Multiracial Identity: Single Ancestry People`s Prejudices in Fred Wah`s Diamond Grill
INSTRUCTIONS:
• For the research paper, please choose ONE of the following broad topics in relation to one or two of the longer works (Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, Diamond Grill by Fred Wah) studied this term: memory, family, history, gender, hybridity, public policy, nationalism, racism, language, food, environment, or narrative form. Clearly, these are only rough suggestions of topics. OR: Instead of making up your own topic, you may answer one of the questions on the reading question sheets. Be sure not to duplicate class discussion though. You will need to have a strong thesis statement that narrows the topic into a specific argument. Part of your mark will be based on the argument and the direction you choose to take the topic. The link between your essay topic and class discussion must be clear. The most important thing is that you must actually care about the topic you choose. If you donft care, why would your reader? • You will need to cite at least 3 scholarly sources (books or articles) outside of the creative work under consideration (not counting reference books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, Biblesc). Check the MLA bibliography online to find recent articles on the works (go to http://resources.library.ubc.ca, click Indexes and Databases, and type in MLA International Bibliography. This will take you to the EBSCO Host search page.) You should also check the library for book-length critical studies. Please feel free to consult your TA or professor on your topic. We can help point you in the right direction for critical materials. • You are expected to do research around the topic not just on the fiction or poetry. This research could encompass further research into the theories and ideas we are looking at. For example, you could look at an essay on nationalism, responses to the essay, and then link the discussion to the texts under consideration. Message me when you pick your topic and have decided what the thesis will be.
CONTENT:
Multiracial Identity: Single Ancestry People`s Prejudices in Fred Wah`s Diamond GrillNameCourse numberInstructor`s nameDatePeople with multiple racial ancestries are condemned to a lifelong search for their identity. They are also condemned to a lifelong search for acceptance into a particular race and they may sometimes be labeled as having no race. The paradox remains that multiracial people belong to multiple races and are at the same time considered race-less. Racial prejudices of people of single ancestry consistently communicate to people of multiracial ancestry that they do not belong to any authentic race as they do not fit the full criteria of any particular race. This paper discusses the negative impact of racial prejudices or expectations from people of single ancestry towards people of multiracial ancestry. People that have multiple ancestral backgrounds living in single ancestry countries experience a form of racism. They experience racialist attitudes from people that expect them to fit into their single grouping. Single ancestry inhabitants categorize minority and marginalized groups as ‘others` and relegates them to objects of experience rather than allowing them to be fellow subjects of experience together with the rest in a dominant single ancestry country. The ‘others` are commonly referred to with derogatory terms such as heathens, untrustworthy, slant eyed among others in various channels such as conversations, movies and comic books. Racial prejudices are common in Canada as indicated Wah`s Diamond Grill. The book depicts a setting comprised of multiracial people that have been marginalized by the dominant white community (McGonegal 180). Racial prejudices are not only observed in Canada but also in America. There is racial prejudice against African Americans and Asian Americans (Lo 100). In Canada, Asian Canadians have been racialized and they are viewed as foreigners. White Canadians consider multicultural people as a threat to their national homogeneity. For instance, predominant whites in British Columbia instigated a gush in anti-Chinese attitudes during the 1950s in Canada. The racial sentiments were a reaction against the rich Chinese immigrants that were perceived as the causes for rising real estate prices. The Chinese Canadians attracted developers who cleared land and erected architectural designs that were unpleasant to the dominant white Canadians taste for occupation by the Chinese Immigrants from Hong Kong. The whites considered the Chinese people as unpatriotic, materialistic and without regard for the environment amongst other racial prejudices (Lo 100). Social adjustments to assimilate of acculturate Canadian immigrants to either Anglo-conformity or Franco conformity was rampant in the twentieth century. To date, such multicultural policies prevail and they have contributed to intolerance to cultural and racial diversity. Marginalization of certain groups such as the Chinese or Asian races prevails and...