Blank Canvas Painting Analysis

Blank Canvas:

We are all of us the product of our thoughts and opinions, in many varying degrees. As individuals, we are brush strokes from within that form a personality and who we are, followed by where we fit in to a society, how much that affects us and how much we affect that it. The painting being made by these brushstrokes is never quite finished and lies in a state of perpetual near-completion, allowing for changes, touch-ups, and tweaks. This unfinished portrait is sociological in nature, one that is fine-tuned through years of socialization into one’s society, culture, and sociological institutions. There one learns what is expected of them, what not to do, and what roles will be assigned to them based on race, ethnicity, and

Though the infant does not understand just what it is that they are seeing and hearing around them, they are still learning a great deal about what they like and what they do not, what happens when the baby cries, and the outcome of feeling hunger. This is the first steps of socialization which helps form what we will be, using silly games that teach right from wrong and how to interact with others (Manza, 2013). All of these things prepare the young for the society in which they will live and the broader culture surrounding that society. One receives a “tool kit” of assumptions and behaviors for daily life, a shared system of beliefs and knowledge through social instruction (Manza, 2013). This is what culture is, and though it differs to many people worldwide, this child was born into the western world where social classes help to determine what sort of social groups one will be a part of for pretty much their entire

They emerge out of interactions with others thus explaining why I was beginning to be confused by what my socialization was telling me about my emerging personality and how I was not fitting into the society at large. A positive outcome of social norms is that they teach all of us what is and is not appropriate in a given situation (Manza, 2013). We know, without having to be told, not to walk the streets without clothing and not to pick our noses in public. The flip side of that coin, however, is that norms are rules that are generally not written down anywhere, allowing people make moral judgments about what they think is right or wrong. Who is to say that one norm is more normal or morally correct and another is not? Confusion in me turned to a sense of justice. It may not be “normal” for someone to have a different sexual orientation or religious view than somebody else; however, denying someone their right to be that or to believe that is most certainly not the norm. This distinction can be made because norms are not written rules or laws, but our laws and the constitution has been written down and they prevent discrimination based on a whole host of things, making them social norms that everyone must adhere to or must suffer the