Your assignment is to post two comments about your reading so far, and to respond to two other students’ comments.Your post must include parenthetical documentation and quotes from the text to back up your comments.Your responses should add to the discussion.Do no just say “I agree” or “I never thought of that.”You may indeed think these things, but you should add to that comment with your thoughts, and perhaps a question back to the original poster.
Here is a sample of what your post could look like.You do not have to write a post about the same subject that I wrote about here (in fact you shouldn’t); this is just an example.I want your observations, not mine.What I’d like you to do is copy the form.Make sure that you include quotes from the text and that you provide a page number so that your peers can look up the quote.I understand that you may have different copies of the texts, but a page number will get you close, especially if you include a chapter number.
Fast Food Nation example:
Chapter 5 – “Food Product Design”
I have always been wild about McDonald’s french fries, a singular guilty pleasure, so I was pleased to see that “James Beard loved McDonald’s fires” (119) also.He is one of the best chefs in the world, so if he loves them it must be okay.Except that it turns out we have all been duped.I always thought that they took some cut-up potatoes, threw them in oil, sprinkled on the salt and voila!Apparently there was never anything “natural” about them.First they fried them in “93 percent beef tallow.” (120)Beef tallow!?!If I were a vegetarian I think I’d be pretty upset.It’s not that they used meat fat, I’ve fried plenty of things in bacon grease, but that they never said that is what they were doing.
Then they quit doing that but needed to make them taste like meat, so they added “natural flavor” (120) to them which turns out to be not so natural.Both natural and artificial flavors are “ man-made additives that give most processed food most of its taste.” (120)What??This makes me so angry that corporations misuse the English language in this way.So, if I go to the grocery store and buy organic chicken or vegetables does that mean organic as in hasn’t been messed with by anyone?Or does it mean they’ve created organic compounds in a factory in New Jersay and injected them into the chicken?Can I trust anything that comes from a source outside of my backyard?
I also appreciate how the author built his argument starting with the history behind the fries, looking at the changes McDonald’s made and then widening the argument to other foods that we eat by looking at the additives that are in other foods (120-121)It helped me to understand just how widespread the problem really is.
"Thousands of nearly identical houses-the architectural equivalent of fast food-covering the prairie without the slightest respect for its natural forms." (page 60) "In many ways Colorado Springs is what Los Angeles was 50 years ago-a mecca for the disenchanted middle class." "A glimpse of the future." (page 61) I realize that this will only count as one post I just wanted to comment on both quotes.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I thought that this book, "Fast Food Nation" would simply tell me not to eat fast food and that it is bad for your health. I have no doubt that I will read about that in the future. However, I am beginning to realize why the word "nation" is in the title. Architecture, business, food, advertising, marketing, cars, Americanism, Fordism, are all interconnected with the fast food industry. Whether fast food was inspired by fordism, copied or similar to architecture, it is related. Overall, I just find it amazing that cars, fordism, and fast food can have such a profound impact on the Nation.
Which leads me to the next quote. Colorado Springs is a nice place to be, TODAY, with the FUTURE to look forward to. Well, won't Colorado become just as disenchanting as Los Angeles in the FUTURE? I think so. Therefore, while moving here and there is a temporary solution, I really believe that eventually the whole nation will be like the Los Angeles that the author describes. We will have mass-produced, assembly line streets, food, houses, cars, etc. I think it is sad, because in a pessimistic view, the future doesn't look to good. Which is also something that I have found the author does really well, he illustrates the "progress" through the years, mostly through the success or failures of fast food.
Dylan Moss
Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction that you did to the book. I simply had no idea how much everything is connected in our nation. The more that I learn about Ford, the more I see just how profoundly he affected the country. I keep thinking of the extremes Huxley showed in BNW with the worship of Ford, and I'm not very optimistic.
My question is: Is it too late to stop it? I am very afraid of the answer.
Fast Food Nation Chapter 10
ReplyDeleteI have a confession to make, I am a McDonalds' junkie. My favorite McDonalds is the one in the Walmart right here in Zephyrhills. Trust me, I've tried many others. This one gets my order right almost every time. Two double hamburgers, plain, add bacon "Make It Bacon" (pg. 241), and a medium Coke.
According to the stastics "one-quarter of all American children are now overweight or obese" (pg. 240). They came up with this fact by comparing the rising "consumption of fast food" (pg. 240) and the "increasing sedentary" (pg. 240) life style of Americans. Well I'm 5'11", weigh 120lbs, and i play video games. I eat at McDonalds at least once a week. I'm guessing I'm not in that one-quarter percentage. Sometimes it's easier to blame others for your medical condition, instead of blaming yourself. The fast food restaurants entice you but ultimately it's up to you to decide to eat there. Get a grip on yourself and control your own cravings. As for me, I haven't had dinner yet so i'm thinking McDonalds.
Sky Strader
Sky,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that it is up to the individual as to what she puts in her mouth. I am continually appalled by the people who sue a restaurant because they have become obese, or spilled a hot beverage on themselves.
However, there are many children who are too young to know the dangers of fast food, and whose parents don't exert the proper supervision.
But the bigger problem, which Dylan alluded to earlier, is the effect that fast food restaurants have on our agricultural businesses, politics, and economy. It is a far bigger issue than just what you or I decide to eat.
By the way, I have always loved McDonald's fries - they are my absolute favorite...my daughter, however, who is a vegetarian, felt that their nondisclosure of the meat products used to produce them was less than honest. And I'm not too thrilled myself to find out that I'm eating chemicals when I thought I was eating potatoes.
Mrs. Anderson
The very first sentence in the “Glass Castle” goes like this: “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster”(3). I was so shocked because imagine being in your car, thinking normal things, when behold! There’s your mother in the dumpster, looking for who knows what. If that happened to me I would probably deny having parents. If people asked, I’d say “Parents? What are you talking about? I was made in a test tube!” I know one shouldn’t feel ashamed of their parents, but there are limits, and such a fine line that should never be crossed.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that really amazed me was something that Jeanette’s mom said. She stated “‘It’s sort of the city’s (New York) fault [that I’m homeless],’ Mom told me. ‘They make it too easy to be homeless. If it was really unbearable, we’d do something different.’” (264) don’t you think that what she’s saying is wrong? I mean, the city spends millions of dollars a year to try to help these people and in the end that’s all she has to say? That it’s the city’s fault that they’re this way? So, my question is this: Should the city give so much money to the homeless, or not? In my opinion, if all the homeless think like Jeanette’s mom, they don’t deserve a single penny. I don’t know though, what do you guys think?
