Tessie Hutchinson’s Eulogy From the perspective of Mr. Summers. Good afternoon citizens of our wonderful town, acquaintances of young Tessie, and family members connected to Tessie. Today we are gathered here to honor a woman of whom I can not speak wholeheartedly, but only with a sense of duty towards this individual. Mrs. Hutchinson helped to better our town, helping daycares to run smoothly and bake sales to run deliciously. Mrs. Hutchinson seemed to be a loving, kind, and devoted mother and citizen, though I was never able to greet her in a manner other than strict business. Let us take this short while to remember this woman as a mere citizen who sacrificed her life to continue a tradition that has stood for centuries. Scared and panicked, the …show more content…
young woman stood, awaiting her slow and painful death. As we stand here today I comprehend, with sorrow and melancholy, that young Tessie’s death was a death to forget.
Now I know what you are thinking; why would we forget what happened to Tessie? My friends, why would we remember it? She died in the way a sacrifice would and nothing more. Please, let us remember Tessie as a mother and somewhat wonderful individual, but forget her meaningless death. Every year this occurs, and, well, it just so turns out that this year she was on the chopping block. She needed to pay her dues. Tessie was stoned, menacingly, without a second’s thought. Underneath all of this pain and suffrage, there lingers a sense of understanding, shining a light on the importance of tradition. Tessie seemed to be a great mother, though none of this information shows value now that she has departed. Tessie gave her life so that others could live, one of her most valuable accomplishments. I remember a time when her children knocked a ball through my kitchen window, a somewhat daily occurrence. Mrs. Hutchinson repaid me for my troubles and continued on; she was a kind woman. In addition, the time she gave to the community while running scrumptious bake sales was exceptional. She put the care in daycare. Tessie will be missed, but not needed. Tessie
was going to die anyways, so why not die for the town that she loved? The people of this town only encouraged the destiny of Tessie, ultimately displaying the plain and unforgiving circle of life. I shrug my shoulders and look to the heavens, because what can you do. Tessie will be forgotten no matter how many kind and emotionally shallow words I add to this speech. This is life.
Tessie’s attempt to have her daughter draw with the family is just heartless. Once reread it seemed like Tessie wants an extra chance to win some money but, in reality, she is trying to provide a better chance for herself not to be
Debi Faris recently made the sad drive, again, from her home in Yucaipa, California, to the Los Angeles County coroner's office to retrieve the body of a baby boy who had been left by a dumpster. Ms. Faris, her husband, Mark, and others laid baby Jacob (who was named by the police officer who found the child) to rest in the Garden of Angels, a small portion of a local cemetery the Farises established for abandoned infants in 1996. With the help of donations, they bought 44 plots four years ago. Baby Jacob was the 45th abandoned child buried there, forcing them to look for new space among the tombstones. "I never thought in our lifetimes we'd use them all," said Debi Faris.
Tessie Hutchinson, or Bill’s wife played a major role in this story. There are many signs of Duality of Human Nature in Tessie. Once Tessie arrived, realizing that she was late, she started to casually talk with Mrs.Delacroix, “Clean forgot what day it was,” she said to Mrs.Delacroix, who stood next to her and they both laughed softly.”. Everyone appeared to be in a good mood, “The people separated good-humoredly to let her through,”. Even her husband was joking around with her, “Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie,” and, “and a soft laughter ran through the crowd as the people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson's
In Natasha Trethewey’s poetry collection “Native Guard”, the reader is exposed to the story of Trethewey’s growing up in the southern United States and the tragedy which she encountered during her younger years, in addition to her experiences with prejudice. Throughout this work, Trethewey often refers to graves and provides compelling imagery regarding the burial of the dead. Within Trethewey’s work, the recurring imagery surrounding graves evolves from the graves simply serving as a personal reminder of the past to a statement on the collective memory of society and comments on what society chooses to remember and that which it chooses to let go of.
Kelley, Mary. Introduction. The Power of Her Sympathy. By Catharine Maria Sedgwick. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1993.
