Ideological Victimization of Individuality within Contrasting Colors: A Study of Althusserian ISAs and RSAs in Rhode’s GhostBoys

It is undeniable that children are the gleams of hope, potential to improve the conditions of life. Since modern theorieshave debunked that ideology has pervaded the world and penetrated into all the layers of the communities, a numberof authors have disclosed culturally inculcated ideologies amidst the development of the plotlines of their literaryworks. Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, is among African-American writers acting fairly in revealingthe victimization of all the individuals and not exclusively blacks. Compatible to Rhodes’s style of writing, LouisAlthusser’s notions of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) and Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs) broach uponthe fact that the material world inhabited by social members is intricately built upon the foundation of ideology;accordingly, no system of ideas and ideals are exempt from the social, political and economic determinations of thedominant power structure of a society. This study, by analyzing Althusserian critical theory on ideology and Rhodes’sGhost Boys congruently, attempts to de-enemize white race by proving it to be the true object of ideologicalmanipulations. The analyses lead to the conclusion that the impartial interpretation of race-based violence and culturalsubjugation in children’s literature can disclose the ideological controlling of all the individuals; by educating childrenthrough giving unprejudiced awareness, one can optimistically hope to see the young generations construct their worldwith unprecedented awareness and pleasant compromise.

کلیدواژه ها:

Althusser ، ideology ، ISAs and RSAs ، manipulation ، race-based violence ،