Thesis Proposal
Thesis Statement
There are conspicuous differences regarding the extent of racism that readers perceive through narratives when comparing the experiences of people reading stories from the 21st century point of view and others reading the same narratives and interpreting them on their own terms.
Introduction
Racism entails distinguishing the superiority or inferiority of members belonging to a specific race based on perceived characteristics and abilities leading to discrimination against people belonging to races that people consider inferior. Many texts whether scholarly or not present information that may portray specific races as inferior while depicting others as superior. The way texts display aspects of racism differ depending on elements such as the period of writing the text and personal beliefs of the reader. The tales in The Arabian Nights by Lang Andrew present simple romances and exciting expeditions.
Short Summary/Synopsis
The tales in The Arabian Nights by Lang Andrew present simple romances and exciting expeditions. It is noteworthy that the stories, individually and collectively, do not discuss the character of people based on their racial background. Reading the stories and interpreting them on personal perspectives reveal a clear indication that when reading a narrative in a perspective other than the 21st century point of view; the readers do not focus on the racial aspects when discussing the characters. Instead, the reader’s focus is mainly on romance as is evident in each of the stories that Lang presents. It is also important to note that the messages of the stories have passed from generation to the next for many decades and present an anthropology that proves exciting to all generations given that, on face value, the tales do not seem to discriminate any race, and this leads to a conclusion that the stories are not racist.
The element of racism in the interpretation of narratives in the 21st century is heightened by the fact that there is so much focus on the racial aspects from the media and books as authors and journalists seek frantically to demystify the discrimination of people from specific races. From the perspective of the 21st century interpretation, it is easy to perceive interactions between characters from the point of view of different races depending on their traits. For instance, the mention of the phrase “black dogs” in the story, The Story of the Second Old Man, and of the Two Black Dogs is likely to attract more scrutiny as regards its meaning. In order to have a better understanding regard the origin and the gradual escalation of racism and racist perspectives in the 21st century, it is important to look at the history of race and ethnicity in America (Baylor 151).
Work Cited
Baylor, Ronald. The Columbia Documentary History Of Race And Ethnicity In America. New
York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Daniels, Roger. Racism in California: A Reader In The History Of Oppression. New York:
Macmillan, 1972.
Davis, Thomas. Race Relations In America: A Reference Guide With Primary Documents.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Ehrlich, Howard. Hate Crimes And Ethnoviolence: The History, Current Affairs, And Future Of
Discrimination In America: Essays. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 2009.
Lang, Andrew (Eds.). The Arabian Nights Entertainments. Feedbooks, 1898.
Lang, Andrew. "Homer and Anthropology," in Homer and the Classics: Six Lectures Delivered
before the University of Oxford by Arthur J. Evans, Andrew Lang, Gilbert Murray, F.B. Jevons, J.L. Myres, and W. Warde Fowler, ed. R.R. Marett. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1908.
