OneBookOneRiverHill discussion

What is the ethical value of the novel? Does it highlight a lack of something within us? Within society?

The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more important lesson here is that if you see something happen and you do nothing, you are taking the side of the oppressor. You should always stand up against racism and discrimination because America is built on the value of how all men are created equal.

Shahmeel wrote: "The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more importan..."

Shameel, I agree with your statement that the book exhibits many struggles going on today with racial discrimination and "still getting away with it." I also like how you believe in standing up against racism and sicrimination. Although, I do believe the book provided more depth. Not only did it show racial discrimination in today's society, it proved that events like these will continue to happen unless we all stand up and make a change, just like what happened in All American Boys with Rashad's situation. Overall your response is very true, I just also believe that the ethical value has a lot of depth that is hard to put into words,

Shahmeel wrote: "The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more importan..."

I completely agree with your statement Shahmeel. I believe that your statement about racism and getting away with it is just like the book and the police officers in it. I also agree that people should stand up against racism, something that Quinn didn't do.

Shahmeel wrote: "The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more importan..."

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I agree completely, especially your comment about how people still get away. Most people believe that racism is rare or nonexistent in this country, especially people who live in such a culturally diverse community (such as ours). The reality is that racist ideals and beliefs are still present and in a way they are ingrained into our mindset and judgements.

Shahmeel wrote: "The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more importan..."

I strongly agree with your answer as I feel you are correct in your response. I especially liked how you stated that by idly standing by, and not attempting to raise awareness for what you just witnessed, you are actually siding with the villain of the situation, even if you disagree with their actions. Along with this, I agree that it is always necessary to voice your opinion on issues in our society, such as racism, as racism goes against the values on which our country was founded.

I feel as if it makes the roles that are constantly played in our society more evident and how unfairly they are dealt. People are taught that certain people play certain roles and only those roles, this influences our mindset and expectations of people purely based on their race, gender, etc. This book comments on racism in society. Because we allow it to happen just because we don't actively believe that people are lesser based on their skin color, we believe that these assumptions we make are not harmful and that racism is no longer a threat, but that is simply not true.

This novel really highlights what has been happening in our society lately. Recently there have been many instances where a white police officer and an African-American civilian have gotten into disputes. Whether this was provoked by racism or not, this novel portrays all of the discrimination and events that have been happening recently. There have been many protests for these events and that is what the ethic value of the story is. The lesson in this book is to always fight for what you believe in. This highlights the racism in society. People assume people are doing things just because of how they look or how they are dressed. This book really highlights the image of people in Society. Rashad's father stresses that you have to look proper so you don't get into trouble and people do not assume you are doing something you aren't. But many people can not help but assume and that is something that comes within us.

Stephanie wrote: "I feel as if it makes the roles that are constantly played in our society more evident and how unfairly they are dealt. People are taught that certain people play certain roles and only those roles..."

Stephanie I totally agree with you. Many people believe that they are not being racist but everyone is a little bit racist. I also agree that parents teach children to stay away from people who have these races and so the children end up being racist too. I definitely thought that people believe that the issue of racism is behind us but it is totally not. Just like you said, racism is still a threat to the society today because many people are being hurt or punished just because of their race.

The ethical value of this novel is that it shows the racism and discrimination present in our society these days. It highlights that every single one of us is a little bit racist in different ways even if we say that we are not racist. This book shows that we have a defect in society, We believe people do specific things just because of their race. We stereo type a race and believe that every single human part of that race acts like the other people in that race. I feel that racism could not be more evident in today's society. Police brutality was big in the news only this summer. Many people like to believe that we have solved our issues and racism is a problem of the past but I feel as if this book is trying to show that racism is still a problem. Many children are taught from a young age to be racist because the parents are racist. If we keep this pattern then we can never solve the problem of racism. This book is showing that we need to act and stop racism as soon as possible so that we can fix one major issue in the world.

Tudhjot wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I feel as if it makes the roles that are constantly played in our society more evident and how unfairly they are dealt. People are taught that certain people play certain roles an..."
I agree with Tudhjot. The ethical value is indeed racism and discrimination. In our society today, everyone judges a person as they get to know them. Rarely do we see zero judgment towards a stranger in this world. This book is demonstrating the rude world we are in and is a reminder to change ourselves.

Tudhjot wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I feel as if it makes the roles that are constantly played in our society more evident and how unfairly they are dealt. People are taught that certain people play certain roles an..."

I agree with Tudhot. The ethical value of this novel definatly revolves around the theme of racism and discrimination. This novel reveals that we have a defect in society as we constantly stereotype people from different races very abruptly.

Diane wrote: "What is the ethical value of the novel? Does it highlight a lack of something within us? Within society?"

The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays exactly what is happening in our society and community today. It portrays racism and discrimination. This certainly does highlight a lack of something within our society and us as humans too. It highlights the fact that many people can be racist and not be told otherwise to not be racist. Recently there have been riots in Baltimore because of the Freddy Gray shooting which is kind of like what happened in this novel with Rashad getting beat up by a white cop. Our society believes that these racial assumptions we make are not harmful to anybody and that racism is no longer a problem in society, but this 100% not true.

Shahmeel wrote: "The ethical value of this novel is that it portrays racism and discrimination throughout society today. It highlights how many people can be racist and still get away with it, but the more importan..."

I respectfully and completely agree with you on this manner Shameel. I believe the same as you that racism and discrimination should not be overlooked and is a big problem in society today. It also is very true that people are racist to others and do not get punished for it. They do get away with it. This is not right at all.

The ethnic value of "All American Boys" is centered around the lack of tolerance for those who are different. The authors highlight the lack of acceptance of others. They show how people in the novel judge others on appearance before they judge on character. Today, this is a huge issue in society as well. Most people in our society get their first impression of someone from the way they look. For instance, young African American males, even today, are perceived based on their outer appearance. Those that are dressed a certain way are given labels such as "thugs" or "dangerous." When in reality, they could be completely harmless and like the style/fashion, they choose to wear. The focus of the story is on race and the stereotypes based on that. This novel is a powerful and moving piece that speaks of our weakness as a society based on our prejudices. We judge on appearance before people have a chance to show their true character.

Stephanie wrote: "I feel as if it makes the roles that are constantly played in our society more evident and how unfairly they are dealt. People are taught that certain people play certain roles and only those roles..."


I completely agree with you, Stephine. Roles and expectations in today's society are pushed upon people. They feel pressured to do things like everyone else and when one of them is different it causes a change reaction of confusion. In result to this pressure placed on people, stereotypes of race, gender, and other groups are formed.

Inara wrote: "The ethnic value of "All American Boys" is centered around the lack of tolerance for those who are different. The authors highlight the lack of acceptance of others. They show how people in the nov..."
I agree wth Inara. This book is trying to show the prejudice to a race. People seem to judge someone before they get to know them and they might not ant to be friends with them just by appearance. This book was a very good example of the judgment that takes place every day in this world.