Misinterpreted In Claudia Rankine's Citizen: An American Lyric

Humans are derived to have our own thoughts, opinions and actions. These three things can cause turmoil, love, and anything in between. Though, no one can read each other’s mind, everyone can listen to others opinions. Whether or not one thinks and interprets others opinions or not is entirely up to that person. More often than not people are brought up to be stuck in a bubble of their own opinions, they do not branch out of their comfort zone and see what others see. Instead they conform to their own thoughts and miss out at an entirely new perspective on life. This can also cause a turmoil between people and groups. Actions, however, can be read but, also be misinterpreted. Citizen: An American Lyric, written by Claudia Rankine, exposes the reader to think about how actions, thoughts, and opinions can influence and affect different groups or different people. It challenges …show more content…
The story begins by giving background information about someone who travels very often. This person decides to take the window seat because they boarded early. A mother and her child arrive and see that there is someone sitting in the row and then the mother says, “I’ll sit in the middle,” (Rankine 12). As a young child, it is often intimidating to sit next to a stranger. As you are growing up you have sharp voices warning you over and over that strangers are dangerous. This action that many parents are guilty of, cause a social problem with in their children. Parents often have a lot of influence on how their child thinks and reacts to certain situations. A parent may give in to the fact that their children may not want to sit next to a stranger, but what they should do is force them out of their comfort zone and challenge them. Although the child may feel uncomfortable during this time, they may not feel uncomfortable the next time they have to sit next to a