Howdy. We have to read a book about "multiculturalism" for my English class, and was wondering if anyone knows of some Stephen King books that feature multiculturalism as a theme (or otherwise).
Multiculturalism in Stephen King's Work
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Not any that address that specifically, that I can think of.
OH.. and welcome to SKMB!!!
IT floats.. we all float down here!!
IT floats.. we all float down here!!
Well I am not highly educated but ...
multiculturalism - the doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can co-exist peacefully and equitably in a single country.................The stand touches on this but I do not think it is in a way teachers would be looking for. The book IT shows the lack of Multiculturalism in a small a small town i.e. racism, and class levels. but i cannot think of a book that would range world wide. even 11/22/63 has some use of multiculturalism but I don't know if it is in the way your teachers looking for??? what do they want exactly a book about it or with instances of it or lack there of???
...how about the Dark Tower series?...certainly different fictional cultures there....
I disagree with your thoughts on IT .. yes, the town ITself has a hard time dealing with racism/cultural-ism.. however, the Losers Club is very much mixed culture and shows how a group of friends can co-exist together, grow to love, respect, count on and need each other. IT is hate.. IT is the town.. but the love and friendship of the multiculturalism group of friends is the hero of the story.
Nothing that on the nose comes to mind. But there's a TON of King work that deals with racism. 11/22/63 paints a vivid portrait of the virulent racism of that time, and the Drawing of the Three particularly in the DT series tells the story of Odetta / Detta / Susannah through a racial lens. Cell is the only novel with a gay lead character, and you see the homophobia that he's experienced in that book.
It should be noted that there's some academic criticism of King that suggests that particularly in his early work, there's a strong thread of "liberal guilt" that leads to the "magic Negro syndrome" (think Mother Abagail and John Coffey), and also arguments that he demonstrates a coservative attitude toward issues of sexuality in that he paints traditional families in an idealized manner and can paint nontraditional families / gay characters as damaged or predatory. (Note, those aren't necessarily my views -- I'm just giving you the scoop).
Hope that helps.
It should be noted that there's some academic criticism of King that suggests that particularly in his early work, there's a strong thread of "liberal guilt" that leads to the "magic Negro syndrome" (think Mother Abagail and John Coffey), and also arguments that he demonstrates a coservative attitude toward issues of sexuality in that he paints traditional families in an idealized manner and can paint nontraditional families / gay characters as damaged or predatory. (Note, those aren't necessarily my views -- I'm just giving you the scoop).
Hope that helps.
Well, The Stand comes to mind. Lots of different folks were thrown together and had to form a society.
remember the burning down of the African american bar they set up. The fact that henry was poor and looked down upon thats why I say it depends on what they mean.
But you know, it was pretty white-bread, NN.
...does Mother Abagail know about this?....
Yes.. the town was IT.. the losers club was the good.
Yes, that's the best example I can think of, too.
I don't think the Losers meet a multicultural criteria. True, each has a somewhat different background, but I think they all come from the same traditional American culture.
I agree. In fact, I do not know any of his books that would have a multicultural theme at all.
I must side with Blunt and Staro here. Even if characters in his books comes from different backgrounds, like the losers, they all are based in an american cultural context. Just because the backgrounds may differ doesn't mean they are multicultural. And i don't think any Kingbook has it as a theme. I would search elsewhere to read something about it.
The Stand, it's multi-intra-cultural.
Yeah it takes place in America, you remember, the worlds most successfully diverse melting pot, a pot mixed with all that hodge podge of our past and present cultural influences handed down and passed around.
And another thing, yep this is one nation, but it's differences, in reality, can often be felt right down to the bone by simply crossing a county line, hell, crossing a street, maybe one side is Polish, and the other Italian, in their perspective influences going back generations.
The Stand, from small town Texas to Maine, different cultured, New Yorkers and a wise ol' God fearin' black woman living in a corn field, different cultures, you betcha...,point is, the characters in this story mostly come from vastly different cultures within a culture, it's what makes them and their relationships so interesting, what gives them depth...remember also, Larry Underwoods character started out as practically a case study of intra multi culture, L.A. vs. New York is famously used and satired in every form media and entertainment as massively culturally different.
My thoughts anyway.
Yeah it takes place in America, you remember, the worlds most successfully diverse melting pot, a pot mixed with all that hodge podge of our past and present cultural influences handed down and passed around.
And another thing, yep this is one nation, but it's differences, in reality, can often be felt right down to the bone by simply crossing a county line, hell, crossing a street, maybe one side is Polish, and the other Italian, in their perspective influences going back generations.
The Stand, from small town Texas to Maine, different cultured, New Yorkers and a wise ol' God fearin' black woman living in a corn field, different cultures, you betcha...,point is, the characters in this story mostly come from vastly different cultures within a culture, it's what makes them and their relationships so interesting, what gives them depth...remember also, Larry Underwoods character started out as practically a case study of intra multi culture, L.A. vs. New York is famously used and satired in every form media and entertainment as massively culturally different.
My thoughts anyway.