Stephanie Schlageter
In “Branded”, Quart states that “companies feign ignorance about the rising rates of credit card debt among the very young, that those under twenty-five are now the fastest-growing group filing for bankruptcy. In blatant disregard for youth consumer debt, financial-services companies now create teenage-oriented credit and cash cards.” (4) When I read this my jaw literally hit the ground. So it is because of these stupid companies that this world is falling in little pieces to the ground. Also, the author says that magazines such as Teen People, Teen Vogue, and Elle Girl are “the training wheels of the glossies, [which] prepare girls and boys for the day when they will move on to People, Vogue, and Elle.” (4). So, companies produce these magazines to make teens, who don’t know better and who don’t realize that they are slowly being brainwashed, addicted and in the end, when they grow up, they’ll keep on reading the stupid magazine, which in turn promotes expensive labels of clothes, jewelry, etc, which we then buy. By having children and teenagers read these magazines, and giving us credit cards to buy what they show to be the 'In' thing, companies make sure that they’ll have customers and therefore money for at least 50 more years. This makes me really mad because if you think about it, by making teenagers want to have all these clothes and look like the people in the magazines we are speedily becoming a nation that only cares about material things, and nothing more. Plus never forget the lack of originality that's becoming so obvious. Everyone wants to look like that hot new actress or model, never themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn reality though, I say all these things, but I am one of the very first to go shopping for Hollister, or forever 21, Nike, etc. I know that I am helping the enemy, but I just can’t help it because as we all know, it helps boost our image. Who doesn’t feel like that, and do you think it’s wrong or not? A part of me feels that it is very wrong indeed what all these blood-sucking companies are doing, but then, the other part of me says, “What’s wrong with a little luxury?” So, what do you think? Should we not care about our image, and stop buying brands, or just give in and let companies do as they like?
Stephanie Schlageter
Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised you just realized that the future is not going to be really good. Haven’t you read “Brave New World”? For a long time, I have seen how forests slowly recede and factories, fast-food places and buildings spring up instead. I don’t even think that we’ll actually get to see too much of the future. If you think about it, once all the trees are gone carbon dioxide will build up and in the end, we’ll all die. I think it’s really sad because to me this earth is the most beautiful place in the universe. We have water, which makes beautiful plants, and animals, and it’s just so awesome. To answer Mrs. Anderson, I don’t think we can stop it. Yes, it is true that there are a lot of people who are trying to stop all the destruction that is still to come, but in the end, there are way too many others who only think about themselves outnumbering the ones who want to help. I think our only chance is to move to mars or to another universe? Who’s with me?
By the way, the last blog, which was a response to Dylan´s blog and talked about "Brave New World", and moving to mars was made by Stepanie Schlageter. Sorry about that!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Glass Castle
ReplyDeleteIII Welch
As I keep reading The Glass Castle, I get angrier and angrier at the parents. The dad never can keep a job and eventually “had taken to disappearing for days at a time… his explanations [of where he was] were either so vague or improbable” (171) The rest of the time or what he was probably really doing is getting drunk at a bar, and when Jeannette “… at thirteen [years-old], the head of the household.” (209) he asked her for “Just five dollars.” (209) What did he want the money for? “Beer and cigarettes.” (209), but since she “had a soft spot for him… [that] he was taking advantage of...”(209) she forked over the money feeling guilty that she could be spending it on “two days worth of food”. (209) although the dad was pretty bad, the mom was worse. The mom sits around all day painting and writing books that nobody buys, basically just a waste of time. This is what she did rather than using her “[teaching] degree” (73) that she uses as a last resort. Near the end of her second teaching year she had a “complete meltdown” (207), and the daughter thought to herself “It was hard for me to believe that this woman with her head under the blankets, feeling sorry for herself and boohooing lake a five-year-old, was my mother.” (208) The one time the children don’t help the mom with her work she screws it up, and possibly lost her job. Right now I have more respect for the town whore, in the author’s words, “It put chicken on the table.” (163) Lastly, on top of all that is her selfishness that she doesn’t feel guilty hogging a “huge family-sized Hershey” (174) bar while her children starve. If they could at least keep a job, like the whore, they might not be living in such bad conditions.
Philipp Groh
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea, before I read the book, how pervasive marketing to children and young adults is. Needless to say, I'm appalled.
I do think that people are much too concerned with what we "have" than in what we "are." Do I see an easy answer to getting away from it in our consumer/capitalistic society? No, but I do hope that more young people start to see through the marketing that is just a ploy for the companies to make more money, and concentrate their money where it will do some good.
Mrs. Anderson
Philipp,
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not feeling angry with her parents. My family is from West Virginia, and I can recognize the poverty from which she comes. It isn't at all pretty, and although I never knew anyone as badly off as she is, I did once visit a house that was very similar. It scared me with it's decrepitude; I'd never seen anything like it.
One thing you'll notice if you ever drive through Appalachia, is the rundown houses with satellite dishes attached, and some sort of appliance on the front porch. Can't live without T.V. Not everyone in this world has the same priorities.
Mrs. Anderson
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI believe you are right about the companies marketing to teenagers, but in the end it's still our decision to buy from them. When people think back to their high school days in twenty years, they aren't going to remember you for what clothes you wore; they are going to remember your personality and what you accomplished. It is sad to think that some people judge other people by the cost of their clothes. I shop at Wal-mart and Beall's when they are having a sale for my clothes. I don't know about you but I think I look pretty awesome on "Plaid Thursday."
Sky Strader
Philipp,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read The Glass Castle, I was bewildered that anyone could have the mentality that the parents had. How could anyone not try to make their life easier? Even something as easy as holding their job is too challenging for them. They only seem to make an effort if life is at its complete worst for them. Once their life gets better they stop caring again. Parts of this book did make me angry, but I was mostly confused.
Sky Strader
Fast Food Nation Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteOk, think back to when you were a child. You're shopping with your mom, you're bored, antsy, and starving. Where does mom go to? Why where else but the King of "playlands" (47), McDonalds. You would get a Happy Meal, mom gets coffee and then you enter Utopia. "Seesaws, slides, and pits full of plastic balls" (47) and best of all other kids to play with. Mom relaxes and you go wild.
Now lets go back to that Happy Meal. Three piece chicken nuggets, small fry, small coke and of course the toy! The very best part. What movie for kids was coming up? What toy on the market was hot? Not only did we children collect the toys, but my dad like "many adult collectors" (48) collected the Hot Wheel Cars Series. When I was cleaning out my dresser drawers last year, I came across a complete Inspector Gadget McDonalds' toy. Amazing that I still have that. Whoever came up with the idea that there should be toys with Kids Meals was a genius. These cheap to manufacture items bring in kids by the thousands. They want to get the whole set so they continuously come back to get them. Brilliant strategy by the McDonalds Corporation.
Sky Strader
The Glass Castle – III Welch
ReplyDelete“‘But Mom, that ring could get us a lot of food.’”
