Identities?!

Do people choose their own identity, or do others do it for them?

 When I was a kid, I totally thought that it was only me who decided who I was. Society wouldn't tell me what I would do; the reason why I liked dinosaurs, cars, and sharks was because I thought they were cool, not society. But growing up, I realized how false this statement was. There were a lot of things I did and liked only because others did. In 6th grade, Silly Bandz came out, and for a while, I couldn't look at someone else's wrist without seeing a few. Personally, I didn't think they were all that cool--after all, they were basically just colored rubber bands that formed some funny shapes. At first, I thought I'd never buy them, because they seemed like a waste of money. But as time went on, and I continued to see them everywhere--over 8,000 stores carried Silly Bandz in August of 2010 (source)--I eventually caved in to the peer pressure. I remember going to Walmart with my mom and picking out a pack of Silly Bandz, making sure I got the Cars (the vehicles, not the movie) set for maximum coolness. After wearing them around for a week or so, I realized how stupid I had been. And yet, even though I had felt really dumb, I also realized that I liked it. By conforming to what society had expected of me, I felt accepted, like someone who belonged.

In the same way, each individual in The Scarlet Letter doesn't shun Hester because they personally think she has committed a great sin--they do it because everyone else is doing it, and that's what makes her punishment worse. Her willingness to fight the beliefs of society ends up damaging her reputation forever and does nothing to change society, because when someone goes against the beliefs of a crowd, they only end up hurting themselves.

Some people went a little crazy over the Silly Bandz fad.

Stereotypes?!

Stereotypes are demeaning and insulting, but there's still some truth in them.

See, what annoys me about stereotypes is not (just) the fact that they're rude and offensive, but that they don't tell the whole story. I mean, when I see an an image like this, I don't find it offensive, because it is definitely rooted in fact.

Though people joke about this all the time, there's a reason behind it. Because despite there only being about 3.3 million Indians in the U.S.A--roughly 1%--"almost 10 percent of the physicians in the U.S. are of Indian origin" (source).

After discussing stereotypes and racism in 11AP, I decided to search up some common Indian stereotypes and to see how true they really were. I found this really long list, and for the most part, I found it hilarious. I mean, sure, not all Indians love curry, but I would be lying to you if I said that a majority didn't. But there were some stereotypes that I found somewhat offensive. Yes, it is true that Indians worship an elephant-headed god, but that completely covers up the story of how Ganesha got his elephant head and makes us look like idiots that just decided to worship an elephant.

Reading through those stereotypes, I realized something pretty important. I love my Indian culture and my heritage, and would hate for others to think badly of it just because of some stupid stereotype they read on the internet. And obviously, other people feel the same way about their own culture. By stereotyping, you basically insult a large group of people. You decide to accept a blanket statement that probably only applies to some of that group rather than spending time to find out the actual truth. Stereotypes will be around forever, partly because of the fact that they are rooted in truth. But by refusing to take them at face value and instead realizing how false they are, you educate yourself and see the world for what it really is--diverse, lively, and beautiful.

Verisimilitude?!

So much of what we think we know is a lie.

With the advent of technology and social media, so much of the information we get fed on a daily basis is, in reality, carefully structured to appeal to the average viewer. How often has it happened that you're sitting in your room at home, bored out of your mind and scrolling through your newsfeed, when you see a picture of some friends that appear to be having the time of their lives? However, it's important to remember that what you're seeing is not what's actually going on, but instead what they want you to think is going on. For example, this link shows how easy it is to make others think you have the perfect life, even though it's not actually as exciting as you want others to think it is. 

In class, we studied books like The Glass Castle and The Things They Carried, discussing how each contained verisimilitude--the semblance of truth. But what exactly is truth, and how does the lack of it play into those two stories? I never really thought about it while I was reading, but looking back, I realized how much of The Glass Castle had to be made up. Seriously--it's impossible for a 54-year-old to remember specific dialogue from when she was 3, or even from when she was 13. However, the fiction in this book didn't affect the reader too much; by filling in extraneous details that she forgot over the passage of time, Wells just helps the reader better understand the story. In the case of The Things They Carried, though, verisimilitude was a huge part of the story. When I learned that nearly the entire story was fictional (despite containing truth in it), I had to sit down and reread some of it, seeing it from a different perspective. It brings up an interesting question: Exactly how important is verisimilitude in so-called nonfiction? After sitting and thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that, despite claiming to be completely true, it was perfectly fine for a nonfiction work to contain untruths--after all, the only nonfiction books that can claim to be entirely, perfectly true are just textbooks. In the case of nonfiction narratives like The Glass Castle and The Things They Carried, the important part of the book wasn't the actual story; it was the message conveyed in those pages. In the words of O'Brien, "A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth." For the same reason, it's completely fine for nonfiction narratives to contain lies, half-truths, and exaggerations; ultimately, their purpose is simply to give the reader a better understanding of life.

Going back to the issue of the verisimilitude that exists in modern-day communications, I don't really think there's much that we can do about them. Falsehoods and embellishments will always exist when humans interact with other humans; after all, it's in human nature to portray oneself as better than he/she is in order to elevate him/herself through the ranks of society. Personally, I think the best thing to do when it comes to this issue is to simply be aware that a lot of what you see has been altered to fascinate you. In the words of Steve Furtick, "The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel." So, the next time you see that really cool picture on Facebook or Instagram, keep in mind that the backstory of that picture probably went a little something like this: