9/14/2017 4 Comments Life Choice: The Powers That Be? • Print out, read, and annotate My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou).
• Write a 50-word introduction that provides the focus of the blog post (two-sentence summary of the story and transition to questions) and a link to the reading. • Write a 200-word argument that responds to this question: Did you agree with Margaret's choice to break the casserole dish and two green glass cups? • Write a 200-word narrative that illustrates a response to this question: When have you made an important choice to either resist or not resist oppression, challenge the status quo, or refuse to obey an authority figure? In this weeks blog, I read the short story My Name is Margaret by Maya Angelou. The story is about a young slave named Margaret and the events that led to Mrs. Cullinan, her slave keeper, shortening her name to Mary. Margaret saw this as disrespectful and chose to break the china valued by Mrs. Cullinan in revenge. Also, I provided a time when I chose to resist or not resist oppression and if I agree with Margaret’s choice to break the dish and glass cups. I agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and two cups because her breaking the valued china was a metaphorical way of saying that she valued her name and her life and Mrs. Cullinan broke what Margaret valued. Margaret was a slave and she barley had any say in how things in her life happened, her name was probably one of the only thing of hers that she could call her own and Mrs. Cullinan and her friend disrespected that by changing it to Mary. Margaret breaking Mrs. Cullinan’s casserole dish and glass cups was a mild way of putting her in Margaret’s shoes. The fact that Margaret knew that breaking the casserole dish and glass cups could come with severe consequences, she still decided it was necessary. By going through this act it shows how much Margaret was really offended. When I think back to high school, going against the status quo was a unusual and difficult thing to do. There were many things that were considered “status quo” — especially drinking and drug use. For example, my two closest friends and I would always meet up before the Friday night football games. Ever since we started high school they started the routine of drinking or getting high before the games. I would get asked to join in but I could never get fully comfortable with the risk of running into a family member or a friends parent while I was drunk or high at the games. They would sometimes get mad at me for denying their offer as a way of judging them and their choices but drinking and smoking was not something I wanted to do. As high school went on, I watched many of my closest friends give in to the status quo. I challenged the status quo by doing my own thing and staying away from the situations that involved drugs and alcohol. Going along with the crowd seemed like the easy way to handle many situations, but I chose not to, even when it meant being judged and sometimes ridiculed by my friends. This also meant losing some of my closest friends because they did not understand and support my decisions. Hopefully, these decisions will have a positive effect on my life, just as Margaret hoped her action would have a positive effect on her life.
4 Comments
Julia Thornton
9/18/2017 06:30:44 am
Kacie,
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Walter Foggy
9/18/2017 08:55:59 am
Hi Kacie ,
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9/19/2017 08:42:46 am
I really am moved by your decision to stay sober through school. Nowadays it's seen as "weird" or "boring" to choose sobriety, but I thinks it a terrific decision. I also chose to be sober after going through an emotionally/physically abusive relationship and saw what alcohol can do to people. So, cheers to you and it's something (I think... You should be very proud of).
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9/20/2017 09:12:16 pm
It was intriguing to hear your story about a past dilemma involving drugs and alcohol. I'm glad you didn't succumb to it and stayed sober throughout high school.
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Kacie Montanothis blog will be used to talk about the course and my views. Archives
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