, if they don’t employ the aspect of hard work.
Whether we like it or not, we have and will always face discrimination at different stages of life even as we interact with different people. This is based on the fact that we are all made differently and our tastes keep changing with age and status. We hate or avoid people based on how they are dressed, how they talk, because of their cultural practices, religious views and the likes. We may also go through some experiences that may change our attitude towards people of a particular gender, race or culture. All this are characteristics associated with human nature which we have t face and live with on a daily basis. However, we need to know who we are, based on where we are coming from and where we desire to be. Once we appreciate who we are, it gives us the strength and the boldness to face every other challenge that comes with discrimination.

Reference

Campbell, M. (1973). Halfbreed (Vol. 816). U of Nebraska Press.