No More Control

751 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of friendship conclusion

No more

Have you ever protected someone that’s being bullied? Or give some change for a homeless man to buy food?
In today’s society, acts of compassion are rare as we get more and more focused on satisfying our desire for success and wealth. However, humans do sometimes show remarkable acts that melts the hearts of men and women and restore faith in humanity within those who are less optimistic. But it might not always be a kind return that you may get from such action. In the story “Sweat” by Barry Webster, a young girl named Sue allows Jimmy as an act of kindness to lick her “honey” on her body. As a result, Jimmy chokes from the honey and Sue gets more rejected from the other students at her school. By using characterization, dialogue and narration, Webster demonstrates the theme that compassion and kindness can bring more consequences than benefits when these actions are done by those who are different.

The characterization of Sue illustrates her as a different kind of girl. Sue is stronger than most girls and boys of her age. During a shop class, Sue claims: ``unlike the other students, even the boys, I could whack the silver heads straight on so the iron rods thrust in without bending`` (4). Logically, if she is able to whack nails strait in one shot while other students could not, she could probably overpower anyone in her class, which is very unusual for a normal girl. Jimmy, a guy in her class, goes as far as claiming: ``If we had an arm wrestle (…) I bet you`d win`` (9). This remark clearly shows how powerful Sue is for her age. Also, Sue exhibits some unique characteristics such as her “honey” sweat. Dr. Merton claimed that “[the sweat’s] composition [was] similar to […] bee honey” (1). This statement made it very...

... middle of paper ...

...same favors nor appreciate it. Thus, we can finally conclude that being kind and nice can in return be risky and “counter beneficial”.

Ultimately, the story “Sweat” expresses an unusual concept that helping others may not always be the best idea since there is a risk of being harmed; especially if the person is different from others. On the other hand, Webster might be hinting another theme that destiny cannot be changed through any action. This leads to believing that destiny is not something that humans can control totally; “Sweat” implies implicitly that nature controls many things such as appearances, abilities, behavior and many more. This proposition leaves most people questioning themselves again on their actions in to control their destinies.

Works Cited

Webster, Barry. "The Girl Who Sweats Honey." The Girl Who Sweats Honey. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Thank You Ma 'Am' Constructed Response

    333 Words  | 1 Pages

    In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.

    Read More

  • Who Is Marie-Neige's Character In Divisadero

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Individuals often experience unfortunate sufferings and difficulties through their life; some may continue to persevere and endure these arduous circumstances in hopes of achieving a more desirable, comfortable way of living. While attempting to fulfill their own objectives, individuals may also unexpectedly receive the attention and assistance from others which instigates a change in their previous attitude towards life. In the short story “Divisadero”, Michael Ondaatje suggests that when individuals receive unexpected forms of kindness and understanding from others, they may suddenly realize their own individual potential and capabilities they possess as they aspire to attain greater possibilities and goals. These unforeseen acts of compassion

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Compassion By Barbara Lazear Ascher

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Compassion has became something rare in our society, and something that a lot of people lack. The author, Barbara Lazear Ascher, explains to us that compassion is not a character trait, but rather something that we learn along the way with the help of real life situations we encounter, such as the ones she encountered herself. Ascher persuades her audience that compassion is not just something you are born with by using anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and allusions.

    Read More

  • Analyzing June Callwood's Essay Making A Difference

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Making a Difference” by June Callwood is an expository essay created to inspire the reader to make a change in the world around them, and to stand up for what they believe in. By just doing simple, positive things, people can make a huge impact on their lives and the lives of people around them. June Callwood, author of “Making a Difference”, changes the way many people see the world by describing scientific research and telling the stories of people who performed small, random acts of kindness that made a huge difference in people’s attitudes and the community around them.

    Read More

  • Theme of Good vs. Evil in “Sweat”

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main character in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a black woman who resides in the South that clutches on to her belief in God to help her get through the suffering that she endures from her abusive and adulterous husband, Sykes. “Sweat” is full of religious symbolism that demonstrates that Hurston was using the theme of good vs. evil in the short story.

