descrimination in different ways

People often experience damaging discrimination when they are different

or misunderstood by society. In the novel “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett,

the black maids are discriminated against by white people in Mississippi

in the 1960s. In “Annie on My Mind” by Nancy Garden Annie and Liza are

discriminated against because their sexual orientation and love for each

other is misunderstood by New York society. Both the maids and the girls

are different from the majority of their societies and feel pressure and

judgement because of their skin colour or personal choices. While the

maids in “The Help” and the girls in “Annie on My Mind” experience different

forms of discrimination, each woman is treated poorly because she is seen

as different.

In “The Help” the author gives the story three narrators two of which are

black maids and one is a white lady. The point of view of the maids brings

to life exactly what they feel, what they think and how they are treated.

The pressure from society over their work and the ignorant judgement,

from white people making statements of black people carrying diseases or

how they are not smart shows what situations they going through. Just in the beginning of the novel Hilly, a white lady, says”But the guest bathroom’s where the help goes”. Her thought of superiority humiliates Aibileen, the black maid, showing how different black people are treated. Just for the fact of the maid being black, leads to a matter of difficult situations where, for example, they can’t use the same bathroom.

In “Annie on My Mind” the point of view of the story is from one of the girls, who is one of the main characters. This point of view gives the perspective from

the beginning of a secret that turns out, when exposed to be, a big judgment

of their lives. Annie and Liza are more than friends, first of all they can’t

even believe the situation they are. After they are exposed to their families,

teachers and friends their lives get messed up, with a lot of pressure and

judgement over the two souls in love. Mrs. Poindexter, the school principal,

reacts over her discrimination; she says “I do not understand the pull

of abnormal sex... I am going to have to suspend you”. The judgements

over Liza’s and Annie’s relationship lead to a miserable life for both

teenager. People misunderstand what their feelings are for each other,

crashing through the fact of their happiness and just think about the

image.

Discrimination can happen in many ways, but that is another essay. Both books, even talking about two different types of discrimination, show to the reader the contrast of the conflit with the victims. The judgements by society and the pressure they put over people leads to miserable lives. “Annie on My Mind” and “The Help” include the perspectives andthe reality of the character and the feeling of being the victim of this discrimination.