The Esquimaux Maiden’s Romance is one of the best short stories of Mark Twain criticizing social discrimination. Twain tries to criticize different treatment in society happened to both of a rich man and a poor man. Twain, as the narrator of the story, tells his experience when he met a girl of Eskimo named Lasca, in Artic Circle. The twenty years-old girl, told anything of her life, such as her life in Artic Circle and her romance. She was the daily friend of Twain in a week. More he knew about the girl, more he liked her. Although there are some issues of discrimination in the story, here this essay will focus on the different treatment happened to both of the rich and the poor man.
The first main discussion of this essay is when Lasca told about the special treatment that people in her tribe give to Lasca’s father. Lasca explained that her father was a rich man in his tribe at the time. As a rich man, people gave prime attention to him. Her father had twenty two fish-hooks, the greatest quantities in the tribe. When he was poor, people disrespected to him. However, when he became rich, his wealth made many his neighboring tribesmen cringing and obsequious to him. “And his wealth makes everybody cringing and obsequious to him.’ (paragraph 103, line 12). Moreover, her status as a daughter of a millionaire did not make her life happy.
‘It pains me to see neighbouring tribesmen stare as they pass by, and overhear them say, reverently, one to another, "There--that is she--the millionaire's daughter!" And sometimes they say sorrowfully, "She is rolling in fish-hooks, and I--I have nothing." It breaks my heart.’ (paragraph 103, line 3).The neighboring tribesmen respected to her family only because of his father’s wealth, and they only see Lasca as a daughter of a rich man, not Lasca as an ordinary girl. Therefore, she did not clearly see whether the admiration showed by them is really pure from their hearts or not.
Another social discrimination happened in the story is the unfair treatment to a poor man named Kalula. Kalula, as a stranger from another tribe, came and stayed in the Lasca’s tribe. He suddenly loved Lasca just after meeting her. Lasca’s father, a haughty man, felt unrespect to Kalula. He considered Kalula as a poor man who did not deserve to love his daughter, Lasca. Kalula, who suddenly loved Lasca, did not know that Lasca’s father is a rich man. Kalula then was amazed by twenty two Lasca’s father fish-hooks. One night, he could not sleep for thinking for the beautiful hooks. He kissed and fondled them, but he did not steal them.
‘”It was I. I could not sleep for thinking of the beautiful hooks. I went there and kissed them and fondled them, to appease my spirit and drown it in a harmless joy, then I put them back. I may have dropped one, but I stole none."’ (paragraph 146, line 1).Lasca’s father woke up in the morning and realized that there was one hook lost. Without any investigation, Lasca’s father immediately accused Kalula as the thief. ‘"Up, everybody, and seize the stranger!"’ (paragraph 123, line 5). Afterward, Kalula was brought to court, and the judge convicted that he was wrong, and he was taken far out to sea and was set on an iceberg was drifting southward. Kalula was punished by something he never did. An unfair treatment he accepted just because he was only a poor man.
In brief, this story criticizes the dissimilar social treatment happened in both of millionaire and poor man. First, people sometimes respect to the millionaire just because of his wealth. Furthermore, they are cringing and obsequious to him. Besides, people always disrespect to the poor man. People are regularly suspicious with him. When he did something wrong, he is suddenly accused and punished. Those both are social discrimination usually happened in society. The message sent by the story is actually not to respect to someone only because of his wealth, and not to accuse someone without knowing what real happened.
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