Blog 2 Topic 1

The Role of Race

The concept of race is derived from the differences in ancestry, culture, language, and territory of humans. Varying experiences arising from these differences  in race creates discord among groups with clashing beliefs.  As a result, races with more power and influence may assert their beliefs onto their surroundings to establish their societal norms for their own benefit. Some degrees of influence may be more subtle while others more glaring. In A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, the power dynamic between Southern whites and colored folk is much more understated when compared to the relationship between the English and Burmese in George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant. Although both relationships have similarities in their disjointed attitudes towards one another, the circumstances in each narrative emphasize differing responses to the dominating race in power.

              Both stories have contrasting attitudes toward the dominant race in the city. A Rose for Emily’s setting is situated in the Jefferson, Mississippi during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. The story revolves around the town’s reactions to the eerie actions a nobleman’s daughter, who thought to be “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation [to] the town” (Faulkner 37.)  Whereas George Orwell’s narrative recount his experiences as an English police officer in Colonial Burma during the early 1900’s. The parties in power are Southern whites in A Rose for Emily and the English in Shooting an Elephant respectively.

Although Faulkner does not emphasize the racial relations in A Rose for Emily explicitly, the preexisting attitudes in the town towards white privilege show a much more impactful role to the community’s culture when compared to the relationship between the English and Burmese in Shooting an Elephant. The level of influence in Jefferson escalates to the degree that it allowed its government to “[father] an edict that no Negro woman should appear on streets without an apron” thus stripping many common rights from the colored minority despite gaining their freedom after the Civil War (Faulkner 38). Conversely, while the English had governmental control over Burma, the Burmese still retained much of their culture, to the point where Burmese would retaliate in small actions such as “spitting betel juice” towards the English to show they are not welcome (Orwell 44).

The underlying reason for the contrasting influential powers of each dominant group lie in their geographical setting. In the case of Faulkner’s story, Southern whites imported the colored minority into their white territory and imposed their hierarchical structure onto the slaves. In contrast, Orwell’s setting establishes that the English colonized Burma for their resources and set the English government as the minority in power. As a result, the Southern populace manages to exert more influence for being in their native land when compared to that of the English in Burma. Given the preexisting social structure, the colored minority in the South had to conform to the White Southern majority to receive means of sustenance. On the other hand, the English occupation of Burma stripped the Burmese of much of their political power but they retained a semblance of their old lifestyle.

While these two relationships have their differences, they also have similarities in that race establishes a hierarchy in each setting. In A Rose for Emily, those of African descent play an inferior role in the narrative and are commonly treated poorly without remorse. The norm of the time established that they were “Negros” whose only function was to serve white folk. Likewise, in Shooting an Elephant, race serves to establish norms in their society. While the stood atop the hierarchy and English controlled much of the political power, the Burmese represented the lower half and accomplished much of the societal work. However, it is made evident in Orwell’s account that Indians served as one of the lowest castes and “could do nothing” (Orwell 48).

             Both Faulkner and Orwell detailed the power dynamic between the different factions of people in their stories. While they had differences in each the degree of influence each group exerted, race played a monumental role social hierarchy of each community. These two accounts serve to represent the evolving views toward race. Historically, race served as an innate indicator of one’s potential. Now, although race still plays a role in one’s upbringing in more developed countries, the degree of influence does not allow for one race to suppress another as it did in the past.