Marginalization free essay sample

Everybody has been an outsider at some point of their lives. However, most likely the discrimination was only aimed at an individual person. In our past and even today, marginalization was aimed at an entire race or group of people. African Americans and the elderly were some of the main groups marginalized in the past. The main groups segregated today are people of Middle Eastern origins and people in the gay and lesbian community. Many works of literature have addressed this issue of marginalization, including Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In the past, marginalization was a large part of society. First off, African Americans were a prime target, seeing as there were many laws made specifically to keep them out of society. The character Tom Robinson from To Kill a Mockingbird is an example of this. He was accused of raping a white woman, even though he is crippled with a permanently damaged arm. We will write a custom essay sample on Marginalization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Even though his defense in court is incredibly strong against the â€Å"victim’s† story and the evidence is in his favor, he is found guilty by an all white jury, although the woman was the one who tried to make a move on Tom and cried â€Å"rape† when he resisted and ran away. The evidence provided was incredibly strong in his favor and a modern jury would have found Tom innocent, however he was found guilty simply due to him being a black man. Also, the elderly received the short end of the stick when applying for jobs, for they were much capable of other tasks but were given the jobs that nobody else wanted. Candy from Of Mice and Men is an old, crippled man with only one hand. He is able to perform other jobs like work in the fields with the other workers, but the ranch owner would have it and gave him the job of janitor. Because of his frail state, he is seen as a useless employee who cannot do the simplest tasks except the jobs that nobody else wants to do. In summation, marginalization played a very large role in our past. Although we have addressed our past issues with marginalization, we tend to simply ignore it when it happens today. For instance, people of Middle Eastern ethnic backgrounds are constantly blamed for any foreign political conflict between the United States and a Middle Eastern country, only because the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 happened to be committed by a pair of Palestinians. People even believe the Islamic religion is associated with these attacks, even though Islam has nothing to do with terrorist acts committed against the USA. Only because of these events, people associate the stereotype of all Middle Easterners being Muslim with terrorism. To continue, people in the gay and lesbian community are also discriminated against. In schools, gays and lesbians are constantly bullied for their sexual orientation being different. Ironically, school programs encourage students to be different and to stand out of the crowd, while at the same time people who are different are harassed by bullies for being who they are. Just recently, a student who was homosexual committed suicide because he was bullied so much. Immediately, people started to show that they care by making a â€Å"Wear Purple† day at schools to honor his passing. Even though the pain was felt by many, still many more people ignored it and kept harassing people for who they are. All in all, marginalization is still present in society, however subtle it may be. In our past, marginalization was nothing new. African Americans and elderly people were treated poorly because of their race or physical state. Today, marginalization still happens, except it is overlooked more. Middle Eastern cultures and those who are gay or lesbian are the main groups that are marginalized. In summation, modern literature has pointed out our flaws and we naturally feel obligated to fix those flaws. The question is; what are you going to do to help?