In this week’s blog I will be talking about the short story “The Lottery “ by Shirley Jackson. This story is about a village of people that continues to follow an outdated tradition of “ the lottery “ they use this lottery to choose the person they will stone to death. The elders are all for this old tradition; while the younger people in the village are starting not to like this ceremony. They however continue the ceremony for this time. Link to the story - https://sites.middlebury.edu/individualandthesociety/files/2010/09/jackson_lottery.pdf
I do believe there is some American traditions that share similarities lottery tradition. One of them could be massacres. The USA has a history of having mass shootings. They don't happen as frequently as the lottery in the village but there is a handful of them that have happened over the years. There has been more than a handful of deadly mass shooting. The shootings even date back to 1984. The most recent tradition of massacres in the USA just happened on October first 2017. This shooting that took place in Las Vegas was the deadliest mass shooting the US has ever had. 59 people dead and more than 500 injured. I’m only 18 and lived through so many mass shooting tragedies. One was even the day right after my birth. On September 15, 1999, seven people killed and seven injured, gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire inside a chapel of the Wedgwood Baptist Church. The people inside didn't realize what was happening at first and kept signing their hymns, only after they realized they were under fire they began to dive for the ground. After the gunfire stopped Larry turned the gun on himself. These massacres have prompted american citizens to start fighting over what the government should do about gun laws. Like in the story, the older people don't feel like there should be a change , while the younger people in the village think the tradition ( gun laws ) is outdated and should be stopped. A link to the website about mass shootings - http://timelines.latimes.com/deadliest-shooting-rampages/ A tradition That I decided to break away from was going to church. My whole family is Catholic, so I was raised catholic and was forced to do ccd. I always hated going to ccd and going to church because I was always bored and never understood what the people were talking about. When I got to an age where I could decide if I wanted to go I always opted out. My family was okay with me not going because after awhile they slowly stopped going too. The only person it upset was my nana because she is very religious and goes to church every chance she gets. I never really understood anything that was ever happening in church so I didn't think it was important for me to be there. I still believe in God and a higher being but I don't find it necessary to go to church. I know some people are super religious and if you don't do what they think is right, they will try to push it on you. In my mind religion doesn't matter, whatever or whomever you believe in doesn't determine who you are as a person. So me not going to church shouldn't make me a bad person.
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In this blog I will be talking about the story Ernest Hemingway wrote called Hills like White Elephants. This story takes place in the 1920’s in Spain. There is a couple in a train station waiting for a train. They order alcohol and sit down and talk to each other. Their conversation seems somewhat distant from one another. They start talking about an operation the man wants the women to do. The train they are waiting for would be taking them to this operation. The women seems opposed to this decision. From the context clue in the story you figure out that the couple is talking about an abortion. At the end of the story it seems like the female has made up her mind on what she wants to do. The link to the story - https://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/calabj/298/Hillslikeelephants.pdf
In this blog post I will be talking about “What You Don’t Know” by Lulu Wang. Her story is about her grandmother who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer but everyone in the family except for her knows. The whole family decided that they wouldn't tell the grandmother that she was sick. They thought by telling her she would get so upset that it would speed up her death. Everyone in the family but the writer thought it was the right thing to do. A link to the reading - https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/585/transcript
I did not agree with the families decision to keep the grandmother's illness from her. From my standpoint, if I had a terminal illness I would want to know because then I could try to do everything I ever wanted to and I could get all my ducks in a row. I also would want to have my proper goodbyes to my loved ones. I think that the family was keeping something that most people would want to know. I know that in the long run her grandmother did not die in the three months that was predicted but, that is valuable information that you shouldn't keep from someone. How could you decide what is best for somebody else? Especially with information about their own death/life. I have never made up a lie as big as the family in the story did but I have told many white lies to people in my life to either make them feel better or to lessen the blow of something that could hurt their feelings. I think something super important should be told. I would never lie about something that big or that would have such a big impact on someone's life. The only time I have told a lie that has made an impact on me is when I was little and would lie about very obvious things that weren’t true and I would get in trouble from my parents. I never learned my lesson even though every time I lied I got in trouble. Today I rarely lie and if I do it is only small little white lies.
In this blog post I will be writing about “My Name Is Margaret” by Maya Angelou. This story has to do with Margaret and her boss Mrs. Cullinan. Mrs. Cullinan was an ugly, fat, white women who was racist and mean to her servant Margaret. She would constantly try to change her name to Mary. Margaret hated this and ended up breaking Mrs. Cullinan’s most prized possessions as a way to oppose her authority. A link to the reading - https://davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com/My+Name+is+Margaret
I agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and green cups. I think Mrs. Cullinan deserved to have her favorite dishes broken because she was rude to Margaret and was trying to change her identity without Margaret's consent. Cullinan constantly was putting Margaret down and disrespecting her to the point where Margaret couldn’t take it anymore .Margaret had the right to disobey Mrs. Cullinan by smashing her dishes because it finally got her to call Margaret by her real name. Anytime that I disobey an Authority figure it is usually when what they tell me to do something that I find is unnecessary or not in my values. Most of the time I follow what the Authorities tell me to do because I believe it is easier to follow their commands instead of going against what they say. I know that other people would tell you to fight what you believe is right, I also agree with that, it’s just that I have a hard time standing up for myself in everyday situations where no one is purposely trying to put me down . If someone was actually trying to get me to just follow their rules I would go along with them because I don’t know how to stand up for myself. On the other hand if someone else was being oppressed, I could easily stand up for them and fight, I have an easier time helping others than I do with helping myself. |
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AuthorGabriella D'Ambrosio. Blog posts on English Composition topics Archives
December 2017
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