“He who tries to protect himself from deception is often cheated, even when most on his guard” (Plautus). This quote perfectly describes the life of Ariana Osgood, in the book Privilege by Kate Brian. Ariana uses her gift of analyzing people to prevent herself from being lied to or taken advantage of. Although she is especially cautious in her life, she often finds herself being used. She is merely a pawn in someone's game of chess. Even though Ariana has experienced this time and time again, she still continues to let others get close to her emotionally. Throughout all the secrets and lies, Ariana never truly learns how to protect herself from all of the deception surrounding her.
In life, sometimes what you see isn’t what you get. In every dark
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The small things are always what count in the end. Those small details, make the puzzle. It is often difficult to see past the hard shell that many people have put up to protect themselves. Ariana takes it upon herself to break down these walls, however, she doesn’t always like what she finds. For example, when Ariana is talking to a drunk Briana Leigh, she says something that makes Ariana’s ears tingle. Briana Leigh says that she killed her father. Ariana can’t believe she had been misled again. “Ariana’s fingers closed around her forearm as she fought the urge to vomit. She felt so abysmally stupid. What was wrong with her? How could she ever had doubted Kaitlynn?... Briana Leigh was evil.” (Brian 233). After realizing her mistake, Ariana can’t be sure of anything anymore. She tried her whole life to avoid being cheated, only to be lied to by multiple people she thought she could trust. Ariana can’t help but feel sick about her new found knowledge. Although she hates the news that she has, she uses it to her advantage and forms a new plan. Even though some news is hard to take, it is often more helpful than you think, and might just help you
In May 2014, Time.com published an article that would soon become the source of no small amount of social contention (1). In the article, “Dear Privileged-at-Princeton: You. Are. Privileged. And Meritocracy Is a Myth,” author Briana Payton lashes out at classmate Tal Fortgang for an article he wrote a month prior (1). Payton, a freshman studying sociology at Princeton University and the political antithesis of Fortgang, takes issue with her classmates’ definition of the word “privilege” (1). She argues that, because Fortgang is white, society inherently affords him “privilege” (Payton 1). Payton’s main flaw is her tone — her condescending, demeaning, and arrogant rhetoric distracts from her content and diminishes her credibility. Conversely,
"Why can 't black people just work harder?" Hard work results in success, and black people are in many cases looked at as less successful than white people. Therefore, that means that black people simply work less hard than white people. This is the perspective that many privileged white people may have when discussing the issue of white privilege. They fail to realize that white privilege plays a significant role in what opportunities someone might have. In Princeton University student, Tal Fortgang 's essay, "Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege", he criticizes those who tell him to "Check your privilege". He argues that the phrase discredits his achievements, and that white privilege is not the reason that he became
them” and “friend and enemies”, there are other texts in which correspond to the same ideas and can be utilized to further support the relevance oppression has to these particular concepts. To elaborate, another text also written by Octavia Butler entitled Wild Seed thoroughly supports the concept that “control” is regarded as the underlying issue to oppression. A clear reference to be made involves characters of both Kindred and Wild Seed. Within Wild Seed Doro abuses his control and utilizes his powers for selfish purposes as do the white men in Kindred. In both instances innocent people are harmed and abused without proper cause. Another inference to be made details that in each situation both Doro and the white men are referenced as the
In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton a teenage boy named Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers named Soda and Darry, and there is some controversy on whether or not his brothers are able to take proper care of Ponyboy. All three of the brothers are apart of the neighborhood gang called “The Greasers”, which is more like a brotherhood of underprivileged boys that have eachother’s backs rather than a gang. Ponyboy finds himself involved with the murder of an egotistical “Soc” named Bob, and is at risk of being taken away from his family and friends. Ponyboy should be able to stay with his brothers, because he is a well-rounded student that obeys the law for the most part, and his brothers are able to provide financial and emotional
In the short story, “Until Gwen” by Dennis Lehane, it starts off with the main character named Bobby who is getting picked up by his father from prison with a stolen Dodge Neon. His father wasn’t alone, he brought himself a company and it was a hooker named Mandy. We got a sense of who his father was, a “professional thief, a consummate con man” (647). We don’t know why he was in prison until the rest of the story slowly reveals the flashbacks he has with his girlfriend Gwen and the incident prior of going to jail. Bobby has no sense of who he is or where he is from because there no proof of record of him such as a birth certificate. After meeting Gwen, his life has changed and felt the sense of belonging into the world he is living in. Bobby’s
The contentious little book titled Women, Power, Politics maintains politics to be devalued, acknowledging the fact that only few people do vote, and women are unable to achieve within the realm of Canadian politics. Sylvia Bashevkin, the author of the book argues that Canadians have a profound unease with women in positions of political authority, what she calls the "women plus power equals discomfort" equation. She evaluates a range of barriers faced by women who enter politics, including the media's biased role of representing the private lives of women in politics, and she wonders why citizens find politics is underrepresented in Canada compared to Belgium. In clear, accessible terms, Bashevkin explains her ideas on how to eliminate “low voters turn-out,” “devaluation of politics,” "gender schemas," and "media framing.” She outlines some compelling solutions to address the stalemate facing women in Canadian politics which are; contesting media portrayals, changing the rule of the game, improving legislative quotas, electoral reform, movement renewals, and so on. This response paper would addresses the reality of a political mainstream, actions which should be taken against the oppressive elements of reality, and the awareness it brings through economic, social, and political environment.
