The title is, "Them and Us".It analyzes the problem of stereotyping in our modern society. It refers to Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" and Richard Rodriguez's "Complexion".

Essay by vitaUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, April 2002

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Them and Us

Father, Mother, and

All the people like us

Are We, and every

one else is They.

And They live over the

Sea, While We live

Over the way.

But-would you

Believe it? ? They

Look upon We

As only a sort of They!

There is a tendency among many people to categorize individuals who look, act, and come from the same background as "us", and to categorize those who differ from this group of people as "They." However, people who are considered to be "they" in their perspective consider "us" as "they". This is an explanation of how stereotypes are created. Stereotypes affect the manner in which people interact with others of a different race or ethnicity, age group, religious background, or sexual orientation. Gender stereotypes are also prevalent within the mass media. A stereotype is an oversimplified generalization about a certain class of people. When people say that all members of a specific nationality, religion, race or gender are "cheap," "lazy," "criminal" or "dumb," they are expressing stereotypes.

All groups have both cheap and generous individuals and those who commit crimes. To label an entire group based on the action of a few is to engage in stereotyping. The most common stereotypes that exist today have negatively impacted various groups of people

In our society, there are many stereotypes created about nationalities that in return underestimate the power of each individual of a group. People from different nationalities are considered to be " they". For example, Asians may be stereotyped as being disciplined, hard-working people who excel in mathematics, while African Americans or Mexicans may be viewed in a more negative light. In "Mother Tongue", Amy Tan was trying to disprove the existing stereotype about Chinese people being good at precise science, so she went against...