Outsiders, Stereotypes and Epiphanies
An outsider is someone who doesn’t fit in society or is excluded from groups. Many times there are feelings associated with being an outsider, such as loneliness, sadness and depression. There are a variety of places that one could feel like an outsider such as, school, home, neighborhood, country or state. Some of the reasons people are outsiders consist of being shy, their race, the language they speak or their religion.
There are different kinds of outsiders such as, people who choose to be an outsider and those who don’t choose. There are also insiders and borderliners. I am a borderliner because I’m shy sometimes and don’t really talk that much in class, but when I’m with my friends I talk non-stop with them.
In fact, stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is someone who judges people based on where they are from, what they look like or their race. An example of stereotyping are the people who stereotyped my dad because he wore glasses. All throughout his childhood he was stereotyped. People thought he was a know-it-all and a nerd just because he wore glasses, which made him feel like an outsider.
Another example about stereotypes and not fitting in comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser, (a greaser is someone who is poor and lives on the East side) believes that all Socs are the same. That they jump greasers are spoiled, don’t care about anything but themselves and beat up people. But Cherry, a Soc, (a Soc is someone who is rich and lives on the West side) believes that this isn’t true, not all Socs are the same.
In addition, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie TED talk called “A Danger of a single story.” In This presentation she discusses that when she was younger she read books written by Americans. In those books the characters were white with blue eyes, played in the snow and drank ginger beer. She thought that all books were like this and were supposed to be written like this. While she was growing up, she discovered African writers. African writers taught her that people like her do exist; people that have chocolate brown skin and uncontrollable hair. When she went off to college, her roommate was surprised by her because she could speak English so well and came from Africa. Later on she took a trip to Mexico and she stereotyped Mexicans by thinking that they were all immigrants and that if they tried to cross the borders they would get arrested. With this story, C. Addichie tells us that we should treat people equally and that we shouldn’t judge people before we get to know them.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person that makes bad choices changes to become a better person than they were before. An example of someone who had an epiphany is my cousin. When she was younger all she would eat would be junk food like chips and donuts, but now she is eating healthier food. I see this as an epiphany because she decided to become a healthier person and not eat junk food anymore.
In addition to my cousin, there is also an example of epiphany in the book “The Outsiders.” Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. He has suffered throughout most of his life because his parents were mean and abusive towards him. This leads him to become a nervous wreck. But when he was in the church with Ponyboy, he saved the children from the fire. He risked his life for those children. Sadly he died, but he showed bravery and confidence.
Overall learning about outsiders, stereotypes and epiphanies has helped me to grow. It has taught me that being different/unique is ok and it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you look like, we should all be treated the same with due respect. It also taught me that people can change from being a bad person to a good person, no matter how challenging it might be.
Works Cited
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1967.
Valdovinos, Joel. Personal Interview. 9 August 2013.
"C. Addichie on Danger of a Single Story" www.tedtalk.com.web. July 2009.
An outsider is someone who doesn’t fit in society or is excluded from groups. Many times there are feelings associated with being an outsider, such as loneliness, sadness and depression. There are a variety of places that one could feel like an outsider such as, school, home, neighborhood, country or state. Some of the reasons people are outsiders consist of being shy, their race, the language they speak or their religion.
There are different kinds of outsiders such as, people who choose to be an outsider and those who don’t choose. There are also insiders and borderliners. I am a borderliner because I’m shy sometimes and don’t really talk that much in class, but when I’m with my friends I talk non-stop with them.
In fact, stereotypes can cause someone to feel like an outsider. A stereotype is someone who judges people based on where they are from, what they look like or their race. An example of stereotyping are the people who stereotyped my dad because he wore glasses. All throughout his childhood he was stereotyped. People thought he was a know-it-all and a nerd just because he wore glasses, which made him feel like an outsider.
Another example about stereotypes and not fitting in comes from the book “The Outsiders.” Two characters from the book discuss stereotypes. Ponyboy, a greaser, (a greaser is someone who is poor and lives on the East side) believes that all Socs are the same. That they jump greasers are spoiled, don’t care about anything but themselves and beat up people. But Cherry, a Soc, (a Soc is someone who is rich and lives on the West side) believes that this isn’t true, not all Socs are the same.
In addition, stereotypes are also explored in C. Addichie TED talk called “A Danger of a single story.” In This presentation she discusses that when she was younger she read books written by Americans. In those books the characters were white with blue eyes, played in the snow and drank ginger beer. She thought that all books were like this and were supposed to be written like this. While she was growing up, she discovered African writers. African writers taught her that people like her do exist; people that have chocolate brown skin and uncontrollable hair. When she went off to college, her roommate was surprised by her because she could speak English so well and came from Africa. Later on she took a trip to Mexico and she stereotyped Mexicans by thinking that they were all immigrants and that if they tried to cross the borders they would get arrested. With this story, C. Addichie tells us that we should treat people equally and that we shouldn’t judge people before we get to know them.
Despite stereotypes, epiphanies challenge individuals to become better people. An epiphany is when a person that makes bad choices changes to become a better person than they were before. An example of someone who had an epiphany is my cousin. When she was younger all she would eat would be junk food like chips and donuts, but now she is eating healthier food. I see this as an epiphany because she decided to become a healthier person and not eat junk food anymore.
In addition to my cousin, there is also an example of epiphany in the book “The Outsiders.” Johnny Cade is a character who goes from a zero to a hero. He has suffered throughout most of his life because his parents were mean and abusive towards him. This leads him to become a nervous wreck. But when he was in the church with Ponyboy, he saved the children from the fire. He risked his life for those children. Sadly he died, but he showed bravery and confidence.
Overall learning about outsiders, stereotypes and epiphanies has helped me to grow. It has taught me that being different/unique is ok and it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you look like, we should all be treated the same with due respect. It also taught me that people can change from being a bad person to a good person, no matter how challenging it might be.
Works Cited
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1967.
Valdovinos, Joel. Personal Interview. 9 August 2013.
"C. Addichie on Danger of a Single Story" www.tedtalk.com.web. July 2009.