Common Theme essay 10-24-12

Nobody understands the burden, unless it’s placed on your shoulders.  Three particular stories we read stood out to me. They are, “lullaby”, “What you pawn I will redeem”, and “Domingo”.  The reason they all hit me so much, is because I saw a resemblance in these three stories. All the characters in the stories feel like they are responsible for the problem.  In my eyes I don't believe that they are. You will understand why.  

In the story titled “What you pawn I will redeem”, a young man named Jackson, who is homeless, and not doing so well, lost his grandmother, in 1972. He was hurt by it. Walking with some friends one day, he came across a pawn shop, and recognized something hanging in the window. It was his grandmother’s regalia, which were stolen fifty years ago. He suddenly felt he had an attachment to her through her regalia. But there was a problem. The owner wouldn't give it to him without pay, 1,000 dollars worth of pay. He didn't have that kind of money; he couldn't even afford a place to sleep. So, he went on a wild man hunt for that money, while doing that he stated, “I know it’s crazy, but I wondered if I could bring my grandmother back to life if I bought back her regalia.” (pg.443). He felt a big burden on his shoulders at that point. But what if he can't do it? Will he always beat himself up?

The second story I compared was titled, “Domingo”. This story is about an older man, who ides a very hard working guy. Sounds completely fine right? Well, hers why it was actually not. He is constantly working to keep his mind off of the loss he faced. The death of his daughter. She was barely old enough to start walking when it happened. She had fallen into a fit of fire, and ended up with some very intense burns. Over time they took their toll. And the guilt took its tale on Domingo. He blames himself for the death of his baby. We know from this one statement. “Even now he had trouble understanding why his wife left him with the baby.” (pg.76). It’s an intense feeling just thinking about the guilt that is eating him alive everyday of his life.

The third story I compared to the two listed above, is “Lullaby”. This story is about a Native American family, which can't speak English very well, except for the father.  The lady in this story is a mother, and a beloved wife. One day, two white men from the government came to her home, and trick her into signing some papers. Little did she know, by signing those papers it gave those men approval to take her children. It gets sad from that point on, because she blamed herself for what had happened. She stated, “If Jimmie had been there he could have read those papers and explained to her what they had said”. (pg.98). she let the thought of just letting those men take her children eat her up.         

I believe it was very hard on all of the characters. As you can tell, they were all faced with completely different challenges. I tied them all together is for this very particular reason, they all blamed themselves for the tragedy they faced. I placed myself in each of their shoes, and looked at it from there point of view. I now see each of them from both sides. If I was in those places they were, I would probably blame myself, they way they do too. But from where I stand, I don't believe they should tear themselves down. I was raised to know, God has a plan, and everything happens for a reason. Even if the plan, is not what you had in mind. So in conclusion, nobody understands the burden, unless it’s placed on your shoulders. I hope that whoever reads this paper, realizes you can't change everything, and you shouldn't let everything tear you apart.                                                                                                                                                                                        

weekly post :)

This week has been a difficult one. Can I just say friends don’t exsist in Green River. Everybody here that says they are your friend, lie. I can understand if you don’t like somebody, but don’t turn everybody else against them too. Just so you look “cool”. Guess what, I’m the girl that has no friends that will go far in life. You’re going to be stuck here, living from paycheck to paycheck, and having nothing in life. It sounds kind of bad on my part, but I wish that for you. Do you know how hard it is on somebody to wake up every day not knowing what to expect at school? Not knowing who is going to torture you, or hoping everyday that maybe just maybe somebody will turn against her, and you will have a friend again. I can say from experience it is not the funniest thing I have come across. I look around, and see all these young kids that have it happening to them already. I don’t want this for them. I hope something changes before it hurts them. The young kids in our town can be somebody big and important, with a little push.  Just a good push, from the right person.

Response to "WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK"!!

“Felice was like no woman she’d ever met.”  Response paper. Let me think, oh wait I remember. We got three things to choose from. Observation, compliment, or criticism. In my opinion it could be all three. Listen close, and I will explain why.

Observation.  I think that this sentence could be an observation, for one reason. In paragraph 82 after she states she is like no woman she ever met, it explains how she observed her crossing the Arroyo. Yelling like a “Crazy”. Obviously she was observing that about Felice. That could have been why she commented on her, the way she did.  This also in a way leads up to why it could have been criticism.

                Criticism. This comment could also be criticism. Sort of like I explained with observation. She explained how she was yelling like a crazy. This could have been a dig in a way too.  I am pretty sure if somebody told another person I was yelling like a crazy, I could take it wrong too. It took me quite a while to think on this one. Mostly because, I had to compare it to my personal feelings, and how it would fell to be in that position. This leads to Compliment.

Compliment. I thought very hard on this one. I Re-read the story about fifteen times to finally get it. Felice is a very strong independent woman, and tries her hardest. She looks up to Felice. So she is like no woman she ever met.  It all made sense when I thought about it, and finally let it run through my head with all the possibilities. This one just made the most sense.

So in conclusion, the sentence “Felice was like no woman she’d ever met.” Turns out to be a compliment in my perspective. At first it was all mixed up in my head, but after a long deliberation, it finally clicked. It’s a Compliment.