The development of a person's identity is often influenced by the perceptions of the people around them. The novel Does My Head Look Big in This (2005) by Randa Abdel-Fattah explores how the beginning of discovering one's identity leads to a personal journey that can be plagued by judgments from one's surroundings. Prejudice often arises from misconceptions about what an individual actually believes. Abdel-Fattah suggests that a person's identity should not be judged based on their traditional culture or stereotypes associated with their religion or gender as this can have terrible effects on the individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Prejudice occurs as a result of misconceptions about someone's beliefs, culture, or gender. In the novel, people have a negative perception of Islam due to the media and personal lack of understanding towards Muslims. This prejudice leads the main protagonist, Amal, to suffer from Islamophobic views and discrimination, as demonstrated by her hesitation to openly discuss things with her friend through colloquial language “I'm worried she'll think, Oh, typical crazy Muslims. Locking girls up at home” (p. 281). Colloquial language has been used here to create a conversational tone for readers to connect and think about these issues happening. [AN1] This problem of cultural and religious prejudice is further highlighted when the bus driver turns up the volume as the radio declares the imperative “Australians are under threat of attack by these people armed with the Koran” (p. 152. ). The metaphorical term “taking up the Quran” conveys to readers the misconception that Muslims use the Quran as a weapon to attack Australians. Throughout the novel, the reader is shown the theme of adolescent insecurities and the standards of social norms. Simone's character's fear of fitting in and insecurity can be linked to all the stories we hear of young teenagers taking their own lives simply because they didn't feel like they fit in or because they believed they weren't good enough. . Simone experiences what most teenage girls experience at some point at that age. He struggles with the main insecurities of the body while continuing to prepare a “New diet” page 41 “every week” page 42. He believes he is overweight, even though no one else seems to see it. "Simone is incredibly body conscious... truly voluptuous, curvy and gorgeous with blue eyes, creamy, radiant skin and lips..." page. 42. The use of descriptive language challenges the audience to think about the beauty standards they are used to meet acceptable social norms. This is further explored through Josh's character when he references the model in the magazine "She's about to break in two, break in two...you could sneeze in another suburb...she'd fall on her face..." pg. 118. Her character conveys the idea of ​​our social norms with the use of hyperbole to emphasize that women/girls do not have to change their body image to be perfect, they are perfect for who they are. This feeling of extreme insecurity and the need to conform to society's norms can be linked to the daily life of an average teenager. In most cases, individuals are dissatisfied with who they really are and attempt to adopt a new identity to feel like they belong to a community. Their thoughts are often influenced by other opinions even if they are entirely.