One concept that can be compared between the novels we have read so far this semester, The White Tiger and Persepolis is education. The role that education plays in both novels shows a lot about the societies of the time they took place along with the characters. To begin, in The White Tiger, Balram isn’t given the opportunity to gain an education because he needs to begin working to help his cousin. Balram gains intelligence by learning how to make his way through life while not having the book-smarts that society requires one to have to be considered intelligent. Balram manages to find a way to obtain a license, and slowly moves his way up in the cab industry going from driving a small car to a luxury one. This goes to show that book-smarts is not the only type of intelligence …show more content…
From a young age, Balram is required to work to be able to survive and when he finally finds a passion of his, isn’t immediately able to chase after it due to his poverty-stricken family. Although this is originally the case, Balram finds a way to get a license and becomes a cab driver, moving his way up the ranks. Although the separation of classes made it difficult for Balram to succeed, it goes to show that if you’re passionate enough about something, then you will find a way to achieve it, no matter the obstacle (poverty in this case). Balram also states that he has escaped a life of bondage and has became a successful businessman, considering himself to be an entrepreneur. This is him expressing that he is happy with who he has become although he isn’t nearly the wealthiest man in India. This goes to show that although the separations of classes make it more difficult to achieve, there should be nothing stopping you from reaching your goals, no matter how modest or lofty they
In the essay “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff he discusses the difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts” as they pertain to intellectualism (Tannen & Graff:2010 p.198). We are taught that being street smart means to have the knowledge to handle difficult or dangerous situations in life, and that being book smart means that you are well educated academically. Graff explains how schools and colleges may be at fault for not channeling such street smarts into academic work. We do not consider that one of the major reasons why colleges and schools overlook the intellectual potential of street smarts, is the fact we associate street smarts with anti-intellectual concerns. He proceeds to explain how students do not need to read challenging writings to become intellectual themselves.
In Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism, he begins with a long lasting discussion about the the difference between “book smarts” and “streets smart”. Street smarts are frequently called “hoods” as they are the tough types and book smarts as the name suggests are typically referred to as “nerds or geeks”. Graff gives us insight on many cases of how these books smarts can take various forms, and hide in what people call street smarts, hence the “hidden Intellectualism”. He does this by sharing his story with us, growing up in his community where being “street smart” was more acceptable than being “book smart”. He would be bullied if he tried to pronounce words better than the others or spoke too intelligently around them, and as a result he
Itzel Garcia Nava Lea Bingham ENG 111. 104.108 Aug. 20, 2016 According to society, there are two types of intellectuals: the street smart and the book smart. To society, only book smart seems important while street smart is referred to as a waste of time.
The middle class students tend to outperform their peers, with this group being predominantly white but not entirely. Lower class students, however, are made up of black, Hispanic and white students, and often are more inclined to be off task. There was one lower class white student, for example, who was off task for the entire class period and more focused on socializing with his friends than completing any sort of assignment. The most troubling thing about this individual was, judging by the half-completed assignment in front of them, they barely knew who to write and could not even compile a complete
A Summary of Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” goes through many reasons why not being book smart could be a good thing. The sports world is a way of people connecting through the competitive sports that always lead to some sort of debate (268). Graff grew up always liking sports and being “street smart” living in Chicago. He always read sports magazines growing up and realized that reading magazines was a good tactic for schools to teach street smart kids how to write good essays based on their hobbies of reading magazines (265). “What doesn’t occur to us, is that schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work”(264).
Depending on the opportunities granted in life, people believe that once they are successful it is someone else’s fault that they did not also choose to be successful. In Katherine Boo’s book, Behind The Beautiful Forevers, it is proven how in a big city like Mumbai not everyone is granted the same opportunities to reach a level of success. The main question that needs to be answered is who’s fault is it that the poor were not granted the same opportunities; but throughout many examples throughout the book, it is showed that the people in power in Mumbai prevented the poor from leveling up in society, even though the poor people had the ambition to be successful. In search for jobs from the Mumbai International Airport to repair a runway, people from Tamil Nadu were placed in a slum called Annawadi.
