There are a variety of tools used to define individuals within the society resulting in damaging effects to one’s thinking resulting in division. What are these tools? If the definitions are damaging can we offer resistance? Sontag’s “Regarding the Pain of Others”, Gould’s “Women’s Brains”, and Satrapi’s “The Veil” show how different tools define individuals in society and change their mindset on society’s norms resulting in disruption. “Regarding the Pain of others” explains how photography and media changes an individual’s view on war depending on their personal position in society. In “Women’s brains” Gould discusses society’s prejudice against women where their intelligence is based on their smaller brain size. Satrapi’s “The Veil” uses
Ever since its inception, human civilization has been run by a pecking order; a small group of elitists on the top of the chain of command dictate the social norms for the remaining individuals on the antithetical end of the spectrum. Individuals with traits outside these norms are ostracized and looked down upon by the hierarchy. Cathy Davidson’s, Project Classroom Makeover, promotes the use of customization in the education system to accommodate every students’ learning habits over the current use of standardization and curriculum based teachings. On the other hand, Karen Ho’s, Biographies of Hegemony, is about how one’s environment is engineered by institutions, which in turn establish hierarchies who set standards for society. However, Son by Andrew Solomon describes how horizontal identities, traits influenced by peer groups that separate individuals from their families, are seen as abnormalities and those with such identities are on the bottom of the said hierarchy. Based on Davidson’s, Solomon’s, and Ho’s works, individualism does into question because society forces individuals to conform to the standardized norm in which they are not allowed to have unique identities.
People are like snowflakes: each one is different. Every individual has their own qualities that distinguish them from others. Anthem by Ayn Rand features a collectivist community where citizens are obligated to suppress individuality and conform to a homogeneous way of life. This society in which Equality 7-2521 lives in regards the best in him as sinful because they do not think people should be unique in any way. In a similar way, the society in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut tries to promote uniformity both physically and mentally by forcing their citizens to wear handicaps. Both authors show examples of how extreme equality can be detrimental to a society.
Often in our society, people stifle their individuality in an attempt to fit in with others. This idea is taken a step further in both “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. These texts demonstrate different ways in which one can surrender their unique traits and how when people lack individuality, they lose aspects of themselves that make them human such as thoughts and emotions. In Vonnegut’s text, people who have talents that exceed others are required to wear handicaps so that everyone is equal. In Huxley’s text, embryos are engineered and trained after birth to be the same in adulthood. In both stories, the authors use description and dialogue to show the reader how individuality is critical to humanity because if everyone is the same eventually they become less human and start acting more like machines.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil," Mr. Hooper, a Reverend in the town of Milford, surprises his parishioners by donning a conspicuous black veil one Sunday. The town is visibly spooked, yet still curious, about his eerie appearance and profoundly affected by his sermon on secret sin. "A subtle power was breathed into his words. Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought" (2432). The parishioner's expect that Hooper will only don the veil for one day and then remove it, having used the visage to make his point on secret sin, but they are taken aback to
Race and gender are two facets that inherently dominate individuals everyday lives. A person’s social environment, work environment, and educational environment is congruent to their race and gender. From birth, it has been set up that everyone is assigned to a label. A pink or blue blanket is swaddled around a newborn child and a box is checked signifying that child’s place in society. These two actions ultimately define how a child is to be viewed and treated. As children grow into young adults they either decide to stick with their original assignment, while others decide to deviate from it. These individuals deviation results in many of them being viewed harshly and looked down upon because they strayed from their social norms. This constant cycle of being classified and labeled from birth is the social institution of gender and race. These social institutions aid in the inequality that is present in society, and race and gender are shaped by this. However, if these social institutions were removed, race and gender could dissipate. This is due to the fact that race and gender are not real, but are socially constructed concepts used to organize the power, or dominance, within our society to one social group over the other groups.
