Who Should Speak for Willa?

Who Should Speak for Willa? 

From Friendswood By: René Steinke 

Society today has unwritten and unspoken rules on what is acceptable to do. Whether it is  displaying your own opinion or trying something new for the sake of "fitting in", there are many risks in doing either. 

In Friendswood by René Steinke, the character Willa is a quiet, fifteen year old girl who lives in the town of Friendswood, Texas. She is a smart girl academically and is part of a religious family, who also live in a religious town with people that praise the rules their religion has set forth in the world. Since the town Willa lives in is like this, the people in her town seem to have made much of an impact on a majority of the youth, by keeping her more cultured and away from the vernacular that the other kids around her follow. 

Willa is a sophomore in high school and a virgin, which makes her an easy target to be taken advantage of, along with her quiet demeanor. When given the opportunity, Willa sneaks out of school to go to a party with Cully, an athletic boy who is a senior at Willa's school, whom Willa is infatuated with. Since Willa knows Cully and his friends, who are also at the party, are more adventurous and experienced with doing more adult activities, like drinking alcohol and popping pills, she decides to risk her reputation at this party and impress the boys by joining them. After drinking and taking the pills, Willa starts feeling unsteady and decides to go upstairs and rest for awhile. While she is asleep, Cully and his friends find Willa sleeping and decide to take turns raping her. When Willa wakes up, her clothes are stripped from her body, she is naked, has a headache, and is all alone on the bed. To make matters even worse, Willa discovers the word "slut" written across her thigh in ink that will not come off.  

Willa goes to school with no recollection of what happened the day before, and is asked by her guidance counselor to explain the events and what happened to her. Willa's counselor barely shows any concern for Willa's situation and just tells her to take a few days off of school to clear her mind. Once word spreads throughout the town, Willa is glared at by the townspeople, who show her no compassion or sympathy. 

When Willa discovers what happened to her, she understandably exhibits panic and anxiety on herself. No one in the town decides to support her, and she is left to figure out her problems all by herself, her parents unaware of what happened. 

As a young and inexperienced high school student, Willa is naïve and unaware of what the right thing to do is. Since she is young, she should not have tried to experiment with dangerous pills and alcohol, which clouded her judgement and made her believe that was the only way she could gain the attention of Cully. While Cully and Willa are a few years apart in maturity and age, Cully should have been much smarter socially and know not to take advantage of a younger girl in a town that is surrounded by religious views. 

Willa was known as a more innocent girl because of her immaturity, which was noticed by Dex, a junior boy at Willa's high school. Dex had feelings for Willa, and he was also at the party with her. But, when put to the test, Dex fled the party when he found out what happened to Willa. His feelings for her were only held up to a certain point, for when Willa practically depended on someone to save her, even though she was unaware of what was going on, Dex still decided to step away from the situation and not be involved. 

Since Willa is all by herself in this situation, it also begs the question: Should Willa's parents know about Willa's situation? I feel that Willa is not able to control this situation all by herself, and she needs parental support, or at least help from an adult. In terms of who should speak for Willa, I actually believe that Dex and Cully should speak for Willa. 

I may have an unpopular opinion, but I do believe both boys should speak for Willa. With Dex, he has a weaker argument in defending Willa. Since Dex left after seeing Willa being tormented by Cully and his friends, he avoided in helping her, which makes him look like a culprit. But, if Dex stayed, there would more have likely been a fight between Dex, Cully, and Cully's friends, which would result in Dex getting badly injured from being outnumbered against all the boys combined, as well as his reputation being tarnished by Cully, who could make up even more rumors to belittle Dex and make him look like the bad guy. 

With Cully, if he were either to agree to speak the truth (especially in the case of being in court or any legal system), be heavily sedated/tranquilized, or go through a polygraph (lie detector) test to prove his "innocence", he still would be able to tell everyone in the town of Friendswood what really happened, even with detailed information, such as the inscription on Willa's thigh, and how much he and his friends drank, which contributed to making their reckless decision. However, when/if Cully admits to what he did, hopefully he would get the punishment he deserves and is put behind bars for life. 

In terms of speaking for Willa, even though both Dex and Cully are in the wrong in two completely different ways, Dex would defend Willa, even only serving as a witness for a small amount of time before fleeing the situation to save his reputation. If Dex did not leave, he would still have further descriptions of the event to speak up for Willa. Cully on the other hand, was the true criminal by raping Willa along with his friends, who are also to blame. Since Cully remembered the events after it happened, he would be able to speak up for Willa, not for her. 

