The dangers of preconceived judgement:
look beyond stereotypes

People often say “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, and it holds true in many aspects of life. We are all
guilty of making snap judgements about others based on their appearance, actions or even just a brief
encounter. But have you ever wondered why it’s important not to judge someone before getting to know
them? Do you ever consider that?
[5]   Imagine that you are at a party and, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a person with a unique
hairstyle and an outfit that screams “fashion forward”. Your brain, always ready for action, instantly springs
into snap judgement mode. “They must be an avant-garde artist or a fashion model”, it enthusiastically
proclaims. This is thin slice judgement! It refers to the action of making lightning-fast judgements based
on minimal information. An example is when you are at a job interview, and the person in the hot seat
[10]   glances at your handwriting before making a quick assessment of your personality. It sounds ludicrous,
but our brain has a way of magnifying minor details and turning them into grand narratives. As amusing
as it may seem, such judgements can have real-life consequences.
While snap judgements can provide an amusing story to share at parties, they can perpetuate stereotypes,
reinforce biases and limit our ability to see the true beauty in diversity. Instead of jumping to conclusions,
[15]   it’s better to lean into curiosity. Ask questions, seek out diverse perspectives and recognize that everyone
has a unique story to tell. By embracing our inquisitive nature, we can uncover the richness of human
experiences and challenge our own biases.
Empathy is the secret weapon against prejudice. To truly understand someone, you must put yourself in
their shoes and see the world through their eyes. Actually, prejudice is when we form an opinion or make
[20]   assumptions about someone without having all the facts. It’s like trying to write a book review after only
reading the first chapter. We should strive to give people a fair chance before passing judgement. Besides,
it’s essential to remember that nobody is perfect, and we should embrace diversity instead of assuming
we’re always right. Rather than acting as self-appointed judges, we should approach people with empathy
and understanding.
[25]   Practicing self-compassion and recognizing our own imperfections can help us show more compassion
towards others. Harsh judgement can stem from a variety of factors, such as insecurity, fear or simply our
own experiences and biases, but it’s okay, we’ve all been there! What’s important is to take a step back and
reflect on why we are quick to judge. And, if we always do that, it’s time to think outside the box.

PATRICK TURNER
Adaptado de appgecet.co.in.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

No texto a seguir, são apresentados três fragmentos da narrativa ficcional “The curious case of
Benjamin Button”. Cada um relata um momento da vida peculiar do personagem principal.

Young Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were fifty years ahead of style when they decided, one day in the
summer of 1860, that their first baby should be born in a hospital. This was their first experience with the
charming old custom of having babies – Mr. Button was naturally nervous. He hoped it would be a boy so
that he could be sent to Yale College in Connecticut.
[5] On the September morning consecrated to the enormous event, he arose nervously at six o’clock, dressed
himself, adjusted an impeccable stock, and hurried forth through the streets of Baltimore to the hospital,
to determine whether the darkness of the night had borne in new life upon its bosom.
A nurse was sitting behind a desk in the opaque gloom of the hall. Swallowing his shame, Mr. Button
approached her.
[10] “Good-morning. I – I am Mr. Button. I want to see my child.”
At this a look of utter terror spread itself over the girl’s face. She rose to her feet and seemed about to
fly from the hall, restraining herself only with the most apparent difficulty. “Oh – of course!”, she cried
hysterically. “Upstairs. Right upstairs. Go – up!”
Wrapped in a voluminous white blanket, and partly crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man
[15] apparently about seventy years of age. His sparse hair was almost white, and from his chin dripped a long
smoke-coloured beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze coming in at the
window.
“Am I mad?”, thundered Mr. Button, his terror resolving into rage. “Is this some ghastly hospital joke?”
“It doesn’t seem like a joke to us”, replied the nurse severely. “And I don’t know whether you’re mad or
[20] not – but that is most certainly your child.”
“You’ll have to take him home,” insisted the nurse – “immediately!”
*
Benjamin, once he left the hospital, took life as he found it. But one day a few weeks after his twelfth
birthday, while looking in the mirror, Benjamin made, or thought he made, an astonishing discovery. Did
his eyes deceive him, or had his hair turned in the dozen years of his life from white to iron-gray under
[25] its concealing dye? Was the network of wrinkles on his face becoming less pronounced? Was his skin
healthier and firmer, with even a touch of ruddy winter colour? He could not tell. He knew that he no
longer stooped, and that his physical condition had improved since the early days of his life. The process
was continuing. There was no doubt of it – he looked now like a man of thirty. Instead of being delighted,
he was uneasy – he was growing younger.
*
[30] The days flowed on in monotonous content. He went back a third year to the kindergarten, but he was
too little now to understand what the bright shining strips of paper were for. He cried because the other
boys were bigger than he, and he was afraid of them. The teacher talked to him, but though he tried to
understand, he could not understand at all. 

