9R/H Short story/song Essay - Valmores

Faye Valmores

Mr. Abel

English Block 5

10 December 2016

A Prejudiced Society’s Conflict: The Personal Is Political

By mere definition, there is usually a firm distinction between the personal and the political. But perhaps that distinction is very foggy and not as clear as is believed when it is understood that politics is based on people’s personal beliefs. George Orwell, whose works influence popular and political culture, once said, “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues…” In other words, keeping one’s own personal life separate from the politics and issues of his or her society is difficult and nearly impossible. Two works of literature that examine and support this concept are “American History” by Judith Ortiz-Colfer and “Society’s Child” by Janis Ian. In “American History”, the narrator, Elena, comes to terms with the prejudice against her during one of the most significant political turmoil in history. In “Society’s Child”, the narrator faces hostility and conflict from peers due to her interracial relationship. Using symbolism and metaphor, both works explore the idea of the intersection of personal life and political beliefs.

In “American History”, Ortiz-Colfer uses symbolism to show Elena’s inner and external conflicts due to her Puerto-Rican heritage. The story begins in the school playground, her public life, where prejudice is immediately witnessed when one of the girls mocked her and called her “Pork Chops”. Later, when they were released early due to President Kennedy’s death, the story shifts to her home, El Building, a building with a mostly Puerto-Rican immigrant population. It is mentioned that “President Kennedy was a saint to these people,” explaining why “the usual little group of unemployed men was not hanging out on the front stoop making it difficult for women to enter the front door. No music spilled out from open doors in the hallway.” The Civil Rights Movement was at its peak during the 1960s, and having one of its most powerful supporters, President Kennedy, killed greatly affected immigrants and minorities alike. Despite the evident distress the people around her showed, Elena found it difficult to sympathize because that was the day she was meeting with Eugene, her crush, to study. Her infatuation with him became apparent when she admits watching him “on the fire escape… suspended above Eugene’s yard.” As she goes out and meet him, wearing “a little pink lipstick,” her mother stops her, warning that she is “heading for humiliation and pain” in a resigned tone as if she had no intention of fully preventing her from going down that path. Her mother wants her to learn of the bias against them. Indeed, she experiences just that when Eugene’s mother promptly rejected her presence upon opening the door, a green-colored one meant to symbolize hope. At the end of the story, Elena describes “the white snow falling like a lace veil… turning gray as it touched the ground below.” The snow symbolizes her innocence, sullied by the prevalent political trouble and racism she experienced.

Ian uses metaphor in “Society’s Child” to express the unfair opposition showed against her and her significant other due to their interracial relationship. The song begins in the narrator’s home, where her boyfriend was shamed by her mother, not letting him through the door and saying, “But honey, he’s not our kind,” referring to him being black and her being white. The door is, in a sense, her life, and her mother disapproves of the boy being let inside. Then their story moves on to the school, the public, where they are, once again, disgraced due to their “unconventional” relationship. Teachers themselves, “preachers of equality,” “smirk and stare.” Like “American History”, the song is set during the 1960s, when the majority still held on to strong prejudice and racism. Due to the pressure put upon them, the narrator ultimately ends their relationship, saying “one of these days, I’m gonna raise my glistenin’ wings and fly,” meaning that one day, she will look past the stares and judgement, but that day will not be soon. The title itself, “Society’s Child”, predicts the fated end of their relationship. The narrator, in the end, accepts and becomes her society’s prejudiced beliefs.

Ortiz-Colfer and Ian both show the concept of political and public beliefs largely affecting private lives. “American History” explores Elena’s interactions with prejudice, with the other girls at school and Eugene’s mother, and political struggle, with the President’s death. It shows how she lost her naïve innocence. “Society’s Child” examines the singer’s relationship and society’s role in it. Despite the affection that was present, that began their affair, pressure and racism eventually ended it. Both narrators had their stories take place during an important political trouble and power struggle, JFK’s death and the Civil Rights Movement, and had their innocence tarnished due to the widespread racism. Through their experiences, both exhibit the notion of the political being closely related to the personal.