“‘That’s true, but it could also improve my self-esteem. At times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food.’” (Pg. 186)
Self-esteem? Wait… Self-esteem?? SELF-ESTEEM??!!!!
I don’t understand how she can think about something like improving her self-esteem when she got a chance to actually do something about how they are living. The diamond could be the answer to all their problems! Does she not see that?! How can she just act like that? How cruel! Argh! I am so mad at her!!!
There are lots of things she can do with the money that will bring happiness to her children. Lots and lots!!! For example, like Jeannette said, they will be able to buy food. And that will put a stop to: picking through the trashcan at school (Pg.173), eating nothing but popcorn for three days (Pg. 187), stealing food from other people’s house and getting caught and then having to suffer the consequences like Brain had to (Pg. 68). (I can’t believe that the neighbor made him eat the entire jar of pickles that he tried to steal as a punishment. If I saw a little boy stealing food from my house I would give him more food to take home. How can people be so mean?)
Also, they will be able to buy clothes. And that will put a stop to: Jeannette having to wear coats that don’t have any buttons and getting made fun of (Pg. 139), wearing hand-me-down’s that’s beyond fixing (Pg. 45). And Jeannette will have more than three dresses to her name (Pg. 140).
In addition, they will be able to move to a new house and afford electricity, buy a fridge so their food won’t go bad and they won’t have to “‘slice off the maggoty parts’” and eat the rest ever again (Pg. 172), and they will also be able to buy a heater and can stop wearing coats to bed (Pg. 176).
I know that the diamond cannot solve every single problem they are facing each day but still with the money, something good ought to happen, don’t you think so? They will be able to find a solution for at least one of the problems they face and hopefully that might reduce the number of times others calling them “poor and ugly and dirty” (Pg. 140).
As I started writing, I realized that maybe it was right not to sell it because, first of all, no one in the family is strong enough to stand against Dad so he will take away the money from them easily and he will without a doubt use it to buy more booze. I would rather read that she didn’t sell it than read about the money going to waste.
Ashly Kuruvilla
Nickel and Dimed – “Serving in Florida”
ReplyDelete“I leave. I don’t walk out, I just leave. I don’t finish my side work or pick up my credit card tips, if any, at the cash register or, of course, ask Joy’s permission to go. And the surprising thing is that you can walk out without permission, that the door opens, that the thick tropical night air parts to let me pass, that my car is still parked where I left it.” (Pg.48)
Wow. I am so surprised to read that she actually just walked out, even the book slipped from my hand! She is 100% right!!!! You CAN walk out without permission! I’m pretty sure there was a time when we all thought about just walking away without looking back, letting the chips fall wherever they may… But thoughts about the consequences, what’s right and what’s wrong always holds me back.
I believe what she did was right because she chose to work as a waitress, a Wal-Mart associate, and even a maid to find out how “ roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to make it on $6 or $7 an hour?” (Pg. 1) and mainly to know how millions of people can live and try to make ends meet with wages available to the unskilled and to seek the answers of many more unanswered questions. She could have said no and avoided doing the ‘old fashioned journalism’ but she didn’t. When she walked out I was sure that she was going to abandon the project but she didn’t and you know what’s more amazing about her? She realized that she needed a fresh start so she moved to Maine and started her project all over again.
When something is too hard for me to do I try my best to succeed but most of the times, I fail. Each time that happens I feel so depressed and I keep telling myself that I’ll never make it. It’s so easy to say to someone to try again, right? But it’s so hard to pick yourself up and try again and again! I’m glad that I push myself to open the doors that are holding me back from taking everything that has my name on it. Otherwise how would I have known what’s behind each one? If I had given up on everything where would I be now? Trying harder… fighting back… is hard but it’s worth it for sure! :)
Ashly Kuruvilla
Ashly,
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not right that the mom did not sell the ring. I think it is wrong, and so selfish of her. You said that if they had sold it the dad would have spent the money, but guess what? He did not know about it, therefore they could have hidden the money easily, and had food for a long time. Another thing that really bothered me was in page 272 when the Mom (she does not even deserve that name) said "We need to buy Jim´s land" and when Jeanette asked her how much it was worth, she said "A million dollars". So, while her children were growing up, she could have sold those lands and given them a good life. Instead, she kept them and they suffered. I think that child services should have taken her children away and she should have gone to jail. I really hate her, and I feel ashamed that the human raca has people like that. So, don´t make excuses for her because she is in the wrong completely.
Stephanie Schlageter
Sky,
ReplyDeleteI remeber the old go-go-gadget figure that could be collected as well. However I never fully collected it, I think that I was missing at least one piece. I don't eat happy meals anymore, in fact I don't go to McDonald's much anymore, so I don't pay much attention to the toys being given out now. But doesn't it seem like they are getting cheaper. Burger King used to have complete minifigures of LOTR and McDonald's had gadget's chest, which was the size of my fist! Do you guys think that making the toys cheaper, smaller, and less complex still have as much of an impact on younger kids as they use to?
dylan moss
I believe that we need to create more educational workshops regarding our nation's problems and gear them to adolescents in school. I also believe that children, around their later teens, are becoming more independent and therefore able to voice their own opinions and really make a difference. "Today children are being targeted by phone companies, oil companies, and automobile companies, as well as clothing stores and restaurant chains." (42, fast food nation) However, instead of making children a target of influence, we simply inform them of future problems that many are not aware of or not fully capable of understanding. "The speedway was gone again, out of sight, and the girls were still happy in the back seat, chatting away, oblivious, as the sun dropped behind the mountains." (136) Children are the future and are helping to shape the future with the influence of fast food chains, among other distributors. Why not target children and inform them of potential problems that they may be able to positively amend.
ReplyDeletedylan moss
Ashly,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your sentiment about always trying to open the doors. If I never fail, it means that I don't try something new; that's a poor excuse for a life. And, we can sometimes decide that the door we're trying to open just isn't worth it, and try another one. I think trying to make a living earning minimum wage is one of those doors; unfortunately, there are folks in our country who don't have another option, and they are forced to keep banging into that door.
Mrs. Anderson
Sky,
ReplyDeleteI agree that people should control themselves on what they eat, and shouldn’t blame others. When I say this there are always acceptations, because some people don’t have a choice on eating. McDonalds has very cheep food, you can get a hamburger for around 50 cents. Since it is fast it might be more convenient for people with time consuming jobs. I also had the Inspector Gadget parts, but gave it to my cousins when I first got it so they could complete it. It was things like that that made kids want to get McDonalds, always trying to complete their toy set. Also, the Monopoly game for cash and other prizes I think targeted more adults, because they have a lot of the other pieces and the last one there is only a couple. So, the adults probably would like that more than the kids, but I don’t know how many would be fooled by it.
