Whether one is from Europe or Asia, human nature, personal ethics, and the individual conscience are all aspects that build up a person’s character and personality. These are the aspects that lead us to make decisions, to reason, and most importantly to make judgements. Zadie Smith’s writing involves various cultures and generations and these different perspectives resonate with human thoughts and feelings. In her short story, “Stuart”, Zadie Smith uses comparisons and various other literary techniques to portray the significance of creating judgements from only one’s perceptions; as well as, the importance and impact of change on individuals.
“He lies like an eyewitness” (5). An eyewitness’s story is usually one that develops solely from the observation of an event with no knowledge other than what the eyewitness assumes he or she saw and perceives to be true; similar to Zadie Smith’s narrator in “Stuart”. Zadie Smith incorporates a third person narration and in this passage, since the narrator is not aware of the boys’ thoughts, all interpretations and statements made are directly from observations. “It’s hard to tell from this angle...”(5) and yet after this statement the narrator still begins to create a description of the boys based on their appearance and behaviour. This is due to the fact that it is human nature to observe and quickly come to conclusions. These judgements also arise from stereotypes and widely-accepted truths, for example the narrator assumes the boys use a lot of hair products and maybe even toothpaste to make their hair “more substantial”(5) and she also assumes that they are always “on the move” (6) and travel “in a pack”(6). The vibrant imagery and vivid comparisons used to describe these boys not onl...
... middle of paper ...
...vantage, “...this is an evolutionary development...”(6). In the story, as well as, in this passage Zadie shows the many types of transformations that individuals can go through; some might cause struggle as for Marios, while others can be beneficial as for the boys.
Through the use of detailed comparisons and vibrant visual detail in her short story, “Stuart”, Zadie Smith is able to reveal how judging and making assumptions about others is so greatly embedded in human nature, along with the significance of transformation in one’s life. She makes it evident that it is individuals who by judging and changing in negative ways can create tensions among themselves just like Marios. Eventually, not only can this showcase the differences between each of us in a negative manner, it can also lead to various conflicts with oneself, with others, and ultimately with society.
Everyday you make judgements. Whether you realize it or not, you make a subconscious judgement whether it is based on what you have heard, or what you have seen. These judgements aren’t always meant to be cold, but often there are subjects that cause people to make harsh and stern judgements. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston uses the character of Janie to show how people judge others by what they’ve seen and heard about their social status and appearance and not by what’s inside.
Ivan Glasenberg, the CEO of Glencore, once said “I stopped focusing on people being different, and started treating everyone the same way.” An authority figure refuses to acknowledge the differences in people, and treats different individuals the same way. Authoritarian figures have shut down people, mostly kids, who are different for years. Striving to reach a conformity in society, they refuse to recognize the uniqueness of every individual. Similarly, in the short story “Antaeus”, the main character, T.J., is evidently different from the rest of urban society, much to authority’s disliking. In Borden Deal’s short story “Antaeus”, the author uses the main character ,T.J., to demonstrate that when man is different from the rest of society,
Within society, there are certain standards of behavior and expectations that one must be expected to comply by, and failure to do so can result in critical and discouraging prejudice, which is demonstrated significantly in The Fall of a City, by Alden Nowlan. In the story, Teddy, an eleven year old boy, is mocked at by his uncle for occupying himself with paper dolls, failing to meet society’s standards of maturity that a boy of his age is expected to abide by. As a result of his uncle’s mockery, Teddy’s passion and fondness of his imaginary world disappears, and in a fit of rage and anger, he demolishes his paper world. Teddy’s destruction of the paper world is symbolic of society’s expectations of maturity, justified by the uncle ridiculing
In every story, regardless of length or genre, an attempt is made to portray and decipher reality. In James Joyce’s abstract short story “Araby”, the beliefs of a young boy about life and the ones around him and their change over time are represented. In “Cathedral”, Raymond Carver’s short story about the relationship between a blind man named Robert, the narrator and his wife, we see the blind man massively impact the way that the narrator views the world around him. These stories each present drastically different relationships and world views in a similar manner and though each story ends on a much different note, they both have poignant messages about the world around them and end with the main
In the “Prodigal”, the boy whom the speaker is addressing to yearns to accomplish his own goals by leaving his hometown behind and entering the urbanized world that is filled with endless opportunities and possibilities, including “[becoming] an artist of the provocative gesture”, “wanting the world and return carrying it”, and “[reclaiming] Main Street in a limo.” However, despite all these ambitious opportunities the boy wishes to pursue, he is ultimately unable to alter the perception of others who are the most familiar with his character. Rather, the people who are the most acquainted with the boy will perceive him with the same view as in the past. The thought of a newly changed boy that embraced a completely different identity while accomplishing several achievements, is incapable of affecting their perception of the past young boy from the county. This is illustrated when the speaker describes that even if the boy “stood in the field [he’d] disappear” and was still “aiming [his] eyes down the road” of opportunity, in the eyes of people who are most familiar with him, they will be unable to acknowledge this significantly changed individual. In complete contrast with those who are most familiar with him are others who are unfamiliar with his past. These individuals, whom the boy must have encountered while achieving his accomplishments,
The novel also portrays numerous examples of racism, sexism, in creative ways. The stereotypes and themes portrayed in this novel have taught its readers not only very valuable lessons but ways to keep from placing stereotypes on people that are different from you before you get to know that person.
