Racial Prejudicing in the Warriors Book Series

Fireheart

At first glance, the Warriors series of books are about feral cats who have established tribal governments and embark upon wild adventures. However there are also some strong undertones of racism. "Kitty-Pets", cats who were born and raised in captivity, are not allowed on clan turf and are banned from ever becoming a part of the clans.
They are treated like outcasts or untouchables and are shunned by the cats who were born feral. Kitty-pets are also banned from ever attaining the status of leader because of the simple fact that they're kitty-pets, disregarding Firestar who is a special exception. Inter-group mating and marriage is strictly forbidden and results in the immediate exile of the cat who engaged in these activities. If these inter-group matings produce kittens, those kittens are shunned by both clan cats and kitty-pets alike because they are the product of forbidden intercourse. *Spoiler Alert* In the original series, the character Fire Heart meets and mates with a female cat he had known when he was a kitty-pet. This copulation results in the birth of a kitten named Cloud Paw. Cloud Paw is of course shunned by the other Thunder Clan cats because he is a "mulatto", for lack of a better word. *End Spoiler Alert* The clan cats also display strong feelings of racial prejudice towards the kitty-pets. They seem to consider themselves superior in all aspects, and it is this feeling of superiority that makes them look down on the kitty-pets. It really is interesting to consider why there are such racist motifs in the stories and whether they imply that Erin Hunter harbors racist feelings or that Erin was trying to defeat racial prejudicing. Take the messages however you please, but  take a minute to consider them.


HyperSmash