Introduction: For this blog post, I have read "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. A tradition is depicted in this story, that is disliked by the villagers, yet they still perform it anyways. They wouldn't want to go against their tradition that has been set for many years. I will be answering two questions that go along with the story.
Are there any American traditions that share similarities with the lottery tradition in the village? Hazing is a common tradition for college kids. They have a particular system to determine who will be a part of the "hazing" process. They have a "rush", where two minute conversations are held with the incoming freshman. If the new-comers are liked after the conversation, then they are placed in the hazing phase. There are different types of hazing for male and female. The males typically show their masculinity by drinking too much, and showing how they can get females. On the other hand, females are more embarrassed by the upper classmen and are written on and body shamed. This tradition has been dated back to the 1960's; bringing multiple negative occasions and poor statistics, showing how this tradition is bad. Yet, the frats still continue to do this. Likewise, in the lottery, the tradition has negative effects on the town, yet the tradition dates so far back, that its almost just as wrong to stop doing it. I read an article here, going more into depth about the topic. When have I made an important choice to break away or not break away from a strong cultural tradition I shared with a family, friends, or culture? Growing up, I never experienced much tradition. My family was always simple, and uninvolved in things. However, a tradition that I still carry out today, is banging on pots and pans for the coming of a New Year. It is something that I will always want to do, since it makes my mom happy. She loves to see us continue that tradition because it reminds her of when we were little. I grew up always feeling that you had to make a lot of noise when the new year arrived. I never knew, and still don't know, why she always makes a big deal about it. Yet, I will pass this tradition onto my own kids and hope that they do the same. I know that a lot of families have this tradition as well, but this is one that my family will keep forever. No matter how old we get.
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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.
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. |
Nicole
On this blog, I will be writing weekly about multiple different themes for my English course. Archives
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