"The Necklace" - Did Matilde Have the "Right" Intentions?

Meghan Dhawan
Professor Young
English 1101
October 2, 2017

"The Necklace" - Did Matilde "Do the Right Thing"? 

An Analysis on Character Intentions

In "The Necklace", a short story by Marjorie Laurie, Mademoiselle Matilde Loisel is a young maid who is born into a family of clerks, but aspires have something more in her life. She desires riches, attention, and wants to, in a way, escape from her present life of poverty. Matilde is a lady described as having "Natural fineness (Laurie 39)", and beauty, but still wants more to obtain a "better" image of perfection, to not only please herself, but fulfill the destiny she believes she has always deserved since the start of her career.

In the beginning, Matilde is described as a "pity princess", someone who has the exact necessities in order to survive in the world, but still chooses to complain more about her life, praying and hoping that all her pleas will someday come true and be handed to her. Laurie states, "She (Matilde) dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was as un-happy as though she had already fallen from her proper station, since with women there is neither caste nor rank, and beauty, grace, and charm act instead of family and birth (Laurie 39)." Laurie indicates through this quote that women, have this set of rules engrained in their minds because it was more prevalent during this period of time. This is an allusion (Glossary of Literary Terms) to many cultures today. Like in both the past and today's Indian tradition, there are set Caste Systems for both men and women, both genders made to follow the same sets of rules. For example, Brahmins are labeled as priests and teachers, who are likely to earn more for their social status in the hierarchy, while dahlits (outcastes) are labeled as street sweepers and latrine cleaners, who are considered the "scum of the Earth" who will not amount to any success, and are assumed as past criminals or jobless thieves. "For centuries, The Caste System dictated almost every aspect of the Hindu religion and social life, with each group occupying a specific place in their complex hierarchy. Traditionally, the system bestowed many privileges on the upper castes while sanctioning repression of the lower castes by privileged groups (BBC News/Alamy)". However, even though this story takes place around the 1880s with different ideas of culture, there were other symbols (Glossary of Literary Terms) besides one's position in the hierarchy that identified wealth and status amongst someone.

Mademoiselle Matilde Loisel desires both physical and social wealth, particularly materialistic items that she can show off to others so that they, in turn, will essentially bow down to her. Matilde also desires the potential affection that she could receive from others when wearing her physical wealth. This includes expensive dresses, jewelry, and shoes. Although she is married, she still expects attention from other men when she enters a room. She secretly envies the women whom receive this attention from other possibly married men while the women themselves keep their rings on their fingers to display to the world.

Matilde's character type is also prevalent in today's society. Nowadays, many women have accustomed themselves to believing this type of behavior is okay; where one should desire to be like someone else because they believe they have a better life than themselves. For example, in many high schools, there are girls who are considered more "popular" for having more lavish items than the rest of the other girls in schools, such as more expensive clothes and jewelry. There are also unspoken rules in these types of environments, especially parties, where if one does not have these items, they are considered weirdos, outcasts, delinquents, and fools. I can understand Matilde's point of view, knowing that similar people experience these situations in real life, and feel the only way to reach the top of the food chain, the hierarchy, or the throne, is to succumb to avarice and be a carbon copy of all the other "rich" people in said environments. There is no originality because of this, which also creates a false image that today's youth blindly follows, believing it is okay to act in this manor.

In the short story, Matilde is given an invitation to the palace of the Ministry by the Minister of Public Instruction, as a gift from her husband, who attempts to use his act of kindness as a way to push Matilde out of her comfort zone and attend the parties she's always wanted to go to, despite not having the luxuries the other guests may have, as it was a prestigious event, like many others near their home (Laurie 39). Monsieur Loisel, hoping to see his wife happy, puts his disappointment aside when Matilde, despite receiving the opportunity to go to a lavish party of her dreams, is enraged, knowing that she does not have a dress to wear to the grand event. After Matilde's husband gives her the suggestion to ask her dear friend Mademoiselle Jeanne Forstier if she could borrow a piece of jewelry from her, in which she agrees. Matilde searches through M. Forestier's vast jewelry collection when her eyes get caught on an expensive looking piece, immediately triggering Matilde, who believes she could wear it to the party. M. Forstier lends the necklace to Matilde, who wears it to the party, immediately receiving attention from the other guests, especially the men. All seems right in the world until Matilde and her husband go home and discover that M. Loisel's necklace is lost. Matilde decides to lie to her friend about the whereabouts of her precious jewelry, while Matilde and her husband search the corners of their town trying to find a replacement necklace, but the one they find is too expensive. They buy it anyways, promising to pay the money back as soon as they can. They give the necklace to M. Loisel, and spend the next 10 years earning all the money to pay back the shopkeepers for the necklace. Over this period of time, Matilde grows old while M. Forstier does not seem to have aged as drastically. When they reencounter, Matilde explains to M. Loisel what happened to the precious piece of jewelry she lent Matilde many years ago, while M. Loisel explains that it was a fake piece, not being more than a few francs. The ending of Laurie's story is up to interpretation, as it leaves us with a raining question - "Did Matilde do the right thing?"

