essay 4 - Justin Kucera jukucera@umich.edu English 125.059 Essay 4 Comparison December 6th 2010 Comparing Big and Bad to My Body My Weapon My shame In

Justin Kucera: [email protected] . edu English 125 . 059 Essay 4: Comparison December 6 th 2010 Comparing “Big and Bad” to “My Body My Weapon My shame” In Elwood Reid’s essay “My Body, My Weapon, My Shame” he discusses his life as a college football star . He outlines the events that took place on the field, the events that took place off the field, and most importantly how he was feeling during his college career . Malcolm Gladwell’s essay “Big and Bad” seems to be entirely different . He discusses the SUV boom and why he believes they have become so popular . Although these essays are entirely different genres, one can see that the main points in Gladwell’s essay are illuminated by Reid in his essay; they give the reader a view inside human thinking . The main point in “Big and Bad” is that to people, feeling safe is more important than actually being safe . Gladwell shows us this by using a lens of the SUV boom . In “My Body, My Weapon, My Shame” Reid shows us that this is entirely true . For Reid, the term ‘safe’ is not actually about being physically safe . Reid wants to actually belong . He feels safe when he belongs . He wanted to belong to the players, coaches, and his father . “I couldn’t tell them that I didn’t care who won the Super Bowl, that what really mattered to me was books … I knew I had to keep that part of me hidden and let the scouts and coaches see the bright-eyed athlete they wanted to see” (Reid 2) . Reid wants to belong, he wants to fit in and be who they want him to be because it is the safe thing to do . He is very cautious about what he lets people know because he