A Class Divided, Essay Example

The most memorable and shocking scenes in the movie appears when the teacher discusses the issue of race with students from the third grade. Students were surprisingly aware of racial terms, most of which have a negative connotation. The students surprisingly actively participated, providing suggestions of names that black people may be called. This is quite surprising as children at third-grade level, in my opinion, should not be exposed to certain ideas as they significantly affect their growth and development through adulthood.

Elliot ascribes to eye color to differentiate the superior groups from the inferior groups. She highlights how the brown-eyed children were superior to their blue-eyed counterparts in all ways. Brown-eyed pupils were found to be better listeners and were less argumentative. This superior group was also smarter and more responsible compared to the inferior blue-eyed pupils who were generally inconsiderate and had little to no respect for authority. These features that Elliot ascribes to indicate the general stereotypes held by most in society. However, Elliot’s presumptions are generally challenged by real-life stereotypes.

Elliott’s discrimination against the inferior group created no win situations for individuals placed in this group. This is because after declaring that blue-eyed students were inferior, she decides to take only accept the comments and opinions of individuals from the superior group. She neglects and rejects advancements made by individuals from the inferior blue-eyed group as incorrect. Her selective interpretation and confirmation of stereotypes is evident in her bias in the selection of what opinions are right and wrong. She fails to objectively analyze all opinions from a neutral point of view.

Discrimination is part of society as it stems from the need to develop an identity with groups that are of similar decent and origin. As such, all individuals face discrimination to some level as long as they find themselves in a situation where they form the minority in the social structure. However, this discrimination is particularly evident and experienced by individuals outside the white race.