Stereotypes, Outsiders, and Epiphanies
An outsider can be defined as someone who stays out and nobody relies on or pays attention to. There are many feelings that may arise as a result of being an outsider such as, depression, stress, and loneliness. One of the many places an outsider feels excluded is at school and in their own country. Lastly, there are a variety of reasons that lead to being an outsider such as their appearance, they are the new kid at school, religion, and the language that they speak.
There are different kinds of outsiders such as people who choose to be an outsider and those who don’t choose. There are also insiders and border liners. I think I am a border liner because I do hang out with my friends , but sometimes my friends can talk about something I’ve probably never done or know about. When this happens I feel excluded sometimes. These are my reasons of why I think I’m a border liner.
Just like the book, “The Outsiders” stereotyping can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is a belief about someone or a group. I have been stereotyped in the 4th or 5th grade. The reason I got stereotyped was because my aunt worked at my school. Because of this, people began to think that I got everything that I wanted. This was and was not true because I did not get everything that I wanted, but I did get to choose my teacher for the year and sometimes even the people I wanted to be in my class. I’m not sure how the people saying this made me feel because it really wasn’t something to be mad or sad about. I did find it pretty dumb that they were saying this because I thought why would it matter if this was true. As you can see, this example shows that stereotypes can cause someone to feel bad.
Another example about stereotypes also comes from the book, “The Outsiders”. Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser, believes that only the greasers have it bad. He says, “I really couldn’t see what socs would have to sweat about- good grades, good cars, good girls, madras sand Mustangs and Corvairs”. On the other hand, Cherry, a soc states that the greasers aren’t the only ones who have it rough. She says that , “Things are rough all over”. So, this example tells us that you should not just judge a person by what they have, but you should know that they aren’t different from you.
Similarly, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED Talk called, “A Danger of a Single Story”. In this presentation, she discusses how she has been stereotyped, how she has stereotyped others, and how the single story is dangerous. The single story is dangerous because they are incomplete stories and it robs people with dignity. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar. As you can see, stereotyping is very dangerous because if it is told over and over again then that is what they become.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person has a realization or challenge that makes them want to become a better person or make them want to do something important. An example of someone who had an epiphany is Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist, American clergyman, and a leader in the African- American Civil Rights Movement. He was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is mostly known for his role of civil rights using non-violent civil disobedience. Since then, he became a national icon in history of American progressivism. Finally, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, being only 39 years old.
But, Martin Luther King was never a bad person, so he never really changed from being bad to being good. Instead, he decided to do something important. Before his epiphany, he took over a Baptist church with over 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. Like his father, he too became a successful minister. He always wanted to fight against racial prejudice. The reason he wanted to fight against racism was because he wanted all people to have the same rights. Back in his hay, African- American people didn’t have the same rights as Caucasian people. This made him have an epiphany to fight for civil rights. One of the first things he did was organize a protest against the bus company because African – American people had to sit all the way in the back. He began to organize other non-violent protests too. In 1963, he led a march with over 200,000 people, in Washington, D.C. It was in Washington where King gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. He talked about how people should not be judged by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character. A year later he gave his speech, he won the Nobel Peace Prize and a new law was even made that threw out all the other old and unfair laws. In 1968, he was killed by a man with a gun in Tennessee. We still honor Martin Luther King Jr. by celebrating a holiday in January.
In addition to, Martin Luther King there is also an example of an epiphany in the book, The Outsiders. Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. Johnny Cade is a 16 year old who grew up in a harsh neighborhood and had parents who didn’t want or care about him. He was sensitive and very shy. He didn’t like fights as much as the other members of the gang. However, when he kills Bob and has to run away with Ponyboy to a church, he opens up to him. When Dally comes to tell them that the coast is clear he decides to turn himself into the police. Also, when the rumble is over and Pony and Dally go to visit Johnny in the hospital to tell them that they won the rumble, Johnny says that it doesn’t matter if they won and that it is no good. He tells Ponyboy to ‘stay gold’ which means to stay true to yourself and that is exactly what Johnny did.
All in all, learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me to grow and develop as a person. It has showed me to stay true to who I am, even if I may be different from others. I also learned that stereotyping are incomplete stories. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how were similar. Also, I learned that if you show an image of people on repeat then that is what they will become. I learned how epiphanies can change someone’s point of view or just change themselves. This also made me think about if I am an outsider, border liner, or insider. It also made me think of the reasons why I am who I am. Reading this book and doing these assignments made me think about and learn about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies.