Aravind Adiga portrays the use of literary devices in his novel, The White Tiger, when he uses symbolism, and the motifs of pairs and dualities. In the novel, Adiga effectively demonstrates how the use of literary devices creates a greater insight into Balram ’s view of India in order to engage the readers throughout the book. Balram ’s outlook of India is given to the audience through the author’s effective use of the literary device, symbolism, which engages the readers in understanding Balram’s view.
There is lower, middle, and upper class, but there are also subcategories that fill the gaps in between, like the impoverished and the top one percenters. “Class in America”, written by Gregory Mantsios, addresses the myths and realities about socioeconomic class in America and how they affect American lives. His article highlights the unequal divide that has persisted over the course of history and will continue to manifest in the future. To introduce the existence of this issue, Mantsios states that this country’s citizens “don’t like to talk about class...or class privileges, or class oppression, or the class nature of society” (Mantsios 378). This is the case in America today because people are neglecting to acknowledge the existence of these elusive
“Hidden Intellectualism,” by Gerald Graff starts off with an older argument between being book smart and street smart. Throughout the reading, Graff uses his own life experiences to critique the education system today. Points made focus on the idea of overlooking the intellectual potential of those who come across as being, “street smart”. Different authors cited in the reading to show how to accept another’s different intellectual. However, we realize that people who come across as being intellectual weren’t always labeled as that.
The reading "Hidden Intellectualism" by Gerald Graff reflects views on being "street smart" and "book smart." He explains that society tends to associate people who are intelligent on solely being "book smart" and performing well in academics, rather than being street smart. He goes on to further explain that students perhaps can be intelligent on topics that interest them. Graff opens up the reading by giving his own personal experience on feeling torn between trying to prove that he was smart yet fearing that he was overdoing it. He was trying to prove that he learned just as much about the real world by reading his sports books and magazines as he would have if he had read the classic works of literature like most students in school.
In James W. Loewen’s “The Land of Opportunity,” he states that social class affects the way children are raised. He discusses the inequality in today’s society and how the textbooks in high school do not give any social class information. The students in today’s time are not taught everything they should be taught. He states that your family’s wealth is what makes up your future. Loewen discusses that people with more money can study for the SATs more productively and get a better score than someone who has less money.
The American dream is a dream of a land in which one can prosper with ambition and hard work. This idea has created many illusions for some because in reality the American dream is proven to be something that is rarely achieved. No individual is guaranteed success or destined for failure, but it is apparent that women, people of color, and those born into poverty will face greater obstacles than others, despite being a greater part of the American population. An author that tackles the issue of class in the United States is Gregory Mantsios. In his essay, “Class in America-2009”, Mantsios aims to prove that class affects people’s lives in drastic ways.
Looking For a Clearer Vision Intelligence is the most important aspect of civilization. Although society will never be able to know everything, intellect allows for new technology to be created, and for the world to be better understood. The reason why intelligence cannot be the most important aspect of civilization is because others must support aptitude. Intelligence cannot persist by itself, as it requires the provision of a civilization. In The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, Piggy represents intelligence because he supplies technology, he is constantly trying to see the world in a clearer vision, and because he cannot survive on his own.
Persepolis is about Marji and her country in war. Power and money make a big different between people in Iran, Power and money allowed other people with greater power to do anythings or they can get away from almost anything. Social Power is important in Persepolis, it put people where they belong, how much Power they will have depends on their class, and the unlimited educated they can have just becuase they have more Power ,money, and opportunity. This can be apply to country that have more power, and wealth that is controlling other country.
Page 70 of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi depicts the main character of the story, the young Satrapi’s despair at the execution of her uncle Anoosh at the hands of the post-1979 revolution Iranian government. The pretense for his execution is that he is a Russian spy, which, at least from the young main character’s point of view, appears to be blatantly untrue. The author’s shock at this apparently unjustified killing is metaphorically expressed through a confrontation with God, a character in the story that, despite frequent appearances in the early parts of the book, never appears again in the story. This penultimate belligerent confrontation of God, Satrapi’s childhood hero also symbolizes Satrapi’s change from her carefree childhood self,