Zadie Smith utilizes her writing to dismantle society’s simplistic views on life that she has internalized. Through anecdotes and contemplation of her daily life, Smith measures her understanding of the world against society’s conventional beliefs. She notes that society has a tendency to disregard the complexities of life and merely view life itself as a spectrum for the sake of clarity. Whether inspecting the difficult concepts of joy, the apathetic writer, or the hazy battle of Good vs Evil, Smith realizes that life is not always as clear cut as it seems.
Marie and Callie both value motherhood and the sale of the puppy. Yet, their beliefs towards these concepts vary greatly. These two women are symbolic to the differing perceptions of all human beings because no two individuals have identical experiences or values. George Saunders emphasizes, in the short story “Puppy”, that perception is not a unanimously decided meaning of a concept because every individual’s past inspires an exclusive outlook on life. These unique views are evident in the many distinctive preferences that individuals express. What makes one person excited may enrage someone else. How we see the world, other people, and ourselves is reliant on on perception.
The English idiom “Don’t judge a book by its cover” states the fact that no one should look at something or someone and immediately judge and draw informative conclusions. One of the themes that Mary Shelley places heavy emphasis on in her book, Frankenstein, is prejudice. Every single human is being judged for their size, appearance, race, and their behavior which is portrayed throughout the early 19th century, the book, and present day.
In our ever-changing world, and its societies, the things one is exposed to, in terms of their communities, peers, their own thoughts, etc. can have an impact on what they believe in or their personalities/identities. In simpler words, what’s around you and what you go through can change who you are and what you think of life. These changes occur not only in reality but often times in books and novels. In the texts The House on Mango Street and “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the authors demonstrate how one’s experiences and environment can both positively and negatively impact their identity as well as help them push past social and cultural boundaries, shown through Esperanza Cordero’s observations
We are all judged on our appearance, whether if you are popular, smart, nerdy, rich, or poor. We all choose who we want to be in a game called life. We all judge everyone whether they are pretty or ugly even if we do not know them. We may hate a person without even knowing a single detail about them. They can be a complete stranger yet we still hate them for various weird reasons we cannot even explain why. Familiarity alters perception even if it is you yourself that you question. It may take us a while to realize that we are wrong, but whatever it takes, and we will get there one way or another. Both the novel, The Outsiders, and the drama, “Sorry Wrong Number,” tell a story of a character and their change in perception. In the novel The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis
Whether it be survival, greed, or love, the question of what drives human behavior is a hotly debated subject. It really is. Prominent in popular culture, themes of the driving force behind human behavior ranges from modern shows like House of Cards and The Walking Dead to classic novels such as Animal Farm and Romeo and Juliet. Trust me, you’d know if you saw ‘em. Phony entertainment meant to make some goddam idiots think they’re something special. However, the idea that a person’s worldview determines said person’s behavior is a less controversial topic. Words like controversial, they kill me. Long words that some goddam student uses to sound smart when they could just say some other word. Written by J.D Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
The famous prolific writer William Faulkner once said, “I never know what I think about something until I read what I’ve written on it.” In this I have found this statement to be absolutely true after listening to the video by Nigerian writer, Chimananda Adichie on “the Danger of a Single Story”. In essence the main ideas captured within her speech are to understand the dangers of a “Single Story”. How a single story once perceived can rob people of dignity, separate everyone and make people more different than similar which makes one’s recognition of our equal humanity difficult to see. The video highlighted how a “Single Story”, creates stereotypes and how important it is to reject the “Single Story “and to recognize that there is never
Every encounter we have with each other alters our identities, sometimes in large ways. A person’s identity is the mixture between their opinions, expectations, and perseverance. These three components create the perfect formula for a being’s personality. However, when they collide with another identity, they create an impact on each other. This is called social interaction, which occurs throughout a society’s people. People and their identities influencing each other has been commonly seen within films and contemporary American literature, for instance, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and American Denial, following the story of Gunnar Myrdal. From these sources, I often find the narrative and
No matter where we are, the shadow that trots behind us is definitely four-footed of judgment. Within every stereotype there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force , filled within negative instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing, known as “generalization”(Clarissa,10).