There are different kinds of outsiders such as people who choose to be an outsider and those who don’t choose. There are also insiders and border liners. I think I am a border liner because I do hang out with my friends , but sometimes my friends can talk about something I’ve probably never done or know about. When this happens I feel excluded sometimes. These are my reasons of why I think I’m a border liner.
Just like the book, “The Outsiders” stereotyping can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is a belief about someone or a group. I have been stereotyped in the 4th or 5th grade. The reason I got stereotyped was because my aunt worked at my school. Because of this, people began to think that I got everything that I wanted. This was and was not true because I did not get everything that I wanted, but I did get to choose my teacher for the year and sometimes even the people I wanted to be in my class. I’m not sure how the people saying this made me feel because it really wasn’t something to be mad or sad about. I did find it pretty dumb that they were saying this because I thought why would it matter if this was true. As you can see, this example shows that stereotypes can cause someone to feel bad.
Another example about stereotypes also comes from the book, “The Outsiders”. Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser, believes that only the greasers have it bad. He says, “I really couldn’t see what socs would have to sweat about- good grades, good cars, good girls, madras sand Mustangs and Corvairs”. On the other hand, Cherry, a soc states that the greasers aren’t the only ones who have it rough. She says that , “Things are rough all over”. So, this example tells us that you should not just judge a person by what they have, but you should know that they aren’t different from you.
Similarly, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie’s TED Talk called, “A Danger of a Single Story”. In this presentation, she discusses how she has been stereotyped, how she has stereotyped others, and how the single story is dangerous. The single story is dangerous because they are incomplete stories and it robs people with dignity. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar. As you can see, stereotyping is very dangerous because if it is told over and over again then that is what they become.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person has a realization or challenge that makes them want to become a better person or make them want to do something important. An example of someone who had an epiphany is Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist, American clergyman, and a leader in the African- American Civil Rights Movement. He was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is mostly known for his role of civil rights using non-violent civil disobedience. Since then, he became a national icon in history of American progressivism. Finally, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, being only 39 years old.
But, Martin Luther King was never a bad person, so he never really changed from being bad to being good. Instead, he decided to do something important. Before his epiphany, he took over a Baptist church with over 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. Like his father, he too became a successful minister. He always wanted to fight against racial prejudice. The reason he wanted to fight against racism was because he wanted all people to have the same rights. Back in his hay, African- American people didn’t have the same rights as Caucasian people. This made him have an epiphany to fight for civil rights. One of the first things he did was organize a protest against the bus company because African – American people had to sit all the way in the back. He began to organize other non-violent protests too. In 1963, he led a march with over 200,000 people, in Washington, D.C. It was in Washington where King gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. He talked about how people should not be judged by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character. A year later he gave his speech, he won the Nobel Peace Prize and a new law was even made that threw out all the other old and unfair laws. In 1968, he was killed by a man with a gun in Tennessee. We still honor Martin Luther King Jr. by celebrating a holiday in January.
In addition to, Martin Luther King there is also an example of an epiphany in the book, The Outsiders. Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. Johnny Cade is a 16 year old who grew up in a harsh neighborhood and had parents who didn’t want or care about him. He was sensitive and very shy. He didn’t like fights as much as the other members of the gang. However, when he kills Bob and has to run away with Ponyboy to a church, he opens up to him. When Dally comes to tell them that the coast is clear he decides to turn himself into the police. Also, when the rumble is over and Pony and Dally go to visit Johnny in the hospital to tell them that they won the rumble, Johnny says that it doesn’t matter if they won and that it is no good. He tells Ponyboy to ‘stay gold’ which means to stay true to yourself and that is exactly what Johnny did.
All in all, learning about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies has helped me to grow and develop as a person. It has showed me to stay true to who I am, even if I may be different from others. I also learned that stereotyping are incomplete stories. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how were similar. Also, I learned that if you show an image of people on repeat then that is what they will become. I learned how epiphanies can change someone’s point of view or just change themselves. This also made me think about if I am an outsider, border liner, or insider. It also made me think of the reasons why I am who I am. Reading this book and doing these assignments made me think about and learn about outsiders, stereotypes, and epiphanies.