The global issue is examining the discrimination faced due to social hierarchical structures.

This has been narrowed to the discrimination by marginalized communities. This is because
the two texts I’ve chosen i.e., DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar and Miss Julie by August Strindberg
highlight the struggles faced by marginalised communities, whether it is due to their race or
class. Lamar’s DAMN. presents the tragic hegemonic manifestations of black vs. white
encounters in 21st century America. In the extract BLOOD., Lamar is shot by a blind lady
which is symbolic of police brutality against blacks in America. Moving on to the summary of
Miss Julie. The 1880s in Europe saw the second industrial revolution which contributed to
the rise of a new class of self-made Europeans. In this play, the character Jean is portrayed
as a self-made European who strives to rise amid the discrimination he faced as a lower
class servant in the aristocratic society. In the extract, Jean laments about the struggles he
faces as a lower-class servant to Miss Julie. The thesis is- what are the struggles faced by
marginalized communities due to racial and class discrimination?

My main claim for the extract BLOOD. is- The American government/media ironically backs
up the police brutality and trauma caused by racial discriminators rather than supporting
the marginalised. My first point is, Lamar demonstrates how police brutality against blacks
in the 21st century has negatively affected their lives. The “blind woman” in the parable “So
I was taking a walk the other day…you’ve lost your life” alludes to the Lady justice in Roman
mythology. The blind woman is shown to have “lost something”. When Lamar (as a
character in this parable) tries to offer her help to find it, she gets angry and shoots him,
which is evident through the gunshot in the song. This is symbolic of violence unjustly used
by the police against innocent African Americans. Thus it can be implied that the metaphoric
item that the lady justice was looking for is justice in America, which was lost due to such
discriminatory acts.

My second point is, Lamar tries to console the trauma within the black community through
the paradoxical theme of wickedness and weakness. Lamar introduces this theme at the
beginning of BLOOD., by posing the open-ended questions “Is it wickedness? Is it
weakness?”. This theme biblically alludes to the duality of obeying God and being blessed,
or disobeying him and being damned—giving into “wickedness” or admitting your
“weaknesses”. This implies that the “wicked” oppressors would be damned for their cruel,
discriminatory actions against the “weak” African American community.

My final point is, the opinions of African Americans are suppressed in the American society.
In one of his former songs, Lamar expressed his thought of African Americans being afraid of
the “popo” (slang for police) as they are worried about being killed by them solely due to
their race. The FOX. news recording played at the end of BLOOD., reveals how Lamar was
rejected as an important musician by the government and media for expressing this opinion,
as they viewed it as him blaming the police force of America. The fact that there was no
pause between the gunshot and cacophonic voices in the news recording shows how the
discriminators’ opinions overpower the blacks’ lamenting about their hardships.

My main claim for the album DAMN. is- The socioeconomic struggles of African Americans
lead to a vicious cycle of self-perpetuating racism. My first point is, Lamar illustrates how the
dire conditions in which the African Americans grew up in due to their poor economic
status, affected their progress in the society. Epistrophe is demonstrated within the first
verse of “DNA” by Lamar’s repeated use of the text “inside my DNA.” In the opening lines of
the song he states, “Loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA.” This is immediately followed by the
text “Cocaine quarter piece, got war and peace inside my DNA.” This use of paradox where
words with a positive connotation such as “loyalty” and “royalty” are in immediate
opposition with words that have a negative connotation such as “cocaine quarter piece” and
“war” reveals how Lamar is concerned with lifting up the black community as well as
criticising the abuse that results from members within his community, because of the illegal
activities they commit to earn a living.

My second point is- Lamar illustrates the importance of treating disenfranchised people
with humanity. The song DUCKWORTH. resembles a monologue where Lamar addresses
how Anthony, the founder of his label tried to rob the KFC owned by Ducky, his father. The
line “That one decision changed both of they lives” refers to Anthony sparing Ducky’s life. If
Kendrick’s father had died, he wouldn’t have had a male role model and may have gone
further into the cycle of gang crime and death. Ultimately this song functions as an allegory
depicting how the gang problem is aggravated by criminal justice strategies used against
black gang members.

My third point is- Lamar laments about the way racism drags down humanity while clinging
to the hope of impossible perfection. In the song PRIDE. he says “I’ll make schools out of
prison” portraying the widely-seen image of prison as a cycle of institutionalised racism,
forcing African Americans back into poverty rather than truly teaching them. Lamar aspires
to live in a “perfect world” which is a biblical allusion of the Garden of Eden, wherein prison
could be a “school” such that the imprisoned learn about their wrongdoings and are aptly
reincorporated into society.

