Wednesday, the 22nd of October
Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued
The theme ‘Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued’ is prominent in the story Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes. This is because Luella makes Roger feel like she believes in him and in the good side of all people. Then Roger feels valued and he listens to what she says and does what she tells him to do. Luella was kind to him and although he tried to steal her pocketbook, she grabbed him, shook him up, and then took him home. At her house, she made him wash him face and comb his hair, and then fed him and talked to him about what he did. I think that by showing Roger that someone cared about him, it made him feel better about his life and his current situation. He has no family or friends that we know of to tell him what is wrong and what is right. However no that he as been guided along the right path and seen the good in people, he realises that he, on his own, can also help himself change and be a good person in life. He might view life differently. He will probably not steal, instead he will ask or work for something he wants. Luella feels compassion towards to him and he feels good about this (I assume). I think when he is sitting at her table, eating the food she prepared for him, he is thinking about what he tried to do and why he chose to do it. He must feel bad for what he did and he is now listening to and following Luella’s orders (wash your face, eat some more) in order to let her know that he truly feels bad for what he did. Luella, from his actions, realises that he feels repent. As he is leaving her house he feels, in my opinion, good because he now knows that someone cares for him, but at the same time he is feeling bad because he has to live with the knowledge that he attempted to rob an honest old lady. He looks back at her house, remembering all that she has told him and done for him. He migh get an honest job that requires no experience and hence his life will be better. He may learn how to work for something he wants and not steal anymore. I think he now feels much better because from Luella’s actions he received the knowledge that people actually do care about what is happening to him, and that there are, or should be, others like Luella who can also help him and maybe take in and care for him. He feels valued and I think he will never attempt to steal again.
The theme ‘Showing belief in someone can help them to feel valued’ is also prominent in The Teddy Stallard story. Teddy is a withdrawn 5th grade boy who does not show much interest in school. His teacher, Ms Thompson, does not like him very much. He is always messy and dirty and does not get along well with the other children. She takes delight in marking his papers with a bright red pen and putting a large “F” at the top of his papers. One day, as is mandatory for all teachers, she had to review all students’ records. She put off Teddy’s till the end, but she was in for a surprise. His 2nd grade teacher wrote that he was a smart boy who is a joy to be around. His 3rd grade teacher said that he is feeling a bit worried as his mother has a terminal illness and is in hospital. His 4th grade teacher wrote that his mother’s death has been hard on him and that he is a quiet and withdrawn. Ms Thompson realises what he has been going through and feels very bad about herself for being so harsh on him. She had no idea that his home life was affecting his school work so much. I think that if she knew earlier, she would not have been that harsh and mean to Teddy. At Christmas, when all the students would give their teacher a gift, Teddy’s gift was clumsily wrapped in brown grocery bag paper. All the other kids laughed at him. His gift was a rhinestone bracelet with some stones missing, and a quarter full bottle of perfume. She wears both immediatley and admires them, seeing how beautiful they were and showing the kids that she valued this thoughtful gift better than expensive, new gifts. This ceases the other kids' laughter, and after class, Teddy tells her that she reminds him of his mom. Ms Thompson cries a lot. She never knew that even with all his problems and what she did to him, he still appreciates her very much. She then gives Teddy special attention, and by the end of the year he is one of the smartest students in the class. Ms Thompson showed Teddy that he is valued and someone cares about him: he is not comepletely alone in this world. Because of this, Teddy realised that he can get by in life. It all seeme easier to him once Ms Thompson had nudged hm in the right direction. He felt valued and hence studied harder at school, received good marks, went to college, got a Master’s degree, found a nice girl and got married. This is not an everyday feat carried out by most average students with no problems at home. If Ms Thompson had not shown him that he was valued in life and that someone cared, he would never have believed in himself enough to aspire to become who he actually became. I think that if she had never helped him, he would not have gotten good marks in school and hence he would get a terrible job, always wallowing in misery about his life. This is not a good life to lead at all. Ms Thompson helped him avoid that path. His success is linked to the teacher's actions very much. When the teacher showed compassion to him and was kind and helpful to him, she ignited that spark inside of him that made him feel like life wasnt that hard and impossible to get by anymore. Instead of being withdrawn, he stepped forward and took control of his own life by choosing to learn harder and always aim for the best. He feels valued b the teacher since he sends the teacher many letters after he leaves her class, telling her about his life and any problems he might have been having, but in every letter he repeatedly tells her that she is the best teacher he ever had. Teddy invites her to his wedding to sit in the seat where the mother of the groom sits. He loved her so much that she was like a mother to him. She accepts and attends the wedding. They talk after the wedding and he thanks her again so much for believing in him and caring for him. She then thanks him for showing her that even she alone could make a huge difference in someone's life. They had a very close mother-son relationship. She had a huge impact on his life and he will not, and cannot, ever forget her.
Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued because it makes them feel like someone cares and is sympathetic with them. It makes life much easier when you know there are people who are on your side.
Monday, the 16th of August, 2010
Betrayal Scars the Soul
In the story 'Lamb to the Slaughter', the theme 'Betrayal scars the soul' is clearly evident. This is because Patrick betrayed Mary by telling her he is getting a divorce, and then, in a fit of rage, Mary killed Patrick. Mary could not accept Patrick as her husband since he had betrayed her and scarred her soul terribly. Mary was always the faithful housewife; waiting for and serving him. She was not prepared for this at all. She never expected such a huge betrayal from Patrick. She could not simply accept the divorce lying down. So she took the frozen leg of lamb she was preparing for dinner and she hit him with it with such force that he died. She must have thought that in that time period, being a widowed mother would sound better than divorced single mother. Patrick had branded her as a divorced single mother, but by killing him she gained a status slightly better; widow of a murdered man. She was doing the thing that she felt was right for the baby. Mary did not think Patrick was being fair or justified at all. He was not thinking about the baby and about her side of the story. He simply went ahead, betrayed her, and in the process scarred her soul and he died.
In the movie 'Inception', 'Betrayal scars the soul' is also clearly evident. This is because Cobb (the main character, Leonardo DiCaprio) had a scarred soul by betraying his wife. He was not as delusional as his wife; he accepted the fact that he was back in reality. However Mal (his wife) thought that she was in the dream world. This is because Cobb betrayed his wife by performing inception on her. He feels very guilty and responsible for her death. His soul is scarred very badly. This affects his subconscious very much because whenever he is in the dream world, his subconscious pulls Mal into the dream and she becomes very unstable, killing everyone and sabotaging the job. A big part of the plot is Cobb's inner struggle to restrain his emotions and his memories. Sometimes he feels like he is actually in a dream when he is in reality because his mind is very preoccupied. However in the end of the movie it is revealed that he actually was indirectly responsible for his wife's death. His soul remained scarred.
In both Inception and Lamb to the slaughter 'Betrayal scars the soul' is clearly evident. In Lamb to the slaughter, Patrick betrayed Mary and her soul became scarred as she then killed him. In Inception, Cobb betrayed Mal and this lead to his inner struggle with his bad memories. His soul was heavily scarred and he could not go back in time to reverse his actions. 'Betrayal scars the soul' is a clearly evident theme in both Lamb to the slaughter and Inception.
