The Stolen Party By Liliana Hecker Analysis
“Respect other people’s feelings and beliefs. Even if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it could mean everything to them”-unknown. Prejudicial stereotypes have and will be seen in our society, for example, in the U.S society, due to all the terrorist attacks around the world, people automatically make prejudicial assumptions that all Muslims are “terrorists”. These stereotypes can legitimately hurt one’s feelings of their racial background and ethnicity. These events seen everyday itches the mind of the individual about actions seen, yet unspoken in everyday surroundings. This poses the question: what are you, as an individual, in this discrimination-filled society doing to force an end to this commonly seen social conflict? Many people do not
…show more content…
have an open mind when it comes to meeting and including new people. Racism, prejudice, and depression, are factors to why people should accept others who are different from themselves.
In Liliana Hecker’s short story, “The Stolen Party”, the author epitomizes the idea that racism is the major factor of turmoil between ethnic communities.
Throughout the short story, the protagonist, Rosaura, is invited to Senora Ines’ daughter, Luciana’s party. There Rosaura helps allocate resources from the party such as food, drinks, and required items. Towards the end of the short story, there is sharp turn when the concept of Rosaura being a servant other than a guest is casted to the reader, which causes incertitude between the two ethnic communities. To illustrate, in the short story it states “ ‘So where do you know her from?’ said the girl, getting impatient. Rosaura remembered her mother’s words perfectly. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m the daughter of the employee,’ she said. Her mother had said very clearly: ‘If someone asks, you say you’re the daughter of the employee that’s all...And proud of it’ ” (2). This piece of evidence portrays an intense conversation between a friend of Luciana’s with Rosaura, which illustrates the fact that since Rosaura is the daughter of the employee, that creates an invisible barrier between the two characters which can lead to an argument between the two ethnic communities which is also seen in our everyday surroundings such as the simple fact that there is constant turbulence between the Hispanic and American communities. Thus, this piece of evidence connects back to the claim that racial discrimination is the major source of mayhem between different cliques by conveying the issues between social
classes. Furthermore, another example would be found in Robert M. Sapolsky’s article, “Are Humans Hard-Wired for Racial Prejudice”, Sapolsky conveys the concept that humans are programmed to show racial preconception which can cause damage towards one’s-self. This article is mainly about how researchers have figured out in recent studies that humans are practically programmed to show prejudicial assumptions based on cranial regions called the amygdala and fusiform cortex which trigger reactions of the human body such as face detection and fear reactions. For instance in the text it states, “In work by Joshua Correll at the University of Colorado, volunteers played a video game in which they rapidly saw pictures of people holding either a gun or a cellphone, with the instruction to shoot only those with guns. When white participants (including police officers) were shown an African American, they tended to shoot faster and were more likely to mistake a cellphone for a gun.”(2) This piece of evidence portrays the ideal that most people are programmed to show prejudicial assumptions which can cause damage to an individual by generating a closed mind. Having a closed mind generates harmful disadvantages by limiting oneself from opportunities, meeting new people, ideals or beliefs, and creating barriers between ethnic communities. Last but not least, in Diane Glancy’s poem, “Without Title”, the poet incorporates the notion that if your culture is abruptly taken away from you, it causes depression and a reminiscent state of being. This short poem is about how the father of the author is metaphorically joined as one to his culture and since it was briefly taken away from him it has caused him to be detached from his daily life. For instance in the text it states, “Without a vision he had migrated to the city and went to work in the packing house. When he brought home his horns and hides my mother said get rid of them” (8-9). The reader can infer that since the father of the author has migrated to the city his culture must have been “left behind” and plus the fact that his own spouse has rejected his cultural assets, the father may be in a despondent state of being. This is significant because the father of the author is demonstrating a negative effect caused by not being accepted for who he is and the symbolism that his culture conveys.
