Sivanathan 1

Ovija Sivanathan

Mr. Devine

ENG2D1

October 13, 2021

Judgement
Individuals are quick to judge others based on the appearance of someone before getting

to know one’s character first. People treat others differently from the assumptions they make

based on their skin, allowing many not to appreciate the skin they are in. This is no different in

the poems “What do I Remember about Evacuation?” by Joy Kogawa and “Don’t Believe the

Hype” by the artist Public Enemy, which both talk about the racism experienced in the world

today. Both poems use discrimination and inequality to illustrate how racial injustice affects

individuals because of the colour of one’s skin.

In “What do I Remember about the Evacuation?” the race is not valued and appreciated

by the public. The poem states, “And Tim flew the Union Jack / When the war was over but

Lorraine / And her friends spat on us anyway” (34-36). The poem explains that Japan had

bombed the USA during World War II, which created anger towards the Japanese people. This

anger forms discrimination among the people because of the way they are treated apart from

others. In this case, Lorraine spits on them out of hatred even when Tim symbolizes peace by

holding the Union Jack. The hostility derived from the public proves that the people are still not

accepted because of the discrimination towards their race even after the war. This emphasizes

that the writer, who is Japanese, feels like she is excluded because of her race since people have

learned not to trust Japanese people in general.

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Specific individuals build stereotypes from the colour of one’s skin in “Don’t Believe the

Hype.” As the writer emphasizes his challenges, he says, “Some claim that I’m a smuggler /

Some say I never heard of ya, a rap burglar / False media, we don’t need it do we?” (32-34).

This line illustrates that the assumptions “rap burglar” and “smuggler” are driven by false

media. Thus, these accusations from the false media influence society to label black people as

“bad people” since individuals are motivated to believe what they hear on the news. This affects

the way others treat individuals because their skin colour becomes a representation of someone

to fear in society.

Both races are affected by the way they look since their image based on society impacts

how one is viewed. In the poem, “What do I Remember about Evacuation?,” the girl explicitly

states, “I prayed to the God who loves / All the children in his sight / That might be white”

(37-39). The girl is ashamed of her own race because of how other people treat her, which is why

she wishes she was white. She acknowledges that the world will always see her differently from

others no matter what she does. While in the poem, “Don’t Believe the Hype,'' the writer states,

“I refuse to blow a fuse” (16). The writer in “Don’t Believe the Hype” tries to dismiss the

stereotypes about his race to prove his innocence when he does nothing wrong. He implies that

he does not want to cause a scene or get angry, to make him appear acceptable amongst the

public. The fact that he must do this proves how much society’s thoughts affect his emotions in

order to feel accepted. The two change the way they think and how each individual, as well as

society, perceive themselves. Moreover, in both poems, we see how the colour of one’s skin

impacts how others feel about themselves, affecting their lives and how they are viewed.

“What do I Remember about Evacuation” and “Don’t Believe the Hype” informs us

about how individuals are cultivated to judge one by their appearance while indicating the impact
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they have in their lives. One’s treatment towards others shows the inequality and racial tension

intertwined in someone’s life. The two poems continue to express that people who experience

racism go through severe challenges daily, influencing negativity towards one's race everywhere

in the world today.