Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover Don’t judge a book by its cover is a metaphorical phrase used which means don’t pre-judge someone or something by their outside view. Society as a whole tends to make an initial impression simply by the way someone looks, dresses or even talks. “Mother’s Tongue” by Amy Tan was about an English scholar whose mother was judged due to her broken English. This reading is just one mean of how someone is judged for her communication barrier. Everyone comes from a variety of backgrounds, cultural differences, and influenced lifestyles that create differences in which a person appears and identifies to someone else.
There are many different characteristics that create the makeup of each person. Cultural language varieties are one type of characteristic of how someone can by perceived by another person from a different culture. Different forms of the language can be introduced daily through music, television, forms of media, and people that surround you. Cultures are another means that create the makeup of how people from different societies appear to each other. This can be seen through clothing styles and personality makeup.
Language is the main form of communication which creates a universal difference among people. It is easy to create a personal bias opinion towards a different language. An example of this bias would be if you are an English Native American and walk past two Hispanic decent people carrying on a conversation in a foreign language not known to you. In this instance you may create a personal judgment against these individuals because you may think they are making fun of you, or say something about you. These same two individuals may also speak English, however in their form of understanding that is foreign to you. To them; they believe they are speaking fluent English without any barriers, but to your personal understanding it is broken English.
Childhood background and experiences through life influence a person’s perception of style, religious beliefs, and personality makeup. Can the way a person dresses really tell you the characteristics of that individual? In today’s world; society tends to judge people by how their clothes are worn. Skaters are referred to as being “EMO” for their preference of skin tight jeans. Individuals to dress in all-black attire are considered to be “Gothic” Simply because society segregates itself into smaller identifying groups does not shed light on the true characteristic of each person as an individual. We as a society also tend to segregate and judge one another based on our religious beliefs. If you’re a Christian and believe in God compared to someone who does not follow the same beliefs, do you look at that person with prejudice thoughts? This indifference also tends to segregate individuals thus creating a blind misconception of that person. There are many different types of personality traits that can lead to the misconception of someone. An example of a misconception due to the different types of personalities would be when someone that is rather outspoken thinks someone who sits alone is shy and has no friends for a reason. The individual who is shy may think the outspoken person is loud and just seeking attention. Similar personality indifferences can be noted between someone who is self-center versus someone who is always giving to others. The person who is self-centered may view the giving individual as “without self-strength,” however the giving person may view the self-centered individual as “heartless” and “stuck up.”
As you can see the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” can have many attributes as to how individuals are viewed by one another. There are no two people alike, thus always creating a possibility for mixed thoughts and understanding. Though this paper does not fully evolve into the complete understanding of individual conceptions, it may however create a basic footprint of how we as a society judge each other.