Social Influence In 'I M A Fool'

She expressed, how she felt about her skin, and provided great reason for how she viewed herself for being colored. She spoke of her ancestors and how they paid the price for her civilization; so therefore, she doesn’t have to feel less of a person because of her skin color. She even mentions a time where she forgets that she was a person o colored until she thrown against the background of white; meaning she sees no color until she is constantly reminded.

Throughout the course of the year, as a class, we have discussed countless works from a variety of authors, artists, directors and speakers. One overarching theme from these works is the ability that a character can have to redefine social standards and have the courage to break societal norms. In society, it is incredibly hard to take a different stance than your peers and choose an alternative to the ordinary. The contrasting forces between good and evil in the world is the cause for exceptional people who are able to break social norms, however, not always in a positive manner. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the film Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg, and the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut,

Everyone's culture is different, that's why the majority of people have different opinions on certain subjects. Even though everyone goes through different experiences, the way they were taught growing up effects how they will be in the future. One's culture has a very big impact on how they view others and the world.

From the beginning of a girl's life she is told what she can and cannot do. In Judith Ortiz Cofen's “The Changeling” and in Mary Lady Chudleighs “To the Ladies” a young Spanish woman and a wealthy older woman resist society's restrictions on women.

Wayne Dyer once said, “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don 't know anything about.” In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, ignorance is a common theme portrayed throughout the novel. It sets the impression of how all of the characters feel due to a society that has outlawed books. Guy Montag is a firefighter, whose job is to burn the books. Yet, he often steals them without the chief firefighter, or anyone else knowing. This is until the day he meets Clarisse, who looks at the world in a different way than anyone else. Then, shortly after, he has to burn down a house full of books and burn the woman inside also because she refuses to leave. This causes Montag to realize that books should not be burned and have great significance in the world. He then shows his wife the abundance of books that he has collected from his job, and his wife, Mildred, becomes concerned. This later causes her to make up lies to cover the fact that Montag is breaking the law of owning books. The ignorance shown in the novel is greatly illustrated on page ninety-five, due to the encounter of the

The mom begins the story by talking about her daughters. She sees Dee as the prettier and the smarter daughter. The mom says that “No is a word the world never learned to her”. The mom says this because Dee is spoiled and always gets what she wants. . Mom knows that Dee has irregular ways and is not necessarily like her or Maggie, but she in some ways looks up to Dee and longs for Dee to accept her. (Nancy Tuten) agrees by saying, "Mama's distaste for Dee's egotism is tempered by her desire to be respected by her daughter.” The Mom’s character changes during the quilt scene, as she realizes that Maggie shares the appreciation of culture and heritage, and Dee's appreciation is entirely different from theirs. During the quilt scene, Dee is demanding Mom to give her the quilts, and Mom says, "when I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet.” In other words the daughter who she has always thought so highly of knew little of their culture and had little appreciation for their heritage. Walker creates the “mom” character to help defend her point, which is the importance of upholding the values and traditions in the African American

The setting of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” reveals important aspects about the family in many ways. Without the enriched setting provided to the reader by Walker, this story would have had no foundation on which to be built.

The Other Side of The River tells a story of two towns: One by the name of St. Joseph and one by the name of Benton Harbor, which are 95 percent white and 92 percent black respectively. Although these two towns are geographically close, they are socially separated by class, race, and virtue. After the death of Eric McGinnis, a black teenage boy from the town of Benton Harbor, tensions grew between the two towns. The story of McGinnis’ death had several versions to it and the one you believed in was indicative of which side of the river you called home. In this paper, I will describe the concepts of meaning and social audiences and show how they are illustrated in this novel.

In the past century, women have started to stand up for themselves and do what they want regarding their body. Men previously have made all the important decisions, controlled women, and really only saw them as objects or entertainment. Slowly but surely, however, women gained their power and voiced their opinions for what they wanted. This can be seen in Jig’s character in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” Even though it is not said directly, it is still easy for the audience to understand that what Jig and her boyfriend are talking about is a woman’s matter. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway does not reveal the underlying meaning, but rather uses symbolism in his story through Jig’s attitude towards her boyfriend, the station in which the couple is at, and the absinthe drink she tries.

In the story, “Everyday Use,” the oldest sister Dee redefines her views of her family’s heritage. Dee leaves her rural home to receive an education in the city, but when returning back home she has changed completely. Specifically, Dee changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo which creates difficulties for her mother. In the story Dee explains, “Couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me" (Walker 318). She views her past name as a reminder that African Americans are not given original names. Dee has also changed her overall appearance and has recreated a new image for herself by wearing brightly colored clothing and changing her voice. Critic of the story, David Cowart, describes Dee changes, “She now styles and dresses herself according to the dictates of a faddish Africanism and thereby demonstrates a cultural Catch-22: an American who attempts to become an African succeeds only in becoming a phony” (Cowart). She alienates herself from her original culture and values the items from her past

After watching the movie “A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story”, I realized that I didn’t know much about how Mexico lost part of their land to the United States and about how hard life used to be for Mexican Americans compared to now. I learned about how Mexican Americans were treated in the United States. The movie was mainly about how Mexican Americans were discriminated and they were treated as inferior people. They were not seen as actual “Americans”, but as a second class, calling them names like “shiftless, lazy, dumb, etc.” Another important thing I learned is who was Gus García and what he did for Mexican Americans. His history made a huge difference making people feel stronger. He fought for his people and he didn’t stop until he won. Me being Mexican American makes me

Because the author’s long-term thinking and determination helped him conquer the situational challenges he faced, unlike the other Wes Moore whose shortsightedness became his downfall, the purpose of the memoir is to persuade readers to work hard and overcome their obstacles.

Why do we have stereotypes like the “typical white girl?” Most likely because of the movies, TV shows, and books that portray middle to upper class teenage white girls as “basic.” If we did not have entertainment forms depicting all white girls who like Starbucks as typical white girls, I may not have been called a typical white girl by random guys when I got coffee at Beta Convention. I mean, since when was coffee deemed only for teenage white girls? Whatever made someone look at a blonde and say, “She’s stupid,” was probably the same. But what is it?

Dee has always been ashamed of her African culture and family. Dee would prefer that her mother and sister look different and that her home would be nicer. Her mother always knew how Dee felt about her, “My daughter would want me to be a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. But that is a mistake” (par. 6). Dee has returned from college to visit her family, but with a different attitude. In attempts to reconnect with her African roots, Dee has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Dee has also taken an interest in embracing her African heritage and has dressed in traditional African clothes to visit her mother. Her mother knows that Dee’s intentions are not genuine. Worrying more about taking pictures of her mother and collecting items that represent the African culture to take back home, Dee neglects to spend time with her family. Her mother notices that Dee, “Lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me. She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included” (par. 22). Dee’s mother realizes that she is trying to be someone she is not. Before leaving to college Dee’s mother had given her a quilt to take with her, but Dee was too embarrassed of it to take it. Now, Dee has asked her mother for it. Infuriated, her mother decided to stop Dee from continuing to

When mentioning the term ecology, enormous rainforests, wild rivers, wide fields, and all the greenery and natural surroundings are the first things that come to one’s mind. However, according to the definition of Oxford dictionary, ecology is “the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings”. This definition is of a huge importance for those who want to emerge into the studies of ecocriticism, and for those who want to deal with an ecocritical reading of a literary work. The notion that organisms, their relations to one another and to their physical surroundings is crucial when it comes to ecology explains the fact why, when starting with the analysis in this way, one must include not just natural ecology, but also social and spiritual. In literature, it is not just about human behaviour among each other, or their relationship with their natural surroundings, but also about