Philipp Groh
The Liars' Club
ReplyDeleteChapter 5
I never experienced the effects of the death of a close family member or loved one. The author, Mary, of this memoir experiences the death of a family member and comes close to encountering another death in this chapter of her life.
I have been around others who have recently lost a loved one. They have never said "She died, and I wasn't sorry" (99) as Mary said when her grandmother died. She showed no grief or sad emotion towards the death of her grandma. Mary sees her grandmother lying in the bed covered with ants and she notes "I don't know if I thought she was dead or what. I backed out of the room and went to the living room." (96). Mary has no intentions of saving her grandma. Mary seems like she loves no one. Once her grandmother died, she felt bad for her mom because her mom was in grief over the death. So maybe she actually did care about her own mother at least.
I think Mary's early childhood took an effect on the way she views certain people in her life. She must've had some bad experiences with her grandma to make her feel the way she does about her.
Lindsay Gorgen
Sky,
ReplyDeleteI really have never thought of McDonalds reeling in customers like that. I remember when I would always drive my mom to the breaking point until she brought me to McDonalds for a toy. I used to collect TY babies, I was obsessed with them. For a while, McDonalds was handing out mini babies in the Happy Meals. I was so excited to get one, but you can't just have one, you got to have them all now. This means more visits to McDonalds, exactly what they want.
Now days, I go just for the food and the iced coffees; those are the best. On the other hand, my two-year-old cousin goes for the toys, just like many other children.
Lindsay Gorgen
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteYes, she could have experiences with her grandmother that color this one, but could there be other reasons? Imagine you are a child alone, and come upon the sight of a relative apparently dead and covered with ants. Might you be in a bit of shock? Or are their other experiences from your life, not jsut with your grandmother that would affect how you reacted?
Mrs. Anderson
The Whole Five Feet
ReplyDeleteINTRODUCTION
"But in Eliots view anyone that has fifteen minutes to spare at the end of the day could acquire in a few years the best of what higher education has to offer"(pg 9)
In this qoutation Christopher R. Beha is telling us that using fifteen minutes of your day every day reading the Whole Five Feet could give you the best education higher education has to offer. If you might not know The Whole Five Feet are a collection of books/literature called the Harvard Classics created and adited by multiple people. I do not understand how reading a bunch of literature can get you the best education higher education has to offer. That absolutley makes no sense to me! The Harvard Classics have many subjects involved in them; however when getting higher education, you have a teacher, which means you will understand the material better. I do not understand how Beha can make such a statement. I guess I will just have to keep reading and find out.
Anson Angail
Sky,
ReplyDeleteI might not be a Mcdonalds Junkie like you but I am a Pizza Junkie. Its not burgers and fries that I am interested in, its is the pepperoni and ham on meltly cheese, on marinara sauce, on bread with butter cheese crust. My family and I eat pizza at least twice a week. You are definitely right when you say that the fast food restaurants entice you. Hungry Howies, my favorite Zephyrhills pizza place has this deal where you get a large pizza for $5.00 only on Wacky Wednesdays. Now who in their right mind would not by a large pizza for $5.00.
Anson Angail
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI believe that you are being a little harsh when you say that those poor people do not deserve one penny. It is definitely the homeless person's fault that he/she is homeless, not the cities. They could have been whoever they wanted to be, especially in a country like the United States, where anyone has the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. Although, you have to have sympathy for them, in a state where you have no home, you are not going to say "it is all my fault." You are going to try to find someone else to blame. I believe the city should help the homeless as much as they can.
As you are living with a ton of clothes, a big house, and still want more. Remember the people that do not even have a home to live in and eat food from the dumpster.
Anson Angail
The Whole Five Feet
ReplyDeleteFebruary, or "Take Up and Read"
"In my early days at college, I'd questioned my faith in a way that many people who are raised in religious households probably do at that age"(38)
I guess I am a bit early because I am not in college yet and I am starting to question my faith. I am a Protestant Christian who goes to church every Sunday, goes to Sunday School, goes to Vacation Bible School and has a family prayer every night, for the most part. Although when I get to thinking about my religion I have many questions that I have not found the answers to yet. For example, it God knows how we will live our lives even before he makes us, do we have a choice on whether we go to heaven or hell?, or is it already written. "At times I felt anger toward the Catholic Church, as if it were all a great lie that had been perpetrated specifically with me in mind."(39) This quotation is a great example of how I feel sometimes about my church. The subject that started giving me these doubts is History because of how it makes religion seem like it was made up by our ancestors to explain the world. I am certainly not saying that I am Atheist now but I have questions that a Atheist might have. So what do you think about religion, is it all made up or is it not?
Anson Angail
Anson Angail,
ReplyDeleteI myself am Agnostic. To answer your question, I don't think that religion is "made up." Although it is possible that the Bible is inaccurate or that there may not be a god, I think that when people truly have faith in something, it is not made up even if it is not real. There are some who will categorize themselves as a Christian to fit in or becasue they think that they should. To some of these people that make claims but don't live as a Christian or truly believe in God, religion may be "made up." But to be zealous, devout, and faithfull to a religion, well, there is nothing made up about that. Finally, I categorize myself as an Agnostic for the sake of categorization. I usually believe that there could be a higher power (god) and that we are on earth for a reason. However, I cannot follow teh bible or many of the sermons delivered through conventional religions. Therefore, I don't follow any formal, organized religion and am free to believe what I want.
Dylan Moss
Fast Food Nation
ReplyDeleteChapter 3: Your Trusted Friends
What comes to mind when you think of McDonalds today; Greasy, delicious, fatty foods? Well, what do you remember of McDonalds in your childhood? “bright colors, a playground, a toy, a clown, a drink with a straw, little pieces wrapped up like a present.” (42) For me, I remember those things, some more than others, but when I was a child that was what I thought of McDonalds. Usually I got excited when I went to McDonalds. The best memory I had of McDonalds was going to the very big McDonalds with the playground full of fun. It was like going to Chunk E. Cheese except free. For example, musical notes on the ground, ball pit, tunnels, some arcade games, slides, and plenty of other features. What I didn’t know at that time was these “Playlands bring in children, who bring in parents, who bring in money.” (47) The playgrounds were awesome, but I had no idea that targeting children was the key to McDonald’s success.
Although, a weight problem might keep some kids from going to McDonalds, “McDonald’s wanted someone thinner to sell its burgers, shakes, and fries” (41) therefore they are misleading their customers. Maybe the parents are concerned about the health issue, but they also might be “feeling guilt about spending less time with their kids”(42), and bringing them to McDonalds is easy.
Fact is McDonalds isn’t so successful today because of luck, but smart marketing ideas of how to attract customers.
