Victorian's Racism

The Victorian Era is said in the Broadview  to be a mindset that shifted throughout the century. The Victorian era can't be pinned down to one mindset, but a range of them. The issue of racism is a defining continuous mindset of the era. In a few passages we see a string of people discuss race in the Victorian period. The famous Charles Dickens writes "The Noble Savage" and the private words of William Thackery are shown through snippets of letters to Mrs. Carmichael-Smyth. Both men talk of the Africans as if they are not apart of the human species. Dickens states "I call him savage, and I call a savage something highly desirable to be civilized off the face of the earth." Dicken's  words are disturbing, and violent. In this particular example he is rooting that the indigenous people should not be on Earth. Within the opening of the passage the audience can see where Dickens stands on race. He believes the the natives "monsters." He categorizes these people as something not someone. Dickens precedes on and on in a disgusting manor about his opinion of natives. He presents such a violent hatred for these people. He calls them "diseased absurdities" and "disgusting." Like Dickens, Thackery is unable to see the natives as people. Thackery finds himself superior to these people.  I believe racism for these men lies within the unknown, and a fear for these people. In my eyes both men are afraid of the natives. For the time period I presume being racist was a norm for a majority of white people, but it was shocking to me how educated, white men could have theories of how these people must not be apart of their species because of  differences in appearance. Ignorance is a word that I personally associate with racism. Dickens highly disappoints me. For a writer who shed light on social issues to be so ignorant and violently hateful to a group of people is disgusting. Dickens and Thackery's arguments to depict why these people can't possible be apart of their species give me a better insight on the Victorian Era's view on racism. Dickens who shed light on the plight of classes, has no regard over the plight of race, and how that factors into classism. The indigenous people were the lowest class, or in many cases had no class status. Classism is also an issue of the Victorian era. Classism and racism go hand in hand, which is also a problem I think we can identify with in our society. Racism is still alive, and can be also be identified with class position. In our society it the remarks of Dickens and Thackery would be seen as an unacceptable way to express racism. In our society it is unacceptable to be so unsubtle with racist remarks, but racism is prevalent today as we can see through out debate in class there is still an issue.