Comparison of Stereotypes and Stereotyping in A Doll's House and The Breakfast Club

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Stereotyping in A Doll's House and The Breakfast Club

When you see someone with expensive jewelry, driving a Lexus with tinted windows, rap music blaring from a mega stereo system, do you assume that he is a punk or drug dealer? This is an example of stereotyping. How are stereotypes assigned? Often they are created by society and are based on gender, race, religion, age, or social standing. Henrick Ibsen focused on the theme of stereotyping in his play A Doll's House.

In A Doll's House, Nora is seen as more an object than a person. When the play was written, women in general were viewed as wives and mothers, not individuals. Nora skillfully plays the part of obedient wife as Torvald questions her about what she did in town, assuring him that she "would never dream of doing anything [he] didn't want [her] to (Ibsen 933)." In "The Breakfast Club," the characters' peers designate stereotypes as a result of a combination of social status and behavior. Brian is "the brain" because he is an A student, Bender is "the criminal" on account of his rebellious behavior, and so forth. In his essay to Mr. Vernon, Brian addresses the stereotypes that have been placed on him and his peers:

"...we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed" (Hughes).

In agreement with the opening quote from the movie, these characters "are quite aware of what they're going through" (Hughes).

Stereotypes are superficial, however, and when they are peeled off they often reveal something completely unexpected. When Torvald receives the letter from Mr. Krogstad and learns of Nora's secret, he begins to see her as "a hypocrite, a liar...a criminal" (Ibsen 974). When the conflict is resolved and it becomes clear that no one will suffer because of her forgery, Torvald returns Nora's stereotype of vulnerable woman, telling her he "wouldn't be a proper man if [he] didn't find a woman doubly attractive for being so obviously helpless" (Ibsen 975). In "The Breakfast Club," the teenagers have been aware of their stereotypes for quite some time.

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