September 7 2010
Entry #2: Showing someone they are valued builds integrity.
Showing someone they are valued builds integrity, is a theme found in “Thank you Ma’am”. This is because when Luella fed and gave Roger money, he actually changed as a person and realised how kind\ she was, even after he had just robbed her. This represents the theme because, when Luella fed and gave Roger money, that was considered showing him he is valued to her. The change in integrity was when Roger became a better person, and actually managed to make himself say thank you, because if you think about it, robbers don’t rob people and then say thank you. The fact that he used to be a robber and how he behaved so well after she showed him that he was valued to her, implies this theme. He also behaved when at her house and didn't try to steal anything or run away from Luella. A robber would try to at least escape or steal some things while she wasn’t looking but he didn't try to at all. The characteristics of Roger at the end of the story compared to the beginning of the story has a huge difference in how his morals have improved as a person.
For the contemporary source I choose the book “The boy in the striped pajamas” as i have both read the book and watched the movie. This story is taken place during world war two. The protagonist's name is Bruno, and he happens to be the son of a general under “The Fury” serving the Nazi’s in times of war. The fury, unknown to Bruno, is who we now know as, Hitler. Due to Bruno’s fathers job, they move to a new house, which was near a camp site in which they held Jewish people captive as prisoners, separated by a long fence. Bruno decides to explore outside the house a little bit, and meets Shmuel, a boy on the other side of the fence, Bruno visits Shmuel everyday, and they grow a strong bond. Bruno would try to bring Shmuel food from time to time, as apparently the food they serve in they’re camp was horrible. Shmuel, who was very shy, quiet, and sad at first, soon began to be a much happier, brighter boy, once befriended by Bruno. The theme is applied in this story because, when Bruno decides to befriend him, that is showing that Shmuel is valued to him. Through the course of they’re friendship, Shmuel soon becomes a much nicer and happier person, for example, when Bruno brought Shmuel food, that shows that Bruno cares about him, which probably made Shmuel feel good about himself, and realise that no everyone in the world is bad. In terms of Integrity, it isn’t very good to be always sad, you should be able to have fun and be happy from time to time.
http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0385751060.asp
To me, these two stories are quite similar besides they’re time, storyline, and genre, the theme in which these two stories are represented are similar. When Mrs Luella showed that Roger was valued to her, Roger changed as a person realizing how kind people could be. When before he was a robber. In “The Boy In The Striped Pajamas” Shmuel was a boy who was shy, and quiet, and quite sad. But when Bruno came along and showed Shmuel that he cared, Shmuel ended up being a happy and high spirited boy, building his integrity just like Roger when he was shown compassion and care.
August 16 2010
Entry #1: One’s identity is formed by societal expectations
"One’s identity is formed by societal expectations" is what I believe to be the most dominant theme, in the short story "Lamb To The Slaughter" written by Roald Dahl. The main character of this story, Mary Maloney, is seen as the perfect housewife, one who would, do the housework, and attend to her husband's every whim. This all changed when Patrick Maloney, claim's that he was leaving her, and need'nt make a fuss of it. This changed Mary Maloney, and rather than having him leave her, she killed him with a frozen lamb leg. When the police were investigating the crime scene, noone suspected that it could'nt of been Mary, since they knew her as a nice, happy, bubbly, perfect housewife. This managed her to get away from being arrested or maybe even worse, sentenced to death. This evidence shows that your social status can greatly affect your choices, things that happen to you, and how people treat you. To sum this up, based on your social identity, it can really affect how people see you as a person, and might not really see who you really are inside.
This theme applies to many different things other than "Lamb To The Slaughter." For example, in this novel named "Kira-Kira", the protagonist and her family, go through alot of racial discrimination from they're neighbours and peers. This was because they were Japanese and living in America. This resulted them to be, "awkward" to be around in school for the protagonist. They treated her differently because she was from somewhere else, and looked different from them. They stereotype'd the "Asian" community, and assumed she would be the smartest in the class, when in fact, she was doing very poorly in class.
These two subjects are similar, but in different ways, depends on how you look at it. Mary Maloney wasn't arrested because she was seen as the peacefull, happy person, who couldn't of murdered her own husband she'd loved for years. While in Kira-Kira the protagonist was treated poorly, because of her social identity being someone else different. People stereotyped her for being "different" and noone wanted to be her friend, these two connect, in a sense that depending on how your seen in society, your identity is formed, for either more possible respect, or less. This is something we can't really help in life. You may be born into a family that might be poor, or into a race that is stereotyped for any reason.
