This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
PERIOD 6 -THE BEAR
Yesterday, we read The Bear That Wasn't by Frank Tashlin. Please share with the class your thoughts about the story and be sure to post at least one comment on another classmate's reflective post.
I thought the book, the bear that wasn't, really shows just how influential society can be on a person or in this case a bear! As his beliefs were continuously shut down he stopped believing in them and lost who he really was. It is important to recognize just how swaying a group of people can be. The bear started doing things a regular bear would not do and almost died because of it. He wouldn't hibernate because only bears do that and he was no longer a bear. The factory workers and managers/presidents made the bear believe he was something that he really was not.
I thought the story showed that you as a person should not give in to what other people have to say about you. I feel that if you do you will change who you are and how other people look at you.
I agree with what Johanna has to say because the bear did give in to what everyone else had to say and almost convinced himself that he wasn't a bear until he was about to freeze to death.
In the story, it showed how hard it is to go against the group which is why most people change their beliefs because it did not matter how hard the bear tried, the workers still would not believe he was a bear. Also, it displayed even where you are from people can make assumptions about who you are, for example during WWII if you were from Germany than people probably would assume bad things about you.
I think the story says something about stereotypes. Oftentimes, like the bear, people are put into stereotypes that have nothing to do with who they really are.
I think the story showed how difficult it is to stand up for yourself against a group of people. The workers wouldn't accept the bears beliefs, which made the bear question his beliefs. The bear wasn't able to change the workers beliefs, so instead he changed his own, and he stopped believing that he was a bear
After reading this book you realize how influential society is on someone. The bear honestly believed that he was no longer a bear, rather a man who was unshaved with a fur coat because thats what society told him he was. This book also shows that in order to gain self acceptance one must also be accepted by society and those around them. The bear begins to second guess himself if he was actually a bear and accepts the fact that he might be a man that is unshaved with a fur coat becasue thats what society is telling him. The factory will not accept him as a bear, therefore he cant accept himself either. This proves that society is influential enough to change how someone thinks about themself.
I agree with Rachel that people may change their beliefs depending on what other people think because it is hard to stand up against what others think.
"The Bear That Wasn't" portrays how powerful and judgmental society can be. I think that people who believe they have power over others are likely to put people down and not treat them fairly. Some people allow themselves to be treated like this, and some people stand up for who they are and what they believe in, which is the right thing to do in my opinion. It's important to be yourself, make your own decisions, and listen to your own thoughts and beliefs.
I think the author of the book was really trying to express the importance of staying true to who you are. The fact that it may be less work and much easier to give in and "go with the flow", should not influence the personal decisions and beliefs of a person. The book successfully portrayed the (often overlooked) struggle of maintaining ones individuality, and highlights the importance to do so.
I agree with Avalon when she says that judgements made by others play a huge role in how one chooses to present themselves. I agree it is not good to become consumed by other's opinions, and your own thoughts are what truly matters.
james yi what i though about this book was that the bear wanted to try to fit in with others so he tried to change himself and i think that he should just be who he is
I agree with Pat on the difficulty of going against a popular opinion. Although It's the easy way out to give up and go along with what everyone else thinks.
I think that the story was trying to prove how who you associate yourself with can influence how others see you. Because the bear was by surrounded by factory workers, they though he was just one of them. Also people in power are not always right. What the individual thinks about themself should be most important and when people doubt them, they should try to stick with their beliefs.
I agree with Erin when she says that the someone needs to be accepted by society before they accept themselves. I don't think that this should be the way people function. If you accept yourself first, I think it would be easier for others to accept you after. But I understand how hard that can be, especially in large groups, as Erin said.
I liked the way the story was written in a simple style that was easy to understand, but succeeded in alluding to a very complicated concept of identity and reality. It reminds me of the book 1984, in that if society tells you to believe something and everyone else believes it, eventually you will believe it too or doubt yourself. The amount of faith you have in yourself is tested when faced with an entire society arguing against you. The desire to conform is tempting, because you would rather be wrong in a group of people than take the chance of being wrong alone.
To Julia A's comment: She makes a good point about how individuals should stick to their beliefs, even if they are told by authorities that they are wrong. I agree that an individual should retain their identity when among a society that is pressuring them to conform.
