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The importance of personal responsibility
The necessity for personal responsibility
The necessity for personal responsibility
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Taking care of responsibilities is an important part of life. “Carry Your Own Skis” by Lian Dolan focuses on how this impacts what people are like and how prepared they have become. While “The Washwoman” by Isaac Bashevis Singer shows how these responsibilities affect other people. Showing how prepared you can be will influence how people view you. So no matter where people live or what job they have, it is important to remember what needs done.
In the text “Carry Your Own Skis”, the author demonstrates how taking up individual responsibility improves people’s lives with a simple set of rules. “My mother didn`t teach us to ski until we could carry our own skis from the car to the lodge in the morning and, this is key, from the lodge back
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to the car at the end of the day. Even cold, wet, and tired… No falling behind. No dragging. No whining,” (Paragraph 4). Even at such a young age you can take on responsibilities, even though it was hard. During our younger years, doing anything for ourselves seemed out of the ordinary but in this article all seventeen children and cousins grew up differently. “I began to notice the people who hadn`t learned to carry their own skis when I was as young as eleven,” (Paragraph 7). Growing up learning to take on responsibilities like that prepares you for life, making you more trustworthy. “...maybe other kids operated on a different set of rules. They thought that somewhere; somebody was going to take care of things for them,” (Paragraph 7). Having few responsibilities growing up will not prepare you for life, the mother in this article understood that; further pushing that onto her children as well. In the text “The Washwoman”, the author portrays an old woman who does laundry for her town, which compared to the others was astonishing (Paragraph 1).
Unlike the rest who were sickly and weak, she pushed through and completed the laundry over a two-week period. She knew the townspeople were counting on her and that might have just been her mentality. As said in paragraph sixteen, she took pride in her love of labor,“The old woman did not want to become a burden, and so she bore her burden.” So when “The Washwoman” had not returned the laundry after more than four weeks, compared to the usual two or three, it was a catastrophe (Paragraph 19). They could not do much to get what they needed back either, no one knew where she lived so they mourned not only for the loss of their clothes but for the old woman who had most likely collapsed (Paragraph 19). So her return truly shocked the family. In paragraph twenty-one it is revealed she had been very ill, so ill that a doctor and priest had to see her. Her son who was rich and had never given her money before possibly from him being ashamed, even contributed to a coffin (Paragraph 17 and 21). “The wash would not let me die,” she said in paragraph twenty-two, it was her feeling of responsibility that somewhat kept her alive. In her time though, the townspeople were never let down; further what the epitome of a responsible person is
like. When people do not take up their individual responsibility, it is proven in everyday life. In paragraph eight of “Carry Your Own Skis” many examples are shown, “In high school, the kids who didn`t carry their own skis called their parents to bring in assignments they`d forgotten or ask for a ride home instead of walking or taking the late bus. In college, the no-skiers all had pink t shirts-a sure sign that they had never done laundry before-and they complained about how much work they had.” These are the years thought to by society as young adults or full-grown adults, so knowing these things by now should be second nature. But for some they were taken care of and never given the chance to learn. Especially when “living on your own” or having a career should this be top priority. But even in the “real world” are there several no-ski carriers, such as “blame shifters, the no-RSVPers, the co-workers who never participate in those painful group birthdays except if it`s their own.” They had not been ready by carrying their own skis or learned to do what they needed for others like in “The Washwoman.” No matter where people live or what job they have, it is important to remember what needs done. “Carry Your Own Skis” focused on how learning responsibility improves people and their preparedness in life, it might even inspire the no-ski carriers to do more. While “The Washwoman showed how these responsibilities impact others, making people trustworthy or not. Like in an assembly line if people forget to do their part, then the product will not work. But if everyone were to do their part, the product and the people who made it happen will receive success and appreciation.
