Voyage to the Island | Social Sensitivity

Voyage to the Island Social Sensitivity

Voyage to the Island focuses on two major social issues—the place of the deaf in the hearing world and the clash of European and Afro-Caribbean culture. Nieminen offers much insight into the obstacles faced by the deaf community in any culture as they attend social events, shop, and travel. Any hearing person who reads this book will become more aware in their dealings with deaf persons. Equally important, Nieminen portrays her increasing awareness of the problem of racism on St. Lucia. Whites tend to be well off and condescending or arrogant as compared with the poverty-stricken black islanders, and Nieminen's own prejudices become evident in her dealings with the various servants she employs as housekeepers and gardeners. Not until she sees first-hand the conditions in which the majority of the island's residents live does she come to comprehend the sources of these antagonisms—hunger, filth, hopelessness. She herself deals openly with...
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