Jake Gooden Mr. Padgett English 1101 10 October 2013 Interpretive Essay !

ter reading both the article "#he Joy o! $eading and %riting& '(per)an and Me* by 'her)an le+ie and the book O(tliers by Glad,ell yo( have to agree that ,e are prisoners o! o(r ethnic history. le+ie-s sit(ation depicts ho, yo(ng Indians have to hide ho, s)art they are to their teachers and their peers so that they are socially pitied by the rest o! )erica to be accepted by their tribe does not only pertain to other Indians b(t people in si)ilar sit(ations s(ch as ,o)en having po,er in a society. Glad,ell-s story o! the ppalachian people killing each other over the honor apply to people in the so(th being pre.(dice and over territorial over their property. /oth pieces o! ,riting can apply to racis) as a ,hole holding people as prisoners o! their o,n ethnic backgro(nd. le+ie-s sit(ation o! the Indians can apply to so )any di!!erent things that s(pport the !act that ,e are prisoners o! o(r ethnic backgro(nd. In )erica ,e take !or granted o! ho, o(r ,o)en are able to go to school to obtain ,hatever degree o! ed(cation that they ,ant to get. #hey have every opport(nity to be ,ho)ever they ,ant to be0 ,hether it1s a politician0 a doctor or .(st be a stay at ho)e )o). In other societies ,o)en are restricted !ro) even going to school and only doing ho(se,ork or other tedio(s tasks ,hile the )en get to do ,hatever they ,ant ,ith little to no restrictions. In addition le+ei1s article can also apply to people that are )ish. #he )ish society is based o!! o! living o!! the !at o! the land and not (sing any technology to get by. #hey are also heavily involved in ch(rch and pay their d(es to god on a daily basis. %ith

all the ti)e and labor it takes to get s(rvive on a daily basis the )ish people do not have the opport(nity !or a good ed(cation ,hich in t(rns )eans that ,ill not have a legiti)ate opport(nity in today-s society. #he )ish are clearly all prisoners o! their ethnic history ,hether they are )en or ,o)en. In Glad,ell-s book0 O(tliers0 the old society o! the ppalachian people is described ,here people in so(th have proven to have higher levels o! testosterone ,hen they are aggravated beca(se o! ho, the people be!ore the) lived. #hey lived in a society based o!! honor0 honor ,as held so high to the point that they killed over it. I! honor ,as 2(estion by so)eone talking to yo(r girl!riend or so)eone stilling stealing yo(r !ar) ani)als there ,as no hesitation !or shots to be !ired. #hese val(es ,ere passed do,n !ro) generation to generation to no, ,here people in the so(th are act(ally progra))ed to get )ore )ad ,hen so)eone "challenges* their honor. People in today-s so(th are still i)prisoned by these val(es. Occasionally yo( ,ill still see the old )an that is very protective over his property and is really harsh on trespassers o!ten having a shotg(n on stand by0 or yo( )ay !ind the older )an ,ho co)es o!! as e+tra pre.(dice ,hen he sees a northerner and calls hi) a 3ankee. #hese reasons prove that so)e people in so(th are still prisoners !ro) the ethnic history o! the ppalachian people. Each o! the ,ritings !ro) le+ei and Glad,ell can s(pport that racis) holds people prisoners o! their ethnic history. 4or instance0 so)e Ger)ans still cannot escape their past ,ith the events o! %orld %ar II. People still hold the) acco(ntable !or ,hat that co(ntry did at that ti)e even tho(gh today1s Ger)ans had absol(tely nothing to do ,ith it. In addition0 )ericans are also very racist to,ards the Japanese people and M(sli)s !or both o! their attacks on )erican soil. #he Japanese are in the sa)e boat as the Ger)ans beca(se a )a.ority o! the) had no a!!iliation ,ith the attack on Pearl 5arbor0 b(t )ericans pigeonhole the) and still associate

the) ,ith it even tho(gh it happened over 60 years ago. 'ince 7811 the overall )erican opinion o! M(sli)s has been at rock botto). 'o)e )ericans cannot stand to be in the sa)e roo) ,ith their people even tho(gh the attack ,as by one s)all terrorist gro(p. broader topic that goes

along ,ith racis) is the ,hite vs black iss(e in )erica. #he iss(e started ,hen the !irst ,hite people ca)e to )erica ,ith black slaves. s slavery contin(ed0 !rican )ericans ,ere vie,ed as less than a h()an being a)ongst ,hite people. #here!ore0 ,hen they ,ere !reed d(ring the civil ,ar it ca(sed a social (proar ,ith ,hites attacking blacks ,hich then ca(sed segregation. #oday the iss(e isn-t nearly as bad b(t is still very apparent. #here are still so)e ,hite people that vie, black people as they ,ere in late 1900-s b(t there so)e ,hite and black people that vie, each other as e2(als. #here is still so)e segregation bet,een (s0 o!ten at school yo( only !ind black kids hanging o(t ,ith .(st black and the sa)e ,ith ,hite. #hese reasons present the )ost clear arg()ent that ,e are prisoners o! o(r o,n ethnic history. 'her)an le+ei-s article and Glad,ell-s novel the epito)e o! the arg()ent ,e are prisoner-s o! o(r o,n ethnic backgro(nd-s. 5o,ever as the ti)e passes and apologies are given0 I do !eel ,e as a ,orld pop(lation are slo,ly )oving to,ards a (topia ,here ,e can all accept each other !or ,ho ,e are.