The Effect Of Stereotypes Essay Research Paper — страница 4

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progressed past it, Gavin says “Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame.” (Faulkner 206). When Gavin states this, it is his recognition that Charlie has come full circle in his growth. A conflict on the validity of his original stereotype ignites in Charlie, Charlie can no longer hold this stereotype because he knows that it does not apply to all situations and all times. Through this conflict, Charlie is able to develop beyond a simple stereotype of Lucas to a friendship. Twain places Huck in a situation that addresses his similar relationship with Jim. While hiding out on Jackson island, Huck tries to play a trick on Jim by placing a dead rattlesnake in the foot of his bed.

When Jim walks into the cavern he finds a rattlesnake lying there and kills it. Then he takes the dead snake and curls it up at the foot of Jim?s bed. Huck waits until that evening for what he expects to be some fun (Twain 59). In his literary criticism, Chadwick Hansen states that Huck “?expects, of course, that Jim will react like any other stage Negro. His eyes will bug out; his teeth will chatter; his knees will knock together; and Huck will have a good healthy laugh. But we are dealing now with someone who is more that a stereotype” (Hansen 3723). Hansen?s observation shows how Huck had stereotyped Jim as a typical Negro. Through this action, Huck begins to realize that his stereotype does not apply to his present situation. Huck begins to fight an internal conflict

about his stereotype of Jim. He knows that Jim is more than what he previously thought him to be and Huck must come to terms with this epiphany. This realization is complete when Huck apologizes to Jim for the trick in the fog. Huck says “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n_____; but I done it?” (Twain 90). Huck rids himself completely of his stereotype when he allows himself to apologize to Jim. By having to confront his stereotype, Huck is able to think past it and overcome it as well. In both novels, characters must confront their stereotypes and try to understand the logic and reasoning behind them. As seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner, stereotypes can lead

to restricted understanding as well as internal conflict. In the Bible, God calls for the love of your neighbor as yourself, and nothing less. This kind of love is impossible to exhibit when a person holds fast to stereotypes. Perhaps through confronting these stereotypes a person can analyze them sufficiently enough to understand, and eventually dissolve them.