Jeff's+Contemporary+Event


 * Contemporary Event**

As a country, we believe that our society has come a long way from where it was during the mid 1800’s, but has it? The episode from the novel and the historical event I chose to focus on share common aspects, the capture of a certain race and the relocation of this race to a place of hardship. In many aspects, our country has come a long way since the 1800’s, but the capture of certain races and the relocation of that race to a place of hardship are still current events.

Although the targeted race has changed and we no longer send the person in to the dark bonds of slavery, the skeleton of our actions is still the same. I am talking about illegal immigrants from Mexico coming into the United States. "The economic, social and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding race, ethnicity, economic benefits, job growth, settlement patterns, impact on upward social mobility, levels of criminality, nationalities, political loyalties, moral values, and work habits" (Wikipedia: Immigration to the United States). The goal of these immigrants is the same goal as the fugitive slaves, a better life in a new place. For the slave this new place was a free state and for the Mexican immigrants this new place is the United States.

The second similarity is the split support from the natives of the new place. Many believe that fugitive slaves should have been returned to slavery. Accordingly, many believe that illegal immigrants should be exported to Mexico. The majority of the populations in both situations believe that the new comer is welcome as long they abide by all the laws and live like a normal citizen.

Mark Twain knew that the problem of race was not going to leave the United States quietly. He wrote his novel as critique of the time period leading up to the publication of his novel in hope that people would later come to fix problems of the past. The problem of race has not disappeared from the United States; this has made his novel an accurate critique of this contemporary event. Home