Racial Notions Reflected in Gentlemen’s Agreement 論《君子協定》中的種族觀念

摘 要：種族歧視問題由來已久，在西方許多人的腦海中根深蒂固。盡管西方社會許多國家采取了一系列反種族歧視措施，但沒有從根本上消除種族歧視現象。本文通過對主人公個體經歷的探討，試圖分析《君子協定》中突現出來的種族觀念，并對其進行深刻反思。

關鍵詞：種族觀念；種族歧視；反思

[中圖分類號]：J905 [文獻標識碼]：A

[文章編號]：1002-2139(2011)-24-0206-01

1. Introduction

Gentlemen’s Agreement， written by Elijah Shelton， is about Philip Green， a journalist who is recruited by a national magazine to write a series of articles on anti-Semitism in America. In order to write an article about Semitism in America through his own experience， he decided to live as a Jew， though in fact he is not. In our real life， a gentlemen’s agreement means an informal agreement reached between two or more parties， either written or oral. In the novel， the so-called “gentleman’s agreement” refers to the social agreement that no one should sell or rent house to the Jews. Therefore the Jews are isolated from the society. Racial discrimination against the Jews are all too clear in the novel. This essay aims to probe into the racial notions elaborated in the novel. At the same time， the social factors underpinning these notions are to be analyzed and some reflections on the issue to be made.

2. Racial Relationship

2.1 Inequality

In the novel， many races especially the Jews， have subjected to the racial prejudice， the Jew could not live together with other people nor could they get a good job. We have learned that people are divided into different groups according to their culture or custom， thought， way of life， Geographical environment， population numbers and so on .One can judge a person’ race from his outward appearance， or from unseen factors. Rather than color or racial distinction， religious and ethnocentric criteria were used initially to separate groups into superior and inferior categories. But actually these have nothing to do with the superior or inferior of one race.

2.2 Racial Discrimination

Just as what we can see from the novel， Philip could not live together with other people， because no one would like to rent house to a Jew， his son was oppressed by the classmates， he failed to get a good job though he may easily get it before he claimed he was a Jew. Dating to the inception of slavery， governmental policies prohibited blacks from beginning businesses. “Because home ownership plays such a large role in wealth portfolios of American families， it is a prime source of the differences between Black and White net worth. Home ownership rates for Blacks are 20 percent lower than rates for Whites; hence， Blacks possess less of this important source of equality.”

Racial discrimination is the practice of letting a person’s race or skin color unfairly become a factor when deciding who receives a job， promotion， or other employment benefit. It often affects minority individuals who feel they have been unfairly discriminated. Other minority groups have also been discriminated against in the United States.

2.3 Racial Segregation

In the gentlemen’s agreement， Philip Green couldn’t find a place to live in， many times he was rejected， “no one will rent house to Jews. That is the gentlemen’s agreement between the native people.” In the party， when Philip told the people that he was a Jew， “all the people suddenly became quiet， looking at Casey， waiting for her to give the explanation， as if Philip is an animal.” In their eyes， Philip is a Jewish， he should not get involved in their entertainment， no one would like to be together with a Jew. That is typically what we called racial segregation.

Racial segregation is the separation of different racial groups in daily life， such as eating in a restaurant， drinking from a water fountain， using a rest room， attending school， going to the movies， or in the rental or purchase of a home. Segregation may be enhanced by law or exist through social norms. Segregation may be maintained by discrimination in hiring and in the rental and sale of housing to certain races.