Somones Identity Quotes

810 Words4 Pages

The book The Benefits of Being an Octopus follows the story of Zoey Albro, a seventh-grader who lives in a trailer park with her three younger siblings and her mother's boyfriend, Lenny. She struggles with the effects of poverty, domestic violence, and the ways in which social class and stereotypes shape her identity. Throughout the novel, she realizes the psychological abuse in her mother's relationship with Lenny and the danger of Fuchsia's living situation. Additionally, a crime is committed at school, and Silas, an outcast student, is falsely accused of committing it. Zoey knows the truth about all these problems, the biases, and the complex solutions that those around her don't seem to have the power to correct. As the events unfold, she …show more content…

However, even that difference still shows that stereotypes have a significant impact on somones identity. For example, Ann Braden illustrates Silas's experiences with an identity that is different from mine when she writes, "My dad and I went hunting this weekend." He drops his voice. "For bobcats."" (Braden 26). This quote from the book shows that for Silas, hunting is a part of his identity because it is what he does with his free time and a way to connect with his dad. But people are stereotyping him for liking hunting because they think he is a ruthless shooter. Because of that, he is now shy and quiet. This shows that stereotypes have an impact on identity. In contrast to Silas's experiences with identity, my experience with identity is different. My identity is based on my being competitive when I play sports or do things with my family. Being competitive is sometimes stereotyped as doing anything to win, which is not accurate for my family.Being competitive tells me that I am mostly hard-working because I am competitive.This is important to me because it is how I connect with my family and friends, by doing this with them and competing with them, but also by being caring and knowing the limits of being competitive. Silas's and my identities are different because he was stereotyped as a hunter and was thought to be a shooter, while I was stereotyped as being competitive and was thought to not care and do anything to win. Someone being stereotyped still has an impact on their identity, even if it is inaccurate or accurate, showing that a stereotype does not define or make