Philipp Groh
The Liars Club
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
In personal experience, I have never heard of any girl proud of pretty much being raped. When Mary says, (p67) "I tried to arrange my face into nothing special having happened" after the whole thing it is almost like she is happy about it. Though before she states (p66) "Probably you [the guy] thought I forgot what you did, or you figured it was no big deal" making it seem like she thought of the whole thing as a bad thing and the she hopes he realizes that she remembers what he did to her. Reading both of these put me in a consufused state.
Another thing that bothers me is how somebody could worry about what people might call them if something like that happened. (p68) "He didn't even have to threaten me to keep quiet. I knew what I would be if I told." Would people think that she was a bad person because of what happened? This set my mind askew just trying to set myself in Mary's perspective. I think that she should realize that she was seven and should have told someone no matter what others might think of her.
Kayla Caruthers
The Glass Castle
ReplyDeleteChapter 2
As I was reading the Glass Castle I was completely shocked at how the parents were raising their children. In Chapter 2 Jeanette who was only 3 years old was cooking hotdogs on the stove by herself, I'm sorry but something definitely seems wrong with this picture!! When she burnt herself on the stove her parents are not even concerned with their daughters well being. They are complaining about the hospital that is helping Jeanette recover from her 3rd degree burns! "But Dad didn't trust hospitals so he took her to a Navajo witch Dr. who cut open the wound & put a dark brown paste on it, she said some chants .." (p.13). He doesn't trust hospitals but he trusts his three year old daughter to cook for herself because no one else will cook for her. I just can't comprehend how a parents can neglect their kids like they do. The family has nothing to show for themselves when all the parents have to do is hold a job to provide for their kids. A few days after Jeanette is taken from the hospital by her parents she is back cooking on the stove again! All her mother said to her was "good for you..you can't live in fear of somethig as basic as fire." (p.15). As if the fire had not almost killed her daughter.
Even though these parents are completely unfit, while reading the book I noticed that the dad was the one who held everything together. He was the one that everyone looked to and made all the decisions. "Dad had had enough he'd tell us kids to get in the car. Grandma would yell at mom not to let that worthless horse's ass take her grandchildren. Mom would shrug off there was nothing she could do about it...Off we'd go heading out into the desert in search of another house for rent in another little mining town." (p.20). If Dad wanted to do sometihing that is what the whole family did no questions asked. I think that everyone should have a say in what goes on in their family even the children. The parents were not thinking about how this constant moving form place to place and sleeping out of their car (p.18) effected the chldren.
Erika Andersen
Fast Food Nation
ReplyDeleteChapter 2, Your trusted friends
It is unbelievable how much fast food chains are involved in marketing/advertisement today. I know everytime I turn on the television I see the same fast food commercial atleast ten times!!I think that their place in our society needs to be cut back. The names of these fast food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell etc. are already big enough and have so much power we do not need to see their advertisements everywhere. So it says on (p.51) "not satisfied with marketing to children through playground, toys, cartoons, movies, videos, charities, and amusement parks, through contests, sweepstakes, games, clubs, via television, radio, magazines, and the Internet." I get out of breath just reading that!! Chains are making so much money I recall on the McDonalds billboard it says over 1
billion served!! Isn't that enough what more could they possibly want to take over?! Our schools is their newest target. It saddened me when I read on (p.51) " For $12,000 a company got 5 school bus ads, hallway ads in all 52 of district's schools, ads in the school newspapers, a stadium banner, ads over the stadiums public address system during games, and free tickets to high school sporting events." It is good that the schools are getting money from these companies but at what cost? School is a place to broaden you mind, learn, and to prepare yourself for the future. Kids should not have to be subjected to posters about a Big Mac in the hallways. Personally I have seen enough of
these ads without having to see them in school.
Erika Andersen
Ashly,
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure the dad would have found the money, but maybe not right away and they could have used a part of the money for something useful. The mom’s self esteem for herself might be important, but if her self esteem would have motivated her to do things that actually helped the kids instead of ‘stretching’. For example, if her self esteem motivated her to get a job, this would have been good. Therefore, giving the ring a purpose, but that didn’t happen. So, if they would have sold the ring and hid the money, they might have got some food and clothing before the dad found the rest of the money. All in all, her keeping the ring didn’t help her self esteem one bit, so selling it probably would have been better for them.
Last one was by Philipp Groh.
ReplyDeleteThe Liars' Club
ReplyDeleteChapter 6
I believe that alcoholism in households has negative effects on every member of a family. Mary is always trying to remember "how much mother drank in that bayou cafe" (137). I'd always be worried about my parents driving around intoxicated and severely hurting or killing themselves and others. I don't think Mary's personality would be one that cares for the well-being of others. She would want her mother to be safe though. I'm glad my father hasn't "always drank" (126) like Mary's. My family would completely fall apart if both my mother and father were unstable. My family would have no money because it would be wasted away on alcohol. This may be part of Mary's family's problem. Alcohol could be a reason why Mary's parents don't get along.
Another thing I would dislike about my parents being alcoholics is the reputation on both my parent's and my part. I would not want my parents to be called "the drunks" of the town or "boozers". When they fight, I wouldn't want someone to assume that they were "fighting over a bottle" (139). That would also ruin my reputation. Others would think that I'm following the footsteps of my parents, evem if I decided to take my own path.
The Liars' Club
ReplyDeleteChapter 6
I believe that alcoholism in households has negative effects on every member of a family. Mary is always trying to remember "how much mother drank in that bayou cafe" (137). I'd always be worried about my parents driving around intoxicated and severely hurting or killing themselves and others. I don't think Mary's personality would be one that cares for the well-being of others. She would want her mother to be safe though. I'm glad my father hasn't "always drank" (126) like Mary's. My family would completely fall apart if both my mother and father were unstable. My family would have no money because it would be wasted away on alcohol. This may be part of Mary's family's problem. Alcohol could be a reason why Mary's parents don't get along.
Another thing I would dislike about my parents being alcoholics is the reputation on both my parent's and my part. I would not want my parents to be called "the drunks" of the town or "boozers". When they fight, I wouldn't want someone to assume that they were "fighting over a bottle" (139). That would also ruin my reputation. Others would think that I'm following the footsteps of my parents, evem if I decided to take my own path.
Lindsay Gorgen
Sky,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your second comment on Fast Food Nation, I never thought of Mcdonalds as being an escape for parents but it makes so much since. It's something quick and easy parents can do to get a little free time. I can't even count how many times I remember playing on the Mcdonald's playground while my parents sat down and ate on the other side of the window. These fast food resturants not only try to market the children they are doing the same thing to our parents! Think for about $4 you can feed your child, send them off to a kids wonderland, and they get a new toy to play with! While they relax and get some ALONE time. Now who came up with that idea? Someone who has their eye on the money!