The narrator has two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Dee was this cute girl who was super intelligent and sophisticated. She often saw herself as being above her mother and sister and would often make them feel stupid and bad about themselves. "She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice". She shows that Dee enjoyed making her mother and younger sister feel dumb about themselves because it made her feel superior. Her whole life Dee detested her family and where she came from and couldn’t wait to get away. But, still her mother worked her booty off to provide her with high education and a good life. Dee goes away to college and when she returns she is a completely different person, suddenly interested in her family; photographing them upon arrival. With her guest, new "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo", invades her mothers house taking everything in like it’s a cute display for her. Finally, when Wangero (Dee) demands that her mother give her some quilts, her mum can not take anymore. She tells Dee that Maggie, not her, will be receiving the quilts and she snaps. "I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat
Subject- "Sorting Laundry" is about a wife reminiscing about the times that she has had with her husband while she is folding and sorting their laundry.
In a modern society where good deeds and integrity are taken for granted, it is necessary for people to stand up for what is right. The short story “A & P”, written by John Updike, tells the story of Sammy and how he takes a stand for what he believes is right, only he is not given the gratitude he deserved. “Everyday Use”, written by Alice Walker, is another short story that shows how substantial it is to stand firm for one’s convictions and beliefs, especially in familial matters. Mama, the protagonist in “Everyday Use”, must make the decision of protecting her self-conscious daughter Maggie, or giving in to Dee, her other egocentric daughter who has forgotten the traditional values of their family. These two short stories indicate the importance of protecting people from the harshness of reality because not everyone is secure or aware enough to be able to stand up for themselves.
The mother is described as a hard-working individual. She does the work of both a man and woman according to the social standards of that time. She raises two daughters, one who is out of the house and on her own. This daughter is named Dee. Her other daughter still lives at home with her and is named Maggie. The older daughter pays a visit to her mother and sister, but when she comes she begins taking things. She wants to take the churn top that her uncle whittled as well as the dasher that was whittled by their uncle Henry. As the night develops she searches through sifts through the trunk at the foot of her mother's bed. She takes two quilts and asks her mother if she can have them. Her mother will not easily give in and they have a brief argument on whether or not Dee can take the quilts. The mother does not wish Dee to take the quilts because they will not be put to use, rather they will be displayed. Those quilts were made by her (the mother), her sister, her mother, and grandmother. It had bits and pieces of different fabrics from different people in the family. The mother suggests that Dee find other quilts to take, but Dee insists on taking those two. Her mother refuses and gives the quilts to Maggie who she believes will put them to better
The quilts were pieced together by Mama, Grandma Dee, and Big Dee symbolizing a long line of relatives. The quilts made from scraps of dresses worn by Grandma Dee, Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts, and Great Grandpa Ezra’s Civil War uniform represented the family heritage and values, and had been promised to Mama to Maggie when she married. However, Dee does not understand the love put into the making of the quilts, neither does she understand the significance of the quilts as part of her family heritage. It is evident she does not understand the significance of the quilt, having been offered one when went away to college declaring them “as old-fashioned” and “out of style”. She does not care about the value of the quilts to her family, rather she sees it as a work of art, valuable as an African heritage but not as a family heirloom. She wants the quilts because they are handmade, not stitched with around the borders. She tells Mama, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!... She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use… But, they’re priceless!.. Maggie would put them on her the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” (317). The quilt signifies the family pride and history, which is important to Mama. She makes the decision to give the quilt to Maggie who will appreciate it more than Dee, to whom she says, “God knows I been saving ‘em for long enough with
The main objects of topic throughout the story are the quilts that symbolize the African American Woman’s history. Susan Farrell, a critic of many short stories, describes the everyday lives of African American Women by saying “weaving and sewing has often been mandatory labor, women have historically endowed their work with special meanings and significance” and have now embraced this as a part of their culture. The two quilts that Dee wanted “had been pieced together by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me [Mother] had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them” (par. 55) showing that these quilts were more valuable as memories than they were just blankets. The fabrics in the quilts “were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the piece of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (par. 55) putting forth more evidence that these are not just scraps, but have become pieces of family history. The q...
