In Hills Like White Elephants (Ernest Hemingway) an American couple, with a lot on their mind, decide to have a beer while waiting for their train in Spain. The woman keeps referring to the hills in the distance as “white elephants”. The two beginning to have a discussion about a “perfectly simple” operation, which we believe to be an abortion. The short story ends with them still waiting for the train and very unclear of how things are left between them. In this blog post I will write about how I believe the book ended. I will also reflect on a time when I had to chose to either stay or leave.
At the end of the short story the man asks the woman if she feels any better. The woman responded “There is nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” I believe that this tells readers that she is leaving the man and keeping the baby. By her saying nothing is wrong with her it is hinting at the fact that having the baby will not make something wrong with her. Throughout the story there are many hints to the woman wanting to keep the baby. She is very optimistic calling the hills elephants or how she references the things around her. When the man mentions an “operation” the girl looks down at the ground and avoids making eye contact with him. Which shows that she does not want to be having this conversation. Another reason I believe the woman leaves the relationship because it is very evident that the man does not want what is best for her. He keeps telling her to have a “simple” operation and saying how they well be so happy after it is done. He continues to reference the baby as the only thing that has made them unhappy. After further discussion he tells the woman “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it.” To me he is trying to down play the seriousness of the operation and persuade her into doing it. It is clear that the man does not want the baby because it will completely change their lives. He is used to traveling together and drinking with her, but with a child those fun adventures seem impossible. Throughout their argument it shows that the mans view will not change and he only wants what is best for himself, which allows the woman to leave him.
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What You Don't Know (Lulu Wang) is about a difficult situation and how a Chinese family deals with it. Lulu Wang is out in a hard decision on whether to lie with her family. Nainai, her grandmother, has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and is believed to only have three months or less to live. The family decides not to tell her because it is believed that mental and emotional health is linked to physical health, so not telling her will prolong her life. Lulu Wang is conflicted with keeping the secret and lying. I will give my opinion in this blog about how the Wang family handled this difficult decision and about a time I was faced with a difficult decision.
Throughout the podcast my view on lying to Nainai changed. At first, I felt that it was very wrong to not tell Nainai about her diagnoses because I think I would want to know if I had only a few months to live. In China, the doctors believe to disclose bad medical results to the patient’s family instead of the patients themselves. Chinese culture believes in chongxi which translates to you can wash away misfortune with joy. Her family believed that not telling her would give her longer to live. By the end of the podcast I agreed to them not telling Nainai about her health. Nainai ended up living for three more years with the cancer and remained healthy. It is believed to be related to the fact that her mental health never declined since the family never told her about the cancer. Lulu Wang also reveals that Nainai did the same thing to her husband; not telling him of his sickness. Her action is what really changed my opinion. Nainai lying and doing the same thing to a loved one shows that she is fine with lying about illness to protect mental health. I understand their choice to lie to Nainai about her illness to keep her happy. It is very difficult to find something that made a big impact on someone’s life that I lied or told the truth about. After hours of thinking I finally settled on a time where I told a difficult truth. Life was not partially nice growing up in my life. My mother struggled with drugs and bad men for a majority of my childhood. There were many occasions when food and heat were slim to none. Being the oldest sibling of three, I had to make a very hard decision on whether to speak up and say something to my grandmother or aunt for help. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally decided to reach for help. Telling a mother that their child has been facing a difficult battle of drugs is hard thing to do. At first my grandmother chose not to believe it even when all the signs were there. I had to remind her about the countless times she had to buy us clothes for school or filling our red kitchen cabinets with food. I also chose to get my aunt involved as it would be easier to help my Grand mom come to terms of something needs to be done. We all decided to have an intervention and sit my mother down and tell her how we feel and how things need to be changed. As hard as that time and day of the meeting was, I am glad I did it. It was what was needed to be done and helped my family in the long run. My mom sought help and started going to meetings. She is now a home owner and engaged to finally a decent man who doesn’t treat her like a punching bag. My brother and I are both grown now and currently check in to make sure everything is well. We both love seeing how well our younger brother is taken care of and provided for. He is finally getting the childhood he deserves. I do not regret my difficult decision one bit. Introduction:
In this blog I will shed light on my thoughts about My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou). The story is about Margaret, a young servant girl, to an older rich white woman. It takes place in the south during segregation. She was treated poorly and decided to take a stand. At the crucial scene, Margaret breaks an important casserole dish and two green coffee cups belonging to her employer, Mrs. Cullinan. The dishes were special to Mrs. Cullinan because they were passed down from generation to generation in her family. Margaret chose to break these three specific items because they are so valuable to Mrs. Cullinan just like Margaret’s name is valuable to her. Mrs. Cullinan said to Miss Glory, the other housekeeper, “That’s too long, She’s Mary from now on” (Angelo). Mrs. Cullinan is showing that people are still racist and is renaming Margaret for her convenience. She shows us the power she has over Miss Glory and Margaret. Mrs. Cullinan continued to call Margaret by the wrong name until Margaret could no longer take it anymore. To stand up for herself and her self-worth, Margaret chose to break the dishes. “I picked up the casserole and two green glass cup sin readiness. As she rounded the kitchen door I let them fall on the tiled floor” (Angelo). The smashing of the cups was a symbol of Margaret’s patience snapping. Margaret was fed up with being treated less then she deserved. I agree with Margaret’s decision in breaking the dishes and standing up for her rights. A time I decided to refuse an authority figure would be when I was in elementary school. The fifth graders were talking about dying their hair before the famous camping trip. When the principle caught wind of this he made an announcement. Anyone who decided to dye or spray their hair would no longer be allowed on the trip. In fear that we would miss out, no one color sprayed their hair. Instead, we decided to do it at the end of the year. Some friends and I decided that no one had the authority to tell us how we should look besides ourselves. My mother’s words ran through my head “Always take a stand for what you believe in.” So, on one of the last full school days at the end of the year we met up at a certain house and colored our hair pink and green. As soon as we hit the courtyard we got pulled aside by the aids and sent to the principal’s office. He gave us the option of having the nurse wash out your hair and go to class or get a phone call home and get sent home. We all chose to call our parents. My mother arrived and was not angry with me at all. She was glad I stood up for myself and my beliefs. On the bright side, we got a free day off from school. |
victoria KuonenI will write in this blog for my English Composition class. Archives
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