Evan R. Gerber Mr. Lord ENG2D112 10 May 2024 Personality Vs Appearance The idea of appearance being valued higher than personality is clear in the short story "The Handler," By Damon Knight. Pete and Harry's connection highlights how what we witness and how the rejection Harry encounters is ridiculous and out of the ordinary, compared to what Pete experiences. The difference between our own selves and our appearance on the outside is portrayed through the representation of Pete and Harry. The narrative also explores the notion that having good looks makes life easier, highlighting the advantages of meeting social norms. It also discusses the idea that we occasionally change who we are in order to please other people, representing the balance between authenticity …show more content…
This is clearly shown by the treatment of Harry in the novel. Harry’s experience highlights the disparity between being praised for his looks and physical attributes versus the lack of care of personality. When individuals realize that the personality behind the face is not as striking as the exterior, their perception drastically changes. The text wonderfully captures this shift in perspective, as shown when Harry is urged, “Listen Harry, why don’t you just get back in there.” (The Handler 1) This seemingly harmless remark does a good job at representing the ignorance towards personality, showing that simply because of Harry's looks, he is an outcast. As it is made clear throughout the story that as long as Pete is on stage, he receives praise, but once Harry comes out from controlling Pete he is mocked, and shoved to the side. In "The Handler," we see how being seen as attractive can make life much easier, while being seen as unattractive can make it really tough. Pete, who's admired for being strong and big, has an easier time in life compared to Harry, who's rejected because people think he's
Throughout the book, Freak the Mighty, author Rodman Philbrick creates a valuable lesson for three main characters; Freak, Max, and Loretta Lee, that one should not judge another person based on appearance; looks can be deceiving. For example, Loretta Lee at the beginning of her introduction in the book she was judged as the old beer drinking lady and possibly scary. But in reality she came through and saved Max from Killer Kane, Max’s Father, from Freak the Mighty. Another example is, people will judge Freak on his appearance because his body structure is smaller than most humans and looks very weird. In addition, Max is judge by the people around him because he is very large in size and looks like a giant but is kind on the inside. One's
Society tends to misjudge people base on their appearances instead of their personality. As it’s shown on Cyrano de Bergerac story everyone misjudges people. Cyrano was ashamed of the way he looked, especially with his enormous nose that made him stand out. People didn’t care if Cyrano got his feelings hurt they thought he was a cruel person. Its bad when people tends to misjudge people without even knowing them but they just judge them by their looks instead of their personality. People shouldn’t be ashamed of the way they look and it shouldn’t stop them from accomplishing their goals and express their feelings towards the people they like.
The way our culture has a tendency to view other individuals by there appearance will probably never change. In some way everyone has it set in his or her mind what makes a person "perfect". These characteristics include personal appearance, wealth and intelligence. We do not always get the chance to get to know a person, but rather make assumptions. Two poems, which reveal different perceptions of someone, include Richard Cory and The Barbie Doll.
The outsiders demonstrates that how you look does not mean who you are. This is demonstrated throughout the entire story. I think the part of the novel where this was the most influential was when Johnny and Ponyboy were alone in the church and they got haircuts and bleached their hair. This shows that how you look does not mean who you are because when Johnny and Pony
Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible, wrote the work from different perspectives throughout the book. Orleanna Price, the mother, relates stories of America and their significance to the Congo. From the selfish intentions of Rachel Price, the oldest daughter, to the loving, kind, and sincere Ruth May, the youngest daughter, The Poisonwood Bible gives character to each of the narrators within the story. Between Rachel and Ruth are a set of twins named Adah and Leigh. Leigh is the most obedient to Pastor Price, the father, even though their father doesn’t care to show love or respect to the rest of the family. Adah and Leigh are both said to be very intelligent, but Adah and Leigh differ greatly in one aspect: Adah was born with a rare disease called Hemiplegia. This disability affects an entire half of Adah’s body and so she sees the world differently than the rest of the family. Because of the difference in perspective, Adah’s narration in the novel creates a better perspective of life, judgments, and feelings in relation to how societies should be.
Throughout the novel, there are many judgements made based on only appearance. For example when Janie is entering town at the beginning of the story, the ladies on the proch gossip saying things like,
Looks can be a very determining factor, and sometimes people's appearances can affect what she or he can or can not do in society and what they do to fit into it. The play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, is a good example of how this idea is put into play. The main character, Cyrano de Bergerac, is portrayed as a hideous person, because of the size of his nose. As someone who does not fit with in society, yet he changes his morals, attitude, and personality to make up for his grotesque appearance. As the play progresses from act to act we the readers realize that Cyrano is this magnificent character. We begin to understand how his ugliness has shaped his life, how the deformity on his face has forced him to learn new skills and to become a better person.
