Despite significant technological progress and a high level of civilization development, many of the universal problems such as racism, social inequality and child abuse are still very acute. One of the illustrations of the problem of racism is The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead — a sad story and a tragic story of a boy who had a great future waiting for him, but a ridiculous accident destroyed everything. The main character of the novel is a 16-year-old dark-skinned teenager Elwood Curtis, who, despite the fact that he is a quiet and nice boy, ends up in prison because of racial stereotypes. However, Whitehead’s purpose in writing this novel is not just about race as there is a larger purpose connected to the socially disadvantaged place in society.
The novel applies to the prompt of social inequality generated, among other things, by racial stereotypes. Elwood hoped that by exemplary behavior and honest work he would quickly earn early release (Whitehead 74). He dreamed of escaping, and was plotting how to end the terrible place he had ended up in after unjust accusations (Whitehead 203). However, this never happened, and the hero had to endure many horrors and cruelties of this place and its guards (Whitehead 205). In my opinion, the microsystem of the correctional institution recreated in the book demonstrates how those who have power and are higher on the social ladder treat those who have fewer opportunities. The relationship between warders and prisoners is analogous to the social injustice that occurs outside the correctional institution.
As in the novel, the resources I have chosen show various manifestations of social injustice. The problem of racism is one of the particular examples of the general problem of the gap between social strata. The vertical stratum is a social stratum of people who have similar indicators on one of the five main stratification scales (The Aspen Institute para. 5). They have more power, income inequality, level of education, professional prestige and origin (Michelle para. 5). Similar to the situation in society as a whole, in novel there is a gap between representatives of lower and higher society according to some of these criteria. The origin of Elwood, the fact that he is a black orphan, in this case is the fundamental factor causing his belonging to the social stratum of the poor.
For society, even at the present stage of development, racism, that is, social inequality based on ethnicity, is a big problem. The social consequences of this phenomenon go far beyond negative complexes, stereotypes that manifest themselves in interethnic relationships, assessments, comparisons, attitudes and orientations (Allen para. 10). People with dark skin color suffer significant restrictions affecting their participation in political, socio-economic, cultural relations (Catalyst para. 8). The unequal position of nations contributes to the growth of tension, aggression and violence in relations between people who are representatives of various ethnic communities.
The equalization of social inequality is facing both developed and developing countries, this is the largest strategic task of any socially oriented policy. To do this, the world practice should use targeted social assistance to those who are in a worse position relative to others. These primarily include people who are exposed to social inequality as a result of ethnic characteristics. In order to eliminate social inequality, they should be supported with educational assistance and special attention should be paid to the observance of their rights.
Works Cited
Allen, John. “Systemic Racism and America Today.” Brookings, 2020, Web.
Catalyst. “The Impact of Structural Racism on Black Americans (Report).” 2020, Web.
Michelle, Alexander. “Following Horrific Violence, Something More is Required of Us.” BillMoyers, Web.
The Aspen Institute. “11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racism.” Web.
Whitehead, Colson. The Nickel Boys: A Novel. Doubleday, 2019.