Language always conveys a message. Language can convey a message that is full of manipulation. In Robin Lakoff’s essay, “Everybody’s a Politician”, she discusses how manipulation is used in day to day conversations, even if one is not intentionally trying to manipulate. Language can be used to dominate others. In the essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he explains the power of using names to define others. Language can change the way a person thinks. In the same essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he also discusses the way someone thinks can be changed by language. Lastly, language has the power to degrade an individual. In another essay, by Robin Lakoff, “You Are What You Say”, she explains how
For so long she has been around what she saw as the destination for her life, which was success and happiness, in the lifelong family friends the Lowells. She assumed they were just given this life without ever thinking they had to work as hard as she did to get there, consequently envy and resentment ensued. The resentment started with the whole family and then got more intense and personal when it came to the daughter of the Lowells, Parker, someone Andrea could identify with on a personal level. This story illustrated for us the unseen factors and repercussions that too much ambition to be accepted by anyone can have one's long lasting development into their own person. This journey to prove who you are to others can lead to intense emotions and motives that aren’t normal yours and can cause you to lose sight of the very person you’re trying to prove that you
Dwight Lyman Moody once uttered the words, "Character is what you are in the dark." One interpretation of this quote's meaning is that your true self is revealed during difficult times. I believe that Lyman Moody's words are entirely true, both in literature and in life. In the novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Tris' true values are revealed during hard times when she stands up for what she believes in, protects her fellow citizens, and distances herself from those who could be dangerous to her.
She states, “Any good liar knows that the way to perpetuate an untruth is to deflect attention from it” (Ericsson 123). This is true. I remember getting in trouble with my parents for lying about my bad grades. Knowingly, that I was not the only one in the house with bad grades, when I was getting yelled at and listening to a lecture from my parents. I deflected all attention by announcing to my parents that my sisters also had bad grades. Deflecting all the attention off of me my parents were quick to call my sisters and lecture them about their grades. Learning from that I had learned to deflect my lies so that I would not get in trouble in the
The history of slavery in America is one that has reminders of the institution and its oppressive state of African Americans in modern times. The slaveholders and the slaves were intertwined in a cruel system of oppression that did not yield to either side. The white slaveholders along with their black slaves became codependent amongst each other due to societal pressures and the consequences that would follow if slaves were emancipated with race relations at a high level of danger. This codependency between the oppressed and the oppressor has survived throughout time and is prevalent in many racial relationships. The relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor can clearly be seen in Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred. In this novel, the protagonist Dana Franklin, a black woman, time travels between her present day 1977 and the antebellum era of 19th century Maryland. Throughout her journeys back to the past, Dana comes in contact with her white ancestor, Rufus Weylin, a white slave owner and Dana ultimately saves his life and intermingles with the people of the time. Butler’s story of Dana and her relationship with Rufus and other whites as she travels between the past and the present reveals how slaveholders and slaves depended on and influenced one other throughout the slaves bondage. Ultimately, the institution of slavery reveals how the oppressed and the oppressor are co-dependent; they need each other in order to survive.
First and foremost, the novel Hush by Jacqueline Woodson deals with a lot of issues, but if we really look closely at Toswiah/Evie’s internal journey we really understand that the book revolves around Evie/Toswiah and how she needs to about figure out who she is. Toswiah/Evie asks herself questions within the novel about her identity. So, if I were to judge: I believe the uprising theme of Hush is to never forget who you are. I say this because her character keeps reminiscing about how her life was in Denver how she had what she believes is “the perfect life” she had a roof over her head, food on the table, and a best friend who meant to world to her. In the novel Toswiah/Evie begins to question her external circumstances. For instance, being placed in the Witness Protection Program, and being
In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is entering high school completely alone. She has no friends and she has no one to turn to, even the people she doesn’t know hate her. All of this is happening to Melinda because she called the cops at an end of summer party and no one even bothered to ask her why. Something terrible happened that night at the party and memories of the event terrify and haunt her. There’s something about that night that she tries to forget, something she tries to not remember. Throughout the book you see ways Melinda is coping with her trauma. In the process of it all her nightmare, Andy Evans, comes and attacks her again, but this time Melinda isn’t so quiet about it. By the end of the book, Melinda uncovers her secret that has been trapped in her thoughts. Anderson develops a theme that if something traumatic
1. (a) Privilege is defined as a favor or right granted to some people, but not to everyone.
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” shows in society how a woman should be placed and what it means to be a woman. A women doesn’t question her partner, instead she is subservient to him. A woman’s duties include staying at home taking care of the children and cooking; while the man works and brings home the money. A feministic approach to Kincaid’s “Girl” points to the idea of the stereotypes that women can only be what they do in the home, they should only be pure and virtuous, and their main focus should be satisfying their husband.