Stereotypes In Ernest Hemingway's 'The Jungle'

416 Words2 Pages

Many people believe that women get scared more easily than men and that women overreact. The author in this story shows that this stereotype is not always true. He uses the characters to express a message. The story takes place in India where there are a group of people gathered around a table. A colonial official makes the point that women have a tendency to scream as a form to reacting to a crisis. Not everyone at the table agrees. Meanwhile the hostess tells the boy who is standing behind her to go and get a bowl of milk and put it near the doors leading out of the room to outside. Only one person at the table notices and he does not panic; he just sits calmly and tells everyone else to do the same. He knew that in India people would use milk as bait for a cobra and he also knew that he couldn't locate the cobra in the room. Everyone stays still as the cobra goes toward the milk and the doors behind it are closed …show more content…

Every person has a different reaction because everyone is different. Some men scream when the react to a situation. The author of this story uses the characters to show how different people would react in a crisis like this. Some people will just keep quiet and not say anything while staying calm and solving the problem themselves, like the hostess. Other people might be the one who takes charge as a leader who makes sure that everyone is okay and safe. The author sends the message to not judge a book by its cover. Another message that is sent is to stereotype an entire gender because of how some people of that gender react. Some women don't jump on a chair every time they see a mouse and some aren't just like the scared girl in the movies who won't pick up a bug or like the women who scream every time they are frightened. The author of this story shows that you should be stereotypical or assume that one gender is all the