American Stereotypes

Thinking of a tradition in my family that surrounds food is incredibly hard. There are seven of us, my mom and six younger siblings, and it is rare if we eat at the same time, let alone same things. In fact, I am one of the only people who even use the dining table still, and I use it infrequently. It is easy to say then, that our only food tradition would have to be thanksgiving.

My mom is a great cook. I tell her all the time that the only reason I will visit in later years is so that she will cook for me. She has a full-time job and usually just wants to come home and sleep, but sometimes, usually weekends, she will make a feast for us kids. Thanksgiving is an entirely different story. Mom doesn't ask for much help in the kitchen, if ever, so generally speaking, she does all of the cooking: potatoes, gravy, corn, casserole, yams, several pies, different types of rolls, and, of course, the turkey. Dinner is something she takes great pride in. It breaks her heart whenever she runs out of time to make something and has to buy it from the store.

Thanksgiving is one of the several times we all sit down and eat together. Sometimes my grandparents, or family friends, will join us as well. Family dinners are something looked forward to probably only for the food. Though we love each other, I have never experienced a family dinner in which there was not an argument among my sisters. It hurts to see my mom's attempt at family unity fall to petty bickering, but usually, the arguing is in good humor and does not escalate too much.

I imagine one day, when we are all older, the fighting will only get worse, but I know that no matter what, we will come together on Thanksgiving in a show of our unconditional love for one another and our Mom.

Writer's Choice

For my “Writer’s Choice” piece, I chose the Identity Paper. This paper is a good example of my writing abilities. In this piece I was required to look at what shapes identity and how it shapes it. Some of the contributing factors that I believed to be most relevant were gender, ethnicity, and appearance.  In my opinion, I have a strong grasp on what identity is. My definition of identity, “the physical and abstract combination of what makes a person unique,” was strong and easily defendable with my examples of identity characteristics. This paper was meaningful to me because identity is something very important to me. These things that are a part of me are not just check marks on a list; they are who I am. I am defined by my identity and therefore think it is the most important thing about me.

Identity

In the film, "Edward Scissorhands," there are several examples of outsiders. The film uses a very storybook version of an outsider with Edward, who is simply feared because of his physical differences. We also see the idea of the outsider who blends well with Peg and Kim. While Peg is an Avon lady who seeks only to feel like she is doing something with her life other than lounging and gossiping, no one seems to support her efforts. Kim is an outsider because even when no one else was defending Edward, she did because she saw him as a person and not as only a deformity to be avoided. The cheery suburban area in which the characters reside leaves little room for individuality. Anyone who steps outside the lines is rejected or shamed unless they manage to somehow blend or stand out in a way that people appreciate. An outsider is someone who does not fit in with a group or community because of some difference in appearance, views, or way of life.

Edward is the most obvious example of an outsider. At the beginning of the movie, the gossipy women of the town are excited to meet and get to know the strange new man that Peg brought home. One religious neighbor does initially see Edward as some sort of devil creation and believes that he doesn't belong, but everyone is so dazzled that they ignore her for a while. Though incredibly different, Edward begins to fit in by cutting bushes and hair. It is only once Edward is accused of breaking and entering, and he rejects Joyce, that people begin to not like or trust him. Hearsay has an important role in the stereotypical suburban community and rumors of the crime and his alleged rape of Joyce spread so far that people begin to shun Edward. They decide that he is too different and therefore dangerous. His rejection is similar to the way they ignored Peg in her efforts to sell Avon.

From the beginning of the movie, it is obvious that the group mentality of the community was way to uniformity centered to ever truly accept Edward. Upon meeting him, people wanted to change him, regardless of his unique gifts or talents. They would rather have another cloned member of the community than to have this individual man with a special skill. Being an outsider or different was something that no one ever really accepted about Edward. The movie defines an outsider as someone like Edward. He may seem at first to fit in, but eventually, people get tired of him and the novelty of his differences wears off leaving nothing but a scary creature that they must rid themselves of.

This movie affirms my views on what it means to be an outsider. People get so caught up in fitting in that they think everyone else should be just as wrapped up in the idea of similarity. Popularity is way too important for people. At some point you see Kim start to branch out, even at the risk of rejection from her peers, because she knows that the way people are treating Edward is wrong. If more people could stand up for themselves and others, people would not bully each other as much. In the movie Jim died because he attacked Edward in a close-minded rage. Edward would probably have been hurt too if the unfeeling mob had reached him. An outsider is someone whose differences are so great that people feel their ways of life are being challenged. While Edward truly did not challenge anyone, just his presence went against what they believed and that made him dangerous to their way of life.

The people of this community are so similar, that anyone even slightly different is looked down upon. Edward got along with everyone when he first came to live with Peg. After time, he was not as exciting and the rumors took his reputation down to the very lowest peg possible. People in that town didn't commit crimes, and Edward was a criminal. Then they realized that people can't look like Edward and be safe or normal. They tried to use him and change him, but in the end, his physical differences were so overwhelming that they tried to destroy him. He was an outsider simply because of how he looked.

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