A Different Mirror
Takaki begins his argument in A Different Mirror with the strong believe that race has always been a social construction which has historically separated the racial minorities from the known European immigrant's groups of people. The construction does not really give a reflection of the rich or the complex mosaic of what is the American diversity (Takaki pg10). Takaki in his own understanding turns the known historical point of view inside-out and carefully examines the contentious question of what it really means for a person to be an American. Takaki takes a deeper research on both the economic and the political past or the history of the African Americans, Indians, the Japanese, Mexicans, Irish, Jewish and the Chinese people who are in America (Takaki pg28). This research is however done with a very considerable attention which is given to the instances and the consequences of being a racist or racism. The natives are basically laced with very short and precise quotations, personal experiences, and also an excerpt of the grandparents’ music and the literature. Very understandable occurrences which can include the trail of tears, triangle shirtwaists factory fire, and many others are materials that are much known widely.
On the history of Americans, Takaki talks more about the different kinds of minority groups which were basically facing a lot of political struggles during the Second World War and how each community contributed to making the war a successful one. The Jew, Chinese, Japanese, African Americans and the Mexicans were the main target since they were given a rough treatment compared to other communities or cultural groups during the world war and also how the integration with the inequality factors which they all encountered in the name of winning the war for America (Takaki pg25). Takaki also talks about the genocides of the Jews by Hitler through Europe in the history of America. Life in the concentration camps where more than six million people were murdered ruthlessly by orders from Hitler thereby making a pool and a river of human blood is also keenly looked into since it is contributed to racism in America. Japanese also were kept in concentration camps in America as a way of racism. Soldiers belonging to the Japanese Americans never cared about what their colleagues were being subjected to especially in the west coast where brutal murders were happening.
Chinese Americans, on the other hand, contributed to their level best in making the war very successful in that they were active in making the factory planes including warships but their efforts were never rewarded (Ludwig pg87). Compared to the Chinese Americans who were never given some appreciation especially in terms of having a raise in their quotas, the Europeans Americans were given a raise on their camps. Indians in the war were also used by the Americans to take the codes but they were also sabotaged in a way that they were forced out of their lands by the Americans even after they made an effort to make America independent again. Mexican Americans due to their ability to harvest were also used in the war and afterward, they have chased away from the whites and also discriminated in Texas through living in any other district just not that which was occupied by a white person (Takaki pg15). The African American communities which joined the military involved both the men and the women but discrimination was always going to happen every day especially in the society. This forced the blacks to move to their own territories and also concentrate on a certain area which they hold as theirs to date.
The goal of writing the book is to show the different races that we have in the world and the essence of having a different race. In took various races to make America a free country indicating that the combined efforts of many communities brought success to America. Having an understanding of the word racism and discrimination is the main goal of the book in order to allow others have a different perspective and a good perception about the other race (Takaki pg98). It is always very important to consider the other person in what we do and never judge them based on what one can see from the outside. The book has a well-defined understanding of the American history and how each race interacted with the other. Considering the fact that the whites have always been subjecting and discriminating the other communities, Takaki has tried to open up the real source and the reasons why what is happening today is happening (Takaki pg46). The goal of retelling again and again about the American history in relation to other specific ethnic and racial groups is repeated and talked about with an aim of making sure that other people understand the American culture. In the book, Takaki tries to give an explanation of who an American especially when dealing with the blacks and the indigenous people during the times when there were boundless and questions of racism were at the peak.
Works cited
Ludwig, Sämi, ed. American Multiculturalism in Context: Views from at Home and Abroad. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017.
Takaki, Ronald. A different mirror: A history of multicultural America (Revised edition). eBookIt. com, 2012.
