Stereotyping a Stereotype Essay Example for Free

Stereotyping a Stereotype Essay Junot Diaz’s â€Å"How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie† seems to play into and highlight the racial stereotypes that affect the way Americans see each other; however, Diaz is in fact working to show that even people who believe they understand the full extent of stereotypes, especially men, find themselves subordinate to the ones they are stereotyping. In this story, Diaz shows how female stereotypes actually control the actions of a males seeking intimacy. The man will revert to basic instinct and base his decisions on a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person. The short story focuses its instruction on the ultimate goal of reaching physical intimacy with a girl, but illustrates the definitely different courses of action necessary to take depending on what ethnicity the target girl is. This is where Diaz proves that even by mastering the â€Å"predicted† behavior of females through racial stereotypes, the male while appearing to have control of the situation is actually lower than the female. The text has an almost aggressive tone is used to show that the author clearly knows what he is talking about in terms of girls. This tone adds serious credibility to the author and makes the instruction all the more believable. Instead of using phrases such as â€Å"I would recommend,† â€Å"I think,† or â€Å"I believe,† Diaz uses the imperative and says â€Å"Clear the government cheese from the refrigerator,† â€Å"Leave yourself a reminder to get it out,† and, â€Å"Hide the pictures of yourself with an Afro† (Diaz 143). This forceful use of language is more believable and it creates a sense of power, superiority, and confidence in the reader because he is apparently taking instruction from an expert. After all, the reader using these instructions is looking to maximize his chances of getting anything from a â€Å"Kiss,† to a â€Å"Girl just [giving] it up right then† (Diaz 147). Diaz first points out that the reader should be aware of his own social class and ethnicity. The last thing the reader wants to do is foil his chances of achieving intimacy with his date by ignoring potentially embarrassing pictures or icons of a lower social class that would not impress the girl. Such things as the notorious â€Å"Government cheese† or the â€Å"basket with all the crapped-on toilet paper† definitely want to be hidden away (Diaz 143, 144). By doing these small things, the reader is putting himself at an advantage by leaving no room for the date to find weakness in him. If the date cannot find anything embarrassing, the reader is in control of the situation. According to Casey S. Torstenson in her article â€Å"You Don’t Know Me,† she says â€Å"To follow the advice of this story will, in all likelihood, get the [reader] closer to some form of physical intimacy, but this intimacy will be the result of a carefully manipulated†¦ impression he creates for his date, rather than the more inherent and objective truths of who he truly is† (Torstenson). This statement means that by hiding anything potentially incriminating, the male has a better shot at getting intimate with the girl, but that he is defying the age old saying that every set of parents say to their kids, â€Å"Just be yourself. † Diaz proves my argument in this section because the reader, although seemingly in control of the situation, is forced to manipulate it in a way that is pleasing to the girl, not to him. Diaz does not suggest anywhere in the text that the reader should do what he might find appealing, instead, the only positive thing in the text for the reader is the ultimate possibility of a hook-up. If the reader manipulates a situation based on stereotypes (ie where to take the girl to dinner depends on what the color of her skin is) he is subordinate to the girl because he has to play his cards just right in order to get what he wants. The date is in complete control because every decision the reader makes is based on what the girl will do, not what the reader wants. In doing so â€Å"Diaz emphasizes the way in which the social forces of race and class undercut both individuality and objectivity† and make the reader subordinate to his date (Torstenson). After the reader establishes his own security, it is then his responsibility to prepare for the evening. Diaz establishes that the first thing to do, no matter the race of the girl is to say hello to the mother. Once again, the author instructs the reader to inadvertently give up control. The entire purpose of saying hello to the mother is to impress her and to come across as a gentleman. Saying hello does not benefit the reader at all nor does it make his chances of getting with the girl any better. He merely says hello to come across as somebody he is not, boosting his facade, tearing down his true character, and once again putting the date in power. After the introduction is over, the reader must take the girl to dinner. This part of the story is intriguing because depending on what race the girl is determines where there is to go. The local girls (Hispanic and