preview

The Search For One’S Purpose And Identity In The World

Good Essays
Open Document

The search for one’s purpose and identity in the world never truly ends. However, the

unavoidable mistake that everyone has made and continue to make is to derive one’s worth and

self-image from the constructs of social misconceptions, manifested in the form of stereotypes.

As organisms that instinctively seek belonging and acceptance by a group, as individuals, not

submitting or rebelling against established social cues could endanger someone to persecution or

even isolation. Therefore, to prevent the antagonism of others, stereotypes--mostly false

misperceptions and expectations of specific groups of people, such as race, gender, class,

sexuality, etc.--exist to avoid social anxiety. The problem lies not just with the …show more content…

In

another aspect, there are expectations and ideals already laid in place for sexuality. Originally, it

would not be uncommon to assume that a man is attracted to women, and women are attracted to

men; even biology would assert to it. However, the man-woman relationship can no longer be

the only accepted form of human relationship in the presence of other possibilities. Homosexual

relationships, gay and lesbian, may not be traditionally accepted, but nonetheless deserve as

much respect as heterosexual relationships and not as much criticism. The source of conflict is

not that homosexual relationships are wrong, but different. The dissonance between perceptions

of a socially accepted relationship and homosexual relationship create tensions from which

usually negative connotations are placed on terms “gay” and “lesbian” and create stereotypes.

To alleviate some of the tension regarding relationships, the question must begged of

what a “normal relationship” is and what fulfills the criteria of a relationship. Gloria Naylor,

author of Women of Brewster Place sheds light on the dilemmas of human relationships.

Throughout her novel, Gloria Naylor depicts the toils and trials of black women living in a poor

area called Brewster Place, whether victim to domestic violence, abandonment, or robbery of

one’s dreams. The men in the novel are portrayed as greedy, lustful, and conniving. And despite

their

Get Access
Related
Get Access