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Adaptado de The curious case of Benjamin Button. Victoria, BC: Mint Editions, 2018 [1922].

Leia o texto a seguir para responder à questão.

Read Your Way Through Salvador

By Itamar Vieira Junior and translated by Johnny Lorenz. July 19, 2023.

I was born in Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, and lived in the general vicinity until I reached the age of 15. But it was when I left that I really came to know my city. How was I able to discover more about my birthplace while traveling far from home? It might sound rather clichéd but, I assure you, literature made this possible: It took me on a journey, long and profound, back home, enveloping me in words and imagination.

To understand the formation of our unique society and, consequently, the cityscape of Salvador, one should read, before anything else, "The Story of Rufino: Slavery, Freedom and Islam in the Black Atlantic," by João José Reis, Flávio dos Santos Gomes and Marcus J.M. de Carvalho. Rufino was an alufá, or Muslim spiritual leader, born in the Oyo empire in present-day Nigeria and enslaved during his adolescence. "The Story of Rufino" is an epic tale, encapsulating the life of one man in search of freedom as well as the history of the development of Salvador itself, a place inextricably linked with the diaspora across the Black Atlantic. Another book for which I have deep affection is "The City of Women," by the American anthropologist Ruth Landes. It offers an intriguing perspective, focusing on matriarchal power in candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian sacred practice, and revealing how the social organization of its spiritual communities reverberates across the city.

If you want to feel the intensity of life on the streets of Salvador, these two books, both by Amado, are indispensable: "Captains of the Sands" and "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands." The first is a coming-of-age story in which we follow a group of children and adolescents living on the streets and on the beaches around the Bay of All Saints. Written more than 80 years ago, the book was banned and even burned in the public square during the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in the first half of the 20th century. As a portrait of Salvador, it is still relevant and reveals our deep inequalities. "Dona Flor and her Two Husbands" is one of Amado's most popular novels, translated into more than 30 languages and adapted many times for theater, cinema, and television. The book is a kind of manifesto for a woman's liberation. Dona Flor possesses great culinary talent, and oppressed by a patriarchal society, finds herself divided between two men, one being her deceased husband. While the novel captures the daily life of the city in the 1940s, it is also a wonderful guide to the cuisine of Salvador, with its African and Portuguese influences.

I invite readers to travel into the interior of Bahia, many hours by car from Salvador to the region known as the Sertão, whose name translates loosely to "backwoods." Two books can also transport you there, and they are sides of the same story: "Backlands: The Canudos Campaign," by Euclides da Cunha, and "The War of the End of the World," by Mario Vargas Llosa.

"Backlands" is one of the most important works in the history of Brazilian literature. It is a journalistic telling that introduces us not only to the brutal War of Canudos, but also to the intriguing landscape of the Sertão, a place so full of contradictions. In his writing of the conflict, da Cunha tells the story of the genesis of the tough sertanejo: a mythic, cowboyesque figure of the drought-stricken, lawless interior. "The War of the End of the World" is an essential epic that amplifies the narrative of "Backlands," bringing a more imaginative, creative aspect to the story of Antônio Conselheiro, the spiritual leader of a rebellion, and of the multitude that followed him to their deaths.

[Fonte: "Read Your Way Through Salvador". In: The New York Times, 19/07/2023, .Adaptado, Data de acesso: 01/09/2023.]

Responda a questão com base nas tirinhas a seguir:

Fonte: https://www.peanuts.com/about/charlie-brown. Acessado em: 25.09.0223

Responda à questão abaixo com base na tirinha a seguir:

Fonte: https://www.thequint.com/neon/fun/10-times-calvin-and-hobbesgot-adulting-101-on-point. Acessado em: 06.04.0223