Shame
Shame is defined as "a painful feeling caused by a sense of guilt, shortcoming, impropriety; dishonor or disgrace." This painful emotion can come from either external souces such as the people around us or from internal sources such as our conscience. In the story "Shame," author Dick Gregory describes his experiences with both externally and internally motivated shame.The shame Dick Gregory experiences as a young child was externally motivated shame. Before the incident at Gregory's school, he was innocent and unaware of social differences. He knew he was poor, but he was not really aware how different he was compared to his peers. "I never learned hate at home, or shame. I had to go to school for that." His innocence was replaced by a sense of shame when his teacher humiliated him in front of his class and peers. She disgraced him by pointing out his poverty and his lack of a father, causing him to feel shame for the first time. Gregory describes how shame is all around him, "N
Kids today also feel shame from within themselves, shame motivated by their own consciences. Teens often witness other students being picked on. When they ignore the situation and do not try to stop it, they are left with feelings of guilt. Everytime we see a homeless person begging for food, we feel shame for not helping. Kids today also feel shame and guilt when they make no attempt to include someone who is different, some who is left out. Later in the story, Gregory experiences shame due to his own conscience. Gregory experiences this when he eats in a restaurant next to a wino who has no money. Before Gregory offers to pay for the wino's meal, the owner of the restaurant beats the wino and makes him bleed for his own meal. Gregory realizes how humiliated the wino is and how this is similar to his situation in his school days when his teacher humiliates him. By the time that Gregory offers to pay for the wino's meal, it is too late and he feels internally motivated shame, shame from his own conscience
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 689
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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