Subway of Stereotypes
"On the Subway" by Sharon Olds is a short little poem all about stereotyping. One could even classify this poem as a short story. The whole point of this poem shows that the world likes to stereotype. This angers me more than anything. Basically, this woman gets on a train and sits down. A few minutes later, she finds herself staring at the face of a homeless beggar. Not only is he a homeless beggar, he is a BLACK homeless beggar. She even makes a point of this when she says, "And he is black/and I am white" (21-22). This is basically what all of America has come down to. The minute they see someone who looks a little less than average, they get scared and act all different around them. This is exactly why stereotypes exist. People like Sharon Olds make it possible to say it's okay to be stereotypical by publishing poems such as these. Stereotyping only angers the target. If someone is scared of someone else just because they are of a different race, then yes, they are going to recoil in anger. This is what makes stereotypes. also the thought, "he could take my coat so easily, my/ briefcase, my life" doesn't help very much (16-17). If people stopped thinking like this, then maybe everyone in this world could possibly live in peace.
Works Cited
Olds, Sharon. "On the Subway". Literature: World of Writing. Boston: Longman, 2011. 631.
Works Cited
Olds, Sharon. "On the Subway". Literature: World of Writing. Boston: Longman, 2011. 631.