Re: The 'N' word


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Posted by Jeremy Kriewaldt on January 09, 2006 at 22:49:39 from 202.138.212.58 user JeremyKriewaldt.

In Reply to: Re: The 'N' word posted by Peter H on January 09, 2006 at 18:44:28:

I have just managed to obtain a copy of The Chinese Puzzle and read it with interest - especially looking for any hints of racism in AR's treatment or racist language (even applying modern sensibilities) in AR's words (bearing in mind that China provides even greater possibilities for racism or its expression). Except for the use of the word "coolie" (also used in ML), I couldn't detect any racism in it. Is "coolie" racist? Or does whether it is offensive depend on context?

If AR expresses any racism in The Chinese Puzzle, it is against the "Shanghailanders" - the Europeans resident in China who, in AR's opinion, completely misunderstood the issues in China and consequently misinformed opinion in Europe.

This suggests that there was a literary/storytelling reason why AR wanted one of Black Jake's crew to be a 'person of colour'. One suggestion would be that it serves to re-inforce the presentation of Black Jake as a pirate - pirate crews were supposed to be exotic collections of the flotsam and jetsom of sea-going society (including Bill) - see also Treasure Island. It is consistent with this that the crew should include a tough West Indian (perhaps we need to go back to Knight's Voyage of the Alerte (?)to find if there was a coloured person mentioned there, since so much of PD finds some source there).


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