How Does Judith Ortiz Cofer Use Stereotypes

In the essay The Way We Lie, Stephanie Ericsson writes that “All the ‘isms’-racism, sexism, ageism, et al.-are founded on and fueled by the stereotype and the cliché, which are lies of exaggeration, omission, and ignorance. They are always dangerous. They take a single tree and make it a landscape.” This quote is important due to the fact that stereotypes play a major role in many aspects of our society. In American society we have a tendency to pass judgment on people just because of a pre-existing stereotype that our society has formed on particular groups over the years. American Society tends to create stereotypes because of the simplicity it adds to our lives, but stereotypes can cause us to oversimplify the characteristics

As she is already a credible source, Cofer’s ability to use her anecdotes as evidence, takes the essay to a whole new level of discernment. From each experience Cofer tells, it conveys how the bias that some people have when looking at a Minority can be extremely detrimental. This use of evidence allows space for Cofer to make a connection with the audience because of how she lays out the story. It also helps the audience to understand what it is like to be a Latina, especially when Cofer speaks on her lifestyle as a Puerto Rican compared to how an American lifestyle may be (referring mostly to parties). The effect that this has on the overall essay is beyond competent as it is something that can’t be argued due to the fact that it was her real experiences.

Through the use of diction and exaggeration, Staples is able to create this intelligent and humorous persona for the listeners. Staples first starts by describing a white woman as a “victim” (543). He purposely starts his essay by appearing as a criminal sharing his stories of trouble. As the reader progresses through his essay, one can see that he continually becomes more complex and through with his word choice. This transition shows that audience that he never was a criminal, but a rather intelligent college student. Likewise, Staples uses this shift to show the audience that initial perceptions of people like him are generally wrong. He paints himself as a criminal, only to reveal his true self, like what most white people would do. This conveys his message because Staples showcases that black people are almost instantly seen as bad and scary, when they could be better than the person making the discriminating notes. Staples mentions how he and other blacks are quickly judged by everyone else. In one instance, upon entering a jewelry store, he is met by an “enormous red Doberman pinscher” (544). This use of exaggeration creates a humorous persona to Staples. The purposely description of the dog as enormous shows just how unnecessary the prejudice against African Americans really is. The humorous persona that Staples has conveys the message that people are too assimilated with the negative

In the modern world, gender stereotypes affect men and women in different ways. A kind man can be perceived as violent for simply being a man, and in contrast, a woman can be seen as an object to chase or prey upon simply for being a woman. When these roles overlap, the innocent members of both parties feel uncomfortable and ashamed for things out of their control. Judith Ortiz Cofer’s essay entitled The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria is more effective in its explanation of perceived gender roles and stereotypes, compared to the Brent Staples essay Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Space.

Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).

There are a few rhetorical strategies the author uses that help him get his point across. He uses his experiences throughout the majority of the passage in short bursts to reaffirm the notion that he was a kind and sensitive man. Staples uses this strategy to set the tone he often encountered when he says, “I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver- black, white, male, or female- hammering

Making a first impression is akin to a scientific process, albeit a biased one, in which one is put under personal microscopes and scrutinizing eyes frantically searching for a taxonomic stereotype: “black” and “white, “rich” and “poor”, “smart” and “simple”. In fact, one cannot go through a single day without being pushed and squeezed into these one-word adjectives - as if they could totally encompass the depth of an individual. In Deborah Tannen’s There Is No Unmarked Woman, women are “marked”, or judged, through such adjectives based on both the choices that they take and don’t take: from their attire, their hairstyles, their shoes, and even their relationship status. Whereas Tannen claims that women don’t have the freedom to be unmarked like men, Brent Staples’ conflict with his identity as a black man, described in his essay Just Walk on By, reveal a critical point of disagreement in which black men, like women, are also predominantly viewed as members of a stereotype; in which one realizes that - regardless of race, gender, nationality, or any other category - there is not one individual that is a stranger to being marked.

In his piece, Staples first openly introduces his audience to his "first victim" by describing specific details of the woman immediately followed by the location of their crossing (1). Staples goes on to state the vibe that was given off by the streetwalker - a vibe that literally left in a flash since the woman ran "in earnest”, "disappearing into a cross street"(1).This is consequent of her becoming apprehensive of him - this is because of the presence of a black man. Not only did this embarrassing confrontation have an effect on the thoughts of a female walking along a side street, but it also negatively impacted the thoughts of an innocent black man. Over time, after several racial discrimination occurrences, Staples formulates an understanding of how violent the world is as a whole and how women naturally have all the right to fear any man due to their own stereotypes and struggles as a woman. However, Staples never displays the accumulation of anger towards those who feel the need to discriminate against him, he simply remains calm and seeks solutions. His newly discovered, partial solution causes him to actively make an attempt to come off as not so intimidating to others around him so that he is not misjudged and racially profiled. He has allowed the actions of another to alter his daily activities. Staples builds his credibility with personal facts and sources while effectively triggering the emotions of his audience through the broad use of ethos, pathos, abstract diction, sarcastic tone, and structure to portray the stereotypes that black males have to deal with. Staple's audience is both the victimized black men who

Along in with the author’s use of metaphors is the frequent use of imagery. In this reading, it is simple to envision the scenes as the different scenarios are explained and the audience can easily picture Staples in the places he is describing and also the people he comes across. Perhaps the most powerful and memorable imagery is provided in the author’s description of people’s different reactions and faces when they come into contact with him. Actions speak volumes and an immediate change of facial expression is possibly one of the

Stereotyping is a normal part of every one’s life. Humans, by nature, classify things. We name animals and classify them by common characteristics but stereotyping can have negative repercussions, and everyone does it. In a recent study it was proven that everyone has an unconscious need to stereotype (Paul). In Junteenth and The Invisible man, Ralph Ellison argues that stereotyping can cause mayhem by making the people become something they are not.

In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will

Stereotypes are a common tool used to judge others before fully understanding a situation or considering different points of view. Writers often use or create these stereotypes to get their own point across. Mencken, a writer that covered the Scopes trial, is an example of how stereotypes of southerners such as the Tennesseans, were used to compromise the outlook on how the trial was conducted and portrayed. Evidence shows that urban writers, such as Mencken himself, unfairly portrayed Tennesseans throughout the Scopes trial by insulting their intelligence and their overall demeanor.

Brent Staples, in his literary essay “Just Walk On By”, uses a variety of rhetorical strategies. The devices he uses throughout his essay effectively engage the audience in a series of his own personal anecdotes and thoughts. He specifically shifts the reader's perspective towards the unvoiced and the judged. Within the essay, Staples manipulates several rhetorical strategies, such as perspective and metaphor, in order to emphasize the damage stereotypes have caused against the mindsets and perceptions of society as a whole.

This is a powerful statement to the impact stereotypes can have on a person’s life (Alexie, 12). “Given the chance, my father would have been a musician” (Alexie, 13). Moreover, Junior shows how stereotypes can differ from within a culture to the rest of society. This is done by showing how he is treated at Reardon and how he is treated on the reservation. Penelope is a powerful example of this, she seems to only be with Junior at times because he is Native American and shows that ignoring someone is not the only way to play into stereotypes (Alexie, 113).

The purpose of this entire project is to open peoples’ eyes to stereotypes. What they are, how they affect people, and ways to prevent them. Stereotyping is an important issue because all around the world people are being stereotyped and it’s not fair to any of them. I decided on this topic after reading the short story, The Paperboy, because two characters really stood out to me, since they were stereotyped by peers. By these pieces I hope that that readers are able to see that stereotyping is wrong and that they should understand the person first before making judgements.