black) can be taken to El Cibao, only so that the reader can impress them with his Spanish or give them the chance to correct his Spanish. For some reason, the black girl and the brown girl are entitled to eat at a nicer dining establishment than the white girls who are suppsoed to be taken to Wendy’s. Diaz claims that the black girl will be impressed by his ability to speak Spanish, or the brown girl will have the opportunity to correct his â€Å"busted-up Spanish† (Diaz 145). In the case of the black girl, she, although being taken to dinner, is in control of the situation because the only reason the reader takes her to dinner at a nicer place is in hopes that he can impress her. The reader let’s the stereotype that she does not speak Spanish control his decision making insomuch as that he is not at the restaurant to enjoy a meal, but only to get one step closer to intimacy. In the case of the brown girl, he hopes that she will correct him to make her feel important and smart. In this case, the reader is supposed to make himself come across as unintelligent to make the girl happy. Once again, the reader is subordinate to the girl because he is not being himself and is forced to act in certain ways that are uncharacteristic of him. However, suppose the girl does not speak Spanish. What is the reader supposed to do then? He is not being himself and following instructions, so if the instructions are not correct, the reader will be unknowing of his next move. The reader becomes dependent on these stereotypes and completely relies on them to work. The reader is at the will of the stereotypes. If they turn out to be false, then the reader will be lost with no direction and all of his expectations will be shattered leaving him in less control than he already is. In the case of the white girl, he expects that the white girl will put out much sooner than the girls of color and will not require the type of attention and time that the colored girls apparently deserve. What if the stereotype is false again? The white girl will be unimpressed by eating at a greasy fast food restaurant, and the reader will not get what he wants. As in every other instance, the reader relies on the validity of the stereotype. If it is true, then everything works out according to plan, but the only way for the stereotype to be true is if the white girl does absolutely everything according to Diaz’s chronology of events. Diaz leaves no room for spontaneity. Everything is scripted. However, the script is only as long as the girl wants it to be. She is fully capable of doing what she wants. The girl is in complete control of the very stereotype that the reader relies so heavily upon. Thus, the reader is subordinate to his date. Flattery is his next tool. Once the dinner is over, Diaz tells the reader to act interested in the girl and touch her gently; almost in a suggestive manner. He tells the readers to say things like â€Å"I like you,† and â€Å"[I] love [your] hair† (Diaz 147, 148). The basic assumption here is that girls will appreciate being complimented and be more willing to act more intimate with their charmer. However, even still, the girl is in complete control of her actions. Although the reader is wooing her, in the end it will be her decision whether or not she decides to put out. No stereotype can predict that event. They can offer a glimpse into a surface personality, but a sequence of events over the course of a couple of hours cannot physically be predicted exactly. Even so, the male will rely on a shallow concept that offers a glimpse into the future if he feels that it has the possibility of yielding pleasurable results. With this thought, it is clear that the stereotypes used in the story are geared towards pointing out how the potential for intimacy will make men revert to relying upon stereotypes and that they are not actually in control, but the stereotype that is controlled by the woman is in charge. â€Å"How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie† was most certainly written with the intent of showing how the male race relies on stereotypes to court women and how these stereotypes give the man a sense of security, control, and confidence. â€Å"Diaz consciously [provides] stereotypical male figures for dramatic effect† in order to illustrate how, â€Å"boys discuss members of the opposite sex as creatures to be used as devices for sexual gratification† (Alford). However, the underlying message in the text is that men rely on these stereotypes so much, that they in fact lose control of the situation because it is not the man in control but the stereotype. While Diaz points out the presence of stereotypes amongst women of different races, he clearly wants to point out the truth that men stereotyping is a stereotype. Works Cited Alford, William R. â€Å"Sex, Race and Power. † 2000. http://the-big-pic. org/drowntext. html. Diaz, Junot. Drown. â€Å"How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie. † New York: Riverhead Books, 1996. Torstenson, Casey S. â€Å"You Don’t Know Me. † Florida: Switchback, 2006. http://www. swback. com/issues/004/You_Dont_Know_Me. shtml.

