Feeding the Ghost Essay -- essays papers

Feeding the GhostWE ARE BETTER The novel Feeding the Ghosts, by Fred DAguiar, exploits the terrible conditions black people were put through while beingness transported from Africa to the Americas. It examines the thought process of the captain, the crew, the captives, and the legal system of England. DAguiar clearly illustrates the hell that was forced upon the blacks and how even the highest court system of the time saw nothing wrong with it. The whitenesss were the ones who make the uprightnesss the laws were meant to protect the whites. The high court had laws in place about proper procedures on these voyages, but the law wasnt meant to protect the blacks, or stock as they were referred to, scarcely the well being of the white people involved. The common conception is that a courtroom is where the truth comes out and justice will be served. It is a dear haven for the innocent and a prison for the guilty. But when the hearing of the investors of the Zong vs. the insurer s starts, Lord Mansfield states, As you know, gentlemen, this is not a criminal trial. It is a hearing. No, this would never be a criminal trial. It wasnt illegal to murder black slaves if thither was good enough reason. Blacks didnt have human rights like the whites did. Laws werent created to protect the black man they were at that place for the well being of the white person. Anyways, the black person was stock in the eyes of the law so the treatment of stock was the question at hand. Which law did the captain break? None according to English statutes. What is being disputed here? Whether his actions were within the law that describes the treatment of slave stock. (p. 171) Whites made the laws, whites enforced them, whites benefited from them. ... ...mmunication there is still an underlying prejudice against the black person. Things havent changed enough to say we are equal. Time is the main component in changing this. Something that has been rooted in white backgroun ds and common laws for hundreds of years doesnt change in a few decades. Here at UW-La Crosse students are required to take a minority studies class and similar programs are underway at other colleges. Education is the first step to closing the gap. The second step is changing how one perceives another who is different from them. bequeath the world ever be able to do away with prejudice? Or is prejudice something that is like second nature. Everyone is styled to their own thoughts, so wouldnt that entitle everyone to having a prejudice? BibliographyDAguiar, Fred. Feeding The Ghosts. A Novel. New York The Ecco Press, HarperCollins, 1997.