Monday, January 12, 2009
Outside reading post #11
John Hockenberry in Moving Violations is struggling to break through the stereotypes of the rest of the world. He has been fighting to do so ever since his accident but he comes to realize "There was a biblical inevitability to it. The person who confronted a stereotype would end up living it" (160). This statement proved to be very true. As Hockenberry himself admits, "I have become the angry young man, like the black actors compelled to play all the pimps, terroists, and athletes." (160). By being exposed to people's ideas of how he should act for too long, Hockenberry actually starting acting that way. It was these stereotypes that haunted Hockenberry for a long time afterwards. After getting a job for National Public Radio, he is afraid of interviewing people. This shown when he says, "It was more than bashfulness: I was afraid of irritating people, I was afraid of their ignoring me... I was trapped between twin stereotypes, theirs and mine" (165). Over time, the stereotypes of others became his own, and they prevented him from having confidence in himself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It's really interesting hoe this poor man is trying to break free of these stereotypes, but just can't. It's a struggle that goes on all the time and people can't seem to avoid it. Everyone has stereotypes and lots of people except them as the truth. It's very sad, but this book seems to teach us to rise above them.
This book seems to show the importance of "staying true to your school" and being yourself in a world where everyone else wants to see something else. Once you get wrapped up in trying to create the person people want to see, you loose a little bit of yourself.
Post a Comment