September 8th, 2010
Humanities
Second Chances Allow for Improved Behavior.
Second chances allow for improved behavior is a main them the short story, Thank You Ma’am. The boy, Roger, tried to snatch Mrs. Luella’s pocketbook because he wanted money to buy a pair of suede shoes. However, Mrs. Luella was able to stop him and drag him to her house. She fed and cleaned Roger, also she had a chance to share same feeling with him, which was desire for something they couldn’t get. At the end of story, “The boy wanted to say something else other than “Thank you ma’am” to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but he couldn’t do so as he turned at the barren stoop and looked back at the large woman in the door.” The boy wanted to thank Luella because she cared for him and trusted him even though he tried to grab her large pocketbook and run. Although the first time, Roger misbehaved towards Luella, she gave him a second chance to improve his behavior. Instead of scolding and punishing him, she provided love that Roger has rarely felt before because there is no one at his house. She understood his feelings of craving for something that he can’t have and she was able to fix his behavior by offering him second chance. Also, in the story, Mrs. Luella explains that second chances for her improved her behavior when she was young. “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son-neither tell God, if he didn’t already know.” When she was having a conversation with Roger, she mentioned that he wasn’t the only one who fell for things that he couldn’t get. She had also done unforgivable things such as stealing, however, she gave herself second chance to think over how she was mischievous and reform her behavior. Since Luella presented second chances to herself, now she knew how to improve Roger’s behavior. Therefore, second chances approve for improved action because people can consider how they behaved and reform their behaviors.
Second chances allow for improved behavior can be viewed commonly in different forms. In the short movie The Teddy Movie, Miss Thompson started teaching her 5th grade class and she couldn't stop disliking this little boy called Teddy because he was dirty, unsociable and unpleasant. However, she changed her mind when she went over his past record and saw he was a bright student before his mom died. “By now, Miss Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.” Miss Thompson had been treating Teddy without any love or care since he was so unpleasant to look at and speak to. On the other hand, after looking over his past report, she realized that she had made a mistake in judging who Teddy really was. He was just like other children who were sociable and bright, and his mom’s death was a big turning point of his childhood. Although the first time, Miss Thompson ignored and treated harshly to Teddy, she fixed her behavior when she realized she was wrong. Later in the movie, when she met Teddy again, she said, “Teddy, you are all wrong. You are the one who taught me that I can make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.” Luella learned to understand children and give positive attention to each and everyone of them, so her second chance allowed her for improved behavior towards the children. Also, when Teddy grew up and decided to marry this girl, he invited his best and most favorite teacher, Miss Thompson, to his wedding. Miss Thompson sat on groom’s mother’s place and congratulated him. After the wedding, Teddy came close to her and said,“Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for making me feel so important and showing me that I can make a difference.” During Teddy’s childhood, Miss Thompson kept encouraging him to improve his knowledge, social skills and more. Even though, his mom’s death was an unforgettable tragedy to him, he managed to continue on with his life because Miss Thompson gave attention to him and assisted him during his life in school. Therefore, since Miss Thompson showed love, importance and confidence to him, Teddy was able to offer himself a second chance and continue on his life with progressed behavior.
Second chances are valuable because not everything goes the right way on first tries. They help people to reform or improve their relationships and behaviors. For Luella and Roger, they gave themselves a second chance to reform their behaviors. Luella was able to teach Roger a valuable lesson for life because she also gave herself another chance. In case of Miss Thompson and Teddy in the short movie clip, they taught each other that they could make a difference on some one's life. The movie clip shows that the lesson that second chances allow for improved behaviors which can lead to making a meaning difference to other people’s lives. Therefore, not everything can be done perfectly on people’s first try, offering themselves a second chance and make a memorable difference on each other’s lives.
Second chances allow for improved behavior can be viewed commonly in different forms. In the short movie The Teddy Movie, Miss Thompson started teaching her 5th grade class and she couldn't stop disliking this little boy called Teddy because he was dirty, unsociable and unpleasant. However, she changed her mind when she went over his past record and saw he was a bright student before his mom died. “By now, Miss Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.” Miss Thompson had been treating Teddy without any love or care since he was so unpleasant to look at and speak to. On the other hand, after looking over his past report, she realized that she had made a mistake in judging who Teddy really was. He was just like other children who were sociable and bright, and his mom’s death was a big turning point of his childhood. Although the first time, Miss Thompson ignored and treated harshly to Teddy, she fixed her behavior when she realized she was wrong. Later in the movie, when she met Teddy again, she said, “Teddy, you are all wrong. You are the one who taught me that I can make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.” Luella learned to understand children and give positive attention to each and everyone of them, so her second chance allowed her for improved behavior towards the children. Also, when Teddy grew up and decided to marry this girl, he invited his best and most favorite teacher, Miss Thompson, to his wedding. Miss Thompson sat on groom’s mother’s place and congratulated him. After the wedding, Teddy came close to her and said,“Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for making me feel so important and showing me that I can make a difference.” During Teddy’s childhood, Miss Thompson kept encouraging him to improve his knowledge, social skills and more. Even though, his mom’s death was an unforgettable tragedy to him, he managed to continue on with his life because Miss Thompson gave attention to him and assisted him during his life in school. Therefore, since Miss Thompson showed love, importance and confidence to him, Teddy was able to offer himself a second chance and continue on his life with progressed behavior.
