Outsiders, Epiphanies, and Stereotypes
An outsider can be defined as someone that likes to be lonely and independent or someone that is left out and unwanted. There are many feelings that may arise as a result of being an outsider such as loneliness, depression, sadness, or might even feel excluded. An outsider might be excluded at home, school, in the neighborhood, or even in a different country. From all this you can see that there are a variety of reasons that may cause one to be an outsider such as their race, sex, and color.
There are different types of outsiders such as the people who choose to be outsiders and those who don’t choose to be outsiders. There are also others that are insiders and others that are borderliners (both). I consider myself as an insider because I like to be with other people and I also like to be involved in a lot of things. I feel accepted as an insider because I feel like I fit in with the others. All in all, there are people that choose to be outsiders, insiders, and borderliners, but there are also people that don’t choose.
In fact, stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is someone that says things about other people before getting to know them (prejudged). Examples of stereotypes can be about race, religion, sex, and color. An example of someone being stereotyped is my mom. This is the story of when she got stereotyped: One day she was getting on the trolley and she had a stroller in one hand and in the other she was holding my brother. I wasn’t born yet; my mom was pregnant of me. There were a lot of people on the trolley. Suddenly, my mom spotted an empty seat near the window, but on the edge there was a woman with her feet up and she had her food on her lap. Then my mom comes up to her and said, “ Excuse me.” She replied rudely “ You Mexicans can’t stop having kids.” After that my mom felt really emotional. The woman stereotyped her saying that Mexicans have a lot of kids. This situation might have caused her to feel like an outsider.
In addition, another example of stereotypes comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser believes that socs don’t have any problems because they have a lot of money. Cherry, a soc believes that “things are rough all over.” That not only do greasers have problems, but also socs have a lot of problems that they don’t even know about. From all of this you can see that stereotypes can also appear in books.
In the same way, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED Talk, “A Danger of a Single Story.” In the presentation she discusses about how she had stereotyped books, her friend Fiddy, and Mexico. Even her roommate in college stereotyped her. She thought that all books had to be about white, blue-eyed people that would eat apples, drink ginger beer and talk about the weather. She stereotyped Fiddy saying that this family was poor. But when she went to visit him his brother had made a really good-looking basket. She thought that poor people couldn’t do anything, but then she realized that they could. She had also stereotyped Mexico saying that it was a place in where people got free health care, get arrested, and would be trying to sneak up the border. She was wrong because when she got there, she was ashamed because they weren’t like that. Overall we can see that if we don’t stereotype people we can make the world a better place.
On the other hand, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person realizes something and then changes for the better. An example of someone who has had an epiphany is my dad. It all started when he was little. He had seven other brothers and sisters. They were all like a year apart and my dad was the smallest. Before the epiphany he didn’t like to be with his other siblings or help in anything. He didn’t like sharing his things with his other siblings. It was until then that he finally had his epiphany. He realized that his mom had a hard time taking care of all the kids, so he decided to help with everything. After that my dad was really responsible.
In addition to my dad, there is also an epiphany in the book "The Outsiders." Johnny Cade is a character that goes from a zero to a hero. He was a kid that "grew from concrete." He had parents that miss treated him, but when he goes to Windrexville with Ponyboy because he had killed Bob he changed. When he was there he went from wanting to fight to saving kids from a burning church. His epiphany was that he had changed from a fighter to a hero. After his epiphany Johnny died in the hospital, but before that he had told Ponyboy to "stay gold." Even though he had died, he had died because of saving little kids from a burning church. Johnny Cade´s epiphany really changed him.
All in all, learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me to grow. It has helped me to realize that it is okay to be an outsider because you are being you not anyone. You’re staying gold. It has also showed me that by not stereotyping people there wouldn’t be that much problems, and things wouldn’t be "rough all over." There would be fewer problems if we don’t stereotype other people. Finally, it has showed me that epiphanies that happen through out peoples life’s change them for the better. Learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me grow into a better person.
