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An essay on don't judge a book by its cover
An essay on don't judge a book by its cover
An essay on don't judge a book by its cover
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“Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is an overused cliché that has been analyze by many people. The movie Finding Forrester, by James W. Ellison, shows this theme in a more analytical manner. The movie focuses on an unusual relationship between a young man, Jamal Wallace, and a famous writer, William Forrester. Jamal is expected to fail in school and only excel on his basketball career, except he excels in both and never stops trying to achieve his dreams. He is faced with several obstacles, including racial comment and stereotypes assumptions by his teachers, peers, and mentor. The characterization of Finding Forrester is the key to help the reader understand more of each character and how they battle through
The characters are different in many ways; Forrester is a male Caucasian in his mid seventies who graduated from Columbia University and lives by himself. Forrester has confined himself to his apartment for ten years. His only foray to the outside world is when he leans out the window to clean off the grime. Forrester pays for all other necessities that are handled by outside service. Another difference is that Forrester is non-confrontational. He would rather handle a problem behind closed doors than confront the person face to face. For example, when Jamal's English professor thinks he used a title from another author's writing without permission he demands Jamal to write a letter of apology and read it in front of ...
“The Lesson” and “Horatio Alger” illustrate that success is not as easy as the myth claims it to be, but rather challenging. Dalton believes that race is such a key factor that it is affecting the system because it is looked down upon. It is dangerous because some people do not like the fact that they have opportunities. “Horatio Alger”, for example, shows that the path of success is easy for anyone to grasp and fails to unveil the real struggles that is being encountered which Dalton is trying to state because, he says, “Black folk certainly know what it is like to be favored, disfavored, scrutinized, and ignored all on the basis of our race. Sometimes we are judged on a different scale altogether” (273). Dalton is trying to state that black people know what it’s like to be judged and because of this it creates a road block because African Americans believe that they need to be treated differently and they cannot be as great as us. In addition, race has become a huge problem that people tend to cause huge tensions and the way “Horatio Alger’s” essay states that everyone is equal would not be true. On the other hand, Sylvia seems to be under the paradox that Dalton has stated about race. Sylvia throughout the story goes on a field trip to a toy store where she sees items that cost a lot of money from the glass window, but when she enters the store an
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s, and concerns itself primarily with the interrelated themes of prejudice and empathy. These themes are explored as the story follows Scout Finch as she learns lessons in empathy, ultimately rejecting prejudice. While all characters in Lee’s novel learn from their experiences, not all are able to grow in the same manner as Scout. The idea of a positive role model, typified by the character of Atticus Finch, and the ramifications of its absence, is a concept that Lee places much emphasis on. The isolated setting is also pivotal in the development of characters. Lee uses the contrast between characters that learn lessons in empathy and compassion, and characters that cling to the ideals of a small town, to explore factors that nurture or diminish prejudice.
In Black Like Me, author John Howard Griffin’s uses his real life account of his experience of temporarily transforming himself into a black man for six long and intense weeks to experience black oppression first hand. In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses the point of view of Scout Finch, to learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man that was unjustly accused of rape in the southern United States in the 1930s. Black Like Me and To Kill a Mockingbird shows that prejudice originates from ignorance or a person’s unwillingness to understand others. Both Novels present the idea that the only way to bring equality and empathy in society is through courage, knowledge and compassion.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
William helps Jamal find himself in his writing, and Jamal prospers into quite a good writer. The help didn’t really stop there, either. Jamal would tell William all about his day and Does anyone really like to be stereotyped? Does anyone want to be looked at and automatically judged just because of the way they look, by their skin color, their hair type, or even the type of clothing they wear? Finding Forrester is a film that, in my opinion, perpetuates stereotypes.
The movie Finding Forrester has many life lessons all individuals can learn from. It also provides the audience with a clear understanding between the two main characters. They truly care about each other. The protagonist, Jamal, (Rob Brown), and Forrester, (Sean Connery), the supporting character, first meet because of a dare. Jamal and Forrester continue to have a relationship because of the nonverbal communication and collaborating conflict style used to be open and reserved about particular topics. The front door to Forrester’s apartment acts as a symbol of their relationship representing a boundary for being the authentic talented writers while inside Forrester’s apartment, while living their lives away from each other on the outside.
Society plays a large role in Steinbeck’s of Mice and Men. During the Great Depression, many migrant workers relied solely on themselves for travel; these times were very hard for one another to trust, so many people keep to themselves. When at supper on the first night, Slim questions George about his reliance to Lennie, “You guys travel around together?” (Steinbeck 34). Traveling together strikes the 'hands' as odd, because people didn't trust one another enough, in this fragile time, to become friends. Stereotypes are found all over this novel. George elaborates on stereotypes on page 13, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world." (Steinbeck 13). This passage suggests that migrant workers are very isolated
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
Imagine that you are of Arab decent you being screened more thoroughly than others at the airport. The only way the airport staff can identify that you are of Arab decent is based on your family name, Najjar. The airport staff constantly takes extra measures to confirm that you are not a terrorist. Stereotypes have existed in American culture for centuries. Early in American history stereotypes of Negroes and Mexicans predominately associate them with lower-class attributes (Campbell, 1967).
The scene where Jamal takes Forrester to the empty baseball field is a pivotal point in their relationship and the movie. After Forrester shares some extremely personal information, Jamal turns to him and says “the rest of those who have gone before us cannot steady the unrest of those that follow”, this being a direct quote from Forrester’s book. This quote, though he was unaware when he initially wrote it, has a lot of significance to his character. Jamal realizes this and reminds him of the words. It is here that Forrester and Jamal’s friendship solidifies and where the end of the movie is foretold.
In the book Of Mice and Men, the author,John Steinbeck, uses stereotype characters to convey his message. He wants to empathize with his characters as human beings. He uses stereotype characters such as Lennie, George, Curly, Slim, Candy, Crooks, and Curly's wife. Steinbeck's goal is to inform people how life was like for a migrant worker in the 1920's to 1930's.
Race comes in various forms however; it is a topic of concern because no matter if a person claims that they are anti-prejudiced, it is impossible for this world to be free from stereotyping them. A stereotype per dictionary.com is a, “set of inaccurate generalizations about a group/race that allows others, outside the group, to categorize them and treat them according to their group/race”, (SITE DICTIONARY.COM). In the story, Recitatif, readers will come across prejudice acts or stereotypes; however, people tend to realize their own stereotypes as they read or learn about someone else’s, hence making it comfortable throughout the story for themselves.
Paul Simon, the musician, once said, “If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything” (Simon 1). Racism in the 1930s and until the 1960s was a very serious issue. As stated, authors have taken this serious issue and turned it into great pieces of literature. Many of them have truly shown the seriousness of racism in society. Even though, criticism continues. Some critics have argued that Scout, in To Kill A Mockingbird, is an unreliable narrator. This is simply because Scout is a child. They suspect she is too innocent, naïve, and has an unbiased view. However, Scout as the narrator is a reliable choice because she allows the reader to concentrate more on the exterior of situations, she allows the reader to make his/her opinion, and she gives the reader direction of how to cover events and certain actions in the novel. Scout, as a child narrator, helps the reader ‘read between the lines’.
...ain starts to know everything about the different side of his wife. That basically questions does Mrs. Forrester have true love for Mr. Forrester or was she just putting up an image that was solely about the money that Mr. Forrester bestowed.