Second chances are valuable because not everything goes the right way on first tries. They help people to reform or improve their relationships and behaviors. For Luella and Roger, they gave themselves a second chance to reform their behaviors. Luella was able to teach Roger a valuable lesson for life because she also gave herself another chance. In case of Miss Thompson and Teddy in the short movie clip, they taught each other that they could make a difference on some one's life. The movie clip shows that the lesson that second chances allow for improved behaviors which can lead to making a meaning difference to other people’s lives. Therefore, not everything can be done perfectly on people’s first try, offering themselves a second chance and make a memorable difference on each other’s lives.
August 16th, 2010
Humanities
One’s Identity is Formed by Societal Expectations.
One's identity is formed by societal expectations is a main theme of Roald Dahl's short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter." The protagonist, Mary Maloney, is a perfect wife, who prepares every need for her husband. The setting is about 1940's. Wives are expected to keep the house organized, offer drinks and food to their husbands, prepare a delicious meal and wait for their husbands to come. If a husband left his wife, the society would assume that the wife wasn't good enough for her husband. So, the wives who were abandoned by their husbands, were also ignored by their community. Her identity was shaped my societal expectations of being 'perfect', happy and lovely. "There was a slow smiling air about her, and about everything she did." Also, Mary Maloney was the 'perfect' wife, and when her husband said he is leaving her, she was in a massive shock. She followed the societal expectation, so that her husband would keep loving her. Therefore, Mary Maloney killed her husband with a leg of lamb. After the murder, she had to cover up her crime because wives are not expected to murder their husband. If others knew about her murder, she would be drifted away from the society, her house and her first baby. Mary had to save her own identity and also her baby’s identity. She could not let her baby’s image to be ruined because of her crime.
Shaping one's identity by societal expectation can be seen in many different forms. In the article "Children Palliative Care 'Poor'", the experts discuss about parents who put an intensive care to their children and in those cases, the rate of their children's death are higher than others. The number of children dying from intensive care which could involve aggressive management, increased from 80% in 1997 to 91% in 2004. The societal expectation of the parents is to care for their children, feed, talk and love them. On the other hand, if the parents did not follow their expectations, the society will assume that those parents are horrible that they should not be in this community. Therefore, the parents often put intensive care towards their children. "Parental and societal expectations regarding children's good health and long life spans prompts them to seek aggressive curative care despite the benefits of such a course being unclear." If the intensive care stayed, the experts predicted that the procedure of curing their children would be more painful and complicated. Since parents are not aware of these consequences, they care their children intensively in their best way which informs the readers that parent's identity is formed by parental and societal expectations.
One's identity can be shifted because of any events or expectations. People are likely to change their identity and follow societal expectations. If a person didn't fit in the society because he didn't change his identity to what the society wants him to be, he would be kicked out from the community. In the case of Mary Maloney, her perfect image made by societal expectations was abandoned from her husband. In the case of the parents in the article, they exaggerated the parental and societal expectations and put intensive care to their children. Having our own identity to fit in the society is essential, however, no one's identity can be stable for a long time.
Shaping one's identity by societal expectation can be seen in many different forms. In the article "Children Palliative Care 'Poor'", the experts discuss about parents who put an intensive care to their children and in those cases, the rate of their children's death are higher than others. The number of children dying from intensive care which could involve aggressive management, increased from 80% in 1997 to 91% in 2004. The societal expectation of the parents is to care for their children, feed, talk and love them. On the other hand, if the parents did not follow their expectations, the society will assume that those parents are horrible that they should not be in this community. Therefore, the parents often put intensive care towards their children. "Parental and societal expectations regarding children's good health and long life spans prompts them to seek aggressive curative care despite the benefits of such a course being unclear." If the intensive care stayed, the experts predicted that the procedure of curing their children would be more painful and complicated. Since parents are not aware of these consequences, they care their children intensively in their best way which informs the readers that parent's identity is formed by parental and societal expectations.
One's identity can be shifted because of any events or expectations. People are likely to change their identity and follow societal expectations. If a person didn't fit in the society because he didn't change his identity to what the society wants him to be, he would be kicked out from the community. In the case of Mary Maloney, her perfect image made by societal expectations was abandoned from her husband. In the case of the parents in the article, they exaggerated the parental and societal expectations and put intensive care to their children. Having our own identity to fit in the society is essential, however, no one's identity can be stable for a long time.