I think the story was trying to show how society bases people's identity's based on their surroundingins rather than who they are. The people within the story did not accept the bear for what he was because he did not fit with the stereotypes that they had created. I think the story also shows how difficult it is to stand up to a majority. Although the bear tries to convince the people that he is a bear he ultimately is the one who is convinced otherwise, which is a comment on the power of the masses.
I agree with what Olivia said on the importance of staying true to who you are. I also think that the book was trying to show that even though it may be difficult to be yourself, it is imporant to not just do what everyone else says and want in order to fit in.
What I got from this book was that people tend to judge people based on their appearance and that is often an inaccurate depiction of who they actually are.
I also learned that bears can talk, which is pretty cool I guess.
I think that the story highlights society’s reluctance to accept anything or anyone that is different. Since the bear did not fit in with the circus bears or the zoo bears, the presidents would not accept him as a bear just because he was different than them. Also it shows how a person is defined by the people they associate themselves with, that if you are an individual that does not fit into a certain group, society will try to mold you and change you until you fit into a group. A second thing I think the story emphasizes is a person’s willingness to conform in order to fit in. The bear, once he was convinced that he was a man, tried to fit in with the other factory men by working so that he would not be cast out as something different. Overall I think this story stresses the importance of us as individuals to stick to what we believe in even when everyone else is telling you something different, because had the bear just stuck to thinking that he was a bear, than he never would have felt lost at the end of the novel.
I agree with what Avalon said about how people with power will try to put others down. I think that once someone gains power, a lot of the time they feel that they are better than those around them and know more than everyone else and so therefore they start treating people poorly. I think that power should never cause a person to treat someone differently.
"The Bear That Wasn't" shows how powerful the opinion of society can be upon an individual. The bear ended up doubting who he truly was because all of these authority figures were accusing him of being something else. In the end the bear only saved himself by going with his instinct and being who he truly was instead of continuing to try and be the man who needed a shave and wore a fur coat as society viewed him.
I agree with what Jordan was saying. One's surroundings plays a fact as to how they are percieved by society. The bear wasn't associated with the zoo bears so therefore he could not be a bear yet he appeared in the same factory setting as many workers so he was seen as a man. For a while, the bear caved to the thoughts of society and worked in the factory as a man simply because it was easier than trying to explain to people that he was a bear in the middle of a factory. In the end though, the bear remembers who he is and that is what saves him from the cold.
I like what Julia said about people in power not always being right. They can be doing something completely immoral yet may brainwash others to believe as well. I also think it is important that the factory workers had a misconception of what bears actually did/looked like. They were only familiar with circus bears and bears in the zoo, although those bears were not actually free.
I thought the book was very interesting. It shows how if society puts peer pressure on a character, after a time it builds up and the person being pressured will give in. In this scenario it was the bear giving into the idea that he was a human and not a bear because of how often and the people that told it to him. This book takes a child's story and uses it to convey a big societal issue.
I agree with Olivia. People can find it easier to just go with the flow and the book was good at portraying helpful messages. The important message of maintaining ones individuality is stressed and highlighted.
I thought the book sent a message to everyone, not just younger kids, but all ages. It showed how society can try and change a person because of what is "normal" or "makes sense". The book showed that everyone simply needs to be themselves.
I agree with what Jackie said, people are sterotyped and labeled often without anyone getting to know them to know the real truth about them and what they are like.
I thought the story of the Bear that wasn't reflects the effect that society has on an individual in which an individual tends to follow the standards of the majority of society. I think the point the story makes is that an individual is unique for a reason. In this bears case, listening to what the human factory workers thought and the circus and zoo bears, rather than being its own unique self leads to the consequence of suffering in the cold. When the bear comes to the realization that he is who he is and returns to his cave, he is rewarded with warmth and comfort.
I like Olivia's perspective on the story in that it was about staying true to who you no matter the difficulty of the situation that may be faced. I feel as though this point is important to note because with so many options in life, decisions often present an 'easy way out' which in the long run will only lead to problems.
I think that this book was a very good choice as an opener to the class because it portrayed the meaning of the class very well. It showed exactly what you want us to learn in this semester very clearly. Society does have a major impact on everyone's identity and many fall prey to it every day now.
I think the book is really about stereotyping and how society sees people based on their environment and not how they really are. This sterotyping then leads to people losing their own identity and just becoming whatever stereotype they are given.
