Topic > Comparing Gary Soto and Deborah Tannen's views on stereotypes and being oneself

“Everyone is unique and every experience is different,” quoted by Gloria Steinem, a journalist. A person's mindset changes frequently as they grow, whether it is tied to cultural traditions or a social environment in which everyone can express themselves differently. Writer Gary Soto writes about his uncertain future in “Like Mexicans” and compares his culture to his wife's Japanese culture. In “Gender in the Classroom” Deborah Tannen discusses male-female differences in the classroom. Soto and Tannen's two perspectives on the experience give a common stereotypical view of how gender disposition, conversational style, and cultural background can lead to a false assumption about a person's essence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Males are unlikely to give heartwarming advice to his friends. In “Like Mexicans” Gary's father and brother had virtually no say in his pursuit of marriage. Although Gary never had a strong relationship with those two, his attitudes began to change when he was able to meet his best friend Scott and there they would talk about "school and albums". Scott shares Gary's marriage advice "she's too good for you, so you better not do it." This behavior was similar when he spoke to his mother and grandmother about his marriage. “Well, sure if you want to marry her trapped in the poor boy's mind distracting him from math problems to cultural geography” from Gary's mother and a quite similar response from Gary's grandmother “Bad advice and good advice.” All in all, a woman-to-woman conversation is more relatable and comfortable for women to share stories and perspectives equally. Depending on gender, behaviors may change based on their principles and beliefs. From the beginning of “Like Mexicans,” Soto was uncertain whether he would marry the right girl of his same ethnicity and economic status. It wasn't until he experienced his wife's lifestyle that Gary finally took it upon himself to protect his love life from his family/friend's demanding responses and demands. In comparison, “Gender in the Classroom” Tannen experiments with the modes of male and female voices in the classroom. Unlike "Like Mexicans", males can be similarly compared to a female student. Tannen believes that males are leaders and are not afraid to speak up during class discussions, but when it comes to personal topics females prefer to speak up more than males. This event resembles “Like Mexicans” in which Gary's mother and grandmother discussed more personal topics with Gary than with his father or brother. People who have knowledge from personal experience can relate more to others. In “Like Mexicans” Gary's grandmother advises Gary to marry someone with the same background as him. Her grandmother's conversational style is defined in "Like Mexicans". The author expresses perspective on how he sees marriage shared even with traditional family views. Grandma Gary's approach to marriage is constantly remembered. In contrast, in “Gender in the Classroom” the author separates the conversation styles of both men and women. Tannen believes that males are likely to express themselves during discussions. However, in “Like Mexican” Gary didn't have many male friends to express his thoughts to outside of his best friend Scott. In “Gender in the Classroom” “most women feel more comfortable speaking privately with a small group they know well.” In short, females are a little more shy, but they are.