My main claim for the extract in Miss Julie is- The lower class lose their self-worth and
confidence; in consequence of the discrimination they face. My first point is- Jean is
grounded in the lower class and felt like he did not have an identity. Jean states that he has
“never seen the backs” of “hawks and falcons” flying in the expanse of the sky. The sky is a
metaphor for the endless luxuries gained by the aristocrats and the birds flying in it
represent the people in this class. Though Jean aspired to be like the hawks/falcons in
reality, he lived in a “cotter’s hovel” with “seven other children” due to his poor economic
status. In this society home is symbolic of one’s identity and status. Thus, the claustrophobic
nature of Jean’s home can be paralleled with how he felt grounded and confined in his class.
He also shared his home with “a pig” which shows that servants like him were pushed down
to the level of a dirty animal and did not have an identity for themselves.

My second point is- The properties of the aristocrats are juxtaposed with the toil of the
lower-class servants. Strindberg uses spatial metaphor to reflect positions in class. The rose
terrace is paralleled with the Garden of Eden which is a biblical allusion of a paradise. In
contrast, Jean and his mother could only enter this paradise as mere servants “to weed
onion beds”. Thus, while Jean tidies up filth, Miss Julie strolls in the rose terrace. This
depicts the toil of the servants who were treated like waste, as though their only purpose
was to perfect the luxurious lives of the aristocrats.

My third point is- The aristocrats were apathetic to the lower-class servants, despite the
hardships they faced. The visual imagery of “fierce angels” guarding the Garden of Eden
with “flaming swords” portrays how the aristocrats were unwelcoming to the servants who
tried to enter their property. The negative connotations of the words “fierce” and “flaming”
depicts the rage felt by the aristocrats if any servant dared to enter their property. They
were treated like mere objects who were only allowed to enter the garden for doing chores
despite the difficulties they faced while working for the aristocrats.

My main claim for the whole work of Miss Julie is- Discrimination mentally affects the lower
class and hampers their growth in the society. My first point is- Unlike the aristocrats, lower-
class servants require active hard-work to obtain recognition as a self-made European in
19th century Europe. When Miss Julie asks Jean “if he went to school”, he says “a little”. In
this way, Strindberg demonstrates class struggle by juxtaposing the character of Jean with
Miss Julie who gains the benefit of going to school from being born into an aristocratic
family. Yet, at another instance Jean states that he learnt French (a language that is
symbolic of the aristocrats’ nobility) while working as a Sommelier in Switzerland. This is an
example of the ways in which he learns from and adapts to his environment in order to
better himself socially, as he did not receive the opportunity to be formally educated like
the aristocrats.

My second point is, the mental well-being of the lower class is affected due to
discrimination. After Julie and Jean consummate their relationship, the power dynamic of
the house immediately switches. While Miss Julie becomes submissive, Jean acts cold and
dominates over her. Despite this change in power, Jean’s dreams of social mobility
evaporate and he once again feels like a lackey after hearing “two sharp strokes” “ on the
bell” as it reminds him of the Viscount. This motif of the bell shows how Jean’s upbringing as
a lower-class servant made him feel an unsolicited, inherent sense of servility to the
Viscount.

My third point is- Social control is exerted by the aristocrats over the personal life decisions
of the lower-class. When Miss Julie lures Jean into dancing with her on midsummer’s eve, he
says “But I had promised to dance with Christine” (his fiancé). The hyphens at the end of this
line portrays Jean’s hesitant tone, depicting how he might not have been interested in
satisfying this request. Even then Julie doesn’t let go of it and asks Christine to let her
“borrow Jean”. The connotation of the word “borrow”, demonstrates how Miss Julie
wanted to use Jean as an object to satisfy her natural, submissive instincts.

In conclusion, the struggles of racial discrimination is depicted through the fact that African-
Americans receive minimal support from the society, but are instead repressed by the
government/media which leads to a vicious cycle of racism. The struggles of class
discrimination is highlighted by showcasing the loss of self-worth of the lower class, which
mentally affected them and their growth in the society. The major differences between the
two texts is that- While DAMN. focuses on racial discrimination, Miss Julie depicts class
discrimination. However, both the texts use biblical allusion to contrast the oppressors’
paradisiacal and the marginalised community’s strenuous lives.