|
Author
|
Comment
|
gigi
Unregistered User
(11/15/05 8:27 pm)
|
An example for tomorrow
Hi !
I was hoping you could help me out. I am preparing an essay about how that
even though you are not only self expressed through your possesions but your thoughts and feelings. Society judges you on your appearance and possesions first before they get to know you.
I have already used the example of an interview where you dress to impress, before you can express yourself through your words and actions.
And I have used the example of when people have broken down by the side of the road. People will stop to help if you are dressed well then if you look grungy.
Any others where appaearance comes first?
(If any of you are wondering what it is for... An Adavnced Placement Language Arts Class... Our Prompt was a snippet of A Potrait of a Lady. It is a conversation btween Madame Merle and Isabelle Archer.)
gigi
|
Rosemary Lake
Registered User
(11/15/05 11:13 pm)
|
Cinderella etc
Being judged by appearance/dress is certainly the theme of many Cinderella type stories! Also stories like "The Satin Surgeon", and many others.
I like the way most Cinderella girls react: they will not accept the prince while they are well dressed, they make him seek them out in their rags to prove that he loves them for themselves, not for their appearance.
|
AliceCEB
Registered User
(11/16/05 8:45 am)
|
Re: Cinderella etc
Well, almost all physical stereotypes fit--color of skin, having a visible physical disability, being overweight, being shorter or taller, etc. Anything apart from the norm, whatever the norm is for that culture, often signifies danger within the culture. In literature, ogres, witches, trolls, giants are almost all ugly, as evidence of their evil nature. Satan is portrayed as red with horns and a tail. Being beautiful usually (but not always) signifies goodness. You can pick almost any fairy tale and there will be a character whose ugliness is a marker for evil--and though the character in the tale may not recognize the evil immediately (e.g. the witch in Hansel and Gretel) the reader knows it right away and feels fear for the protagonist.
Interesting subject.
Best,
Alice
|
Rosemary Lake
Registered User
(11/16/05 9:21 am)
|
Mother Holle, animal bridegrooms
Yes, there are lots of 'unprepossessing heroes' also. Boys either are mangy or disguise themselves as mangy, etc.
An exception to ugliness=evil is Mother Holle, who frightens people with her 'long teeth' but is in fact kind, at least to the kind girl. Another exception is the 'Beauty and the Beast' sort of tale, where the animal bridegroom has a heart of gold. :) Still those tales are playing off the basic pre-conception of 'ugly = dangerous, evil'.
|
evil little pixie
Registered User
(11/16/05 11:03 am)
|
Re: Mother Holle, animal bridegrooms
My mom says that when she graduated from college, she decided she was not going to wear pink anymore, because as a short, soft-spoken Southern woman she was going to have a hard enough time being taken seriously. We had this discussion last spring when I bought a smart, professional-looking, pale pink skirt. According to her, it's only in the past decade or so that fashion and/or societal attitudes have changed enough for someone to be able to look professional while wearing pink.
|
Mirjana1
Registered User
(11/16/05 6:29 pm)
|
Blue vs brown
If you were more concern with the actual personal appearance, then definitely discuss the teenage culture and the must of all the latest fashion as a clear positioning.
Actually, there was a book, and I wish I can remember what the name was, about clothes being primarily the status symbol, and that fashion had little to do with comfort or necessity, but primarily with the status of an individual. I will try to track this book for you.
Another thing I just remember was a training I once had, regarding business and marketing, and the writer of the book "E-myth" states that, if you want to be perceived as clever and successful in business, wear blue, not brown - blue was far more appealing to people on subconscious level, than brown.
|
Writerpatrick
Registered User
(11/17/05 8:21 pm)
|
Re: An example for tomorrow
Reminds me of "The Prince And The Pauper." The two individuals look alike, but are treated differently because of their supposed social class.
|
|
