Racial Discrimination in The Englishmans Boy - Essay Example

Racial Discrimination Vanderhaeghe Englishman’s Boy In the novel The Englishman’s Boy, Guy represents purelythe aspects of truth and history (Vanderhaeghe 34). It is a story that actually involves any reader on telling of another story. The novel largely revolves around history, and the incidences, which came with it. As one reads the well-crafted story line, such thematic concerns such as truth, representation, fiction are what the characters and the novelist himself in this novel highlight. In this novel, Vannderhaeghe does not purpose on labeling blames or choosing sides on the events of history. As a writer, he simply throws his literal prowess in exposing the events as seen in distinct perspectives. Through such dimension, the novel succeeds in delivering a quality view of an excellent historical lesson. Damon Ira Chance, a famous studio head in Hollywood invited a young Canadian screenwriter, who tells the story of Cypress Hills Massacre in 1873 (Vanderhaeghe 64). This is a mythic history of American settling in the west. It is the desire of Chance to use the power of film to govern the world through images. Damon behavior is an indirect motive to highlight the racial discrimination, which history holds (Sicher, Efraim, &Linda Weinhouse 104). This research paper highlights the purpose of Guy exposing racism and value of identity in America, and the effects of discrimination upon the natives as evident in The Englishman’s Boy. In the novel The Englishman’s Boy, Guy Vanderhaeghe purposely highlights racial discrimination. This comes through expose of North American Stereotypes. As Guy puts it out, Harry Vincent, the innocent Canadian discovers true picture of the American state hiding beneath its hype. It is a state build from the shackles of racism and blatant discrimination. Guy’s novel is an overt critique of the of Canadian-American relations (Vanderhaeghe 76). Guy focuses on the disparities of power, and truth. Harry, as a Canadian in Hollywood, comes out as both a victim and a victimizer. Harry is so much vulnerable to Chance’s manipulation. Chance uses Harry to steal and revise Shorty’s short story. As a portrayal of discrimination, Guy’s novel events collaborate with the enemy and it works against as well. The aftermath of this is a set of conflicted and complicated power relations. This according to Guy, are largely dependent on the context set by the natives. In another level, the context reflects the entanglement of a settler and a colonizer (Shaffer, Brian, Patrick, & John 85). Thus, Guy’s approach does not sanctify any. Neither character nor the genre applied is guilty or innocent. It is a context of exploiting the others opportunity. Moreover, Guy wanted to paint out the true picture of the Canadians like Harry, who first begin the novel as a pure Canadian, termed as a little truth seeker by his friend Rachael. Harry comes to the land of opportunity as a decent boy, but after interaction with natives, his authenticity stand in sharp contrast. The artistry nature and corruption the movie mogul exposes to him, Ira Chance influences his personality a lot. The insight in Guy novel is to indicate that the Western genre and culture could not rhyme with the naive personality of immigrant (Vanderhaeghe 87). The misinformed individuals, just like the naive Harry, found themselves in cross roads, making them vulnerable to exploitation in this new culture. To the concept of Guy, his novel suggests the far north, Canada, was a place of safety for those, who escaped the violence and degradation of America (Shaffer, Brian, Patrick, & John 58). The border signified a sanctuary for the native tribes escaping persecution form the American Army. In this situation, Canada functions as an ideal refuge zone. Guy highlights the difference in societal context between the Native American land and the neighboring Canada. In the novel, Canada is described as a fundamentally free state as compared to the immediate neighbor, America, where essentially all the rich men kept the rest in the leash. Ideally, if not an American by birth, you were not worthy. A stereotypical name such as dogs forms the reference as to how the different (Vanderhaeghe 72). For example, at a point where Shorty tells Harry that in Canada, there is a little better space. Guy’s version is to indicate that as an outsider everything worked against you in America. There was no space for self-exploration. Moreover, Guy uses his interwoven story telling structure to bring out the post-modern approach to the history of the Cypress Hills massacre. The novel raises moral questions as to the intentional reference to a subsequent massacre, the Holocaust. The Holocaust does not feature on the novel, since the actions taking place throughout the novel feature the era of 1920’s (Vanderhaeghe 84). The film of the Cyprus Hills Massacre is in making with this context, a time prior to the Second World War. As the novel develops in its section, Vanderhaeghe provides a strong indication of the massacre to come. This is an issue, which significantly arouses debate as to what extent should prominent writers be held responsible for anti-Semitic sentiment in their writings (Sicher, Efraim, &Linda Weinhouse 89). On a closer look, Guy was painting out the picture that there is always a way through which great literature writing and cultural achievement can be put into line with major human atrocities. Therefore, readers have to interpret this novel in the realms of the historical moment it describes and the historical moment upon its writing. In addition, as Vincent’s Harry puts it out, the writings of other people have a greater influence in the way we perceive our contexts. Vincent’s passive attitude clearly comes out as Guy portrays him doing everything solely because somebody influenced him to do so. For example, Vincent admits that he is reading Mencken’s magazine simply because a fellow writer, browbeat him into reading it. According to Guy, this is pure portrayal of primitivism (Vanderhaeghe 65). Vincent portrays little stand and sensitivity on his proposition. He questions none of everything that comes his way. This according to Guy is moral passivity, as he remains bound by shackles willing to put into questioning his own motives as increasingly sinister chains of events unfold in his daily life. Furthermore, Guy’s perspective seems to argue out that writers should stand accountable to the literal words they say, even if the diction arouses pain, and even when that pain is resultant for the things they failed to capture in their writing (Vanderhaeghe 103). This comes out as the triumph area of Vanderhaeghe’s art, as his novel accepts the complexities of his historical truth. He does this by indirectly incorporating a straightforward