Differences Between Tropic Of Orange And The Underground Railroad

Bridget Baker

Dylan Thompson

ENGL 128

1 May 2023

Approaches to Cultural Diversity in The Underground Railroad vs. Tropic of Orange One of the most controversial hot-button issues of 21st century politics has been the topic of cultural appropriation. While this phenomenon has been recognized by communities of color in America for decades, if not centuries, it is only fairly recently that it has become a common idea in the heads of many white Americans. Although the issue is now so politically charged that even its mere mentioning can trigger vicious discourse, its existence is now so factually proven that arguing against it is essentially a waste of time. While the topic can be approached from a variety of perspectives equally validly, there

Perhaps the most obvious is the contrast between the mockery in the former and the celebration in the latter. The people in North Carolina appropriate Blackness in order to mock and degrade it, and in a way delegitimize it as an actual culture capable of valid art or society. This makes sense, as the entire goal of the state is to completely eliminate Black people, so this mockery contributes to the dehumanization of African Americans, making it easier for the citizens to go along with the government’s agenda. In contrast, the way Japanese culture is treated by the white Americans in Tropic of Orange is intended to be a celebration. The white woman takes great pains to explain how she appreciates these foreign cultures and tries to expose herself to as many different ones as possible to broaden her horizons. In a way, she is trying to legitimize these other cultures as being just as valid and important as her own American background, but the fact that she has to state this repeatedly and over emphasize this belief may show that she is overcompensating for her instinctive idea that American culture is

While the way Black culture is treated in The Underground Railroad makes the degradation very obvious, the insidious “otherization” of culture in Tropic of Orange can be just as dangerous in promoting ideas of white supremacy. In many ways this remains a serious issue to this day, as the there continue to be arguments about the proper way to approach minority cultures, and white appropriation of these cultures for white entertainment and profit continues to go on. While there may not be one clear solution to this multifaceted issue, it is still important to at least be able to have these discussions, which is why literature like these stories continue to be so important in dismantling the deeply held ideas of white