Introduction To Analytical Writing Dehumanization
Samantha Meyer
Dr. Skebe
Introduction to Analytical Writing
October 14, 2011
Dehumanization
People are happiest when they can freely be themselves and be who they want to be. When people pretend to be somebody they aren’t or withhold who they truly are they are never fully happy. People experience this in life all the time and in all different situations. This happen in school to fit into the “cool” crowd, a new job, around your parents and family, and this has been a pattern in history. In the chapter, “On the Bottom” by Primo Levi, and in the poem, “I walk in the History Of My People” by Chrystos, the people don’t just have to pretend to be different people but are forced to become different people. Dehumanization can cause horrible pain and change in people’s lives as well as an ever-lasting stain in history. Dehumanization is to deprive a person of their qualities and personality. It is the act of degrading a person. In history dehumanization has struck through out the years. It has occurred when Native Americans were taken away from their land, in slavery, in the Holocaust, when African Americans were discriminated against, when woman were seen as a housewife instead of a worker, when homosexual people hide their sexuality, and many other times. Dehumanization is a constant event through out history that will never see an end. A single person, a group, a religion, the government, and others can dehumanize a person. When Native American’s were mistreated, killed, and had their land taken from them and the Holocaust may seem to have nothing in common but when looked at closely they are similar. Chrystos writes, “I Walk in the History Of My People” about the cruelty done to Native Americans. The narrator is a Native American female who expresses anger, pain, and abuse. You can feel the pain when she says, “My tendons stretched brittle with anger.” The Native Americans were killed, had their land taken from them, and children taken away. They are given
Dr. Skebe
Introduction to Analytical Writing
October 14, 2011
Dehumanization
People are happiest when they can freely be themselves and be who they want to be. When people pretend to be somebody they aren’t or withhold who they truly are they are never fully happy. People experience this in life all the time and in all different situations. This happen in school to fit into the “cool” crowd, a new job, around your parents and family, and this has been a pattern in history. In the chapter, “On the Bottom” by Primo Levi, and in the poem, “I walk in the History Of My People” by Chrystos, the people don’t just have to pretend to be different people but are forced to become different people. Dehumanization can cause horrible pain and change in people’s lives as well as an ever-lasting stain in history. Dehumanization is to deprive a person of their qualities and personality. It is the act of degrading a person. In history dehumanization has struck through out the years. It has occurred when Native Americans were taken away from their land, in slavery, in the Holocaust, when African Americans were discriminated against, when woman were seen as a housewife instead of a worker, when homosexual people hide their sexuality, and many other times. Dehumanization is a constant event through out history that will never see an end. A single person, a group, a religion, the government, and others can dehumanize a person. When Native American’s were mistreated, killed, and had their land taken from them and the Holocaust may seem to have nothing in common but when looked at closely they are similar. Chrystos writes, “I Walk in the History Of My People” about the cruelty done to Native Americans. The narrator is a Native American female who expresses anger, pain, and abuse. You can feel the pain when she says, “My tendons stretched brittle with anger.” The Native Americans were killed, had their land taken from them, and children taken away. They are given