Sep 13, 2008

HyunJu Ji : Do you want to be a Viking?

"He is large and blond as a Viking. He wears no shirt".

In the first story, the gardener has a role to rouse up all the painful stories that the author has experienced.
Did he say something about racism?
No, he just said “Long Overdue” to her garden.
However, it was enough to call out heartrending experiences to the writer.

"He is large and blond as a Viking. He wears no shirt".
There are many words to explain a large and blond man.
Of all words, why the writer, who is a half Arab woman, took out a "Viking"?
I felt a barbarism and atrocity from this word.
Maybe, she has suffered from lots of barbaric treatments that we never imagine.
Also, she might think all discriminers as a barbarian.
Discriminative treatments, contempts and prejudices.. these are weapons of "Viking".
I think, all discrimination is originated from an ignorance.
Efforts to understand each other, that will be an answer to solve the discrimination problem. Also, it will lead all “Vikings” to be a civilization.

1 comment:

Leslie said...

The writer's Stereotype

It's so amazing to notice through your blog post that the writer who is writing an article against racism, she herself also has such a stereotype over "vikings". You are right that she seems to mean that the gardener who look barbarous should be a viking. As we know, vikings were people from Scandinavia and lives on fishing, so they were taken as barbarious especially when they invaded the north of Great Britain. The writer herself might not have been treated barbarically by vikings, but it has been a long time stereotype, too.

Thank you for your reminding, since we didn't notice it and discuss it in the class.

Great point.