I thought The Bear That Wasn't was a unique representation of the way today's society often influences individuals. Even if a person believes so strongly in who they are, their beliefs can be changed if everyone around them tells them they're wrong. I believe that the lesson of the book is to stick to believing in who you think you are, and who you should be, no matter what. Clearly it's much easier to give into society, and to accept yourself as the person you're "supposed" to be (just as the bear ended up doing.) However, the end of the story ended up proving that the easy solution is not what will make you happiest. After the bear finally gave in and accepted that he was not a bear, he became very unhappy. He did not gain his satisfaction in life back until he returned to believing he was a bear. This says that we will never be truly happy trying to be someone we know we are not meant to be. For this reason we must be true to ourselves and who we want to be.
I agree with Jojo and her comment about how powerful groups can be. The opinion of many people is very influentual and can cause people to do things that they would never do normally.
I agree with Abbey's point that this story is not only directed towards young children. Although the plot line is presented as a picture book, with a limited number of words on each page, the message is one that is valuable to all ages.
I think that the book, The Bear That Wasn't, showed a good representation of what all of us go through being high schoolers, and that it is important to be able to keep your own identity and not fall into what the people around you believe.
I think thats for people who always is talking about other people like a bad things,when you know is not true is happening to the beer who was not a beer
This book although short showed a very important lesson throughout it. The idea of keeping your identity when everyone else is telling you something different can be very difficult. It takes a lot of determination, and self respect to go against everyone's opinion if you do not share their's.
I was not here for this lesson but am doing it late.I am assuming you wanted me to do it still because you gave me the book.
I thought that the story was able to show how the bear stuck up for himself and his identity. He refused to believe the men that were telling him he was not a bear even though he was outnumbered. Doing something like this can be a struggle and it takes a lot for a person to stick up for what they believe in when others are constantly bringing them down.
I agree with Julias's comment that although someone is in power, that doesn't always make them right. In the story the bear is sure of his identity while the presidents and vice presidents with greater power tell him that he is simply a man that wears a big fur coat and needs a shave.
52 comments:
I will do anything to get a good grade.
I thought the book, the bear that wasn't, really shows just how influential society can be on a person or in this case a bear! As his beliefs were continuously shut down he stopped believing in them and lost who he really was. It is important to recognize just how swaying a group of people can be. The bear started doing things a regular bear would not do and almost died because of it. He wouldn't hibernate because only bears do that and he was no longer a bear. The factory workers and managers/presidents made the bear believe he was something that he really was not.
I thought the story showed that you as a person should not give in to what other people have to say about you. I feel that if you do you will change who you are and how other people look at you.
I agree with what Johanna has to say because the bear did give in to what everyone else had to say and almost convinced himself that he wasn't a bear until he was about to freeze to death.
In the story, it showed how hard it is to go against the group which is why most people change their beliefs because it did not matter how hard the bear tried, the workers still would not believe he was a bear. Also, it displayed even where you are from people can make assumptions about who you are, for example during WWII if you were from Germany than people probably would assume bad things about you.
I think the story says something about stereotypes. Oftentimes, like the bear, people are put into stereotypes that have nothing to do with who they really are.
I agree with Ani. I think that if you do start to believe what people say about you, it totally changes who you really are.
I think that the story shows how the bear’s identity was opinionated by others. They refused to accept the bear’s identity for what he truly was.
By rending the book I think that you can't judge that how they look like because aver bobby is different.
I think the story showed how difficult it is to stand up for yourself against a group of people. The workers wouldn't accept the bears beliefs, which made the bear question his beliefs. The bear wasn't able to change the workers beliefs, so instead he changed his own, and he stopped believing that he was a bear
After reading this book you realize how influential society is on someone. The bear honestly believed that he was no longer a bear, rather a man who was unshaved with a fur coat because thats what society told him he was. This book also shows that in order to gain self acceptance one must also be accepted by society and those around them. The bear begins to second guess himself if he was actually a bear and accepts the fact that he might be a man that is unshaved with a fur coat becasue thats what society is telling him. The factory will not accept him as a bear, therefore he cant accept himself either. This proves that society is influential enough to change how someone thinks about themself.
I agree with Sami. The bear let others shape his identity by going along with what they had to say, and believing that he was not a bear
I agree with Rachel that people may change their beliefs depending on what other people think because it is hard to stand up against what others think.
I liked what Johanna said in that groups can be very persuasive that they can make you do unnatural things such as deciding not to hibernate.
I agree with Erin. The way that society told him he wasn't a bear,the bear begins to think that he might not be a bear.