I believe that Matilde did not do the right thing, and should have told the truth to her friend, M. Losiel. As a society, we are conditioned by mass media, our peers, and on occasion, even our parents to lie to one another. Lying is used by many as a protective shield to hide the ugly truth from the knowledge of others. I believe that we should be more open with each other, as it creates more trustworthy relationships amongst others, and engages more positivity in everyday life.

Growing up in a more laid-back household, my parents still enforced my younger sister, Brinda, and I to always tell the truth, even if it means losing someone you care about or hurting another's feelings. Since we were kids, when we lied, my parents would not speak to Brinda and I until we came forth about our wrongdoings. Sure, they would not pry information out of us, but they were patient enough to figure out what was bothering us and would not interrogate or yell at us for making a wrong decision.

Though Matilde had faced a bigger problem than one usually does, it would still morally be the correct thing to tell her friend what happened in a calm and collective manor. Since Matilde was panicking when she discovered the necklace had disappeared, she could have waited for a few hours and came to a more rational conclusion, rather than immediately thinking she could fool her friend into believing she gave the exact same necklace back. After cooling down, she could have either called, or better yet, visited M. Loisel and calmly explained the situation to her, without (possibly) accusing her of losing the necklace being her fault, or being derogatory towards her. If she did that, Matilde could have avoided the many conflicts she made along the way while trying to solve this huge conflict. Matilde and her husband would not have had to search the entire town they lived in in a limited amount of time so that they could find a replica of the necklace, which was fairly overpriced. Matilde also could have had a clean conscious (not that it is expressed in the story that she had one at this point of time) and felt better to not have put her husband under so much pressure, by having him walk on foot in order to retrace her steps, figuring out where she might have dropped the necklace. "He went to Police Headquarters, to the newspaper offices, to offer a reward; he went to the cab companies - everywhere, in fact, whither he was urged by the least suspicion of hope (Laurie 52)."
If I were Matilde, I would owe my life to anyone who decided to do good deeds and help me out of the kindness of their hearts.

In the short story, Matilde is perceived as more of an antagonist, but we later discover she is a dynamic character and changes direction in her perception of life and success. In the introduction, Matilde is described as snarky and materialistic, with the desire for objects and affection she cannot afford. Using her grotesque attitude, she disrespects her husband, who still decides to stay by her and help her through her tough situation. By the end of the story, she helps her husband earn back every penny they spent on the necklace, which they must return to the shopkeeper who sold Matilde the necklace replica.

"The Necklace" by Marjorie Laurie shows how far one can go with lying, and how succumbing to avarice is the biggest weakness of oneself, which can lead to bigger and more troubles when not handled correctly. It also shows how one must be honest with whomever they have issues with, so conflicts can be solved more easily and more healthy relationships and friendships can form in society.


Articles Used:

"The Necklace" By Marjorie Laurie

"The Indian Caste System" By BBC News/Alamy

"Glossary of Literary Terms"



               

Micheal Bennett - "Do the Right Thing"

Meghan Dhawan

Professor Young

English 1101

September 19, 2017

Michael Bennett "Do the Right Thing"

On August 26, 2017, American football player Michael Bennett, defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National football League, went to Las Vegas to attend the Mayweather-McGregor wrestling match. After the fight concluded, Bennett went to return to his hotel when he heard the sound of gunshots. When he attempted to flee the situation, police showed up and targeted Bennett by pointing their guns at him. The police then forcefully restrained Bennett, assuming he was an accomplice of one or more of the shooters, and held Bennett down as he pleaded for mercy. Bennett tried to beg to the officers, explaining his innocence as best as could, all while they kept a tight grip on him.

"I kept asking the officers "What did I do?" and reminding them that I had rights they were duty bound to respect. All I could think of was 'I'm going to die for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.' My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls. Would I ever play with them again? Or watch them have kids? Or be able to kiss my wife and tell her I love her (Bennett SBNATION)?"

