We all mature in different ways and
at different times. Most people mature naturally and are not forced into adult
duties prematurely. However, that is not the case with Ellen Foster. First of
all, her mother was in and out of the hospital, which means Ellen had nobody to
take care of her during her mother’s absence. Her alcoholic father made it even
harder for her to be without her mother, considering that he did was sit around
and drink all day, instead of taking care of his every day responsibilities. Not
only was her mother in and out of the hospital, but she unfortunately passed
away. This means that Ellen had nobody left to take care of her besides
herself. In addition, she also was exposed to an overwhelmingly traumatic
event. Ellen not only has nobody left, but now she views the world in a darker,
sadder state because she was exposed to death. This event will also force her
to be worried about adult responsibilities, such as bills and feeding herself,
which no eleven year old should be worried about. I am fifteen and I don’t even
know how to pay bills, so it is unimaginable to me that an eleven year old did
it. Basically, Ellen is the coolest kid ever because she can take care of
herself and gets stuff done. However, this could also mean she is the saddest and the
loneliest.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Did George Do the Right Thing?
The ending of John Steinbeck’s novella titled Of Mice and Men is a very controversial topic.
To sum it up, George ends up shooting Lennie, his best friend, in the back of
the head. His motive was kind; he did not want Lennie to suffer. If George did
not shoot Lennie, other men would have killed him for a crime that Lennie committed.
This crime was killing Curley’s wife. If the other men did not kill Lennie for
the crime he committed, then he could have been experimented on due to the fact
that he was impaired mentally. Scientists at the time were trying to figure out
what made some people impaired like Lennie, so he was in constant danger.
Personally, I do think that George killed Lennie out of kindness. If George
wasn’t the one to do it, then Lennie would have suffered immense pain. Also, it’s
not like George wanted to kill him. They were best friends, and George was
sacrificing his own guilt and loneliness to save Lennie from suffering. In
addition, George made sure that Lennie was in his happiest state of mind right
before he died. George was telling Lennie about the rabbits and the farm they
could own, which made Lennie happy. Earlier in the book, the readers got a
sneak peek into Lennie’s mind and saw how he thought. It was filled with
hallucinations, which was a part of his mental illness. He would see and hear
things that were not really there, like his dead Aunt Clara and a talking
rabbit. This is an important detail because in chapter six, right before he was
shot, George told him something about their farm. George said “Look down there
acrost the river, like you can almost see the place.” This makes me wonder. Because
Lennie actually has hallucinations, did he see the farm? Did George tell him to
look for the farm because he knew Lennie would imagine it, and that he would
finally get to see their farm before he died? I may never know the answers to
any of these questions, but I do know for sure that George killed Lennie out of
the kindness of his heart.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Of Mice and Men Compared to "Umbrella" by Rihanna
In the novella Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, a topic that is greatly explored
is friendship. We can see how the two main characters, named George and Lennie,
each depend on one another. They are always there for each other and could not
survive on their own. This topic of friendship reminded me of a song I
used to listen to when I was in elementary school called "Umbrella" by Rihanna. This is a
song about being there for friends when they need you. More specifically, this song
is about being there for each other during bad times. George and Lennie lived during
the Great Depression, which was definitely considered as a hard time for all of
America. No matter how many jobs that Lennie caused George to lose due to his
crazy antics, George would never consider leaving Lennie to be on his own. Friendship
can be a very broad and open subject, but I truly believe that Umbrella
captures everything that Of Mice and Men
is conveying to the reader. A couple lyrics from Umbrella that really remind me
of Of Mice and Men are:
“When
the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'd be here forever
Said I'll always be a friendNow that it's raining more than ever
You can stand under my umbrella.”
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