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1. 1 • Randy Henderson said:
   August 13th, 2008 at 1:17 pm, permalink

   RE: IBARW3: Literature and Other Works That Address Race Allegorically Without Actually Addressing It

   To be fair, in addition to my single paragraph that is quoted in the above blog, I went on to say:

   “I did not say that using substitutes such as Elven integration issues to represent African American integration issues is a perfect and exact parallel, but rather that it can be used to convey similar feelings and experiences.

   For example, I can write an essay on the disparities between powder cocaine laws and crack cocaine laws, and the conviction rates and prison terms for African American males versus white males for drug crimes in America. I could even write a story about an African American family that struggles to make ends meet after the father/husband in imprisoned for years on a lame drug charge.

   But what if I wanted to transfer this issue to my fantasy novel, a novel I hope to be read by the legions of readers who are looking for their next epic fantasy fix after burning through Tolkien, Jordan, etcetera?

   I could create a parallel African race and history of slavery, integration, and social prejudice, and tell my tale. That could be a great book, and one worth writing. However, as an epic fantasy writer, my target audience did not buy my book looking for commentary on modern racial issues. They bought it looking for the comfortable and familiar tropes of epic fantasy.

   So perhaps I can instead tell the tale of how the elves in my world were enslaved, then integrated, and have a higher-than-normal addicted to rum. Even though the elves are supposedly now considered “equal” members of society and laws singling out elves are supposedly things of the past, there are laws against the use and sale of rum, and drunken or disorderly behavior while drunk on rum, that are harsh and far in excess of any laws against other forms of alcohol, etc. And one of the main characters of my story has been shaped by such prejudiced laws and attitudes, etcetera. (Okay, pretty lame, but I’m working off the top of my head here).

   Anyway, point is, while this does not directly demonstrate prejudice against an African American character, it does demonstrate how a society’s laws and legal system can be inherently prejudiced towards a particular group, etcetera. It lays the framework in the reader’s mind that will allow them to better recognize and understand such prejudices and disparities in the real world.

   …

   If you’re going to go through that much effort to analogize the African American experience with elves, why not just do it with humans of color?

   Ummm… good point. But mostly, I’d expect such info to be background info in an epic fantasy, not main plot points. And thus I’ve just created some good detail around my elven culture in this fantasy world.

   But ideally, you’d consider such racial issues and influences when world building your fantasy races (to make them rich and believable) AND include non-white human races with well-thought-out histories and issues as well.

   I also wrote:
   But by changing the color of a character’s skin, you suddenly have to ask a lot of questions, questions that can make your world more believable, and make that story deeper, richer, and more interesting without being overtly political or polemic.

   What is the character’s race?

   Where is this race from, and how did members of this race arrive in your story location? Brought as slaves? Traders? Invaders? Refugees? What’s the history of integration?

   Is this race capable of the special abilities (i.e. magic, telepathy, etc.) you allow in your world, and if so, how are members of this race who have the abilities treated differently than those of other races? How are they treated differently than mundane members of their own race?

   What religions does this race practice? Does that create conflicts or open up opportunities for them with other races?

   What stereotypes are associated with this race?
   Are there specific jobs traditionally associated to this race?

   Is there a clear economic stratification between the races? Why?

   Is this race especially prone (or resistant) to any diseases? How does that affect their place in society or their habits?

   Are there special laws that apply only to this race?

   What are the societal views on interracial relationships? How are interracial offspring treated?

   How has this race influenced the music, art, technology, etcetera of the area?

   Etcetera and so forth.

   By asking these kinds of questions and including them in your world building, and by making one or more key characters be of this race, you open up all kinds of new opportunities for character conflict and growth.

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