Essay Example on Racism in Brave New World

Introduction

In 'Racism in New world', there are five words that have been used and have great impact and influence on the understanding of the message that is being communicated. These words are; ban, stereotype, suspend, political correctness and racism. According to this article, Ban is used to refer to the act of blocking or prohibiting from happening. Therefore, the term ban has been used to describe the prohibition of the book from being taught as part of the high school curriculum in certain districts. Stereotype has been used in the article to define the act of having a widely held often controversial and oversimplified image and opinion about a type of person. The Red Indians in the book are described as savages which is a stereotype. Suspend in this context refers to how the concerned parties want the book out of the curriculum until the teachers are properly trained on how to teach it. Political correctness has been used in this article to refer to the avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against. Racism is a frequent term in this article where it has been used to portray race hierarchy in which the superior race is to be preserved and dominate over the others therefore contributing to the unfair treatment of other ethnic groups such as the Red Indians as their social and cultural backgrounds are discriminated against and belittled.

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Literary Value

This is the worth of the text as pertains civilization, culture and modern society. It refers to the document being able to give something to think about and which is worth knowing.

The book has been cited to be culturally insensitive and degrading especially to the native Indian Americans who are repeatedly referred to as savages in the book. This point of view has no place in the modern multicultural and multiracial society (Gordon 68). The fact that the book deems one race superior to another reflects negatively on humanity and the acquired morals of the community today. As much as the book cautions on overdependence on technology which is prevalent today, the demerits of the text far outweigh its merits diminishing its value.

Pros of Teaching Brave New World

The book allows discussing and understanding the social construct of racism in American society. The word "savage" used in the text is deemed as a forced identity imposed on the inferior race by the seemingly superior race (Johnson 32). This is a logical argument as the existence of racism is a fact. It existed and still exist. When such texts that cut through this issue are properly taught, they serve as vital tools in addressing the issue.

As much as racism needs to be addressed, it can be argued that there are other more appropriate sources and texts that can be incorporated into the curriculum in place of the openly degrading documents.

Cons of Teaching Brave New World

The book contains controversial text that is racially offensive, derogatory and inaccurate. The version is also deemed to contain explicit content which is considered anti-family.

All the above are vast demerits of the book, but it can be argued that the futuristic dystopian society depicted in the book, reflect on where the modern technologically advanced society is slowly evolving.

The Tone of the Writer is Authoritative

The writer presents the facts as they are both the negative and the positive. Though there are personal opinions expressed, these do not overshadow the points expressed in the text. There is also reference to other material covering the same subject showing the interest in covering facts. There is no evident bias in the tone of the writer as he states the demerits and merits of the text without forming a personal opinion of either (Conde 7).

By reading the text, there is arguably more demerits of using the book Brave new world as a curriculum aid. There is a large number of concerns on the literary value of the book and its moral standing. There are quite several useful lessons that can be derived from the text, but these are undermined by the negative aspects of the book.

Works Cited

Conde, Maryse. "Brave new world." Research in Literatures 29.3 (2008): 1-7.

Gordon, Daniel A. Immigrants and Intellectuals: May 68 and the Rise of Anti-Racism in France. Merlin Press, 2012.

Johnson, Richard William. 'Brave new world.' The beloved country since the end of racism. Penguin UK, 2010.