Essay

“Otherness” is about being different and not about being exactly like someone else. In the online dictionary, “otherness” is defined as the quality of being different or distinct in appearance, character, etc. “(the free dictionary) I remember when my daughter formed a sense of otherness when she decided to spike her hair and wear all black. She wanted to be different but then when she decided to be different, other people decided to fallow her and wear what she was wearing. I think another example of someone who would feel a sense of otherness would be a person who would move to another country. I think that person would form a sense of otherness because they would not be like anyone else. I guess some would say that they were the only one of that kind. The poem that I analyzed was Claude McKay, “White House”. I think this poem expresses “otherness” because it is about someone that does not belong to the group. “The door is shut against my tightened face” shows the reader that the person who wrote the poem does not belong so he formed some sense of “otherness”. In the last line of the poem it states the hate for politicians have for certain groups because it shows that one person alone is powerless. “Your door is shut against my tightened face, and I am sharp as steel with discontent” (Poets.org, 2010), he eludes to his aggression or passionate response to being shut out. I believe that the author thinks that “otherness” is shutting a person out so that a person is all alone. I think the “other” is the richer class of society. Renaissance and traveled the world writing about injustice and discrimination as well as political issues (Lowney, 2004). His writing seems to be mostly about urban alienation, separation, and segregation, and bigotry which it is apparent in his poem “The White House”. I think this poem is saying that if a person does not live up to a certain standard than their shut out by society. The other in this poem is the author, his voice or point of view is of the one being “shut out” for merely being different. The author states how he wants to be included in the life he sees others living, the homes they have and the law that was written for them. In this line, “The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet, I think society makes them “other” because society will frown upon a person who does not live a certain standard. Basically the “white house” is like the rich people of society who will not let a person in because they do not make a certain income class. “Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate against the potent poison of your hate.” (Mckay) is letting the reader know that although a person might have more money and be more powerful, that people in society should not form this “otherness” and they should let things go. A chafing savage, down the decent street”(Poets.org,2010), the author implies that he does not belong or is not even allowed to... I think “otherness” is a good thing to learn about especially for someone who is going into education because we need to teach children how to be different but we also need to teach children how to accept people for who they are. I think if children learn to get past the differences than our world will be a much better place.   References McKay, Claude (2004) "White House," in After All These Decades: The Complete Poems of Claude McKay. Urbana, University of Illinois Press.