
Think about every person you laid eyes on today. Now think about every preconceived opinion that escalated to the top of your thoughts the moment you caught glimpse of each one of these individuals. Were these thoughts based on reason or actual experience, or were they solely constructed by outward appearance? Prejudice is defined as a “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.” Prejudice is what was just described above and it happens at an exponentially increasing rate in society today. We are all guilty of the accumulation of prejudice thoughts, however, we must work to decrease these prejudices in order to expose new portals of communication, trust, and opportunity. Instead of completing this task though, society is unremittingly treating prejudices as though they were fact, resulting in apprehension, fear, mistrust, negative profiling and racism. Simon Van Booy addresses these concerns in his short story, “No Greater Gift.” Van Booy’s “No Greater Gift”, specifically pages 72, 73, and 76, depicts the use of descriptive imagery portraying the main character, Gabriel, as a corrupt individual. This portrayal is important because it exemplifies how humanity as a whole is guilty of assuming one’s disposition by one’s manifestation, or in simpler terms, judging a book by its cover. 

The descriptive imagery on page 72 of “No Greater Gift” portrays Gabriel as a shady, corrupt being, illustrating society’s overwhelming prejudice and judgment solely established by physical appearance. Civilians take the subway, and transportation systems similar to the subway every single day. During these commutes, a commute taken by Gabriel in “No Greater Gift”, a flood of prejudices swirl around the heads of travelers who without communication constantly judge, and even come to conclusions regarding one another. The travelers in Booy’s short story “want to know what [Gabriel] is carrying and why he is handling [the package] with such care. They look at the hole in Gabriel’s sneakers. They look at Gabriel’s scar” (72). Through these glances we observe the immediate prejudice the civilians on the subway encompass and how “the hole in Gabriel’s sneakers” (72) or “Gabriel’s scar” (72) influence both negative and racist preconceptions about Gabriel and his background. The civilians are concerned for their safety due to Gabriel’s physical characteristics alone so they never even think to ask Gabriel what he is carrying. This lack of communication and spectacle of prejudice demonstrates how we are guilty of judging a book by its cover, and eliminating communication, trust, and opportunity in the process. In addition, the civilians on the subway “notice [the scar] because it is a lighter shade of brown than the rest of [Gabriel’s] face” (72), suggesting that these preconceived opinions are only circulating due to his race and demographic position. Therefore, Van Booy elucidates that prejudices like these result in negativity, racism, and the wrongful assumption of circumstances being as they seem. This wrongful assumption is the root of the problem; in which civilization is relentlessly assuming one’s disposition by one’s manifestation. 

The descriptive imagery portraying Gabriel as a very corrupt individual on page 73, as well as the imagery used to portray Gabriel on page 76 further demonstrates society’s consistent flaw of judging a book by its cover and assuming before knowing. Circumstances are never as they seem and as a result we, as a civilization, are hidden from the truth of a situation and blinded by what we see rather than what we know. Gabriel, the main character in this short story, “is worried about damaging the contents of [his] box” (76), however, little do we know that the contents of this box are for Gabriel’s son who just turned three. “The boy stares at the cake” (76) in the last paragraph of “No Greater Gift” revealing Gabriel’s true personality and background and at once eliminating all previous preconceived opinions directed at Gabriel. Three pages earlier “Gabriel is being watched by tourists” (73) and “when Gabriel coughs, people bury their heads” (73). The people have no idea that Gabriel is not a corrupt man and that the contents of his box are actually a birthday cake for his sick son. Due to this lack of knowledge and Van Booy’s fantastic descriptive imagery of the situation, we realize the repulsive amount of prejudice not only in the short story but also in real life today. The tourists stare at Gabriel and “when [he] coughs, [they] bury their heads” (73). Here the tourists don’t realize the extreme quantity of not only prejudice but also racism and intolerance they possess. Van Booy represents society as a whole through these tourists since they clearly are ignorant to their misinterpretation of the situation. As a result, the tourists (society) established false prejudices and misconceptions towards another individual (Gabriel). Van Booy illuminates that this prejudice, negativity, and racism towards Gabriel, was only created because the tourists (society) falsely assumed Gabriel was a corrupt individual. The ignorance of the citizens on the subway and the prejudices falsely portraying Gabriel’s character distinctly express people’s assumption of others based entirely on appearances (judging a book by its cover). 

Booy’s “No Greater Gift” alludes to the topic of prejudice, which permeates today’s society. The negativity and racism that results from prejudice are difficult subjects to talk about, but they are subjects that must be openly discussed if they are ever going to be rectified. It is society’s job, our responsibility, to explore this topic, which Booy presents in his story. We should be inspired to instigate new research and start new movements to not only eliminate prejudices, but to also understand the root causes of this problem in order to better prepare ourselves to avoid this issue in the future. No doubt people will say these prejudices, stereotypes, and racisms will always exist in all of us, perhaps because of our exposure to this type of thinking as children. However, if society can minimize or eliminate as much prejudice, negativity, and racism as possible early in life, then the number of children encompassing these preconceived opinions can drastically decrease. Maybe Gabriel’s son will be the first to influence how the human race better approaches circumstances that may...or may not... be as they seem.