An outsider can be defined as someone that likes to be lonely and independent or someone that is left out and unwanted. There are many feelings that may arise as a result of being an outsider such as loneliness, depression, sadness, or might even feel excluded. An outsider might be excluded at home, school, in the neighborhood, or even in a different country. From all this you can see that there are a variety of reasons that may cause one to be an outsider such as their race, sex, and color.
There are different types of outsiders such as the people who choose to be outsiders and those who don’t choose to be outsiders. There are also others that are insiders and others that are borderliners (both). I consider myself as an insider because I like to be with other people and I also like to be involved in a lot of things. I feel accepted as an insider because I feel like I fit in with the others. All in all, there are people that choose to be outsiders, insiders, and borderliners, but there are also people that don’t choose.
In fact, stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is someone that says things about other people before getting to know them (prejudged). Examples of stereotypes can be about race, religion, sex, and color. An example of someone being stereotyped is my mom. This is the story of when she got stereotyped: One day she was getting on the trolley and she had a stroller in one hand and in the other she was holding my brother. I wasn’t born yet; my mom was pregnant of me. There were a lot of people on the trolley. Suddenly, my mom spotted an empty seat near the window, but on the edge there was a woman with her feet up and she had her food on her lap. Then my mom comes up to her and said, “ Excuse me.” She replied rudely “ You Mexicans can’t stop having kids.” After that my mom felt really emotional. The woman stereotyped her saying that Mexicans have a lot of kids. This situation might have caused her to feel like an outsider.
In addition, another example of stereotypes comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser believes that socs don’t have any problems because they have a lot of money. Cherry, a soc believes that “things are rough all over.” That not only do greasers have problems, but also socs have a lot of problems that they don’t even know about. From all of this you can see that stereotypes can also appear in books.
In the same way, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED Talk, “A Danger of a Single Story.” In the presentation she discusses about how she had stereotyped books, her friend Fiddy, and Mexico. Even her roommate in college stereotyped her. She thought that all books had to be about white, blue-eyed people that would eat apples, drink ginger beer and talk about the weather. She stereotyped Fiddy saying that this family was poor. But when she went to visit him his brother had made a really good-looking basket. She thought that poor people couldn’t do anything, but then she realized that they could. She had also stereotyped Mexico saying that it was a place in where people got free health care, get arrested, and would be trying to sneak up the border. She was wrong because when she got there, she was ashamed because they weren’t like that. Overall we can see that if we don’t stereotype people we can make the world a better place.
On the other hand, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person realizes something and then changes for the better. An example of someone who has had an epiphany is my dad. It all started when he was little. He had seven other brothers and sisters. They were all like a year apart and my dad was the smallest. Before the epiphany he didn’t like to be with his other siblings or help in anything. He didn’t like sharing his things with his other siblings. It was until then that he finally had his epiphany. He realized that his mom had a hard time taking care of all the kids, so he decided to help with everything. After that my dad was really responsible.
In addition to my dad, there is also an epiphany in the book "The Outsiders." Johnny Cade is a character that goes from a zero to a hero. He was a kid that "grew from concrete." He had parents that miss treated him, but when he goes to Windrexville with Ponyboy because he had killed Bob he changed. When he was there he went from wanting to fight to saving kids from a burning church. His epiphany was that he had changed from a fighter to a hero. After his epiphany Johnny died in the hospital, but before that he had told Ponyboy to "stay gold." Even though he had died, he had died because of saving little kids from a burning church. Johnny Cade´s epiphany really changed him.
All in all, learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me to grow. It has helped me to realize that it is okay to be an outsider because you are being you not anyone. You’re staying gold. It has also showed me that by not stereotyping people there wouldn’t be that much problems, and things wouldn’t be "rough all over." There would be fewer problems if we don’t stereotype other people. Finally, it has showed me that epiphanies that happen through out peoples life’s change them for the better. Learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me grow into a better person.