Erika Andersen
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI don't think she was happy about being raped. By her saying "I tried to arrange my face into nothing special having happened" I believe she means that she's trying to change her countenance so no one else notices that something terrible has happened to her. "He didn't even have to threaten me to keep quiet. I knew what I would be if I told." I don't believe that Mary was worried about being called a name if others found out. I think she was more worried of being beaten or "dead" if the rapist found out that she told.
It is wrong to keep a rape a secret. It could severely scar you emotionally. Letting others know and getting help is the beginning of the healing process. Keeping it to yourself would probably just eat away at you for the rest of your life.
Lindsay Gorgen
Ashly,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your comment on The Glass Castle, I don't think their is any way of getting around their dad finding out about the ring. The families problems are inevitable with dad around. The whole family knows his authority over them and I think they would rather keep living the way they are before they try to sell the ring especially the mother if you could even call her that. I think that their mom is using her "self esteem" issue as an excuse to get out of selling the ring. What really upsetted me though was that they would let their kids pick through other peoples disgusting trash to get a meal. Their problems could be fixed so easily but in the end everyone chooses the life they lead, and no one will be able to change their mind.
Erika Andersen
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteAbout your first comment on the Liars Club,
when I read this chapter I was kind of in shock of the way Mary reacts. But then again if you think about how much Mary's grandmother put her through in the last chapters. Of course, that does not give her a reason to just leave her grandma, but different people have different ways of reacting to death. Mary may not have felt bad for her grandma but of course she felt bad for her mother because it's her mother.
But, just like you I was kind of appauled at the way she reacted to her grandmothers dead body.
Kayla Caruthers
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteAbout your second comment on the Liars Club, I do believe that alcoholism does negatively affect a family. I have known of very many people that have had those experiences, and sometimes it leads to worse things, like depression, or even intense fighting.
I think that Mary does care for the well-being of others, but only when she wants to. I also don't think that it is really reputation to worry about because it's not you drinking your life away, it's your parents and you can't stop what they do.
I agree with you on the part where you said that you believe that alcoholism is a part of Mary's family problems and thats why her parents don't really get along. It could be a main reason but there is probably more to it than meets the eye.
Kayla Caruthers
Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Fordism and the way we purchase hamburgers. The fact that one man has changed the way America functions is truely phenomenal. I, just like Mrs. Anderson, think back to Huxley's "Brand New World". Our culture is almost to the point of worshiping Ford, just without realizing it's him who we worship. I too agree with Mrs. Anderson on the fact that the answer to whether or not we can turn back is a very frightening one.
Travis Acklin
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI agree completely on the fact that alcohol has a negitive effect on everyone in the family. My family has some of those problem, though not in my immediatly family, we've all suffered. Between the debts that are created and the feelings that are expressed during inebriation, most of my family has experience some kind of negitive reaction toward the booze. I myself have been threatened with my life due to an inebriated family member. Alcohol is a destroyer of families and it always will.
Travis Acklin
The Glass Castle
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this book, I was disappointed in the parents for providing that type of environment for their children. In the second chapter, she is boiling hotdogs for herself when she is three years old. Three! She accidently catches her tutu on fire and is taken to the hospital where she is treated for third degree burns. After being there for six weeks or so, her dad decides that they need to "check out, Rex Walls-style" (14). In my opinion, doctors know what they are talking about. They are the ones who have gone to many years of college and speciality schooling to treat patients who need help, the correct way. So if a doctor tells me that I needed to stay in the hospital to get treated and helped, then I am staying in there by all means. Especially my children. But I don't understand how he could do that knowing that taking her out of there could cause her wounds to infect and get drastically worse?!
"I looked in the refrigerator. There was nothing inside but a half-gone stick of margarine." (68) How can you expect to feed four growing children and two grown adults on one stick of margarine??? The reason that they don't have any food is because their father is an alcoholic who spends all his time at a bar and all his money on booze. Their mother is too lazy to work because she doesn't want to. Well honey, when you decide to have four kids and marry an alcoholic who is never home and never has any money, that's the price you have to pay. Suck it up and do what needs to be done to provide for your family!!!!
The ending of this book, for me, was the most upsetting part. After her uncle Jim dies, her mother wants to buy his land. When she asks her mother how much the land will cost to buy the mother says, "A million dollars." (272) Both kids, her mom and her uncle both inherited a pretty even piece of land, about equivalent in cost. "All those years in Welch with no food, no coal, no plumbing, and Mom had been sitting on land worth a million dollars....Could she have solved our fianancial problems by selling this land she never even saw?" (273) If my children were starving and I was having to live in a house with no indoor plumbing, I think I would have to sell this land I've never seen rather than "keep it in the family". A million dollars could buy you any house you basically wanted, and supply you with enough food for you and your children to never be hungry again. I wouldn't sell the land for me, I would sell it for my family. When you decide to have children, you have to take responsibility for them. You are the one who is supposed to provide for them, and take care of them. And here, their parents failed to do that.
There are so many parents in the world today who are not ready for the responsibility of a child. It's not the child's fault, but they are the ones who have to suffer. So many families today go through the hard times that the Walles family went through, and some cases are even worse. The children should not have to live with the stupid and immature decisions that adults make, but unfortunately, it seems to be happening more and more each day.
Lauren Pasquale
When I first started reading this book, I honestly had the idea that the girl would never get out of Welch, West Virginia. I figured because she was such a daddy's girl she would stick around to protect and take care of her alcolohic father, and help supply his liquor. But to my suprise, she helps her sister Lori move to New York and start a new life; only to realize that she would be starting a new life on her own, also in New York.
ReplyDeleteAfter moving there, she gets a steady job to help her sister pay rent and convinces her brother into moving in with them. Next, their baby sister.
It flabbergasted me that not only did she get out of that small town and gave herself a better life; but the fact that she made it a point to help her siblings, was a very selfless act. An act that I highly admire. This proves that anyone, no matter what your background or homelife, that you can make it in this world, and successfully. Just as long as you keep your goals in mind and work hard, anything is possible. :)
The Glass Castle
Lauren Pasquale
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI heard this saying earlier today that goes along with your question. "People chose the lives they live." I think if her parents were deseperate to get off the streets, they would. But since they don't see being homeless as such a bad thing, they are going to continue to live on the streets and pick through dumpsters for food.
Another saying goes along with this too. "You can only help those who help themselves." If people on the streets do not want the city's help, then they are not going to take it. Only after they realize how bad their life is, will they decide to take the help they are being offered. Some people live on the streets because they have no other options and can't make ends meet no matter what they try to do. Others live on the streets because they want to. Because they think it is easier than to get a job and work. So I think you are partially right. People who don't want help shouldn't be given it, however, people who need the help, should be offered it.
