Is Heavy Drinking Be Part of Culture? (Blog Assignment #3)

9/19/12

              Can serious drinking be part of one's cultural heritage?

I do not agree with this question because I feel like it is a stereotype, such as saying all Irish drink, a common stereotype. I do, however, feel that serious drinking can stem from how one was raised. For example, If a child grew up with parents who were heavy drinkers, they grow up with the thought that it is normal to consume that amount of alcohol. As seen in "Drinking with Daddy" by Susan Cheever, drinking was just a norm for Susan and her family. Almost every night adults would come to their suburban home and have martinis. Because she was exposed to this at such a young age, Susan grew up thinking that consuming a large amount of alcohol on weekdays was common and normal. It has nothing to do with culture or ethnicity, just how one was raised. Alcoholism is also a disease, which can be genetic. This stems from genes, not ethnicity. It is all based on one's personal family life and health history. Regardless of where serious drinking comes from, there is help and one should not feel alone if they find themselves in such a situation.

   

"Two Kinds" Free Write

9/17/12

       After reading Amy Tan's "Two Kinds" short story, I could not help comparing it to the TLC show "Toddlers in Tiaras". They just seemed too similar. On the show, the young girls compete in beauty pageants. Their mothers force them to do so, and we know this because in the interviews the girls do nothing but complain. The children have to get their hair and makeup done and sometimes spray tans and fake eyelashes. All so their daughter can become famous. This is exactly what Amy Tan's mother did to her. Mrs. Tan was so obsessed with making Amy famous that she would go to any extent from getting her hair done (and destroyed), to grilling and testing her on various academic subjects.
      It seems that in both the short story and the show, the mothers are living out what they could not have as a child through their children. For example, on the show, many of the mothers competed in beauty pageants when they were young, but did not win. They now have a disturbing obsession with making their own daughters win the show, because they could not do so for themselves. In the short story, it is mentioned that Mrs. Tan had a rough life in China before she moved to the United States. She lost her twin babies and had other hardships. By forcing Amy to whatever it takes to become famous, she was living vicariously through her daughter. I find it interesting how people will do whatever it takes to get whatever they want despite the fact that it might hurt someone else along the way.

Theme from "The Use of Force" (Blog #1)

9/11/12

             William Carlos William's short story "The Use of Force" is the story of Dr. William's attempt to coax a young girl to open her mouth so he can properly diagnose her. However, his attempts are met with strong resistance, and he eventually must use force to pry open the little girl's mouth to save her. Throughout the text, many emotions are described. They range from frustration to downright violence within three pages. Because of the emotions displayed, it can be argued that the most important theme in the short story would be “The desire to help may be met with resistance”.  Following in second would be “Children are capable of stubborn furry”. The final most important theme in “The Use of Force” is “People may secretly admire those who resist them”.      

         “The desire to help may be met with resistance” is the theme that reoccurs frequently in the story. From the beginning, it was quite clear that the young girl would not cooperate with Dr. Williams. From the beginning, the child was difficult. She refused to answer the doctor’s questions about her sore throat and refused to open her mouth for an examination. Eventually it got to the point of physically attacking him. Resistance is evident throughout the entire story. “Children are capable of stubborn fury” is another high ranked theme for this story. As stated before, the girl attacked Dr. Williams and refused to open her mouth. When he tried, she screamed as though she was being murdered. This furry coming from such a small child proves what children are capable of.  Despite the violent resistance, “People secretly admire those who resist them” is relevant because Dr. Williams states that he had “already fallen in love with the child” because of her large efforts to fight him off, even though receiving the throat culture would save her life.

         Eventually, Dr. Williams is able to pry open Mathilda’s mouth. Because of the state of her tonsils, she is clearly sick. The story ends with Mathilda crying in defeat despite her best efforts to defend herself against the doctor. Out of all the themes that can be chosen for “The Use of Force”, resistance and furry are the most prominent.

9/10/12 

           This semester in Rhetoric and Composition,  I hope to achieve good grades and improve my writing skills. My goal is to earn high grades on my essays and writing assignments. I hope to come out of the semester with a new understanding on how to compose an essay the correct way.