truism, less pain similar to the biblical allusion that individuals should love their neighbor as they love themselves. Through this, Guy exemplifies how people read the world and interpret it their own way, and this forms the philosophical depth of his narrative. He also expounds that the social responsibility of any writer largely basis on what is not said. For example, his novel portrays what history omitted, the gaps, implications, absence, and foreshadowing. According to Guy, the history of records all but human capability mutilates its content (Sicher, Efraim, &Linda Weinhouse 76). To him, literal expression serves as the best tool, to express what the oral capacity is unable to accomplish. Guy’s stand seems to feature mostly in Chance’s view of the power of film. To Chance, the film power has the tenacity to capture what history has omitted and can as well play as a revolutionary agent (Shaffer, Brian, Patrick, & John 65). The film captures the reality of any society that is in absentia and somehow unavailable in other media sources. Even though Vanderhaeghe largely defends his idea of using print or oratory as a sign of communicating historical injustices, he indirectly concedes that film has grown, and will become one of the dominant medium of information delivery. The power of an image cast without distortion from an artist is more powerful than any other medium. As to affirm this, when the novel, The Englishman’s Boy received an award-winning CBC miniseries, Vanderhaeghe wrote a screenplay (Vanderhaeghe 204). It comes as an irony but it is message on the power of image. The suffering of American immigrants, if only image power can represent it, then the story of history would have featured in its entirety. In addition, Guy uses the novel to create the idea of developing a conscience to the non-natives (Vanderhaeghe 127). He depicts Harry’s struggles in Hollywood. Guy exposes some of the underpinning issues on the life of Harry. Not only is he struggling as a Canadian but also his personality and personal identity. Most of the African Americans had trickled to the north of Canada to escape the brutality of the US Army. As a representative of the Canadians, be it natives or African Origin, Guy Shows the invisibility of the Canadians. Unlike the Indians, whose race is noticeable or Rachael Gold, whose name shows her Jewish origin, Harry has to chose to reveal himself or not (Sicher, Efraim, &Linda Weinhouse 65). He is recognized. This kind of description made that the none-natives’ especially African and Canadian origin had no place in the face of the indigenous American culture. Thus, Guy puts the identity of Harry as merely a performance. He has the autonomy to put it on and stand recognizable or just ignore it meaning, he loses his value. Though Harry is vulnerable to mistreatment by Chance, he can as well exploit Chance by hiding his identity and performing Americanism. Identity is at the center of debate at this stage (Vanderhaeghe 214). For example, when Chance invites Harry to help him make a film, Chance explains to Harry that the number of foreigners taking roles in the film industry have pulled it down. This case highlights the extent to which racism had grown. There was a total neglect of other, the African-Americans and the Canadians as well. The point of exploitation comes, where Harry’s personality despite being a none-American is the one used to bring sense and dignity back to the film industry. The question here is, why Chance could go for a fellow American. Therefore, The Englishman’s Boy is a novel, a simple critique to American cultural imperialism (Shaffer, Brian, Patrick, & John 83). In conclusion, the cases of finding and struggling to have personality, the issues of racism and discrimination, the acts of exploitation of the Canadians and the African-Americans is the key issues that Guy Vanderhaeghe wrote his novel to expose in the 20th century. The personality of Harry represents the struggles of those who do not belong to the state. It is using print Guy epitomizes his prowess by putting the muted aspects of history in light (Vanderhaeghe 114). Along with film, the writer acknowledges that the authentic touch of history can create revolution among the viewers. Work cited Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman's Boy. New York: Grove, 2009. Print. -The novel by Guy is a depiction of the effect of lawlessness and violence of the 1870’s. The novel by Guy Vanderhaeghe an account an innocent Canadian exploited in the hands of a movie mogul, Chance. Guy uses these characters in the entire novel to reach out to the aspects of history that seems to have extinguished and never said about. The themes of racism, discrimination, and exploitation have featured in the behavior of Chance. The book is much relevant because the two narratives give an intersection of whole. The account in first tale, where a young man ends up chasing Indians suspected of stealing horses. The book gives well-crafted reason for the existed of chasm between natives and whites, and a young man trying to merge integrity with ambition (Shaffer, Brian, Patrick, & John 97). Sicher, Efraim, and Linda Weinhouse. Under Postcolonial Eyes: Figuring the ""jew"" in Contemporary British Writing. Lincoln: UNP - Nebraska, 2013. Internet resource. -The fiction analysis in this writing is an account of the Jews on Mencken’s Block and Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Englishman’s Boy. In Guy’s novel, the interwoven narrative approach gives the moral and philosophical issues from the preceding history came under record. The novel relevantly adopts a post-modern approach to the history injustice of the Cypress Hill Massacre. Through this, Guy highlights the relativity of diverse historical account. He uses his print to provide a strong indication of a massacre to come, Holocaust. These references are linked only through writing and Guy uses his novel to show the power of print, as this result to a much-heated debate. The debate of to what extent should prolific writers should be held responsible for any anti-Semitic references. Shaffer, Brian W, Patrick O'Donnell, and John C. Ball. The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print. -This collection of writing gives a detailed approach on the issues of the unsettled west. The concept of nation and gender features extensively in Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Englishman’s Boy. It is an approach that gives an account of life complexities in America. Just like Guy capture n his writings, the writings seem to collaborate with the enemy as well as working a rapport with them. By this, the writer gets a reader into the world of history that existed between the natives and the Americans. It is an account of the entanglement of the settlers and the colonizer. Read More