Identity and labels are a big part of society and defining who each other are, but what happens when a label consumes someone's identity? Andy is in a gang called the Royals and the Royals have a rivalry with another gang named the Guardians. One night Andy leaves a party to buy a pack of cigarettes and on the trip to the corner store Andy gets stabbed by a member of the guardians. In the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” by Evan Hunter, the protagonist, Andy, demonstrates the theme don't let labels define you. This theme is demonstrated when Andy is stabbed in the alley, once Andy starts trying to get help, and when Andy takes his jacket off.
Andy, who is apart of a gang called the Royals, decided to leave a party to purchase a pack …show more content…
Andy no longer wants to be a member of the royals, being a royal is what got him stabbed. As a final attempt to take back his own identity Andy decided to take off the purple jacket. With all the strength Andy could muster he took off his jacket. The jacket did not mean anything to Andy anymore. The jacket is what had taken his life. Shortly after Andy had taken the jacket off he passed away, the jacket laying only a few feet away from him. Once police arrived the jacket still labeled Andy as a royal. The cop who wrote the report “took out his black pad” and then “flipped it open to a blank page “ a royal” he said. Then he began writing”(Hunter, 7). Even then, even after the jacket was taken off, Andy was not seen as Andy, he was seen as a royal.
In conclusion, Andy let the jacket define him. The royals became his Identity and then his Identity was taken from him. Andy makes evident that the theme, don't let labels define you, is clearly show in “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” by Evan Hunter. This short story has impacted me by giving an example of how a material object can take over a life. “On the sidewalk bleeding” by Evan Hunter, gave a real world example of how a certain label can give someone a bad reputation and it can cause harm. The lesson I learned from the story has shown me to not let an object define me or label me, only I should label
Andy, who is apart of a gang called the Royals, decided to leave a party to purchase a pack …show more content…
Andy no longer wants to be a member of the royals, being a royal is what got him stabbed. As a final attempt to take back his own identity Andy decided to take off the purple jacket. With all the strength Andy could muster he took off his jacket. The jacket did not mean anything to Andy anymore. The jacket is what had taken his life. Shortly after Andy had taken the jacket off he passed away, the jacket laying only a few feet away from him. Once police arrived the jacket still labeled Andy as a royal. The cop who wrote the report “took out his black pad” and then “flipped it open to a blank page “ a royal” he said. Then he began writing”(Hunter, 7). Even then, even after the jacket was taken off, Andy was not seen as Andy, he was seen as a royal.
In conclusion, Andy let the jacket define him. The royals became his Identity and then his Identity was taken from him. Andy makes evident that the theme, don't let labels define you, is clearly show in “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” by Evan Hunter. This short story has impacted me by giving an example of how a material object can take over a life. “On the sidewalk bleeding” by Evan Hunter, gave a real world example of how a certain label can give someone a bad reputation and it can cause harm. The lesson I learned from the story has shown me to not let an object define me or label me, only I should label