Ultimately, not having an open mind when meeting new people who have different beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, and appearances are signs of racism and prejudicial assumptions which may lead to depression and harming oneself. Although these actions are negative in the sense that it harms an individual, these doings can still have a positive effect by bringing those on the other end together by uniting them to fight discrimination. Putting an end to these harmful actions will not only unite people as a nation but it will help those with a closed mind integrate themselves into new subcultures which may lead to the beginning of a better us.
have an open mind when it comes to meeting and including new people. Racism, prejudice, and depression, are factors to why people should accept others who are different from themselves.
In Liliana Hecker’s short story, “The Stolen Party”, the author epitomizes the idea that racism is the major factor of turmoil between ethnic communities.
Throughout the short story, the protagonist, Rosaura, is invited to Senora Ines’ daughter, Luciana’s party. There Rosaura helps allocate resources from the party such as food, drinks, and required items. Towards the end of the short story, there is sharp turn when the concept of Rosaura being a servant other than a guest is casted to the reader, which causes incertitude between the two ethnic communities. To illustrate, in the short story it states “ ‘So where do you know her from?’ said the girl, getting impatient. Rosaura remembered her mother’s words perfectly. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m the daughter of the employee,’ she said. Her mother had said very clearly: ‘If someone asks, you say you’re the daughter of the employee that’s all...And proud of it’ ” (2). This piece of evidence portrays an intense conversation between a friend of Luciana’s with Rosaura, which illustrates the fact that since Rosaura is the daughter of the employee, that creates an invisible barrier between the two characters which can lead to an argument between the two ethnic communities which is also seen in our everyday surroundings such as the simple fact that there is constant turbulence between the Hispanic and American communities. Thus, this piece of evidence connects back to the claim that racial discrimination is the major source of mayhem between different cliques by conveying the issues between social
classes. Furthermore, another example would be found in Robert M. Sapolsky’s article, “Are Humans Hard-Wired for Racial Prejudice”, Sapolsky conveys the concept that humans are programmed to show racial preconception which can cause damage towards one’s-self. This article is mainly about how researchers have figured out in recent studies that humans are practically programmed to show prejudicial assumptions based on cranial regions called the amygdala and fusiform cortex which trigger reactions of the human body such as face detection and fear reactions. For instance in the text it states, “In work by Joshua Correll at the University of Colorado, volunteers played a video game in which they rapidly saw pictures of people holding either a gun or a cellphone, with the instruction to shoot only those with guns. When white participants (including police officers) were shown an African American, they tended to shoot faster and were more likely to mistake a cellphone for a gun.”(2) This piece of evidence portrays the ideal that most people are programmed to show prejudicial assumptions which can cause damage to an individual by generating a closed mind. Having a closed mind generates harmful disadvantages by limiting oneself from opportunities, meeting new people, ideals or beliefs, and creating barriers between ethnic communities. Last but not least, in Diane Glancy’s poem, “Without Title”, the poet incorporates the notion that if your culture is abruptly taken away from you, it causes depression and a reminiscent state of being. This short poem is about how the father of the author is metaphorically joined as one to his culture and since it was briefly taken away from him it has caused him to be detached from his daily life. For instance in the text it states, “Without a vision he had migrated to the city and went to work in the packing house. When he brought home his horns and hides my mother said get rid of them” (8-9). The reader can infer that since the father of the author has migrated to the city his culture must have been “left behind” and plus the fact that his own spouse has rejected his cultural assets, the father may be in a despondent state of being. This is significant because the father of the author is demonstrating a negative effect caused by not being accepted for who he is and the symbolism that his culture conveys.
Ultimately, not having an open mind when meeting new people who have different beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, and appearances are signs of racism and prejudicial assumptions which may lead to depression and harming oneself. Although these actions are negative in the sense that it harms an individual, these doings can still have a positive effect by bringing those on the other end together by uniting them to fight discrimination. Putting an end to these harmful actions will not only unite people as a nation but it will help those with a closed mind integrate themselves into new subcultures which may lead to the beginning of a better us.