ailbhe | Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea

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Wait - all those maids and hired hands described as French are actually black, aren't they?

I think I preferred the books before I realised that.

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From: (Anonymous)

I just read these two books this month, and was very deeply disturbed by it. Most review pages seem to love the books, but I was glad to find your blog and read that others found the same problems that bothered me.
I thought the books too preoccupied with rating people by looks, class, property, religion, everything. While preaching against over-valuing looks, property, etc., the actions of the characters show these things to be truly important to the author. Woe betide you if you are homely, don't dress right, are awkward, or lacking in imagination!
People in the books pick favorites among children by background, looks and vivacious personality, not valuing all children just as they are. And I agree, it certainly did seem that it was only because Anne's parents were teachers, that she was acceptable!
Values are everywhere mixed up. The author is more horrified by a child telling a lie, than by his virtual torture of another child. Wow, then anonymously lying about neighbors in the press is treated as a harmless prank! Corporal punishment is seen as a valid in the school under some circumstances, supposedly teaching a kid to respect, not hate, the person who whips him. A good author would have better psychological perception- a good author can be appreciated across time & cultures. Maud Montgomery is very much a creature of her own time & class.
And I took the unmitigated prejudice against the French rather personally I must say, being of French-Canadian descent. Every one of the comments cited above really hit me in the face. It seems French children and lower-class children are only good as slaves- excuse me- servants (I felt like I was reading Gone with the Wind here & there). No imagination for them! And 'paws'???!!! Animals have paws, not people! Well, I guess paws are a little higher than hooves, so servants can eat garbage, but not poisoned food!
Some might say, it's just an old book, but I read a very recent newspaper comment by an 'English' Canadian saying the French have been treated well 'for a subjugated people', and they should stop complaining. So this prejudicial attitude still exists!

From:

ailbhe

You forgot to sign your name.

And yes, prejudice in all its many forms does still exist. I've got lots, though I'm not sure of where all of them are.

From: (Anonymous)

From "Elle"-
Sorry I am not used to blogging, and don't know how to put my "name" in. Do I use OpenID or LiveJournal?
But I was just thinking about the time my brother went to Indonesia. Soldiers stopped the car at a roadblock; they wanted to know if my brother was connected with the terrorists. The driver said, "Can't you see he is a good man? Look how white he is"
We all do have prejudices; the important thing is that we try to be fair. A book that displays prejudice without condemning it may not be good for children, unless the parents/teachers discuss that problem with the young reader.