    Read More

  • Radiolab: An Equation For Good

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    My attention was also drawn to several questions in this podcast, which made me eager to find the answers to these questions. For example, one interesting question I heard was “when you do see generosity how do you know it’s really generous” (Levy, 2010). This question stood out to me because it is one particular question I don’t think about often and made me wonder whether people help someone out because they see it as a duty. However, I believe the best answer to this question is the portrayal of the concept of norm of reciprocity, which indicates “the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future” (Akert, Aronson, & Wilson, 2013, p.303). This is true because “generosity” happens when both persons are nice to each other and if an individual helps another person then it’s easy to assume that the person who was

    Read More

  • Difference Between Empathy And Sympathy In Alice Walker's Everyday Use

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    ​Human beings surpass other animals in the ability to vicariously experience other beings feelings. Two overlapping and interchangeable terms have been developed to explain human’s capacity to experience others’ feelings- sympathy and empathy. Though convenient, the interchanging has created some confusion. Burton, in his support, points out people always confuse the word empathy with sympathy, compassion as well as pity, which are just but reactions to other people’s plight (1). This paper discusses the difference between empathy and sympathy and analyzes the story “Every day Use” from the sympathy and empathy perspective.

    Read More

  • Critical Race Theory Of Just Mercy

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    As one grows older, certain trends begin to appear that are difficult not to notice. Naivety begins to fade and the harsh realities people are faced with every day present themselves. These realities shape how people perceive and treat others. A certain theme, or rather lack of theme, that is extremely pertinent in today’s society is the notion of humanity. Humanity is defined, by Merriam-Webster, as the quality or state of being humane or having a compassionate disposition. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, is a book that perfectly embodies the theme of humanity. In this book, the reader follows the author throughout his journey from an idealistic, young lawyer to a revered attorney in his quest for justice for those deemed unfavorable by our

    Read More

  • Delia and Syke

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” is about a woman, Delia who is physically and emotionally abused by her husband, Sykes, whose actions she struggles to overcome towards her. Through all the abuse, Delia takes pride in her hard work and her religion. In this story, Hurston uses religions and moral symbolism that controls the character’s actions throughout the plot.

    Read More

  • To Kill a Mockingbird Compassion Analysis

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, once said “frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action” (values.com). When one thinks of compassion, sympathy and sorrow come to mind. However, compassion also is accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. This can be accomplished by standing up for what one believes is right. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee deeply develops her theme that compassion is understanding someone else’s perspective and using this compassion to stand up against society.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Hurston 's short story “Sweat”, the theme is expressed in many ways throughout the story, though most prominently by way of domestic violence and ungratefulness shown

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Proqol Manual

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    One fact that is interesting is how Joan Halifax explains those previously mentioned “those eyes and hands” which were fierce and wrathful were used tenderly and wisely as well. She describes of people who have those characteristics would “touch” other’s lives for the better when she gave many emotionally touching examples. She mentions stories of kindness or how women, an old man, etc. kindly care for ugly people who others would run away from due to victim’s disgusting appearance. The reason why Joan Halifax mentioned this is because those caretakers are able to see clearly in to victim’s nature of suffering as their own. That is why those kind people can’t be helped to be close to poor souls as they feel familiar with. That is why people

    Read More

  • Geneosity And Generosity

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prosociality can be defined as a wide umbrella of behaviors and attitudes that are generally positive towards other people. Prosociality fits into the “Big Five” set of traits under agreeableness. This is still a broad term, but it is broken up into two major categories, which are politeness and compassion. Politeness is more like the tendency to respect people, conform to social norms, and ignore aggressive impulses. However, generosity tends to fit under compassion better. Compassion is the tendency to have concern for others and the urge to help them. A series of games were created in order to point out the differences in generosity and reciprocity. A major outcome that was found in this study is that humans care for the needs of others and have the want to help them. A study was created to find new social preferences, find differences in these preferences, and address limitations. The results show that social preferences for someone who is tolerant and forgiving, therefore portraying

    Read More

  • Personal Project Essay

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    I went to the grocery store and got cases of water, bags of bread, and stuff to make the sandwiches. I had finished preparing the bags and each had granola bars, fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches, water, toothpaste, and other hygiene products. My dad and I had arrived outside the homeless shelter and were ready to pass the bags out as we saw the swarm of people. Hundreds maybe even thousands of people gathered sitting in what little shade there was. I knew we had a homeless problem, but not to this extent and the bags I had made were going to make little to no difference on the vast amount of people that had been sitting outside. I was a little disappointed at first to be completely honest because I was not prepared for that many people. If I would have known there would have been so many people I would have made more bags. We drove around the block planning on what we were going to do and saw some tents set up. My dad and I were curious as to what they were, so we got out the car and saw that these people had been giving people food and I walked up to them and asked if there was any way I could help them. These people in the tents were actually an organization called Open Arms Outreach and a few girls scouts. They gladly let us help and we brought a few cases of water and the bags I had made and helped pass them out. The organization Open Arms Outreach

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: The Benefits of Volunteering

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Attention Getter: Has anyone ever stopped to help you when you were in need? How did it make you feel?

    Read More

More about No More Control

Open Document