Many parallels can be drawn between the book ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and Racism in Canada. One obvious parallel is the belief that people who are part of visible minorities are “below” Caucasian people. I, as a white person, have had the privilege of not being treated like Virgil and believed to be stupid or below anyone in this way. I can however connect it to my experience of being a girl. As a girl I have been treated as weaker than the boys or less “sporty.” Though racism is much worse than a problem like that and people of minorities can sometimes be paid less because people feel their work is of less value. Additionally, people in minorities are mistreated, and called slurs in their daily life. I personally can only imagine what it would be like to be bothered, going about my day by someone who just didn’t like the way I looked. Friends of mine though, have been bullied for these exact reasons. They have been called names by people they went to school with. To add to such a touchy topic, people who are part of minorities are often assumed to have done something wrong or falsely accused of crimes. This is clearly a parallel to how Virgil is treated at the beginning of the book. He is assumed to have committed the murder and, adding to the last point, called names. The only reason Sam has for his behavior is because Virgil is black. This behavior happens in real life and although it has never happened to me all you have to do is turn on the news and find a perfect example. ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and its parallels to Racism around me has made me more aware of small things in life I otherwise would have not fully noticed.