In the book The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake, Maleeka and Miss Saunders learn that you shouldn't change because of others. Maleeka and Miss Saunders change their appearance and the way they act so people see them differently. Miss Saunders always buys 300 dollar suits “She says she always had to dress better. To get the highest grades and be the most creative.” (Flake, 91). Miss Saunders always had to try and be better than everyone because of the scars she had on her face. “Now you got to have a little attitude when you wear this cut.” (Flake, 40). Maleeka cuts her hair so people will see her differently and so they don't bother her anymore but it doesn't work and they still keep making fun of her. Maleeka and Miss Saunders learn that just by changing your appearance or acting a certain way people won't change their opinions about you or the way they feel. …show more content…
Maleeka stands up to char for the first time “ Call me by my name! I am not ugly. I am not stupid. I am Maleeka Madison, and, yeah, I’m black, real black, and if you don't like me, too bad cause black is the skin I'm in! ” (Flake, 129). Char has been making fun of Maleeka because of her skin color and the way she dresses and now Maleeka finally stood up to Char. “ New clothes huh?” he says, trying to be smart. I stop walking and turn to him and ask real smart like, “ Why you always picking on me?” (Flake, 54). Even though John John and maleeka have the same skin color John John has made fun of her since the second grade about being too dark and finally, Maleeka confronts John John and tells him why he’s been making fun of her for so long. Maleeka Learns that if you stand up for yourself people will have more respect for you and won't bother
"They wanted me out because I'm not one of them. They're afraid of me because of the way I look, and they'll always be afraid of me no matter how hard I try to prove myself." (p. 29). In this quote, the protagonist Bijan reflects on the racism he faces from his predominantly white classmates, who accuse him of cheating and vandalizing school property. Despite Bijan's efforts to fit in and excel academically, he is constantly reminded of his "otherness", this quote highlights the emotional toll of racism, as Bijan comes to accept the feeling of being targeted by a community he wants to be a part of.
In the piece, “Just Walk on By,” written by Brent Staples, the author writes about how he is discriminated against because of his race and his appearance. He was a graduate student and new to the University of Chicago. He explains how he has victims which are people who judge him and make him feel he is a dangerous criminal. He talks about his first victim who is a white woman she was terrified of him and made him feel dismayed, surprised, and embarrassed. After that encounter is when he realized and became familiar with the language of fear.
One named the ugliest, and one the prettiest. The girls who are picked get instant attention, good or bad. Danielle Demarco, Abby Warner, Candace Kincaid, Lauren Finn, Sarah Singer, Bridget Honeycutt, Jennifer Briggs, and Margo Gable’s lives are about to change at the high school, for better or for worse. What becomes apparent throughout the book is that people should always be careful about what is said about another person, it always has an affect on them.
Judith Cofer and Brent Staples both express their experiences of being judged and stereotyped in the public sphere. Cofer’s essay, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” explains how she was typically stereotyped as an uneducated Latina. In Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” elaborates on how he is seen as a threat in the community due to his race. Although both essays express similar material based on judgement, each essayist presents their write up differently. Cofer has an aggrieved tone and uses experiences where she responds actively to being mistreated to express how she feels, whereas Staples’ tone is much more passive and he utilizes his experiences of mistreatment with humbleness.
The Skin That We Speak The way a person speaks is a direct link to a person’s culture and the environment which he or she was raised in. A person’s language, skin color as well as economic status influences the way he or she is perceived by others. Lisa Delpit and eleven other educators provide different viewpoints on how language from students of different cultures, ethnicity, and even economic status can be misinterpreted due to slang and dialect or nonstandard English by the teachers as well as his or her own peers. The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, who collected essays from a diverse group of educators and scholars to reflect on the issue of language
The other point of this paper is how society changes you. If you are rich and you don’t look like it you wear off brand clothes then society will change you when you get with the right group. If you stay with the group of friends that you have been with then you will be fine. If you want to let society change you then go ahead but always remember if you judge someone without getting to know them then you are dead to
Here is some background on Skinwalkers. Skinwalkers are legendary cryptic Native American creatures, in the Navajo culture they are called Yeenaaldlooshi which translates to “Beings that travels on four legs” but they are known by many different names throughout the Native American culture. Skinwalkers are said to be found in the southwest mountains regions, many non believers think they are a myth or just folktales to scare children into behaving, the Navajo people take the skinwalker tale very seriously they believe that even the mention of skinwalkers can bring their attention towards them and bring bad luck. Skinwalkers are evil creatures that cause harm and sometimes even kill, even in the Navajo culture they are seen as a taboo because of the way they obtained their powers. What are Skinwalkers?