"The Bear That Wasn't" portrays how powerful and judgmental society can be. I think that people who believe they have power over others are likely to put people down and not treat them fairly. Some people allow themselves to be treated like this, and some people stand up for who they are and what they believe in, which is the right thing to do in my opinion. It's important to be yourself, make your own decisions, and listen to your own thoughts and beliefs.
I think the author of the book was really trying to express the importance of staying true to who you are. The fact that it may be less work and much easier to give in and "go with the flow", should not influence the personal decisions and beliefs of a person. The book successfully portrayed the (often overlooked) struggle of maintaining ones individuality, and highlights the importance to do so.
I agree with Avalon when she says that judgements made by others play a huge role in how one chooses to present themselves. I agree it is not good to become consumed by other's opinions, and your own thoughts are what truly matters.
i agree with what Johanna said
i think that the bear wanted to fit in with the others
james yi
what i though about this book was that the bear wanted to try to fit in with others so he tried to change himself and i think that he should just be who he is
I agree with Pat on the difficulty of going against a popular opinion. Although It's the easy way out to give up and go along with what everyone else thinks.
I think that the story was trying to prove how who you associate yourself with can influence how others see you. Because the bear was by surrounded by factory workers, they though he was just one of them. Also people in power are not always right. What the individual thinks about themself should be most important and when people doubt them, they should try to stick with their beliefs.
I agree with Erin when she says that the someone needs to be accepted by society before they accept themselves. I don't think that this should be the way people function. If you accept yourself first, I think it would be easier for others to accept you after. But I understand how hard that can be, especially in large groups, as Erin said.
I liked the way the story was written in a simple style that was easy to understand, but succeeded in alluding to a very complicated concept of identity and reality. It reminds me of the book 1984, in that if society tells you to believe something and everyone else believes it, eventually you will believe it too or doubt yourself. The amount of faith you have in yourself is tested when faced with an entire society arguing against you. The desire to conform is tempting, because you would rather be wrong in a group of people than take the chance of being wrong alone.
To Julia A's comment: She makes a good point about how individuals should stick to their beliefs, even if they are told by authorities that they are wrong. I agree that an individual should retain their identity when among a society that is pressuring them to conform.
I think the story was trying to show how society bases people's identity's based on their surroundingins rather than who they are. The people within the story did not accept the bear for what he was because he did not fit with the stereotypes that they had created. I think the story also shows how difficult it is to stand up to a majority. Although the bear tries to convince the people that he is a bear he ultimately is the one who is convinced otherwise, which is a comment on the power of the masses.
I agree with what Olivia said on the importance of staying true to who you are. I also think that the book was trying to show that even though it may be difficult to be yourself, it is imporant to not just do what everyone else says and want in order to fit in.
What I got from this book was that people tend to judge people based on their appearance and that is often an inaccurate depiction of who they actually are.
I also learned that bears can talk, which is pretty cool I guess.
I think that the story highlights society’s reluctance to accept anything or anyone that is different. Since the bear did not fit in with the circus bears or the zoo bears, the presidents would not accept him as a bear just because he was different than them. Also it shows how a person is defined by the people they associate themselves with, that if you are an individual that does not fit into a certain group, society will try to mold you and change you until you fit into a group. A second thing I think the story emphasizes is a person’s willingness to conform in order to fit in. The bear, once he was convinced that he was a man, tried to fit in with the other factory men by working so that he would not be cast out as something different. Overall I think this story stresses the importance of us as individuals to stick to what we believe in even when everyone else is telling you something different, because had the bear just stuck to thinking that he was a bear, than he never would have felt lost at the end of the novel.
I agree with what Avalon said about how people with power will try to put others down. I think that once someone gains power, a lot of the time they feel that they are better than those around them and know more than everyone else and so therefore they start treating people poorly. I think that power should never cause a person to treat someone differently.
"The Bear That Wasn't" shows how powerful the opinion of society can be upon an individual. The bear ended up doubting who he truly was because all of these authority figures were accusing him of being something else. In the end the bear only saved himself by going with his instinct and being who he truly was instead of continuing to try and be the man who needed a shave and wore a fur coat as society viewed him.
I agree with what Jordan was saying. One's surroundings plays a fact as to how they are percieved by society. The bear wasn't associated with the zoo bears so therefore he could not be a bear yet he appeared in the same factory setting as many workers so he was seen as a man. For a while, the bear caved to the thoughts of society and worked in the factory as a man simply because it was easier than trying to explain to people that he was a bear in the middle of a factory. In the end though, the bear remembers who he is and that is what saves him from the cold.
