Introduction: I have read the short-story, Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. In this blog post, I will be answering two questions; one about the reading, and one about my life. The story is about a woman and her significant other talking about an abortion at a train station. The woman has to decide to stay or leave the man based on both of their feelings.
Does the girl in the story stay in her relationship? Ultimately, the woman stays with the man physically. However, with the context in the story, she makes it seem like she is going to leave him. He doesn't want the baby, and on the other hand, she does. I think that the women realizes this, and decides that she is going to do what she wants to do. She shows a lot of sudden happiness at the end, which wasn't depicted throughout the story. Near the end of the story, the man is bringing the bags to the other side of the train station, and my interpretation of her happiness is the sense of him leaving. She was begging him to stop talking, but he wasn't. Then after he left, she was much more happier. I feel as though when he was gone, she realized how better it would be without him around; she would be able to worry and think about her and her unborn child. If the story were to continue, I think she wouldn't be with him anymore. When have I made an important choice to stay in a relationship or leave a relationship -- OR -- stay or leave a difficult situation? I was sitting with him for the last time in my car, and I think we both knew it. We both knew how each other felt, and yet we were still there, pretending to have something we didn't. It wasn't going to last for long. I loved him, and I still do, but not in that way anymore. I hugged him before he walked through the two metal doors for work. We looked into each others eyes, saying goodbye in our heads. Before I drove off, he said, "Your face is so soft today". I nodded in acknowledgement, and silently drove off, down the windy path. I was laughing in my head, thinking, "Who says that to someone"? As I drove past his building again, I looked through the large windows, hoping to catch one last glimpse of him. To my dismay, I saw nothing but racks full of oxygen tanks. Our relationship was going downhill for a while, and we couldn't do anything to fix it. We were no longer happy; yet, we still loved each other. Mutually, we decided together to break things off, since that's what was best for us.
3 Comments
Introduction: In this blog post, I am interpreting a podcast by Lulu Wang, called "What you don't know". I'll also provide the transcript here. I will be answering questions about the piece, and then relating the story to my everyday life.
Did I agree with the family's choice to deceive Wang's grandmother (NaiNai)? At first I didn't believe that this was the best choice. It was seen to be deceitful and wrong, especially since this was her health. In America, culturally, the right thing to do would be to tell that person. Yet, the culture in China is very different. In China, the results are immediately given to a relative of the patient. After realizing the two different cultures, I found it to be more acceptable that they didn't tell her. The resulting factor of NaiNai living for another couple of years, made me agree with their decisions. I then respected their thought process, and I felt a warmth towards their family for knowing what was best for her in this situation. They all seemed to value happiness the most, and they wanted to see her that way. A wedding was staged in order to say goodbye, but when looking back on it, it was just a way of getting together. They all learned a little more about the value of happiness in that sense, since they were forced to be happy around NaiNai, even if they weren't. It showed the strength within the family for being able to do so. When have I made an important choice to tell someone a difficult truth or made an important choice to tell a lie that had a major impact on me and/or someone else? The first difficult truth I could conjure up, is a personal truth. One that has impacted my family and I for the rest of our lives. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make as a child, and as a person. I was only 14 or 15 when I had told my mom about what my father had done to me as a child. My mom and dad were divorced at the time, and they were both remarried. I was filling out some paper work and a certain question made me cry, and my mom noticed. I could've said it was nothing and held it in longer, but I decided to tell her. My father had physically, and sexually abused me for a period of time. My whole life changed after that moment. It was something that my family and I had to overcome and work on. As a 14 or 15 year old, I didn't want to be worrying about that, nor did I want other people to as well. I had to work with detectives and the court to try to prove that I wasn't lying. It isn't the easiest thing, and it made my life a living hell, to be honest. I no longer see my father or anyone on his side of the family, since it was my fault they were upset. It was something that broke us up more than we already were, but everyone on my moms side were supportive, and I am closer to all of them as a result. I couldn't be happier than where I am in life right now, which is a big change from where I came from as a person.
Introduction: In this blog post, I am listing quotes from 3 selected articles. They are: "The Daily Writing Routines of Great Writers" by Maria Popova, "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" by Anne Lamott, and "Zen in the Art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury. I have pulled 3 quoted from each piece and will list my own three about my own writing processes.
