Self and other is a term that is synonymous with the study interpersonal relationships, as well as how one views oneself. This essay will be discussing the ways in which the theme of self and others has been a consistent component in the texts that we have read in class, regardless of medium. Though they may all share the themes of self-perspective and relationships or interactions, it is important to note that they don’t all follow a cookie-cutter method; the way these texts go about doing so is unique. Wayfinding by Chloe Bass, Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, as well as Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples all do this through various methods.

Wayfinding by Chloe Bass is a free art gallery, located at a public park. The art pieces are in the form of signs with statements related to the nature of interactions people have with other people. Having them in such a public place is effective in conveying her message that the signs are things that should apply to every interaction we have with people, similar to how the signs are available to view at any time. “Some days, you call out to the world and all that echoes back is your own emptiness” is one statement that is expressed on a sign (Bass, Wayfinding, 2019). When analysing what Bass was trying to convey through this message, one may say that we sometimes expect a certain response from people, yet that reaction isn’t quite what we expect. Consequently we end up questioning whether the way we interacted with someone or something was worth the invaluable time of our day, as time is not something that we get reimbursed for in this world. “How much of life is coping?”  is yet another inscription that Bass chose to include in her art gallery (Wayfinding, 2019). Through this piece, Bass is pushing us to ponder our definition of life. She is making us think about how often we’re really just dealing with the diversity in the way the world thinks, as opposed to taking control of unfortunate situations to aid us in our mission to achieve the life we so desire? The other signs are all similar to these two, as they detail the nature of how we live our life and touch the lives of others.

Negotiations are usually thought to be a key component to achieving peace after two parties were in conflict with each other. However, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to conclude that interactions entail negotiations. When we interact with others, we are regularly attempting to convince an individual to be in accordance with our values. For example, even by simply greeting someone, we are aiming to get that person to reciprocate our belief in greetings by returning with a greeting. A negotiation is essentially an exchange of ideas, with each idea intended to try to persuade the other participants that we are the right way to look at the world.

When considering all of the aforementioned factors, Wayfinding is pertinent to the theme of self and other, because in addition to thinking about our outlook on the world, Bass’s signs really encourage us to take a deep dive within ourselves. Life is full of interactions with other people, thus making the nature of how we are involved in others lives a key to leading fulfilling lives. This is what self and other is all about, and Bass’s art exhibit really makes us wonder about just that.

Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera details the journey of a Mexican woman named Makina who came to America to search for her brother. In it, Herrera explores the theme of self and other at various points throughout the book. To open up the fifth chapter, for instance, Herrera gives readers a little perspective on language (Herrera, 65). This passage does much to help us understand that Mexican Americans aren’t the result of two different traditions; but rather they are two different results of immigrant experiences, thereby formulating a new culture and language. The Mexican Americans switching from English to Spanish on an almost word – to – word basis was something that truly shocked Makina, as she came to realize that change was not something that people underwent knowingly. When Mexicans were conjugating Spanish verbs using English conjugation rules, it was something that just naturally occured as they tried to assimilate into American culture in order to achieve the life they came to America specifically to obtain. The liaison between the nature of change as described by Herrera and the theme of self and other is that it forces the readers to look inside themselves and contemplate why exactly there was any self-metamorphosis going on. This is a crucial factor to consider when trying to think about what exactly the idea of the self and other really entails.

There is another moment in the Herrera’s work that details a moment early in Makina’s journey that is relevant to the theme of self and other. There was a time when she stepped into the shower, and while she showered, a woman came and used her makeup. Makina calmly allowed her to use the lipstick (39). If somebody uses items belonging to someone taking a shower, the owner of those items usually gets pretty upset, and conflict may ensue. However, Makina’s calm, accepting moment in this instance serves to illustrate what can be achieved if we really take the time to look within ourselves and truly understand what is important to oneself. She understood that in her mid, finding her brother was what she prioritized over anything, thus leaving her less susceptible to straying from her main objective of finding her dear brother. Thinking about this idea of self and other really is a step in the right direction when one tries to head down a road to happiness, as it helps people make an identity that they are content with.

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen is a novel that discusses the racist encounters that people of color have been forced to cope with for a lengthy time period. One instance in the novel that pushes readers to peer into the realm of self and other was a moment on a plane when a white woman boarded a plane with her child. Upon noticing that the only seat available was next to a black person, the mother offers to sit between her daughter and the black person. However, the manner in which she offered to so was reminiscent of someone sacrificing themselves to be able to ensure her daughter’s safety (Rankine, 37). In this instance, the white woman was perpetuating the narrative black individuals had surrounding them, that they were violent aggressors, always itching to scuffle. This is yet another dive into the theme of self and other in literature, as it really pushes those that immortalize generalizations to really wonder whether or not they are being rational with the conclusions they come up with.