I like what Julia said about people in power not always being right. They can be doing something completely immoral yet may brainwash others to believe as well. I also think it is important that the factory workers had a misconception of what bears actually did/looked like. They were only familiar with circus bears and bears in the zoo, although those bears were not actually free.
I thought the book was very interesting. It shows how if society puts peer pressure on a character, after a time it builds up and the person being pressured will give in. In this scenario it was the bear giving into the idea that he was a human and not a bear because of how often and the people that told it to him. This book takes a child's story and uses it to convey a big societal issue.
I agree with Olivia. People can find it easier to just go with the flow and the book was good at portraying helpful messages. The important message of maintaining ones individuality is stressed and highlighted.
I thought the book sent a message to everyone, not just younger kids, but all ages. It showed how society can try and change a person because of what is "normal" or "makes sense". The book showed that everyone simply needs to be themselves.
I agree with what Jackie said, people are sterotyped and labeled often without anyone getting to know them to know the real truth about them and what they are like.
I thought the story of the Bear that wasn't reflects the effect that society has on an individual in which an individual tends to follow the standards of the majority of society. I think the point the story makes is that an individual is unique for a reason. In this bears case, listening to what the human factory workers thought and the circus and zoo bears, rather than being its own unique self leads to the consequence of suffering in the cold. When the bear comes to the realization that he is who he is and returns to his cave, he is rewarded with warmth and comfort.
I like Olivia's perspective on the story in that it was about staying true to who you no matter the difficulty of the situation that may be faced. I feel as though this point is important to note because with so many options in life, decisions often present an 'easy way out' which in the long run will only lead to problems.
I think that this book was a very good choice as an opener to the class because it portrayed the meaning of the class very well. It showed exactly what you want us to learn in this semester very clearly. Society does have a major impact on everyone's identity and many fall prey to it every day now.
I think the book is really about stereotyping and how society sees people based on their environment and not how they really are. This sterotyping then leads to people losing their own identity and just becoming whatever stereotype they are given.
I thought The Bear That Wasn't was a unique representation of the way today's society often influences individuals. Even if a person believes so strongly in who they are, their beliefs can be changed if everyone around them tells them they're wrong. I believe that the lesson of the book is to stick to believing in who you think you are, and who you should be, no matter what. Clearly it's much easier to give into society, and to accept yourself as the person you're "supposed" to be (just as the bear ended up doing.) However, the end of the story ended up proving that the easy solution is not what will make you happiest. After the bear finally gave in and accepted that he was not a bear, he became very unhappy. He did not gain his satisfaction in life back until he returned to believing he was a bear. This says that we will never be truly happy trying to be someone we know we are not meant to be. For this reason we must be true to ourselves and who we want to be.
I agree with Jojo and her comment about how powerful groups can be. The opinion of many people is very influentual and can cause people to do things that they would never do normally.
I agree with Abbey's point that this story is not only directed towards young children. Although the plot line is presented as a picture book, with a limited number of words on each page, the message is one that is valuable to all ages.
I think that the book, The Bear That Wasn't, showed a good representation of what all of us go through being high schoolers, and that it is important to be able to keep your own identity and not fall into what the people around you believe.
I think thats for people who always is talking about other people like a bad things,when you know is not true is happening to the beer who was not a beer
I mean bear
i was absent on the day everybody read the book i9n class. I think it wed.
This book although short showed a very important lesson throughout it. The idea of keeping your identity when everyone else is telling you something different can be very difficult. It takes a lot of determination, and self respect to go against everyone's opinion if you do not share their's.
I agree with ben that as high schoolers we can relate to what the bear went through in the story.
I was not here for this lesson but am doing it late.I am assuming you wanted me to do it still because you gave me the book.
I thought that the story was able to show how the bear stuck up for himself and his identity. He refused to believe the men that were telling him he was not a bear even though he was outnumbered. Doing something like this can be a struggle and it takes a lot for a person to stick up for what they believe in when others are constantly bringing them down.
I agree with Julias's comment that although someone is in power, that doesn't always make them right. In the story the bear is sure of his identity while the presidents and vice presidents with greater power tell him that he is simply a man that wears a big fur coat and needs a shave.
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