Lauren Pasquale
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! Alcohol abuse not only affects the person drinking but also each member of the family. The best example that I can think of happens in the book, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls. You see, Jeannette’s dad is an alcoholic “‘who soaks up booze like a sponge’” (Pg. 197). Afflicted with alcoholism he has trouble keeping his job, for example, “he got fired from his second job and from his third, and was kicked out of the electricians’ union and started doing odd jobs and day work” (Pg. 110). Since he can’t keep a job he is unable to take care of his family and financial problems erupt one by one causing more problems on top of everything. Alcoholic parent often comes home with “such a drunken fury” that they use violence. For example, her dad “broke the windows and smashed dishes and furniture until he’d spent all his anger” (Pg. 112). In an alcoholic home, there is always fighting going on either with the non-alcoholic parent or with the children or sometimes with both of them. Alcohol eats away all the happiness that once danced around and around in the family.
Ashly Kuruvilla
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you about people choosing their own lives. Mr. and Mrs. Walls prefer the way they live; in fact I think they love it! Even when they came to New York they ended up finding a new home that’s so much similar to the one that they lived in Welch. Jeannette’s right, “if you replaced the electric heaters with a coal stove, this squat on the Lower East Side looked pretty much like the house on Little Hobart Street” (Pg. 267). If they truly didn’t like the way they lived then they could have absolutely started a new beginning and the best place would have been in New York, where there’s plenty of opportunities available for everyone. If Mrs. Walls found it so hard to work as a teacher then she could have started a different job and enjoyed it but she chose not to. They like living in a home with “same old smells of turpentine, dog hair, and dirty clothes, of stale beer and cigarette smoke and unrefrigerated food slowly going bad” (Pg. 267). They are who they are and they chose to take this road on their own. However, there are millions of others who didn’t ask for poverty and the government should definitely help them to climb the mountains that are blocking them from accomplishing their dreams.
Ashly Kuruvilla
The Liars Club
ReplyDeleteChapter 4
This chapter a lot of us could relate to because of the hurricane situation and some of us for losing a father.
(p82) "For two days before the storm came inland, folks had been getting ready. Weather reports got scarier. Windows were boarded up with sheets of plywood. Bags were packed. The supermarket had runs on batteries and candles and canned beans. Higher ground was just about anywhere else, and people were heading for it. This reminded me of the time a couple years ago when Zephyrhills had a couple of bad hurricanes. When those hurricanes came around there was almost nothing left of my house and my family and I had to go to Tampa to stay at my grandmas for about a month.
(p83) "While other fathers were taking sick leave and folding up their lawn chairs and storing special stuff high in their attics, Daddy just kept plodding off to the plant and coming home long enough to refill his mess kit with food and plodding back. Eventually, her didn't bother coming home at all." This part made me realize how lucky I am to have my father still. I know a lot of people that barely know their father or their father left at an early age.
Mary has a really hard life. It is very catastrophic, but yet she seems to make it through. She is a very strong person.
Kayla Caruthers
Branded
ReplyDeleteChapter 5 – “The Great Tween Marketing Machine”
Advertising has always intrigued me in a the way that I wanted to know how marketers truly believed posters and product placement would successfully sell their product. Branded takes a look inside the mindset of marketers in America today, and how manipulive they are. In fact they see buyers from ages 5 to 24 as bodies with “bouquets of daisies where the head should be.” (67) Branded goes into detail of all aspects of marketing, but chapter five looks deeply into the disturbing ways marketers swoon tweens, even to the point of selling out religious coming-of-age parties such as bat or bar mitzvah.
In today’s world, bar and bat mitzvahs are not gatherings in the Jewish religion to celebrate a child becoming a man, they are “out-of-control celebrations” (69) were parents dish out thousands for their child. Parents start planning years in advance just to make sure the event is a success. Average cost for these celebrations are about $15,000. (67) This appalls me. Bar and bat mitzvahs are a God’s service, celebrated for religious purposes, not a gathering only concerned about what DJ the party will have.
Quart interviewed mothers whom daughters were planning bat mitzvahs and how although minding the fact that this party will cost about as much as the car they’re driving around in, they are completely oblivious to the “adult” (73) themes taking place, making these barely teenagers using the same words as twenty year olds. I agree with Quart in the fact that this may be more disturbing than the amount of money spent. The fact that a holy union between a child of God has basically become a brothel.
Travis Acklin
Branded
ReplyDeleteChapter 7- “More Than A (Video) Game”
When I think of skateboarding, I think punk rock, anarchy, rebellion and anti-government. However, since about 1999, skateboarding has become as commercial as fashion. Famous figures such as Tony Hawk whore out the rebellious hobby to companies and video games in hopes of commercializing the frowned upon activity. In Mr. Hawk’s game “Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3”, billboards in the background boast Nokia and Jeep logos, while your virtual skater shops for Quicksilver shirts and Baker decks. (97-99) While these advertisements seem harmless to the average person, many older skaters find the prostitution of their sport a travesty. (103)
Younger skaters, and even those who’ve never picked up a board, find themselves brainwashed into the designer brands in these games. They feel the need to spend outrageous amounts of money for skating gear to people who don’t even know how to ride a skateboard. And even though older skaters find these new brands to be sickening and degrading the sport, they support the fact that at least it’s skateboarding products that are being bought, not just products being forced on those who enjoy kickflips and ollies. Not all feel this way though. Many patronize Tony Hawk, saying how now there are few companies to trust for a legit skater. (103) These skaters find brands like “Birdhouse and DC” to be “way too extreme and commercial”. (103)
I always knew there were companies marketing to self-conscience teenagers who are peer pressured into buying brand named products for the sake of “Look, I have a ‘insert newest, trendy name here’ purse”. Although I never expected to find out how American marketers have commercialized the one act that was totally against antiestablishment. Skateboarding from the start has been about custom made boards, usually fashioned out of a surf board, and cheap T-shirts with some holey jeans. (104) Now a skater must pay at least a hundred dollars for a quality board, not to mention having the right clothes with the right brands. And that was just the ‘90s. Now skateboarders pride themselves on whether or not they’re sponsored, only to be able to parade around the skate park in free stuff. American commercialism has taken the one sport that defined young, adolescent freedom, and put a huge price tag on it.