Jeremy Bentham : Father of Utilitarianism Essays -- Ethics Morals Phi

Assess the merits of Utilitarianism (24 Marks) Utilitarianism is a theory aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision. It is based on a human’s natural instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He was born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and was himself, training to join the profession. During this process however, he became disillusioned by the state British law was in and set out to reform the system into a perfect one based on the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle,’ ‘the idea that pleasurable consequences are what qualify an action as being morally good’. Bentham observed that we are all governed by pain and pleasure; we all naturally aim to seek pleasure and avoid pain. He then decided that the best moral principle for governing our lives is one which uses this, the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle.’ This is that the amount of overall happiness or unhappiness that is caused by an action should determine whether an action is right or wrong. He stated, ‘the greatest happiness of all those whose interest is in question is the right and proper, and only right and proper end of human action’ Here Bentham is saying that the principle is the only valid of deciding and justifying our actions, that the principle should be applied regardless of any others, as it is the only true and reliable way of defining whether an action is right or wrong. An advantage of utilitarianism is that it can be applied to any situation. Unlike many moral approaches you are not restricted by rules such as ‘it is always wrong to lie,’ or ‘killing is never right.’ This allows the philosopher to consider any dilemma or problem in it’s own specific context. For example applying Kantian ethics, abortion or euthanasia would have to be defined as wrong, however a utilitarian has the scope to make there own decision considering a range of factors and situations. Bentham realised that because this theory is based on the outcome of our actions it may be difficult to assess fairly which action will produce the most happiness. He therefore developed the ‘hedonistic calculus’, a form of calculating the happiness resulting from an act by assessing 7 different factors of the pleasure produced such as intensity and duration. In doing this Bentham was attempting to create some sort of ... ...ilitarianism, like any other ‘list of rules’ approach to morality can be wrong in certain situations and encourages people to blindly follow rules. Utilitarianism is a reality, not just a theory like many other philosophies; it is practiced every day, for instance the vote system. This ongoing practice of utilitarianism in society has show that it is flawed. Just because the masses vote for something, doesn’t make it right. The masses can be fooled, as in Nazi Germany for example, thousands of people were behind Hitler even though his actions were undeniably evil. Utilitarianism is a logical system, but it requires some sort of basic, firm rules to prevent such gross injustices, violations of human rights, and just obviously wrong thing ever being allowed. This could be the ‘harm principle’ which Mill devised. ‘Acts of whatever kind, which, without justifiable cause, do harm to others, may be, and in the more important cases absolutely require to be, controlled by the unfavorable sentiments, and, when needful, by the active interference of mankind. The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people.’

Lottery Ticket’