What is slavery and where does it stem from. The Webster’s dictionary definition of slavery means “the condition of a slave; the state of entire subjection of one person to the will of another”. The African slave trade started way back in the 1400’s from the west coast of Africa1stAfrica entered into a unique relationship with Europe that led to the devastation and depopulation of Africa, but contributed to the wealth and development of Europe. From then until the end of the 19th century, Europeans began to establish a trade for African captives. Why would people do such a thing what were they to gain from such wickedness? Timothy 6:10”For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
For generations society has been separating and categorizing mankind into stereotypes. Everyone and anyone on earth has been placed within a prospective category. If not by race, then appearance, income, or by social standing. Although sometimes mankind takes these separations to an extreme, like trying to dispose of a thousands of people, just because of their religion and beliefs. These separations and categorizations can wreak havoc on the human mind. Some even hallucinating in order to cope with the stress of
In recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*
In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the
One of the most controversial topics concerning Muslim women’s rights is the idea of the veil. It is believed by some Muslims that the veil is an Islamic obligation that all Muslim women must adhere to. But nowadays, the veil can have different meanings that are not necessarily religious. In her article “Reinventing the Veil,” Leila Ahmed addresses some of the different meanings that the veil can have. Marjane Satrapi explores one of those meanings in her animated autobiography Persepolis (2008). In Persepolis, Marjane tells the story of her rebellion against the Iranian Islamist regime that takes over Iran, oppresses women, and forces them to wear the veil. What was interesting to me was seeing Marjane wear the veil without being oppressed, although she does not believe in it, and is being forced to wear it. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi escapes being a subject to the Iranian Islamist ideology by establishing her individual identity through transforming the veil from a means of oppression into a means of feminist rebellion.
The veil that the minister wears in "The Ministers Black Veil", by Nathanial Hawthorne represents the emphasis on man's inner reality, and those thoughts and feelings which are not immediately obvious. As Hawthorne explored this inner nature, he found the source of dignity and virtue, and certain elements of darkness. When the minister first walks out of his home wearing the veil, everyone is astonished. This one man in this village decides to be a nonconformist and wear this veil without explanation. No one understands why the minister would wear such a veil for no reason at all. This is where all the assumptions begin to linger. All of the villagers have a story for why the veil is there. These people are
"The Discourse of the Veil" Ahmed examines Amin’s recommendations regarding women and formed part of his thesis and how/why he believed that unveiling was key to the social transformation, which is important for unraveling the significance of the debate that his book provoked (Ahmed, 145). Ahmed discusses the origins and history as an idea of the veil which informs Western colonial discourse and 20th century-Arabic debate have several implications. The first implication is the evident connection between the issue of culture of women, as well as between the cultures of other men and the oppression of women, which was created by Western discourse. The idea that improving the status of women resulting in abandoning native customs was
Fatima Mernissi is a celebrated Moroccan author who has written several books which are critically acclaimed from a feminist perspective, however they have also been misconstrued by pundits specifically by men for their own personal benefits. In Fatima Mernissi’s book Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society, Fatima Mernissi focuses on sexual relations between men and women and how it effects societal dynamics. In the novel, Fatima Mernissi attempts to narrate the sexual inequality of women in the Muslim world and explores deeply in male-female relationships as a component of the Muslim society. She fears that the involvement between a man and a woman, which may be emotional and intellectual is a direct threat to
Also on a quest to win the heart of Hollingsworth, Priscilla comes to Blithedale under false pretenses of innocence and abandonment. She does not tell anyone of her being the Veiled Lady, nor of her relation to Zenobia, and follows Zenobia around as though attached to her hip. Out of all of the characters, Priscilla allows herself to be the most easily manipulated, both by Westervelt as the Veiled Lady and by Hollingsworth. She seems to not possess free will as she bounces from master to master. Even Coverdale notes Priscilla’s “lack of earthly substance,” yet she manages to win the affection of every principle male at Blithedale (Hawthorne 83). Moreover, her role as the Veiled Lady adds an extra layer of mysticism to the already heavily clouded work. “In her isolated insensibility, she reenacts a social drama that the communitarians at Blithedale have been playing all spring and summer” (Castronovo 119). Just as Priscilla becomes unconscious during her time as the Veiled Lady, the community remained unconscious of the social disparities that plagued them throughout the work. Priscilla’s lack of awareness is analogous to the communities ignorance in the outside societal differences that separate them within the community.