The Daily Writing Routines of Great Writers (Maria Popova) 1. “Another thing I need to do, when I’m near the end of the book, is sleep in the same room with it. That’s one reason I go home to Sacramento to finish things. Somehow the book doesn’t leave you when you’re asleep right next to it.” Joan Didion 2. “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” E.B. White 3. “I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism.” Haruki Murakami Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anne Lamott) 1. “…I finally notice the one-inch picture frame that I put on my desk to remind me of short assignments. It reminds me that all I have to do is to write down as much as I can see through a one-inch picture frame” Anne Lamott 2. “Few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” Anne Lamott 3. “There are probably a number of ways to tell your story right, and someone else may be able to tell you whether or not you’ve found one of these ways.’ Anne Lamott Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury) 1. “In quickness is truth. The faster you blurt, the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are. In hesitation is thought. In delay comes the effort for a style, instead of leaping upon truth which is the only style worth dead falling or tiger-trapping.” Ray Bradbury 2. “It was only when I began to discover the treats and tricks that came with word association that I began to find some true way through the minefields of imitation. I finally figured out that if you are going to step on a live mine, make it your own. Be blown up, as it were, by your own delights and despairs.” Ray Bradbury 3. “I leave you now at the bottom of your own stair, at half after midnight, with a pad, a pen, and a list to be made. Conjure the nouns, alert the secret self, taste the darkness. […] Your Thing at the top of your stairs in your own private night … may well come down.” My Own Quotes 1. Open your mind to different occasions to see the best fit 2. Receive constructive criticism to help you improve 3. Drafts aren't a bad thing, they are multiple ways that you have gotten better
Introduction In this post, I will provide answers to the The Proust Questionnaire. This is the first blog post I am writing for my English 100 course. It will provide my readers with an insight to my personality and thoughts in life. __1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is success in life and accomplishing my goals in life. __2.__What is your greatest fear? In life, my greatest fear is failing at what I love to do most. Also, letting down the ones who expect so much from me. __3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? The trait that I deplore most about myself is how I don't stand up for how I feel in situations and let other people run my life. __4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others? In others, the trait I most deplore is dependence and deceit. __5.__Which living person do you most admire? I most admire my mom, as she has taught me an abundance amount of information that I need for life. __6.__What is your greatest extravagance? N/A __7.__What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is focusing on school and making money for future extravagances. __8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue? __9.__On what occasion do you lie? I almost never lie, since I believe that honesty is the best policy. I have no reason to lie. __10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance? I dislike my hands and feet __11.__Which living person do you most despise? Donald Trump, he only cares about what benefits himself __12.__What is the quality you most like in a man? Honesty __13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman? Confidence __14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Like, but, and __15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life? My family __16.__When and where were you happiest? I am the happiest when I am alone in my room __17.__Which talent would you most like to have? The ability to draw __18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would change the way I understand, I am slow to understanding what is being said to me. __19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement? Working while maintaining good grades in high school __20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? A gorilla __21.__Where would you most like to live? Pennsylvania, I don't like to think to big __22.__What is your most treasured possession? Sadly, my phone. However, I also treasure my family pictures. __23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? N/A __24.__What is your favorite occupation? Paralegal __25.__What is your most marked characteristic? N/A __26.__What do you most value in your friends? I value their loyalty to me and to their selves. __27.__Who are your favorite writers? N/A __28.__Who is your hero of fiction? N/A __29__Which historical figure do you most identify with? N/A __30.__Who are your heroes in real life? My mom, she saved me from a lot of distress in life __31.__What are your favorite names? Blake, and Grace __32.__What is it that you most dislike? I dislike trends, it is what makes everyone similar; yet, we are all supposed to be different. __33.__What is your greatest regret? I don't like to regret, I do what I do for a reason in the moment, even though later my thoughts can change about the situation. __34.__How would you like to die? I want to die peacefully, but I would also like to know when I am going to die. __35.__What is your motto? My motto is "I am strong because I've been weak. I am fearless because I've been afraid. I am wise because I've been foolish". |
Nicole
On this blog, I will be writing weekly about multiple different themes for my English course. Archives
December 2017
Categories
All
|