September 8, 2010
Showing Compassion Builds Character
Showing compassion builds character is a dominant theme in Langston Hughes’ short story, "Thank You Ma’am.” Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones was portrayed as a large woman who carried a large purse. She was casually strolling the streets at night when that purse caught the eye of a 14-year-old boy named Roger, which lead to their encounter. Mrs. Jones grabbed the boy, and brought him back to her house. She pampered him by feeding him, cleaning him up and teaching him a valuable lesson. Mrs. Jones act of compassion helped Roger learn from his mistakes and see that what he was doing was a terrible thing because she had faced the same problem when she was around the his age. When she cleaned him up, it was as if she was rinsing away the person he used to be and was creating a new person that was hidden under all that dirt. In the end, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones gave Roger 10 dollars to go out and by him some blue suede shoes. In fact it was all Roger desired for the whole time. Those blue suede shoes. It shows her compassion towards his wants and happiness. I think it was her way of saying, “ here’s a your chance to make things better. You might not get another chance like this. Go make use of it.” It shows that she wants the best for Roger, that he is capable of doing the right things instead of wrong. Mrs. Jones probably knows that Roger is just a boy, and boys who are still in the process of ageing still make those wrong choices in life, that it wasn’t Rogers intention of doing it in the first place. Showing compassion can truly build another persons character to improve who they are, they just need that trust and belief in a person. It can also affect a relationship between two people like a teacher and a student, but compassion can come in many shapes and sizes.
Compassion can be conveyed in different forms. In the short video clip, “ Make A Difference,” a teacher is unaware of the struggles her student, Teddy Stallard, has to face. Until one day, she reads his past reports and finds out that Teddy was a bright child with a ready laugh, but it was the tragedy in his life that took it all away. She shows her compassion and changes Teddy Stallard’s life forever. The changes all began when, Miss Thompson realized what was happening in the child’s life and became ashamed of herself. She quit teaching reading, writing and maths and began to teach children. Teddy’s mind began to come alive as soon as this change was made because she paid a little more attention to him and she encouraged him a lot more and by the end he was one of the smartest students. Her compassion in Teddy shows how with a little encouragement and a positive attitude can really change a person’s view of a problem. Miss Thompson showed Teddy that he was still that smart student, which he was in the years before. Now Teddy writes letters to her, explaining accomplishments he has achieved. Teddy grew up to be a doctor, and with each passing year he kept writing to her saying that she was still one of the “best teachers he’d ever had in his whole life.” Because she was the one who was there when nobody else was,with her compassion she built up a new Teddy Stallard because it was all there- the willingness, the brains, the smiles, but it was just hidden from everyone else because no one else bothered to try bringing it out of him, except for Miss Thompson. In the end, having faith in someone is all some people need. They just need to know that someone has the belief in them that they can do it. The compassion someone brings, helps build who we are.
Compassion is when someone takes time to show you that they care, and when this action is performed it helps build character. “Thank You Ma’am,” and “Make A Difference” both demonstrate someone taking their time to improve somebody else. Mrs. Jones brought Roger back to her place, so she could teach him and show him what’s right and what’s wrong. In Miss Thompson’s case she saw the struggles Teddy was facing and she decided to show her compassion and help him out. Getting over boundaries is sometimes hard to do, but when someone is there to lend a hand it makes everything effortless and trouble free and you get a better view of yourself because you realized the troubles due to some body else's help.
August 16th, 2010
Betrayal scars the soul is a dominant theme in Roald Dahl's short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter.” The main character, Mary Maloney lived a ‘perfect’ life. She had a husband whom she adored and has a wonderful baby on the way. She waited patiently for her husbands return, so that the ‘empty’ chair beside hers was filled by the end of the day. She is pleased by the every action of tending to his every need. Mary ensured that her husband was satisfied as well taken care of. Mary always thought that this ‘flawless’ world of hers could never go wrong. That nothing unfortunate will ever shatter it. But that ambition comes crumbling down, when her husband comes home uneasy and announces that he will be leaving her. Mary then realizes that he had betrayed her as well as the utopia she created for herself. She is then ‘scared’ by this memory of betrayal by her husband, because she didn’t anticipate it to ever happen to her.
Betrayal can be portrayed in many different forms. I found betrayal in a song called, Over You by Chris Daughtry. People like to think that the person they share their life with is going to stay throughout the ups and downs, and is going to be right there beside you, but things can change when “they drop the ball on you.” In the song it says, “I can’t believe you were the one, to build me up and tear me down, like an old abandoned house.” This shows that people can build you up with kindness and love, but they can do that just as easily as they can take it all away. And I think the news can just leave you “cold and out of breath.” Like you can’t bear to think that this is happening. It's sad to think that this person you love can betray you in such a way, that it leaves a scar in your soul, that could make you see life in a whole new perspective. I think this song is about learning from those betrayals that leave left you scared, to “slowly get closure.” And to over come it and put you back together again. And although you can try to cover those scars, its still going to be there as a reminder and a memory of mistakes of what you never saw coming.
Betrayal will always be in your memories. Some may show physically and some may affect your life for a long time, while others may fade. But it always somehow leaves a scar somewhere in you. In the story of Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary’s husband, who she supposedly thought loved her as much as she loved him, tore her down. In the song, Over You by Chris Daughtry, is shows a person trying to mend their scars that their loves ones brought to them. Your soul is important and it’s what creates who you are, but if something like betrayal hits it, it changes sometimes for the better…but sometimes for the worst.