Nothing is more cold and neutral in the allotment of fates among a group of equals than with a random game of chance. No one is favored neither is anyone discriminated against. Everyone enjoys the same chances of winning the pot viz. ‘the Lottery Ticket’ by Anton Chekov, just as much as everyone shares the same degree of nervous apprehension from being chosen among the lot as part of a dark ritual viz. ‘the Lottery’, Shirley Jackson. Many men have squandered their lives and property to follow the fickle goddess of circumstances. Likewise, societies throughout history from across different cultures have oftentimes done away with the long process of rational thought and quiet contemplation for a decisively quick way to decide on issues: through an impartial lottery draw of lives across the board. When chance is allowed to determine the fates of men, the results are irrevocable and are not open to discussion or compromise. Once mathematical statistics have chosen the roll, the consequences have the effect of law. Its concomitant mandate is as good as the universe itself has already firmly spoken on the matter. Both the short stories dwell on the central idea of lottery but the angles by which the scheme of it is scrutinized are in the opposite extremes. In brief, Anton Chekov’s ‘the Lottery Ticket’ tells of the sharp, positive change in the outlook of Ivan Dmitritch and his wife who both led an otherwise enervated and disillusioned life (Chekov 88). They were both thrilled with the prospect of being able to afford a few luxuries in life by winning a hefty sum of money from the lottery (ibid.). Ivan begins to imagine the myriad ways to spend the prize money just as his wife was likewise animated at the thought of traveling to places and improving her lot in life (ibid.). It does not take long before Ivan realizes that it was his wife’s ticket and the entire money belonged to her. He foresees the hypothetical situation where she would have him on a leash. Thus, to dispel the unsavory possibility of being subrogated to the wife, Ivan reveals that the ticket was spurious and the combination did not match the winning number. All at once, bliss was replaced with ill-humor. The resentment for their lives has never been more sharply felt. They had a brief taste of bliss although temporarily. From then on nothing will be the same for them again (Chekov 89). On the other hand, Shirley Jackson’s ‘the Lottery’ takes away the ecstatic pleasure one feels in winning the lottery and replaces it with abject dread and horror.   Without going much into details, a group of people in a certain remote village adopted the brand of lottery which was designed to indiscriminately pick the name of a person, on a fixed time and location, to be subjected to public lynching (Jackson 12). The lottery draw is not something that everyone looks forward to every time it was being held. Instead, it is largely anticipated with fear and terror (Jackson 13). Although the tradition is highly unusual and cruel, people in this community continue to practice the ritual even after its neighboring villages stopped doing it altogether (ibid.). Their talismanic attachment to the lottery is left unexplained although one can draw the connection between symbolic barbarism of backward societies and unquestioned belief in tradition. Nevertheless, the people do not take alarm at the punishment because everyone is statistically equal with the other. Only Tessie Hutchinson seems to be complaining precisely because she was on the fore about to suffer the injury and the unjust penalty of death (Jackson 14). In the same vein, the tradition is perpetuated to the younger generation who were at the frontlines eagerly casting out stones from a pile they have previously prepared. Lottery has been around in human recorded history since time immemorial. Abraham who took charge of large plots of land settled disputes on ownership and patrimony through a simple and efficient method of drawing lots (King James Bible, Gen. 1.18-25). The principle of deciding by lottery is practiced up to the present time. It is generally adopted to resolve issues because of its appeal to fair justice (From Grandpa with Love, 2). The flipside to this argument is that everyone shares both justice and injustice equally. Shirley Jackson’s ‘the Lottery’ is an exposition of this principle in the negative end, whereas, Anton Chekov’s ‘the Lottery’ takes off from the notion that fair play sometimes breed resentment and jealousy by the one who is un-favored against those who are favored. The short stories are cries against injustice, either asking â€Å"why not me?† or â€Å"why me?† in the end. Works Cited Chekov, Anton. The Wife and other Stories: The Tales of Chekov vol. 5. New York: Bibliobazaar Publishers Inc., 2003. From Grandpa with Love.   International Bible Society: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. 12 February 2008. . Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery and other Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. King James Bible. New York: Hendrikson Publishers, 2003.

Online Social Networking Dangers and Benefits Essay

For years and years, the internet has been offering a very extensive variety of information, social networking sites, merchandise purchases, online banking and many other services that our grandparents and our great grandparents could only dream of. This doesn’t mean that it’s all good or useful information and sites. Neither does it mean it hasn’t had a huge impact on the way society is changing just because it is a virtual space. â€Å"The internet is home to millions of sites, representing both commerce and the people who share their thoughts and experiences with anyone who visits† (Amp Your MySpace Page 99) The webpages that have had much more impact on society are social networking sites such as, Myspace, Facebook, Hi5, Friendster, etc.†¦show more content†¦(What Matters In America 52). Many kids are growing up in a world where their â€Å"friends† are a bunch of pictures on their profiles and a â€Å"community† is a virtual place where you can meet and interact with virtual people. Modern kids and teenagers are living in a world where they create their own virtual persona, which can be anything they want even if it’s not even close to what they really are in real life. This can even turn into a psychological issue because â€Å"these people grow up going to school, work and public places as one person but they still have that urge to become someone else once they’re online†(Google.com). There have been many reported cases where a good, trusting person agrees to meet with someone else only to find that that person is a sexual predator, a thief, or some kind of lunatic. It is true that even if you meet someone face to face instead of online you can find them to be jerks also, but I think it’s a smaller risk. 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