Preview

Dont Judge a Book by Its Cover

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1224 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dont Judge a Book by Its Cover
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must admit that their parents were right. We do not like to admit it, but the old adages they told us as children are normally correct, and we teach them to our children. My mother was adamant about teaching me that you should “never judge a book by its cover”. Some examples of what she meant are: the color of someone’s skin, the way they dress, the type of car they drive, anything that might give false impressions, either both good or bad. For the majority of my life, I had lived by that rule; kept it engrained in my mind, but when it came to the men in my life, well the cover was everything. When it came to men I was a student of Oscar Wilde who coined the phrase “It is only the shallow who do not judge by appearances.” I was under the impression that aesthetics were everything. It took me until one day before my twenty-fifth birthday to determine that maybe I should apply the saying that Mom taught me, rather than the philosophy of Wilde, to every aspect of my life. I now know that it is truer than anything else that Mother ever taught me; “never judge a book by its cover”, or you just might miss a great story. The day before my twenty-fifth birthday three of my girlfriends and I decided to go out for a pre-birthday celebration. There was a big party planned the following night, and we knew that we would not have a lot of time to hang out together. We got all dressed up and went to our favorite sports bar, George’s. I guess we could be considered regulars, and because of that, we knew a lot of the people there that night. As we sat around our table, listening to music and talking, several people came over to the table to give me birthday wishes since they would not be attending the party the next night. About halfway through the evening, a friend of mine named Chuck came over to say hello because we had not seen each other in quite some time. He had been out of town visiting family in Huntsville, Texas. He told

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Have you ever heard of a saying, don’t judge a book by its cover? The story “The Most Dangerous Game” was about a man named Rainsford. He misjudged a man named General Zaroff who seemed kind in the beginning yet turned out to be evil. This phrase means don’t assume a person is one way unless you truly know them deep down in your heart. For example, Zaroff was flattering Rainsford with his looks, manners and the way he treated people. Also, don’t judge someone because you don’t what they have been through or what they may be experiencing.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a cliché quote that people say, “Beauty is in the eye of beholder.” But in the essay “The Ugly Truth About Beauty” (1998) Dave Barry argues about how women who spend countless hours on their so called “beauty” whereas men seem not to care. Barry uses juxtaposition and exaggeration to poke fun at men and women behavior and shed light on the harm that the beauty industry is doing. When Barry argues his point of his essay he addresses both genders, but more specifically teenage to middle age men and women, but he writes about it in a humorous and light-hearted manner.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER BUT BY THE CONTENT INSIDE! In today’s society, we tend to judge people base on their appearance. Is it a good thing? Is it fair that we judge people this way? Take your time. Spend a few minutes thinking about this. How do you feel? Have you ever been judged by your looks? I am sure, you have been!…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Looks can be deceiving” is a statement that should be considered seriously because there is much truth behind the wise saying. United States as a society has been culturalized into forming certain types of stereotypes due to media, beliefs, peers and much more that walks a fine line between courteously and ignorance. The play Arsenic and Old Lace written by Joseph Kesselring highlights how much society can overlook things due to stereotypes which results in a ridiculous situation with high levels of ignorance. Perception of age, looks, sarcasm, and gender is emphasized in this play and society today, which lead to numerous murders that should have otherwise been put to an end if the situation was evaluated objectively.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "The Ugly Truth About Beauty,  Dave Barry suggests that men and women view themselves differently. People have known for many years that men and women have their differences. These differences often mean that there may be confusion between the sexes. In Dave Barry's essay, he uses three literary devices to determine how males and females feel about themselves. Dave Barry's essay not only suggests how men and women feel about themselves, but also how men feel about women. On this occasion, Dave Barry’s purpose is to enlighten men and women to show them what beauty means to each gender using allusions,hyperboles and ethos.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scott Russell Sanders in his essay "looking at Women" has his views shaped by the people he is surrounded by. This trend is apparent even in his early child hood. He continues this trend thru early adulthood. Well into adult hood this trend show it self through his actions, and through the quotes that he chooses. Sanders forms his opinions from the opinions of others in this essay, and demonstrates thoroughly.…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is Diversity

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People are characterized by many things, more often their appearance; unfortunately, it is my belief that society has placed stigmas on people who do not conform to what is considered the norm. Admittedly so, I judge others by superficial characteristics. For instance, if a person’s clothes look disheveled and their hair unkempt I assume that they are not trustworthy, unclean and probably on drugs. In contrast, when I see a person who is dressed neatly and drives a nice vehicle, I assume they are educated, have a high paying job and own a home.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: Barry, Dave. "The Ugly Truth About Beauty." The Longman Reader. 7th ed. Ed. Judith Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. New York. Pearson, 2005. 368-70…

    • 859 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Don’t judge people by their looks. Or their shoes. More importantly, my father taught me that a man’s value is not set by how expensive his clothes are.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Body Image

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages

    For most people in order to feel good they must look good, however for some people looking good doesn’t cut it they have to be perfect. In our minds every one of us has an idealized body image which comes from “a mixture of ideas and feeling about one’s physical appearance…linked to self esteem and emotional stability” (Maggie 2). Factors that influence ones self- perceptions are the 21st century media, peers, and family basically our main social surroundings.…

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    We Learn From Our Mistakes

    • 1115 Words
    • 3 Pages

    New years eve was just a day away and all of us, my cousins and I, had made great plans of partying out all night and having a blast. One of my friend's was throwing a party at his place so we had decided that we would go there and have a great time. Apart from that, we had decided that on our way back we would go to the beach as we had heard that for New Years Eve, the beach is a perfect place to go and enjoy. Now that everything was planned out, I just waited for the day to pass and New Year's Eve to come.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Uglies- Scott Westerfeld

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The message behind Scott Westerfeld’s novel ‘Uglies’ is that we should not focus on external beauty, rather look further into an individual’s personality. The novel demonstrates this message by exaggerating the effects of only focusing on external beauty through the Pretties, how they only care about having fun and how it lines up with our society. Uglies creates the idea of lesions in the brain to account for the way humans act when only focusing on external beauty, oblivious to the world around them. It also shows equality between the Uglies and how labels do matter on how you see yourself and the people around you. In his writing, Scott Westerfeld disguises these messages to suit the story line which forces you to think deeper about the book to find the message behind the text.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During a friend’s birthday party, I was invited to stay the night,…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    You're Ugly too

    • 1380 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lorrie Moore’s “You’re Ugly, Too”, examines the inner thoughts and day-to-day life of a single history professor, Zoë Hendricks. Zoë is characterized as being eccentric and wildly different from those around her, and in turn, socially inept. Through her train of thought, we are able to see that Zoë is preoccupied with her own shortcomings, both in her appearance and in her social relationships. Moore’s choice to set her story in the conventional and homogenous American Midwest serves to show the stark contrast between Zoë and those around her. This contrast leads to Zoë’s alienation, which is only exacerbated by her relationships with men. In all of Zoë’s experiences with men she is put down and is made to feel inferior about her appearance and personality. Through Zoë’s memories and thoughts we are shown the effect that these experiences have had on her psyche. Through the reactions of her students and her failed relationships with men, we see Zoë is so constantly criticized about her actions and appearance that it makes her untrusting and unable to communicate with others. By showing us Zoë’s thoughts and stream of consciousness, Moore shows us the extent to which society’s critiques and expectations of us can bring us down.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Damodar Valley Project is a joint venture of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The project sets an example towards managing our water resources on scientific lines. Before completion of this project, flood in Damodar River caused damage to thousands of people and loss of property worth crores of rupees every year.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays