--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What characterizes a member of a minority…" description: "\"What characterizes a member of a minority group is that he is forced to see himself as both exceptional and insignificant, marvelous and awful, good an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/norman-mailer-839_awful_what-characterizes-a-member-of-a-minorit_2612719.png" --- # What characterizes a member of a minority group is that he… ![“What characterizes a member of a minority group is that he is forced to see himself as both exceptional and insignificant, marvelous and awful, good and evil.” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/norman-mailer-839_awful_what-characterizes-a-member-of-a-minorit_2612719.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/norman-mailer-839_awful_what-characterizes-a-member-of-a-minorit_2612719.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/norman-mailer-839_awful_what-characterizes-a-member-of-a-minorit_2612719.png) > “What characterizes a member of a minority group is that he is forced to see himself as both exceptional and insignificant, marvelous and awful, good and evil.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minority identity forces contradictory self‑perception, blending extremes of value. **In simple terms:** Minority status creates conflicting self‑views. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity of identity. Themes identity minority psychology Mood introspective critical Type sociological psychological When to use this quote - Education - social activism - personal growth Key Concepts Self‑concept social perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile opposing self‑images? - What role does society play? A Different Perspective Simplifying identity can ignore nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Exceptional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exceptional/) [Forced Exceptional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forced-exceptional-2041966/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Insignificant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant/) [Marvelous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marvelous/) [Member Minority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/member-minority-627026/) [Minority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minority/) [Minority Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minority-group-521751/) ## Related quotes > [If you are a junior member of a minority party - one of 100 people - in the U.S. Senate, what really can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-taylor/if-you-are-a-junior-member-of-a-minority-party-one-of-100-people-in/) [Diana Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-taylor/) > [One of the great difficulties about being a member of a minority race is that so many kindhearted, well-meaning bores gather around to help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/one-of-the-great-difficulties-about-being-a-member-of-a-minority-race/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Isn't it a characteristic of the age we live in that it has made everyone in a way a migrant and a member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amin-maalouf/isn-t-it-a-characteristic-of-the-age-we-live-in-that-it-has-made/) [Amin Maalouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amin-maalouf/) > [“Welcome to the era of Minority Wars. If you’re gay, they’ll ask what your skin color is. If you’re black, they’ll ask if you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/welcome-to-the-era-of-minority-wars-if-you-re-gay-they-ll-ask-what/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [While I don't think Trump wants to target any particular minority group, I understand their fear because he spent many months stoking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/while-i-don-t-think-trump-wants-to-target-any-particular-minority/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [A minority group has 'arrived' only when it has the right to produce some fools and scoundrels without the entire group paying for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-t-rowan/a-minority-group-has-arrived-only-when-it-has-the-right-to-produce/) [Carl T. Rowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-t-rowan/) > [Humor is based on the way a man looks at life's ironies, and being a member of a minority group can certainly be ironic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-russell/humor-is-based-on-the-way-a-man-looks-at-life-s-ironies-and-being-a/) [Nipsey Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-russell/) > [Many things shaped my identity as a young boy: a strong selfworth (something that was instilled in all three Barrowman siblings by our parents),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/many-things-shaped-my-identity-as-a-young-boy-a-strong-selfworth/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [I'm Cuban, so I know for a fact that we are the largest minority group in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ramirez/i-m-cuban-so-i-know-for-a-fact-that-we-are-the-largest-minority-group/) [J. R. Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ramirez/) > [One has to give minority groups a kind of reward, an emotional reward, that it is worthwhile assimilating to this particular majority group. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-elias/one-has-to-give-minority-groups-a-kind-of-reward-an-emotional-reward/) [Norbert Elias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-elias/) > [The relative lack of power of certain minority groups and the fear they're feeling in the wake of Donald Trump's election, I think, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/the-relative-lack-of-power-of-certain-minority-groups-and-the-fear/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [The Khoton people are a small minority group of Mongolians renowned for living a traditional nomad life in the remote slopes and valleys of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cope/the-khoton-people-are-a-small-minority-group-of-mongolians-renowned/) [Tim Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cope/) > [The first of any minority group to do something never has a great time. It is not much fun but it important to realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/the-first-of-any-minority-group-to-do-something-never-has-a-great/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I'm not a member of a minority but I can empathize with what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-vaughn/i-m-not-a-member-of-a-minority-but-i-can-empathize-with-what-s-going/) [Matthew Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-vaughn/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. 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A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. 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