In my opinion, parents should always say what they mean. Children can be impressionable and mimic the actions around them. Being a child does not make them any less worthy of honesty, lying about little things for no reason or for the sake of “just teasin’” is unnecessary. However, it is understandable in some cases if their intentions are to create a sense of wonder and magic for example fictional stories and lies like Santa or the Easter bunny personally were fun for me as a child, even after eventually knowing it was just a story the feelings remained for a little while. It could be damaging to withhold too much, but damaging to tell children everything because some things are simply not appropriate. Ultimately I think one should use discretion because everyone is different and can handle different things.
Fiction
Feminism in Ichiyo
Female characters in ” The Thirteen Night” can represent many things, but I mainly think it tries to represent life in the 1800s as a woman. Women in that era didn’t have as much power as they did in today’s world. Their roles during the era were being a housewife basically and doing the cleaning, cooking, taking care of children, etc. Women’s social status was very limited and doesn’t have much of a say. Ichiyo is a very brave woman during that era and she is known for expressing herself in her writing.
Literary Analysis Essay
Bambara
In my opinion, parents should be careful about how they speak around children. Children look up to their elders and they usually try to adapt their traits. Children are usually more sensitive when they’re younger which leads to parents needing to talk softish towards them. If parents want to explain how life can be unstable, they can do it slowly by explaining it in parts each day. This also leads to the “teasing” part, I feel like teasing can be used in a fun way, but it can get hurtful when it gets dragged out too long. Children that can handle a bit of teasing can also grow stronger when they become more mature and prepare for the real world. When I was growing up, I was told that honesty is super important, so I think that parents should always be straightforward, but in smaller parts for the children.
atwood’s endings
I chose “Happy endings” by Margaret Atwood because personally, I like happy endings but deep down I knew there would be some sort of “twist” to it. I noticed that the reading was in a different format than the others when I checked it. My attention was drawn to the letters A-F. I was trying to figure out what the difference was between all of them. Also, while reading her biography, I discovered that she wrote the book “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which, while I have never read, has received a lot of attention. As a result, I was confident that “Happy Endings” would be enjoyable.
In “Happy Endings,” Atwood argues that how and why things happen is more interesting and important than what happens. When considering the nature of truth and facts, this statement could imply that knowing what leads up to the “fact” is more important than the fact itself. True stories can be found in what Atwood refers to as the “How and Why,” or the characters’ motivations, thoughts, and wishes, as well as how they react to the unavoidable interruptions. I believe that knowing why or how something happened is more important than knowing what happened because it can help you understand a situation better and prevent it from happening again.
Happy Endings
I chose this story because of the title. The title made it seem like the story could be a fun and heart warming to read. I was also curious about it turning out to be a sad story so I was interested to see what the story could be about. I then began to wonder what deep message could be behind the story which made me want to read it even more. Overall, I just thought the story could be a nice and fun to read based on the title.
In the story Happy Endings, Every story ends up having the same ending from the 1st story. I think Margaret Atwood was trying to prove that it’s important to know how/why something happened. Understanding what happened is important in stories because it is more interesting than just reading what happened. Learning about what motivates the characters and what the characters thoughts are, create a good story. I also think that it gives room to write about how the character changed (if they do) and stopped themselves from entering the same situation.
Chopin
I think race does matter when the narrative deals with issues of race. I think it would be better to write about issues of race if you are apart of it because the writer will have a better understanding of the struggles. Someone who is writing about someone else’s experience doesn’t fully capture how the person would feel vs the person who can relate to the experience. I think that they would also get some information incorrect if they were to write about issues of a race they are not apart of, unless they do a lot of research on the topic and talk with people who are experiencing these issues, but I think it’s better if someone of the same race writes about the issues. I think the narrative will be more accurate and give the reader a better understand of the issues they face.
Happy Endings
My reasoning for choosing this story is simple, I like happy endings. Before reading this story, the title drew me in. It made me wonder just what it meant by “Happy Endings”, happy ending for who? and what could this happy ending possibly be? Just from the title I already had a preconceived expectation that this story would be delightful and thought provoking all at once. I had also heard of Margaret Atwood before although I am not too familiar with her, knowing of her did make me more interested in seeing what the story was about.
In the story “Happy Endings” the argument that how and why things happen is more interesting and important than what happens is made. In this statement the author may be reimagining the old saying that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey that’s important. When thinking about this statement in terms of the nature of truth and facts it could mean that knowing what lead up to the “fact” is more important than the fact. In knowing what happened to cause something to take place puts the action into a more comprehensible state. It is more important knowing why or how something happened than it is knowing what happened. Being able to understand why something happened sometimes gives you the ability to stop it from happening again or to make it happen again.
Armand
“But above all,” she wrote, “night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.”
I could imagine Armand pacing back and forth after reading that letter. He is in a state of shock after learning the truth and starts to freak-out the more he thinks about it. He realizes that he has black ancestry and he doesn’t know how to handle it because he doesn’t accept his own race, “Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand,” she laughed hysterically. “As white as La Blanche’s,” he returned cruelly; and went away leaving her alone with their child” (pg. 3). From that sentence, I came to a conclusion that doesn’t like and want to think about the possibility of him having black ancestry. After Armand calms down, I think he would start to go into denial and try to ignore the letter until it starts eating him up completely. I think he will eventually except the truth but keep it a secret for the rest of his life. I also think that he will beat himself up about how he turned his back on his family and will live in regret. for the rest of his life
discussion post 2: chopin
Let me begin by noting that answering this question was difficult for me. You’re either writing from your own biases or stereotypes when writing from the perspective of another race. A writer can write about what he or she observes, but not about the feelings and thoughts of the person. The reading “Desiree’s Baby”, is an insightful commentary on race. However, the author, Kate Chopin, is unable to fully comprehend the feelings of a person sentenced to slavery, as well as the experiences of black people. Kate Chopin, a white woman whose family owned slaves at the time, used her writing to challenge social standards and address racial concerns. If a white writer is willing to research and get information about the black experience in order to reach an audience, then, isn’t that okay? However, she was not personally affected by the problems that people of color faced. I do not feel that those who are not members of the group should be given greater weight than those who are. I believe that everyone, regardless of ethnic origin, should use their voice to combat racial inequity.
