Stereotyping In Huckleberry Finn Essay

Stereotyping is not something that only happens with women; men are meant to fit a certain standard, and those who fail to do this are the target of insults. “Be a man,” “suck it up,” and “don’t cry” are only a few phrases handpicked from a plentiful selection of ego-damaging constructions built into today's society, aimed at boys and men. Reinforcing rhetoric that feminizes emotional expression and masculinizes violence has the power to stunt empathy, drive dominance, and connect respect with fear. Boys are born loving creatures, but at a very young age they are taught the traits, diminutive language, and mindset that aligns them with society’s concept of what it means to be a man. If a man is not like this, then essentially, he is not a true

Most people immediately judge a man based on their looks, their stance, the way they act, and the more manly they seem, the more they are attracted and interested in them. What I found interesting in Huck Finn, was the way in which Huck describes Col. Grangerford. The best man that a man could be was different from what it is today, but one gets an idea of what was viewed as being the best man by Huck introducing him as being, “a gentleman… well born… and that’s worth as much in a man as it is in a horse”( Twain 125). From this it is understood that the stereotypical man to strive to be was one of wealth and of good name. They may not be the manliest man, which is strived for today, but more clean-cut and honorable. The following paragraphs is where it becomes all too stereotypical. After stating that Col. Grangerford is a gentleman, Huck feels the need to describe what he looks like, similar to nowadays, when we use one’s looks to confirm one’s manliness. While the time period and values in an individual may be different, there are similar stereotypes in both era’s and they show that these actions take place in the minds of all humans, whether one wants them to or