Blog Post 1: Introduction
I am not often a fan of realistic fiction or non-fiction books. When I read for my enjoyment, I tend to turn to fantasy books because the conflicts aren’t usually the same issues that are present in modern-day society. I am currently pushed far out of my comfort zone and reading Race by Marc Aronson. Race is a book that educates the reader on the topic of race and the issues surrounding it, starting before the idea existed. Although reading Race and writing this blog are assignments, I hope that through doing them, I can become more comfortable discussing race and allow myself to be more aware of the history behind it.
I started Race this week and read the first four chapters. The way that this book is formatted makes it interesting to read. The book focuses on stories throughout time. From modern-day to ancient civilizations, this book reveals the history behind topics related to race, beginning with prejudice. One idea that comes up in the section that I have read so far is the idea of pariwat, a word from a group in the Amazon called the Munduruku. “Pariwat means ‘strangers,’ but also ‘enemy,’ ‘those who are unlike us.’ “ (pg 11). Although this is not the first thing that the author has to share with the reader, this still comes off as a strong introduction. Aronson is forward with the idea of race from the beginning and does not take the time to ease into the topics. The “us vs. you” mentality is brought up as the reader is exposed to stories about slavery, religion, and conquering. While discussing such topics and their relevance to the issues of race, Aronson refers back to the idea of pariwat. Not only was it interesting for me to see how this recurring idea linked the stories together, but it was also a reminder of the mentality that people held during the period of the stories, where differences were a potential threat to safety.
The author also uses images throughout the book. The images included had their own background stories which connected to the focal point of the section in various ways. Pictures used to display artifacts, paintings, and sculptures illustrated how certain groups of people were perceived in the past. The pictures are nice because they show visual evidence of views in the periods discussed while also helping to break up the reading.
Although it does not jump directly into the topic of race itself, I have found it interesting to see how the author has chosen to approach their book. Instead of deconstructing the idea, starting with modern stories and issues, Aronson does the opposite. The way that he constructs the topics around the reader feels immersive and kept me interested in reading. Instead of being thrown into a topic that I am not as familiar with, it was nice to have ideas put together in a way that felt comfortable for someone with less experience with the topic.
Works Cited
Aronson, Marc. Race: A History Beyond Black and White. New York, Atheneum Books
for Young Readers, 2007.
Hi Tessa! I see we share some very similar ideas about Aronson's approach to the topic of race. I agree that the way he starts his book with stories is really interesting. I also feel that non fiction books tend to be less enjoyable for me, but the way Aronson develops his ideas through the use of stories makes it easier to follow and understand the roots of prejudice. I agree that overall his storytelling approach adds a lot to my understanding about his ideas of us vs them, and I found it helped me create a mental timeline of the development of these concepts that are important to race. As someone who doesn't have much knowledge on this topic, I do appreciate how he introduces the preliminary ideas in an engaging way for me. I too hope this book can help me have more educated discussions about race.
ReplyDeleteAudria :)
Hi Audria, thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I am glad to see that we share similar opinions on the book so far. I agree with you that Aronson's way of writing helps create a mental timeline. While reading, I found myself pausing at the beginning of a new section to allow myself a moment to connect the stories. Since the author builds a timeline for the reader, this was easy for me to do. The thing I found interesting about what I was thinking about during my breaks was that I wasn't thinking about just the stories presented. While creating my mental timeline of Aronson's stories, I found myself connecting it to the timeline I had in my head already. Instead of keeping what I have learned in history classes and through reading this book separate, I was merging the two. This allowed me to create new connections I otherwise wouldn't have thought of. Did you have a similar experience?
DeleteTessa, do you think that the narrative style of discussing history makes this a more compelling book for you to read than other kinds of non-fiction?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. LaClair, I do believe that this method of telling history appeals to me more than other formats of non-fiction. I also think that this book is more interesting to me because I do like learning about history. So far, Aronson's writing has appealed to me in a way that I find other history-based books tend not to. I believe that my interest so far is a combination of both the style and the subject.
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