A Good Neighbor Is Hard to Find

A Good Neighbor Is Hard to Find

Students Name

Institutional Affiliations

Course Title

Date of Submission

A Good Neighbor Is Hard to Find

In this chapter, “a good neighbour is hard to find Whitney Terrell illustrates the role that race gender and class plays in the inequality in a divided nation. Terrel illustrates this using the experience of a boy who lived the net door in a small areophane bungalow. Further, he says that the boy was black and he was white. He illustrates that the boy experienced loneliness as “He saw him play his trumpet in his room which was at the back of his house.” This was a real illustration that he was lonely and had no one to interact with just because he was black and that he came from a humble social class well. He further portrays his first experience at the campus, where he says, “when Terry was reporting to a campus interview, he says they were a lot of students, there were Africans and American students’ groups. African American Frats. You didn’t have to get involved in, or even pay attention to, the white fraternities and sororities whose mansions we’d cruised past on our way in.” this evidence that there were boundaries that existed between the whites and the blacks due to the white privilege; furthermore, back in those days, the white privilege was referred to as racism because people could not put a distinction between the two.  Terrel also illustrates the experience with Jackie, who was the neighbourhood where the boy lived; at one instance, he tried to create a conversation with Jackey. At one point in the discussion, she expressed a tone of disguise where he says, “Its better than anything he got to offer.” Although the phrase was mentioned in a joke like a tone, it meant a lot to Terry as he was white, and granny Jackey was black. In this paper, we discuss various themes illustrated by Terrell, including race as well as gender and class. The article also entails how these factors result in inequality amid the divided nation based on American culture.

Terrel expresses the theme of race in various ways, for instance, through the conversation with Jackey, who was his neighbour. Granny Jackey shows no intention of building a rapport regardless of the Terries’ interests to create a dialogue. He further gives an instance of his first interview at the campus where on the first day, he already notices the distinctions between the black and the white hence the theme of racism plays a significant role in inequality amid the societies. Initially, racism was sparked by the fact that the “white privilege” already existed among the Americans. It is for the fact that it was mistakenly referred to as racism. In recent years racism remains a concern, although the legal systems have taken measures to curb this “animal” The white privilege is deemed as an invisible force that the whites recognize; furthermore, it has a legacy as well as can influence the systemic decision. In today’s world, the effects of white privilege are visible in society, including in the insanity defence. For instance, people are not even free to interact with each other due to their colour. White people seem to be more aggressive. For example, Terrel illustrates an instance where he witnesses a fight, yet he cannot do anything to help; instead, he is overwhelmed with vulgar incentives: “A fusillade of a motherfucker!” and “shit.” Further, in the real-world situation, racism has an impact on the people involved; for instance, in the U.S., it has contributed to many historical injustices in the court of law. Further research indicates that the black Americans are unwillingly detained disproportionally more often compared to the whites. Results further suggest that the blacks re four times the number of whites in the correctional centres.

The second theme pointed out in the chapter is gender. Gender is a significant factor when it comes to inequality in divided countries. Terrel points out instances; for instance, when he was walking down the streets, he interacts with two girls “Two girls circled each other on the sidewalk. It was cold; the aggressor wore a white cotton T-shirt and was bare-armed. I had no curiosity or empathy for these kids. I just wanted them to go away. But during my lecture. Idd angrily recalled Jackie’s claim that I had nothing to offer. And as I approached the girl in the white shirt, she pushed me away and looked me up and down in a slow, deliberate manner as if she didn’t understand what species of being could be stupid enough to be standing in her path.” This is a clear indication that gender plays a role in inequality as the people involved are affected in various ways, including having low self-esteem and a lack of aggressiveness. In the real-world gender, disparities play a role in multiple ways, including employment distribution, labour participation as well as wedge distribution, and other privileges. In terms of privilege, Terrel illustrates an instance where he was walking down the street, he is told by a white guy who says stay out the way just because they were walking with a girl.

Class is another factor that enhances the inequality in the divided nation; for this instance, Terrel expresses this dimension with a case when Jackey got sick “Terry made it back before she died. Terry is a grown man. He’s still in the air force and lives in Washington D.C. he is not coming back, I don’t think. Which makes him a stronger man than me.” This is a strong illustration that one’s social class determine the position in people’s hearts. We recognize that at the end of the chapter, Terry is considered as a strong man; furthermore, Jackey is now proud of Him due to his social class. Terrel further says that he is not coming back, implying that he will no longer face the situation of being underprivileged in society.

In conclusion, this chapter, the themes that result in the disparity in the divided countries is majorly inspired by the ideas, namely racism, gender as well as class. Racism is a significant contributor; it is invisible amid the general population; furthermore, white privilege is also assumed to be racism which consequently contributes to inequality. Terrel further illustrates the challenges inequality implicates to the people in real-life situations, including people having lower self-esteem as well as people feeling underprivileged.

Reference

Whitney Terrel (1995). A good neighbour is hard to find: A good man is hard to find.