Already this school year, we have read a few pieces in English which deal with stereotypes and the effects they have on both those who hold them and those who they are held against. By focusing on some of the stereotypes which are held in regards to Native Americans, we see the absurdity of these ideas and reflect upon stereotypes which are still held today.
In the Sherman Alexie pieces which we analyzed this week, situations which involve the common thoughts that people have of Native Americans were presented. For example, in "Indian Education," Sherman writes that a teacher said, "'What's that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.'" This generalization about all Indians is twisted since just because someone is Native American does not necessarily mean they drink alcohol at a young age. Through this passage, the bigotry of society is shown, making the reader question how prejudiced he or she is in their life. Also, in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven," Alexie pokes fun at the idea that Native Americans are shady and dangerous. By scanning the aisles as he walks by and acting suspicious in front of the 7-11 clerk, the main character is messing with the biased mind of the worker. Since the worker held this notion that the customer was baleful, in a way he deserved those few minutes of terror which he experienced because of his thoughts about his customer due to the customer's look.
While reading the short stories by Alexie, I was reminded of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which Jim was treated differently due to another stereotype: that African Americans were inferior to Whites because of the color of their skin. By making this connection, you can see that throughout history, many different groups of people have been treated unjustly for trivial reasons. Reflecting on those events makes me, as a reader, determined to never judge a person based on a stereotype that might make me subconsciously dislike them. Unfortunately, that would only be possible in a perfect society, which we do not live in. However, one can still do their best to treat everyone fairly and ignore stereotypes as much as possible.
I definitely agree with you Allison! Stereotyping is wrong, in so many different ways, I hope more people realize how disrespectful it is, and prevent it in the future. History would definitely be different if people did not stereotype! :)
ReplyDeleteYeeehawwww! I agree with your examples and connection to the stories, but I also believe that people shouldn't just ignore the stereotypes, but to celebrate other people's traditions and individuality. Treat everyone like they are colorless and base perspectives on personality. Just tolerating other people isn't going to make life a whole lot better if there's still simmering hatred right below the surface (and everytime you look at someone, you're unconsciously judging them). But otherwise, I like the connections to the texts! :]
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job with talking about how Alexie presents stereotypes in his stories. I especially liked how you analyzed the 7-11 scene and pointed out that the graveyard worker deserved what he got. I also thought, though, that you could have brought up the fact that Alexie said himself that Indians drink.
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ReplyDeleteI liked how you made various connections in literature to stereotypes. This made me think about how stereotypes pop up everywhere in society. However, I do not think stereotyping is always bad - people have differences that others can learn from. Also, the essence of the post was nice, but I felt like some of the grammar errors took away from this serious topic and distracted me quite a bit.
I agree completely with you on how one should try and not stereotype others. You mentioned how it might only be possible for everyone not to stereotype in a perfect society, but we are not in one. I really like how clear you made you point on how stereotyping is wrong. Plus, how you're determined not to stereotype anyone either and how the reading helped you encourage that!
ReplyDeleteAllison I agree with you completely! It is horrible that stereotyping is so prevalent today. I think you did a wonderful job in this post not only expressing the terror of stereotyping, but also using specific examples from the text to support your statements! All of your writing is a pleasure to read, and always enlightening! :)
ReplyDeleteI also used Alexie's text upon a similar matter and I really like how your paragraphs flow. Stereotyping is a terrible thing to do and we shouldn't judge other people but I feel like at this point in society, we do It all the time but subconsciously. We just can't help it, and we just automatically assume based on someone's looks but we also stereotype because people are so different. It's our way to categorize them even when they cannot be categorized.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used multiple examples of stereotypes, made it a lot more relatable and well rounded(: I like how you said how people are generally treated differently for trivial reasons, I totally agree on that!!! It's always surface issues we find and never take time to see deeper(:
ReplyDeleteAllison I completely agree with your opinion and like the 7/11 picture. Native Americans are everyday people but also have their own unique heritage to share. Hopefully if people hear the word "indian" they wont think of people in T.P's. Also your style of writing was very enjoyable to read. :)
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