Is Knight Racist
Introduction
Is Knight a ' 'class racist ' ' as Pierre Bourdieu names her in his Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, or is she a strong woman figure who accomplishes to travel all alone from Boston to New York in the year of 1704? The answer to this question will take shape as I analyze her journey and her encounters in depth. Knight’s Journal illustrates that a woman in the 18th century can complete a rather difficult and long physical journey by herself. Considering the hardships of traveling and restricted possibilities in that era, what she achieves sounds mighty and fearless.
However, in a time when women are seen as submissive, inferior and weak, would Knight have had the privilege to undertake such a risky venture
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Most of the time, she describes her surroundings and the people she encounters from an upper perspective. In other words, her arrogance mostly causes her to criticize and mock people from lower social groups.
When Knight and her guide decide to stay at a family house in the very beginning of her journey, the elder daughter of the family is perplexed and probably shocked by seeing a woman traveling alone. Therefore, she points her amazement between these lines: "Law for mee–what in the world brings You here at this time a night? –I never see a woman on the Rode so Dreadfull late, in all the days of my versall life. Who are You? Where are You going? "
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