Travis Acklin
The Glass Castle -
ReplyDeleteAs I first started reading this book I was astonished by decisions and attitudes of the parents. "I asked mom and dad if we should close the doors and windows when we went to sleep. They wouldn't consider if. We needed fresh air, they said, and it was essential that we refuse to surrender to fear." (p.103) Even though it has been mentioned that these parents let their kids basically raise theirselves, I was still amazed at this part. After being sexually violated by a stranger the parents don't think that is enough of a reason to lock up. It's not that they would be surrendering their fear, they'd be protecting themselves, it's a reasonable thing to do. "It's not my fault if you're hungry! she shouted. Don't blame me. Do you think I like living like this? Do you?" (p.69) Jeannettes mom is not taking the full responsibility she needs to take, it is her fault that her children are hungry and if she would make a right decision she'd be able to stop living like this. However, she basically blames everything on the father because he has lost so many jobs. If she wanted to change this fact, she could simply take a job, which she later did. Even though it is the mothers fault, it's also the fathers, he loses jobs repitively because he disagrees too much with the other employees and when he can actually keep a job he spends his money on a device thats not bound to work. "While dad liked it that mom was bringing home a paycheck, he saw himself as the head of the household and maintained that the money should be turned over to him...And he needed money to fund his gold-leaching research." (p.76) Instead of wasting money for research on an experiment that could make them not gain a cent, he should've been sufficiently providing for his family and making sure that his childrens needs are met. I understand that every family has their own discipline rules inorder for their home to fuction without chaos, however they don't even have that, they let their children do what they want, when they want, which can't always end up in the best conclusion.
Daniela Almeida
The Color of Water
ReplyDelete"..and one afternoon I asked her whether God was black or white...'Oh boy...God's not black. He's not white. He's a spirit.'"(50)
In the 1960s, the decade in which James McBride grew up, race was a determining factor in how people lived their lives. James' mother was white and his dad black, which caused him a lot of confusion. Everybody around him was black and he appeared to be also, but the woman raising him was not. At first when I was reading this I thought his mother wished she was black instead of white. But as I am reading now, I think she just believed in God to protect her. I think she wanted something totally different from what she had as a child with her family's harsh Jewish traditions and abusive father. From her letters we see her father was not so good to her and her brother or her mother. "His marriage was a business deal for him.He only wanted money. That and to be an American. Those were the two things he wanted, and he got them too, but it cost him his family, which he ran into the ground."(41) So when she grew up and married, she taught her kids about love and education and family. I don't think it was about black or white, just what she felt would make her children successful in life. She wanted her children not to be tainted with color.
Miranda Elder
The Glass Castle -
ReplyDeleteSince Jeannettes parents weren't as traditional as some other parents, the kids had to learn to be independent and resposible of themselves. "I screamed. I smelled the burning and heard a horrible crackling as the fire singed my hair and eyelashes. (p.9) Being independent at such a young age could possibly go wrong especially if there is no one watching you at the time you're doing something by yourself. After Jeannette got burned, her parents had explained to her that she shouldn't be afraid of fire, and that its fine that she got burned because you learn from your mistakes. The whole lesson about learning from your mistakes is widely used, but to such an extreme such as this one? Of course she wouldn't have ever learned this mistake if her parents cooked for her but I guess they didn't feel being almost burned to death is mostly their fault. "Lori wasn't as good a shot as me, but she pointed the gun in Billy's general direction and pulled the trigger. (p.88) Even after teaching their children to make their own decisions, every decision they make reflect on the type of parent they are and can end up in a change of life. After the whole gun incident, they had to move again in order to not be sent away. If only their parents were being responsible for them and watching them, such an incident would've never occured. They should've been a bit more involved with their children and they're decisions.
Daniela Almeida
The Color of Water
ReplyDelete"Being Jewish and having a handicapped mother. I was ashamed of my mother, but see, love didn't come natural to me until I became a Christian."(38)
I'm not sure why that quote popped out to me, maybe it's because you see how terrible Rachel's childhood was, how her dad slapped and abused his children. They were not allowed to have a life other than the store her parents ran and school. "That store was our life. We worked in there from morning till night, except for school, and Tateh had us timed for that. He'd be standing in the road outside the store with his hands on his hips at three P.M. sharp, looking down the road for me and Sam.."(41) Or "Such as getting into bed with me at night and doing things to me sexually that I could not tell anybody about. When we'd go to the beach in Portsmouth, he'd get into the water with me, supposedly to teach me how to swim, and hold me real close to his body near his sexual parts.."(42)
No child should be subjected to that. I'm surprised how he abused her, and she still made it out and had an entire family who became successful and loved her. I think she learned to ignore the bad things in life and look at the good things, like God. Unsure in what I believe in I still see the things that having a religion can do for people. I think it helped her lead a life. She could dwell on the positive stuff like her children and husband.
Through everything, she still tries and provides the best for her children. Not always material-wise but in education, "..she forced us to go to white schools to get the best education."(29), and encouraged her kids to believe and do what's right in God's eyes.
Miranda Elder
Sky Strader,
ReplyDeleteI also think how they get kids to keep bothering their mom to come back to McDonalds due to the small toys packaged in the kids meal is a brillant stradegy by the corporation. It is a also a bit devious, seriously, who thinks about tricking a five year old into buy fattening meals in order to make some extra bucks? Thats a bit sick, but thats the way they want to take. Instead of parents taking them to a place they know is filled with unhealthy foods, they should take them to somewhere they can actually trust, foodwise. They shouldn't get sucked into the whole toy tricking plan and teach their child the same.
Daniela Almeida
Ashly,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see why you're mad at this mom. I can't even fathom ever letting my children starve so I could have "self-esteem". Material things should never be more important than your own children eating..especially a ring. Today she would have had her children taken away from her hopefully. She most certainly does not deserve the title mother. I haven't read the book, but from everybody else's posts something seems a little off about her. A normal person with a conscience would not let their own child starve. But maybe she isn't all there, although this does kind of remind me, on a larger scale, of the world and our response to people in need. Thousands of children like this are starving to death, but we're too involved in our own material lives.
Miranda Elder
Phillip Groh,
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact way you do, the parents just keep agitating me by the decisions they have made and keep on making. I think both the mother and father should try harder in order to provide their children with better lives. Just like you said, the mom shouldn't be wasting her time painting things that nobody buys when she could be making her childrens lives more comfortable by using her teacher degree. I don't exactly see why they taught Jeannette and the others to be independent when the father starts depending on her to give him money for drinks and cigarettes. They should be giving money to her, not the other way around. I'm actually surprised how well the children turned out.
Daniela Almeida
Sky,
ReplyDeleteYeah I love McDonald's too. It's like my favorite place to go and eat, but I've never thought of how the way they advertise attracts new customers. Like just the other day they had a new commercial out for their coffee. According to the commercial, the McCafe is the delicious. I wanted one pretty badly but when I finally got it, it was disappointing. Not to mention all the calories I probably consumed, but it definitely wasn't as good as I thought. Advertising makes everything seem tasty and perfect.
Miranda Elder