Mrs. Hale feels a natural responsibility to defend and protect Minnie Foster Wright through her connection as a fellow woman and housewife. Upon her introduction to Minnie through her home, Mrs. Hale finds an immediate connection. She understands Minnie’s life as a homemaker and a farmer’s wife and is quick to defend her when her skills as a wife and woman come into question. When the men recognize Minnie’s lackluster cleaning of kitchen towels Mrs. Hale retorts “[m]en’s hands aren’t as clean as they might be” (Glaspell 160). She asserts her loyalty to Minnie and notes that men are not always perfect or without blame, without “clean hands”. As a woman, Mrs. Hale easily sees herself in Minnie’s place and comes to her defense as if she were defending herself. It is easier to share her loyalty with a woman so much like her than it is to be loyal to men that act superior and do not understand the challenges of being a housewife. The men find a woman’s chores as petty, nothing but “trifles” (Glaspell 160).Scholar Karen Stein argues that it is these commonalities that create the responsibility of everywoman to defend one another (Ortiz 165). Mrs. Hale sees herself in every...
She doesn’t envy her sister Dee’s new style of life, even though she lacks a higher level of education. The opposite, she enjoys her lifestyle, “Maggie still lives in poverty with her mother, putting “priceless” objects to “everyday use” (‘everyday use”). Despite the fact she always felt inferior to her older sister Dee, Maggie expresses her respect for family’s heritage collaborating with Mama, cleaning the house for Dee’ visit, “I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon” (Walker 23). Maggie gives the quilts to Dee because she wanted it even though she was preserving them for her wedding day. It represented for her an invaluable symbol of her heritage, “The quilts contains pieces of family history, scraps from old dresses and shirts that family members have worn” (“everyday
In the 1800’s, women lived under men’s rules and ideologies and were forced to conform to the social “norms” of the time. To women, these rules seemed normal as they were used to them. In the story, Jane is put in a nursery because she is said to be sick and
but washing must be done and procrastination won’t do it for me (Schlissel 83).” Although this woman obviously did not like doing the washing, she saw it as her job to do. In addition, the book describes this scene, “The banks of a river would be lined with women who carried their kettles, their washtubs, and piles of unwashed linen (Schlissel 82).” Again, it is the women who are doing the cleaning. The McGuffey Readers, being the handbook that young girls would read in school, taught them that it was their place to do the cleaning.
In eighteen ninety - one, when the "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written, women were often treated as second - class citizens. They were, for the most part, dominated by a society controlled by men. The men were the leaders, ruling the home and the workplace; the women were under their authority. The wife, of whom this story is about, reflects this attitude society has towards her. Her husband even decides what furniture and things are to be in her room. She submits to those decisions, even to the point of agreeing with him. This is evidenced when she says, "But he is right enough about the beds and windows and things……I would not be so silly as to make him uncomfortable just for a whim"(472). Wives like this were regarded as possessions of the husbands, and, in light of that, they had few rights. Just as was the wife, many women were believed to be good only for bearing children and running a household. Often times the husband retained a housekeeper or some such servant so the wives only bore children and did little else. In the case of the wife in our story, her husband, John, ...
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
Thin air encompasses me as I commence the final day of skiing at Vail, Colorado. Seven days of skiing elapse rather painlessly; I fall occasionally but an evening in the Jacuzzi soothes my minor aches. Closing time approaches on the final day of our trip as I prepare myself for the final run of the vacation. Fresh off the ski lift, I coast toward the junction of trails on the unoccupied expert face of the mountain. After a moment of thought, I confidently select a narrow trail so steep that only the entrance can be seen from my viewpoint.
More and more women work outside and inside the home. The double demands shouldered by these women pose a threat to their physical health. Whether you are an overworked housewife or an exhausted working mother the chances are that you are always one step behind your schedule. No matter how hard women worked, they never ended up with clean homes. Housewives in these miserable circumstances often became hysterical cleaners. They wore their lives away in an endless round of scouring, scrubbing, and polishing. The increased strain in working women comes from the reality that they carry most of the child-rearing and household responsibilities. According to social trends (1996), women always or usually do the washing in 79 percent of cases and decide the menu 59 percent of the time. Picking up the children at school or doing grocery shopping are just a few of the many typical household-tasks a woman takes on every day.
I have asked my grandparent: “why are you take care of me for my parents”? My grandma answers me: “it is my responsibility”. During my childhood, I had been living with my grandparent, and I was really happy. However, the most important thing I learn from my grandparents, which is responsibility. The concept of responsibility is more than just being accountable for your mistakes; it involves being accountable for your actions, both to yourself and to others. When people are not willing take responsibility for person actions, the road to successful will becomes