Michael Bennett faced injustice for a crime he did not commit and was unjustly assaulted and almost injured from police officers who looked like they were only "doing their job". Bennett in turn believes highly that the best course of action would be to sue the police officers who hurt him. 

With authority, you are expected to give respect, who are held to a higher degree and are seen as model figures of society. However, it is only formfitting that because of this, everyone has their place in society, and should be treated just as equally as authority figures. With respect becoming a less important factor in basic human connection, people around the world need to know that everyone deserves to be respected, but are also required to have Freedom of Speech held to a certain degree. In a situation like Bennett's, the police should have examined what was going on from the start and found the other people who actually started shooting. The police also could have identified Bennett before making assumptions that he was a menacing figure and handcuffing him on the spot. The world around us is quickly being engulfed in incidents like this everyday, and it is becoming more and more apparent. I believe that Bennett did the right thing when trying to speak for himself and eventually come to the conclusion that the police should be sued for their false accusations against Bennett. Personally, I am opposed to using the opportunity to sue as a means of "taking the easy way out" to clear one's name and save one's reputation, all while having the 50/50 chance of earning money for taking the step. In this case, however, I believe Bennett's course of actions is justified here and that the police should issue a public apology to Bennett for making racist assumptions against his character. Cancelling out the factor that he is a famous football player, as a grown man in society who just had this entire incident filmed on camera, Bennett seems like the type of person who wants to spread a more positive message to society, by telling the world that one should not feel like their skin color should be a defining feature of where they are placed in society. With the issue of police attacks on innocent black people becoming more prevalent in the world today, the police force needs to understand their place as authority figures in society, and the degree they are held to. People like Michael Bennett need to show the world that one should speak up as their course of action if they are put in these situations, even if it means disrespecting authority figures.

"Do the Right Thing" Quote Response

Meghan Dhawan
English 1100
9/7/17
Professor Young

In Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, we see many examples of violence shown throughout the script. One of the main conflicts we see is in Salvatore "Sal"'s Pizzeria when Buggin' Out is looking at all the various framed posters on the Wall of Fame in the restaurant and notices that there are no famous black people on the wall, which causes him to lose control or "bug out".

Taken from page 77 of the script: 

SAL

"What did I tell you 'bout dat noise?"

BUGGIN' OUT

"What did I tell you 'bout dem pictures?"

SAL

"What da f***! Are you deaf?"

BUGGIN' OUT

"No, are you? We want some black people up on the Wall of Fame."

This scene in the script then continues to show the argument that goes on between Sal and Buggin' Out. Eventually, Radio Raheem gets involved which prompts Sal to get aggressive and smash Radio Raheem's boom box to smithereens. Radio Raheem then proceeds to beat up Sal, who is almost saved by his two sons, Vito and Pino. Nevertheless, they continue to fight mercilessly on the street until Da Mayor and Da Cops show up.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s quote: "Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. 1988

Dr. Martin Luther King, had strong opinions and views on society. He seemed as though he genuinely wanted the world to prosper and have everyone come together. His ideas on violence and hate were noticed by everyone and people looked up to him and respected his positivity and love. The beginning of the quote "Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love", reminded me of Radio Raheem's two rings. On the left ring, the word "love" was displayed, while the word "hate" was displayed on the right. Radio Raheem believed that anyone would see these two words and take them for their literal meanings, except for him. He wanted to go beyond how people would see love and hate, as he would see both words as violent, aggressive attackers that would always be at war with one another, both sides losing in every battle.

I believe that's how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw the world at times. As much as he wanted to believe and enforce both nonviolence and positivity among society, he must have known that there would always be a constant battle between love and hate. That people would either choose sides for the sake of taking a side, or just disagree with someone for the sake of disagreeing. Though nowadays, with political and social issues taking over the globe, such as transgender love and the Charlottesville Terror incident, it's becoming abundantly clear that not everyone will be on the same side. Some people will show support and be as positive as they can, while others will show violence and hatred on their opposers just because they do not agree with their opinions.

The ideas that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had on non-violence and love did have a lasting impact on a majority of people, but they unfortunately were not strong enough to carry onto the other people who believed more in violence and hate. This also influenced Radio Raheem's opinions on love and hate, as he has taken the original meaning of both words out and tried to pin them as equals. Love and hate: Savage killers who will not stop fighting until one loses; though it will be a war that never stops going.