Essay Questions

The mistreatment of different minority groups is central to Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror. Support this statement using illustrations from the book.

Ronald Takaki explicitly paints the events as they were in the history of America. Ordered with regards to their occurrence, the book revisits the oppression of minority groups including inhumane treatment, slavery as well as the subjugation of the Jewish, Mexicans, and Chicanos. As the book opens, the writer tackles this inhumane treatment of the natives by the Europeans and follows by presenting slavery as it were. Takaki also mentions the imprisonment of the Japanese, Chinese exclusion, and labor union uprises due to mistreatment of workers. A Different Mirror becomes a story of the mistreatment of minority groups following the writer’s pre-occupation of the writer with presenting the dark past of America.

How does Ronald Takaki paint the relationship between Europeans and the native people?

The relationship between the Europeans and the native settlers is characterized by mistreatment which by far one of the most dominant themes in the novel. The dealings herewith are characterized by corruption, exploitation, and dishonesty. The dignity of the native people is largely disregarded, their property snatched and their land grabbed. The native people have nothing left as what had been initially theirs is taken away from them. They are doomed to a life in the reserves. Maltreatment thus becomes a dominant trait characterizing the relationship between the Europeans and the native populace.

A Different Mirror is an exploration of the dark history of America. Support this statement using illustrations from Ronald Takaki’s novel of the same novel.

Takaki explores American history in A Different Mirror using quite a distinctive perspective. As the book opens, Takaki explores the original mistreatment of the Native Americans by the European settlers who disregard their presence. Their land is grabbed and property destroyed as they are driven to live in reserves. Takaki also explores the concept of slavery in which Africans were captured and sold as slaves. The discrimination of other minority groups such as the Jews and the Mexicans is also explored. Because the events depicted in this book form a great part of what is now part of American history, and that too, in order, it follows that indeed Ronald Takaki uses the book as a backdrop to present American history, albeit in a different perspective—a different reflection criterion.