In life, we cannot expect everything to be perfect, especially when it comes to how others treat us. Some people perceive others as different and also treat them as inferior. Examples of how humans react to differences can be found in three stories: The All American Slurp by Lensy Namioka, All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradury, and Flowers and Freckle Cream by Elizabeth Ellis. In the first one, the narrator is a young Chinese-American girl whose family recently emigrated to the United States. They have to learn a brand new language, a different set of table manners, and etc. However, they are accepting of their new circumstances and the Americans treated them well. The second story takes place on Venus, where the sun shines only for a couple of hours every seven years. Margot is the only one of her classmates from Earth so they hated her, partly because of her origins and because of the fact that she used to see the sun every day. As a result, they locked her in a closet so she couldn’t see the sun on this special day. In the third story, Elizabeth was ugly in her childhood so was made fun of by her family. She tried to remove her freckles but it backfired. Her grandpa reminded her that she should appreciate her natural beauty by showing her a tiger lily, a beautiful flower that had “freckles”.
Nobody is exactly the same and there are multiple ways that people can be different. People can be from different countries, races, ethnic groups, and etc. For example, The All-American Slurp, the difference between the new immigrants and their neighbors is which country they were from. The narrator and her family are from China while their neighbors were originally from America. Meanwhile, in All Summer in a Day, the difference is much larger. Margot is from Earth while all of her classmates were born on Venus. The difference was two whole planets that were 24 million miles apart. In Flowers and Freckle Cream, the difference is not that big. The only way Elizabeth, the narrator, was different from her family was that she was “ugly” and had freckles while the rest of her family was not. From this, we can see a multitude of ways that people and factions are distinguished from each other. In these three stories, the main character is different from those around him/her in various ways. The difference could be race, planet of origin(in futuristic science fiction novels), or simply appearance. There are quite a lot of ways people identify themselves and others as, and just as many ways that people are different from each other
There are good and bad ways people react to those who they perceive as different. On the good side, people are open minded to newcomers and new people are kind to their new neighbors. On the bad side, people may quarrel with each other and spread gossip or rumors that damage each other’s reputation. In The All American Slurp, the Gleasons and the other neighboring American families are friendly to the Lin family and the other Chinese-Americans. The immigrants, meanwhile, are ready to learn and adapt to their new circumstances and soon understand English quite well but still keep their old traditions and customs. In All Summer in a Day, Margot was neutral towards her classmates, but all those who were born on Venus disliked her due to her origins and because she used to see the sun every day at best, and bullied her at worst. In Flowers and Freckle Cream, Elizabeth was the only one in her family to have freckles. Her mother treated her as a stranger and outsider, while her grandpa tried to calm her when the freckle cream backfired. In the first two stories, the reaction to differences by the characters was mostly one sided, while in the third one, it was mixed. From this collection, we can see that in life, how others treat us if we are different can never be sure. Some people treat others negatively but some also have a positive attitude towards newcomers.
It may be tempting to completely change our identity in order to fit in, but we should still adore our natural beauty and our culture. Although we should change sometimes in order to suit our environment, change should not define who we are. In The All-American Slurp, the narrator and her family had to learn English, but her parents never got rid of their Chinese accent. Furthermore, when they invited the Gleasons to dinner, the narrator still judged them based on Chinese table manners. In All Summer in a Day, Margot was on Venus for five years but she was homesick. In fact, once, she refused to use the school showers, claiming that “the water must not touch her head.” Due to this, her parents would take her back to Earth in roughly one year. In Flowers and Freckle Cream, Elizabeth tried to remove her freckles but it backfired due to the sun. Her grandfather reminded her that she should appreciate what she had by placing a tiger lily on her bedside. In the first story, the narrator adopted an American accent but still judged others based on Chinese standards, and her family still acted like Chinese. In the second, Margot was homesick and didn’t want water to touch her head. In the third, the protagonist wanted to alter her appearance but was reminded of her natural beauty. We can see from these stories that it is important for us to preserve our cultural identity.
The All American Slurp by Lensey Namioka, All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury, Flowers and Freckle Cream by Elizabeth Ellis, are three examples of stories that depict how people treat those who are different. In the first one, the narrator is a Chinese-American girl whose family has to learn a new language, a new set of table manners, and etc. The American neighbors are friendly to the Chinese and the newcomers are ready to learn. The second one, Margot is the only one of her classmates to be from Earth. She was hated by her classmates because of her origins and because she used to enjoy the sunshine every day. In the third and final story, the narrator was the only one who was ugly in the family and so was shunned by her family members. She tries to remove her freckles but that backfires. Her grandfather comforts her by showing her a tiger lily, a flower with freckles but that was still pretty. These stories teach us that there are many ways people can be different. Also, they show that some people treat others with negative opinions because they perceive them as “different.” Another theme that this collection teaches us is that even if it is appropriate to change our behavior at times, we should b still preserve our cultural identity.
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