Society in today’s world is very alike to society years ago, with different social classes and stereotypes. In “Just walk on by” by Brent staples, a variety of rhetorical devices are used in order to convey the message of how a black man is trying to show society that he is so much more than the color of his skin. The author explains how the character was characterized as violent and dangerous because he was black. Staples continues on a sort of journey with the character to show how he overcomes that stereotype, by whistling classical music to give the idea that he is mature and less threatening. Throughout the piece, Staples uses devices that will help the reader better understand the struggles that the character has to face on a daily basis.
Author and editorial writer, Brent Staples acknowledges this issue as well as experience many situations in which people distinguish him from others. Brent Staples message in his essay titled “Just Walk On By” is conveyed to the audience through many rhetorical devices in which he suggests that stereotypes of race and gender can impact someone 's life in the easiest ways. Brent Staples use of pathos creates an emotional connection and pulls the reader into his essay, through his anecdotes and diction. His intro paragraph tells an interesting story, in a way that readers often forget what type of passage they are reading. Staples uses of phrases such as “my first victim”, “seemed menacingly close” “picked up her pace” and notably “running in earnest” (1-2).
In his essay, "Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space" Brent Staples demonstrates the negative views and stereotypes of black men. He narrates a personal story about the path he takes to understand the effects of his appearance and how it also affects his environment around him. In the essay, Staples describes how he has always been discriminated. This was first realized as a young graduate student when he takes a walk one evening and frightens a white woman who believed he was following her.
The message that Brent Staples is trying to convey to the audience in his essay Just Walk On By, is that as a society we have positive and negative preconceived thoughts of other people who are of either the same or different race and gender. For Staples, this means that as a tall black man he has to deal with being seen as deadly and threatening to people who don’t know him. These people let their fear of biased opinions of black men think that all tall, black, and athletic men are going to attack them. Brent uses his stories of people’s fear and judgement of him, to allow the reader to both understand what the people were feeling and how he felt being judged. Brent Staples’ persona helps the message through the use of strong diction.
The documentary The Skin We’re In explores the severity of anti-black racism in Canada. It chronicles Desmond Cole’s journey to spread awareness regarding the issue. I found the video to be very powerful and educational although it was very biased. The Skin We’re
Because this book is a realistic fiction, it is very effective at putting its point across. Maleeka is bullied for being darker than anyone else in her school, but how it happens is what truly shocks the reader. Her new teacher Mrs. Saunders has a birthmark covering half her face. Despite being affected negatively by the mark throughout her life, she does nothing to stop a scene from unfolding in front of her. When she asks the class "What does your face say about you" one student darts out and yells "Maleeka's face says she needs to keep out of the sun".
Your decisions to comply with society’s view of “beauty” are no longer subconscious, but rather are more conscious-driven decisions. Barbie’s slender figure remains idolized; however, it has evolved from a plastic doll to a self-starving model that is photo-shopped on the pages of glossy magazines. You spend hours in front of a mirror adjusting and perfecting your robotic look while demanding your parents to spend an endless amount of money on cosmetics and harmful skin products to acquire a temporary version of beauty. Consider companies such as Maybelline, which have throughout the ages created problematic and infantilizing campaigns and products for women. More specifically consider the “Baby Lips” product as well as the company slogan, “maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline,” that reiterates the male notions of beauty to which women are subjected.
The Skin Structure and Function: The skin is the largest organ. It covers the whole body and is water-resistant. The skin consists of two layers; the Epidermis and Dermis (under which lies the subcutaneous or fatty layer).