Leaving a "Mark"

Mark Thomas Hallman

At first, I had a little bit of trouble trying to think about what my name means to me. My name isn't a very special one. It isn't passed down from anyone who did important things. Nor is it a name representative of someone from a high social class. However, I think those exact reasons explain why my name IS so special despite it's blandness. The fact that my name is unique is what allows me to take pride in it. An article that I read allowed me to appreciate the uniqueness that comes along with a name. I am  not expected to live up to standards that somebody with a name before me had set. I can choose whatever path I want and forge a meaning for my name that has personal value. In a sense, having a name that is the first of its kind is like a fresh start. I would never change my name because that would be like losing all the experiences I once had and starting over.

Sometimes I feel as though I act differently around guests than when I am alone. My parents always taught me to be respectful and polite when representing the family, so I try my best to. When guests come over, I always use words like "please" and "thank you" even if I don't mean them. I also try my best to be helpful so that I can shed a good light on the Hallman name. However, the second the guests leave I go back to being myself. I walk around with my shirt off and sit around playing video games until early in the morning. If I ask my brother or sister for something I usually do not include a "please" or a "thank you". Even though this may seem like a bad thing, I believe that it is completely natural. I think that everyone feels the need to represent themselves positively to some extent  to people who are unfamiliar. Even when I go to school or go to get food somewhere, I act slightly differently than I do when I'm alone. I think everyone has more than one type of personality for different situations.

Taking a look at the OTHER side

Othering is the process of perceiving or portraying someone or something as fundamentally different or alien. Photographer Wing Young Huie does an excellent job of "othering" in his photography. For example, there is one photograph on his blog that shows a white man and a black woman sitting side by side. The white man is holding a sign that says, "I hold prejudices that need to be faced and overcome." On first glance, the observer can see that these two people are looking away from each other even though they are sitting side by side. However, when looking deeper into the meaning of the picture, you can get the sense that these two people are meant to represent something bigger than themselves. They both represent different races in society. Although they are sitting directly next to each other, practically "intermixed" with one another, they choose to look the other way and not see each other as equals.

Photographer Wing Young Huie and author Margaret Atwood both use different techniques to display the concept of "othering" in their works. Wing Young Huie does this through image. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the photograph of the white man and black woman next to each other gives off a strong sense of othering. This sense of othering is given off through prejudice. By having the two people face opposite directions, the observer gets the feeling that they are ignoring each other. This picture serves as a comment on the society in which we live in today. Although whites and blacks live together equally, there are still many white people who feel that minorities are different and are "alien". This problem is common knowledge and that is what the sign that the man is holding is supposed to represent. Wing Young Huie captures this sense of "difference" in the photograph and it can almost be felt versus seen.

Margaret Atwood takes on a different approach and uses language to portray the concept of "othering" in The Handmaid's Tale. One of the most prominent examples of this throughout the story is the use of quotation marks. When a handmaid talks, her words are very rarely given quotation marks. However, when a Commander or Aunt talks, they are given quotation marks. This creates the sense that when a handmaid talks, her voice is not valued or even considered. It almost seems like the handmaid is not there and thus creates a sort of "alien" image for the handmaids. This use of language creates a clear distinction between which people are considered "normal" and which people are considered "different" in Gileadan Society.

As you can see, the use of "othering" can be used to create a distinction between two or more groups of people in a work of literature or art. It allows an author to empower certain groups or draw attention to an underlying message that they may want the reader to discover. Both of the authors examined in this post use different methods of "othering" to come to the same end goal/effect.