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Essay / Topdog/underdog: a sociological approach to norms and inequalities
Through the writing and reception of her play Topdog/Underdog, Suzan Lori Parks highlights the idea that norms can either encourage individual to exceed their expectations, or to limit a person's perceived identity so that it corresponds to what is considered a norm. When Parks won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002, such recognition for an African-American woman was unprecedented (Garrett). She was not alone as a Pulitzer Prize-winning black woman; the first of the 21 Pulitzer Prize categories was poet Gwendolyn Brooks (1950). However, among the hundreds of winners in the Parks category, it took 84 years for a recipient to be both black and female (“Annie Allen, by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper)”). This is not just the result of biased juries, but of the systematic inequalities faced by minorities in the United States. Our society claims to be a meritocracy, but in fact those who have money and privilege are propelled much further than those who don't. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violence”. Shouldn't Video Games Be Banned?Get Original EssayInequality is a problem that seems intractable; it is a component of every society; cycles of poverty have developed to produce opposing beliefs: inequality can inspire individual ambition to prosper or simply discourage someone. The former is an essential outcome of our society's value of hard work for success, but more realistically, no matter how hard people try, innate disadvantages may prevent them from breaking past cycles of poverty. on a smaller scale, within families. "If we compare adolescents from unstable homes to those from stable homes, we will find that the former have more social, academic and emotional problems... children of single parents or separated families often fail and are in emotionally dangerous However, this may not be completely applicable in all cases of broken homes Some children, regardless of their background or the structure of their home, can work hard and succeed in life (Omoruyi). “Topdog/Underdog explores the systems in place that lead Link and Booth into poverty and class warfare. Link and Booth embody opposing beliefs that were formed through cycles of inequality: Booth maintains that his wealth at birth and race prevent him from excelling, while Link believes that one can succeed through hard work and ethical behavior. During an argument in which Link rejects Booth's pleas to turn to gambling to make money, Booth highlights the brothers' ideological differences: "Then the world puts its foot in your face and you don't don't move. You're telling the world to keep walking. But I'm my own man, Link. I’m not you” (Parks 82). Link's source of success centers on an inner locus of control, as he truly believes that he can win his battles through hard work. Booth, on the other hand, is evil and takes revenge for the inequality he was born with by lying and stealing to get ahead. He sees Link's conformity as acceptance of the injustice they face. Booth also took their parents much harder by abandoning them; both were in elementary school, but Booth stayed home that day, and he always blamed his brother for not stopping his parents from leaving because he didn't even notice anything was wrong and continued his life. While both brothers had difficulties at ageAs an adult, probably in part because of this abandonment, Booth has more financial and relationship difficulties because he was there when his parents left. LINK: They gave us each $500 when they cut BOOTH: That's what I'm going to do. TO DO. Give my kids $500, then delete them. So that's one way to do it.LINK: You don't have kids.BOOTH: I'm going to have kids and then I'm going to stop. (Parks, Topdog/underdog 69). The connection between parents' actions and their child's later values is clear through this interaction. Abandonment made it difficult for the brothers, Booth in particular, to form meaningful relationships, it normalized abandonment, creating a future cycle with his supposed children, and their children, etc. American psychologist Martin Seligman proposed a surprising theory in 1965 called Learned Helplessness to explain why Link might have accepted poverty and abandonment rather than fighting them. Learned helplessness is the notion that when faced with a situation, one believes that one cannot change, rather than fighting to change the circumstances, one gives up and learns to cope with the difficulties (Overmier). This theory builds on the broader idea that humans value unrelenting determinism, but in reality have difficulty maintaining it. When faced with adversity, there is no right or wrong course of action: it is often pure luck to “overcome” poverty. Race often amplifies the effects of inequality. On average, white and Asian Americans have higher incomes, while black, Hispanic and Native Americans are on the lower end of the economic spectrum. Additionally, black and Hispanic students are less likely to graduate from high school than white students, and even less likely to earn a college degree. "In 2013, about 40 percent of whites ages 25 to 29 had a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with about 20 percent of blacks, 15 percent of Hispanics, and 58 percent of Asians... About 82 percent of Percent of high school graduates from high-income families enroll in college, compared to 52 percent of graduates from low-income families. In comparison, just under 70 percent of white high school graduates. go to college, compared to 65 percent of blacks and education levels, race being dragged into the mix” (Casselman). of color to poverty and lack of education to create dangerous stereotypes in society They can create division between individuals on the basis of ethnicity, thus creating a group mentality between races. new form of racism called modern racism, in which traditional outward beliefs that a race is inferior have transformed into subtle discrimination associating an entire group with negative connotations (Sherman). For example, popular stereotypes like the intelligent Asian or the athletic black man perpetuate these identities. The play Topdog/Underdog by Link and Booth of Parks embodies the ease of realizing one's assigned racial identity, rather than challenging these stereotypes. Booth told his brother, "I boosted them...at a big ass department store." This store makes more money in a day than we will make in a lifetime” (Parks, Topdog/Underdog 28). This is Booth's easiest way to fulfill the stereotype of the black "thug", especially when he is faced with poverty, which is difficult for him to change. Rather than addressing the larger problem, it leadsthis battle through the easiest route, shoplifting, which does not challenge the norm. However, individuals like Suzan Lori Parks are confronting stereotypes and normalizing individuality. Parks claimed that his success "comes with enormous responsibility because you are the spokesperson, and that's fine with me – I can represent" (Parks quoted in Reich). His success is that of all those who seek to challenge notions of modern racism by breaking down barriers. According to noted theater critic Shawn-Marie Garrett, "Many theaters are still afraid to take what they view as financial risks and often assume, a priori, that audiences will bristle at unfamiliar or marginal work. “Marginal”: a code word for formally experimental or “culturally specific” pieces. According to marketing departments, Parks's are both. What makes Parks' writing successful is his ability to challenge racial identity in society, through characters who embody racial stereotypes. On a positive note, there has been a push lately for all races, religions, genders, sexual identities, income levels. , and other groups to voice their issues and fight for social equality. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and gave a final lecture after receiving a prognosis of terminal cancer. In his lecture, which explored the question: "What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew this was your last chance?" ", he advised the students: "The brick walls are there for a reason. Brick walls are not there to keep us out. Brick walls are there to give us the opportunity to show how much we want something” (Pausch). Although this does not apply to systematic challenges like racial inequality or the wealth gap, which are so ingrained in society that the individual may not be able to overcome them even if they want to . However, the social barriers that accompany these systemic issues such as norms and stereotypes can be challenged by the individual. Pausch's idea that obstacles in life serve to combat stagnation applies to all people confined by social roles. There is a widespread rejection of the norms that once constituted our collective beliefs; with this new ideology, acceptance of individuality and diversity has become a new norm. For example, in American demographics, there is a new minority majority. More millennials support gay rights, gender equality, and funding for public higher education (Tierney). At the end of Topdog/Underdog, Booth kills Link, an expected outcome foreshadowed by the illusion created by their name. Parks leaves it to the reader to determine whether the brothers were destined to live up to their name all along, or whether the murder was due to Link's exercise of free will. However, there is an underlying set of norms and stereotypes that the brothers embody, such as violence, that stem from systematic inequality. The murder serves to reveal the dangers of the social outcome of poverty and racism, creating another level of blame for Link's death; Should Booth avoid the violent stereotype, or was he created to embody it? The struggle for social and economic equality faces many systematic setbacks, which influence people's beliefs and norms. However, the resulting ideologies are less concrete than the cycles that create them. While racism, sexism, poverty and insecurity are the result of dangerous cycles that favor,. 2017.