Social norms rule, well, society. They rule how people act and look when they are in the face of public. One of these norms is to be polite and well-mannered. Some people manage to keep up their facade a lot easier than others. This is where that saying comes in, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” When people first glance at me, I’m sure they either see my Jekyll side or my Hyde side. People either read my body language, and see Hyde, or they judge me on appearance, taking in the Jekyll side. Every person in this world has the inner conflict between good and bad. Even me, an innocent, tiny, adorable girl.
In society, appearance is an important entity on how we live our lives and how others perceive an individual. Appearance also can dictate how we perceive ourselves and it can also guide how our future can formulate, like occupation and personal endeavors. In three works of literature I will illustrate how appearance is an extensive focus, and how appearance is used in the works to display personality and to display how the story will proceed and conclude.
Looks cannot inform anyone of what a person feels or is capable of. In an article about a woman on a talent show, the audience laughed at the contestant when she stated that she wanted to be a professional singer, without hearing her sing. Following the rude outburst of laughter she confidently continued, “When she began to sing, their expectations and their judgments were proven to be completely wrong. Not only could she sing, but she proved herself to be an extraordinarily talented person in a quite ordinary body.” (Sanchez, P3) This 47 year old women proved to a lot of people that a person must discover and respect people’s qualities before judging them, because they may be
Hook: Two men walk into a store. One is dressed in a three-quarter black business suit; his hair is gelled back and he stands in a confident pose as he stares ahead. While the other man looks downward, his hands in his baggy gray sweatshirt and he smells of alcohol. How people portray themselves can cause stereotypes and judgments to be formed within a blink of an eye. A person may read in the newspaper the next day on how a store was robbed and instantly think it was the suspicious looking man, the one with the baggy clothes. Why is this? Humans and people, in general, have always based their perceptions on people for what they look like. This all has to do with the media and social influences on how an image is made to be relevant.
Appearance matters. What people express towards others, ultimately, results in a variety of reactions. In the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, every major character shows the audience their real personalities through Polonius’s words, “This above all: to thine own self be true” (1.3.79). If someone becomes true to himself, he will be true to others. However, these characters have facades where they put on a different personality to hide their true feelings, as well as to deceive others. In the end, these false personalities lead to their demise.
Appearance tends to mask what a person’s true personality really is. That is what is first noticed about a person upon meeting, but it cannot always be trusted. For one example: serial killers. Ted Bundy was known as “dashingly handsome” (Simon 23), but he was also capable of abducting and murdering twenty-four women and committing nightmarish necrophilic acts with their bodies. Society likes to think that if someone seems friendly they are much more likely to be just that, while people who look evil at first glance are interpreted to be cruel or evil. In NPR, Philip Zimbardo talks about his mock prison and how he carefully selected people who were classified as normal. He made the guards in charge of what happened that at the prison, and they would punish them according to how they saw fit. Zimbardo stated that he conducted this experiment because “that line between good and evil, which privileged people like to think is fixed and impermeable. With them on the good side and others on the bad side, [he] knew that line was movable and it was permeable.”(NPR) This was proven in the experiment; the guards were cruel and humiliated the ‘prisoners’... some of which may have been their own classmates. One of the cruelest acts these ‘guards’ committed was when it was another prisoner’s birthday. The pris...
A personality is a combination of various attributes that belong to a single person. Each one has its own unique qualities and traits that create an individual that is different from any other human being. How this individuality is formed depends on the environment that a person has lived through and their experiences. Alison Bechdel grew up in a home with a father who alienated himself from his family so that he could conceal a dark secret from his life. Nevertheless, Bechdel was able to take from her past so that she could become a strong and independent women who kept true to who she was. Likewise, straying from the expected path of her family, Dorothy Allison was determined to become the person who she wanted to be. Expressing who she is and not changing to match others expectations has become high priority in Allison’s adult life. It was through a journey of hardship in their childhoods, both Allison and Bechdel were able to discover their individual identities in their adult life.
“Do not judge the book by its cover”. This is a very famous quote. But is really personal appearance not essential? (Elmer, n.d.).