Georg Simmels The Stranger
Georg Simmels’, The Stranger, gives us an in depth view of who strangers are and how they affect the community they are apart of. It combines the seemingly contradictory qualities of nearness and farness and how they connect to the broader social communities. The behavior of a normal or "inside" group within a society is standard, thus causing every other behavior that is different to this norm to be negative. The stranger is valued for his or her objectivity, for being able to take a distanced view of events, but also being someone we turn to as a close confidant and/or friend because their social difference from us prevents them from judging us too harshly. The stranger has an immense impact on the idea of cultural difference because most
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People don’t like to involve ‘different’ people into their circle, which is exactly how strangers come to be in the first place. It reveals peoples attitudes towards differences and change because the only reason strangers even exist is because people don’t want to accept this ‘different’ or ‘unusual’ person into their group. This also gives us in tell into how people are raised. If someone is less likely to involve people of different ethnic backgrounds into their lives it portrays how they were brought up. If ones parents or guardians are not willing to accept people that are culturally different to them, it will rub off on their children and they will act the same way, possibly unknowingly.
Even though people speak the same language, it does not mean they are connected culturally. For example, Toronto and Vancouver both speak English, but because Toronto is one of the most diverse cities within Canada there are many different cultures, such as, Chinatown, Little Italy, Korean Town, etc.
Georg Simmel grew up as a Jewish boy in an anti-Semitic Germany, causing he to be an outsider throughout his childhood. He constantly was at a stand still throughout his life with one foot in the door and one foot out, never truly belonging. Although seemingly negative, Simmel put a positive spin on the idea of the stranger and cultural difference because for his life he was in fact the
People don’t like to involve ‘different’ people into their circle, which is exactly how strangers come to be in the first place. It reveals peoples attitudes towards differences and change because the only reason strangers even exist is because people don’t want to accept this ‘different’ or ‘unusual’ person into their group. This also gives us in tell into how people are raised. If someone is less likely to involve people of different ethnic backgrounds into their lives it portrays how they were brought up. If ones parents or guardians are not willing to accept people that are culturally different to them, it will rub off on their children and they will act the same way, possibly unknowingly.
Even though people speak the same language, it does not mean they are connected culturally. For example, Toronto and Vancouver both speak English, but because Toronto is one of the most diverse cities within Canada there are many different cultures, such as, Chinatown, Little Italy, Korean Town, etc.
Georg Simmel grew up as a Jewish boy in an anti-Semitic Germany, causing he to be an outsider throughout his childhood. He constantly was at a stand still throughout his life with one foot in the door and one foot out, never truly belonging. Although seemingly negative, Simmel put a positive spin on the idea of the stranger and cultural difference because for his life he was in fact the