Speak Up!

 

In the book Friendswood by René Steinke, Willa, a 15 year old girl, was raped at a party. Willa is a smart and unpopular sophomore who, like all the other girls, had a crush on Cully. Cully is a senior and the star of the football team. He is the complete opposite of Willa, but somehow she was still head over heels for him. One day, after school, Willa accidentally ran into Cully and he invited her to come to the Lawbournes' for lunch. She agreed, but didn't know that it was actually a party. At the party, people were popping pills and drinking alcohol, which were not things that Willa usually did. She was the only girl and in order to impress Cully, she started drinking but only remembers having a few sips. She got really drunk and woke up the next morning naked and alone on a bed. She doesn't remember anything that happened at the party and was really confused. When she got out of bed to get dressed, she noticed that she noticed that SLUT was written across her thigh. She didn't remember it then, but Willa had been raped that night by Cully and his friends. 

 

In the morning, Mrs. Thompson, who was checking on things while the Lawbournes were away, saw Willa in bed all alone. Mrs. Thompson must have seen how confused and upset Willa looked but instead of comforting her, she makes petty remarks. Mrs. Thompson tells Willa that she'll tell her mother what she saw. She should have assessed the situation and understood what had happened. Mrs. Thompson should have been there for Willa and stood up for her. She should have asked what happened and been there to support Willa. Mrs. Thompson should not have been judgement towards Willa and fought for her. Even though Mrs. Thompson didn't know Willa, she should have been there to fight for her. Most rape victims don't want to talk about their experience, but if they know that there is someone to speak up for them, they will no longer feel alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzinNywG6ps
 

To Lie or Not to Lie

"The Necklace" is a short story by Guy de Maupassant that takes place in Paris in 1884. Mathilde, the protagonist, is a woman born into a lower-middle class family, but always imagined herself as belonging to the high-class. She believed that it was an error of fate that she was born into a lower income household. Monsieur Loisel, her husband, gets tickets to a high status ball, but she is unhappy with it because she doesn't want to embarrass herself. Her husband gives her money for a new dress and Jeanne Forestier, her friend, lends her a "diamond" necklace, which was a symbol of class. To her, the necklace represented happiness. At the ball, she feels so confident and looks very fancy, but later realizes that she lost the necklace. When they are unable to find it, they replace it and work for years to pay off the loans. After a few years, she sees her friend again and tells her the truth. Forestier surprisingly reveals that the necklace was fake and only cost about 500 francs.

I do not think that Maltilde did the "right thing." When she realized that she lost the necklace, the first thing she should have done was tell her friend the truth. Then she should have offered to pay for the necklace, even though her husband and her didn't have that much money. If she told the truth instead of hiding it, she would have saved more than 35,000 francs and a lot of time. She would not have wasted 10 years in doing hard work to pay off the dept and wouldn't have lost her beauty. The moral of the story is that telling the truth is always the best option. Throughout the short story, the tone and narrative of Maltilde showed that she was ungrateful and dissatisfied with her life, which is wrong because she should have been content with it. She should have been glad that she has a husband that loves and cares for her. Her one night of glory and popularity caused a lot of pain to her family. She should not have been too obsessed to materialistic things.

The Perilous Fight

While the national anthem is playing, most people stand up and put their right hand to their heart, but this is not what Colin Kaepernick did during the game with Green Bay. Kaepernick, a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, created controversy when he refused to stand during the national anthem in protest to the mistreatment of African Americans and other minorities in the United States. Instead, he knelled while the song was being played. During an interview after the game, Kaepernick stated that "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." He did it to show that what is being done towards minorities is wrong and something needs to be done about it. Although I do think that it is important to express what you are feeling and protest when you believe that something wrong is happening, I think that he could have handled it in a better manner. Kaepernick should not have brought politics into football, a family sport which people watch to relax and entertain themselves. He also showed disrespect to the country and to all the people who fought for the freedoms we have. If he wanted to protest, he should have done it outside of his workplace. In the interview, he also said that it would be selfish of him to look away from the issue which is why he took a "stand" but he could have taken a stand in any other place or done it in a different way. I don't think that Colin Kaepernick did the "right" thing when he knelled during the national anthem, but I also don't think he did a completely wrong thing because he was doing it for a good cause. He felt that as a public figure, he could make a different by shedding light on the issue and help other minorities like him.

Do The Right Thing

The quote "...Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leave a society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. connects to Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. In the script for the movie, Radio Raheem stands outside Sal's Pizzeria blasting music which makes Sal so angry that he took a bat and breaks Radio Raheem's boom box. After his most valued possession is destroyed, Radio Raheem freaks out and starts physically fighting with Sal. Later when the police come, they put Radio Raheem in a choke hold to stop him but in the while, kill him. Radio Raheem's hatred of Sal caused him to join the boycott and blast the music in from of the pizzeria. Sal's hatred of the music and tendencies to be a little racist caused him to get so angry that he smashed the boom box. This goes to show that both their violent acts were a result of their hatred of each other. After witnessing the death of Radio Raheem, black people in the community including Mookie grew extremely furious. Even though Da Mayor tried to stop the riot, he was not able after Mookie threw a garbage can into the window of the pizzeria. They completely destroyed Sal's Pizzeria and burnt it to the ground. Mookie's hatred towards Sal and his anger at what just happened made his start the riot that burnt down the pizzeria. The violence destroyed the community and caused the blacks in the community to be against white people and police officers. The violence ended Radio Raheem's life and brought down Sal's Pizzeria. The events that happened will cause Sal and his sons to hate black people even more and make the people in the community intolerant to the people who caused their pain.

 

 

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