Another moment in Citizen where readers are forced to look into themselves and how they view others was another hypothetical scenario, where two mothers, a black mother and a white mother joined each other for lunch. Both mothers’ children had gotten accepted to prestigious universities, but the black mothers’ child had gotten into the school the white woman wanted her child to get into. The white mother got upset upon learning this, and began to blame it on affirmative action, and the school wanting to keep up diversity statistics (39). Yet again, Rankine’s intention by including this situation was to get readers to delve into themselves again and question how they judge people. Rankine knew most readers would agree that the white woman was being ridiculous; she thus used this situation to bring that reaction out, and help people that are oppressed develop the ability to be able to detect whenever they are being diminished simply due to their uniqueness. This is similar yet different to the aforementioned airplane situation Rankine included. While they both force readers to look within themselves, the airplane is more directed for the people pushing stereotypes to look within themselves; but the luncheon is more targeted for the victims of these stereotypes to be able to look within and realize whenever accomplishments are being marginalized simply due to their uniqueness.

Black Men and Public Space is an essay written by Brent Staples for Harper’s magazine in 1987. Throughout it, he reveals the different effects that a man can have in public simply by being black. Staples, himself being a black man, is well qualified to speak on this topic, as the examples he gives of the black man’s effect are all through his own personal experiences. To open, he recalls a time when he was on a late night stroll, and he ended up behind a white woman. The white woman started walking faster out of fear that she would end up being the victim of a mugging or a rape by a black man (Staples, 1). Staples then explains that the white woman may have been justified in her fear, as he was a tall man with a strong frame. He even goes on to explain that the woman may have felt inclined to believe the narrative pushed by media about black people being violent aggressors constantly looking for conflict. He further goes on to explain that black men are guilty of some crimes that they’re accused of committing, but this shouldn’t be the first thing white people look at when evaluating black men.

Another instance in the essay is when he details a moment when a black reporter was investigating a murder. Police immediately assumed that the reporter was the killer, and he was swiftly placed under handcuffs (3). These two instances both explore the theme of self and other from both white and black people’s perspectives, as both are being stirred to look within themselves and try to understand the other side.

These four texts, Wayfinding by Chloe Bass, Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, and Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples, all offer readers a deep dive into the vast world of self and other and how it plays a role in the real world we live in. These texts all have one similarity, they really encourage the reader to take a long look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves how exactly they are contributing to any interactions that they have. Bass’s signs are entirely related to the nature of people’s interactions with each other. Herrera’s novel explores with the reader in real time how time can affect a person’s interactions with others. Likewise, Staples’s essay and Rankine’s Citizen both encourage people to attempt to unearth buried digs at their character simply for a unique aspect different from the rest of the people they are surrounded by.

These four texts are all effective at contributing to the main theme of self and other. However, the way they go about doing this is varied. Consider this: Herrera contributed to the theme by focusing primarily on self-discovery. Having some sort of idea as to who exactly one is is one of the best ways to be able to positively interact with those around an individual. Rankine attempts to get readers to understand that some people are severely misguided in their perception of other people. She aims to get readers to find ways to help those that are misguided onto the right way to perceive other people by not giving any sort of hints; she is trying to be the magnet that pulls everybody into her movement of getting people to finally correct any misunderstandings. Staples’s essay acts as a devil’s advocate of sorts, as he attempts to get the victimized group to understand the perspective of the offenders. Bass’s exhibit really attempts to get us to try to actually understand what happens when we interact with each other both physically and within ourselves.

Understanding the self, as well as the other, is actually something that can really make or break someone’s life. A person’s comprehension on this can be the entire reason that they may have developed an outlook on life. Understanding people’s behavior, as well as our own, could be one of the things that makes us really be able to understand each other and achieve lives of peace and happiness. That is what understanding self and other can do for a person: it can really touch their lives in ways that happen simply from just trying to understand people, as well as oneself. Through trying to understand the works of the authors and artists, one may be able to see the enormous effect that understanding the self and other touches our lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Understanding Self and Other

Text

Understanding Self and the Other is a seven – page typed paper submitted electronically through BlackBoard. It is an essay that discusses how texts read in a college course, Self and Other, have been explored by many different artists.

Author

The essay was written by Alagee Tall, a freshman attending the City College of New York. He is trying to earn his bachelor’s degree over at that University.

Audience

This essay was not directed to a group of people but rather two individuals: Sonja Killebrew and Robert Balun. They were the only people that this essay was written for since they are the two that decide whether Alagee would pass this class for the semester.

Purpose
This essay is intended for Tall to earn points towards his final grade for the semester in the aforementioned self and other course, as it is a necessary step on his way to earning a bachelor’s degree he yearns for. Being that this class was an investment, he wants to do his best to make sure the hundreds of dollars he had put into his English courses didn’t end up being a waste of hard-earned money.

Setting

 As he was comfortably typing the essay at his home, Alagee was eating snacks and enjoying the pleasant aroma of lamb being cooked, with the scent traveling everywhere at once. The words beginning to fill up the page after blankly staring at it with no idea on how to begin made him grin from ear to ear as words flowed from his long thin fingers spoke them with rapid fire.