Almost all Americans have learned about the iconic people in American history including George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. Although all of them deserve their recognition, they aren’t the only ones who have changed history. Many Americans, not just a select few, changed history and created the America we know today. One in particular is Clarissa Harlowe Barton, who went by the name of Clara. At the time Clara lived, women were still considered inferior to men. Throughout her work, she faced much sexism, but she worked past it and created a legacy for herself. Also occurring during her life was the Civil War, which she was a very helpful part of. Clara’s most well known achievement is her founding of the American Red Cross. In addition to that, Clara also established the nation’s first free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, worked as a field nurse during the Civil War, and supported the movement for women’s suffrage. Barton has received little recognition for her efforts, but the work she did is still being continued today at the American Red Cross where they give relief to the victims 70,000 every year. By understanding her life and the work she did, people are able to realize the impact she had on the world, for it far exceeds that of which she is recognized with.
When asked if there was anyone else in the household, Tessie claims, “There’s Don and Eva... Make them take their chance” (Jackson 5). By volunteering her daughters, that are married and thus draw with their one families, Tessie shows that she would rather have a family member be stoned to death than herself. She is also set out as a hypocrite because she does not complain when any other family is picking slips (if another family had picked the slip she would have stoned someone else to death), she only questions the lottery when her family is the one that has to choose. She cried out multiple times, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 8), questioning the fairness of the tradition after she is the one chosen to be stoned to death. Tessie finally sees outside of the bubble that everyone in the village is in. It is here that we see that violence is acceptable until it becomes
“Thus had died and been laid to rest in the most quiet, unostentatious way the most useful and distinguished woman America had yet produced,” (Wilson, Pg. 342).
I’m glad we have Maurice, my mother’s younger brother here today. Ella, her older sister, unfortunately couldn’t make it, but I know the news of my mothers death hit her hard. And I know that she prayed with all her will, for my mother.
Looking at Jimmy Cross, he realized it was only a gesture, stupid and sentimental he thought but Lavender was dead and couldn’t burn the blame [O’Brien 1170]. As Jimmy burns Martha’s letters he burns all memories of her out of his head, he has to in order to keep his focus on his men’s safety. He sacrifices the one memory he can hold onto that brings him back home, in one of the worst situations imaginable on the other side of the world. Jimmy Cross was chosen to go to Vietnam and be first lieutenant and platoon leader, and in the end he had to sacrifice his own personal interests to do his job. Jimmy Cross stuck with tradition and continued onwards, however when Tessie was the clear winner of the lottery she was in the center of a cleared space with her hands up desperately, and as the villagers move in she screamed “It’s not fair” [Jackson 379]. Although Tessie’s obligation was more brutal than Jimmy Cross’s obligation she still agreed to the yearly lottery by being a citizen in that village. In theory she should have accepted her fate and stuck with the tradition without calling a misdeal or unfair choosing. In the end she had no choice in the decision and was forced to uphold the tradition, but Jimmy Cross made the decision to carry on with his duties, and keep the tradition of war
The most surprising thing is that her members of her family participated in her death. The death of this poor woman shows that women in the society are not allowed to fight for their civil rights, and they do not have equal opportunity as men. Tessie’s death is an evidence of ill treatment that women go through in our societies. In this case, her murder does not just look like a normal murder but the murder of a woman fighting for her civil rights. Her husband, who in a real sense is expected to support fully his wife shouted at her when she raised her voice saying that the lottery was unfair, and this shows; he says, “Shut up, Tessie” (Jackson, 5). This shows how women are desperate, and their position in the society is not recognized. Women have no one on their side and more so someone who they can depend on not even their family members and their fellow women. Women in this society are not allowed to have any opinion on what their husbands had to say or rather have to say anything. The position of women in the society is to be loyal to their men and their
In her eulogy for Coretta Scott King, Maya Angelou uses figurative language and repetition to compel the audience to follow King’s example of peaceful yet strong advocacy of human rights.
Most if not all of the villagers seem to view the death of Tessie as necessary and traditional. To the people of this community, death has
Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson arrives late, having “cleanly forgotten what day it was” (411). While the town does not make a fuss over Tessie’s tardiness, several people make remarks, “in voices loud enough to be heard across the crowd” (411). Jackson makes the choice to have Tessie stand out from the crowd initially. This choice first shows Tessie’s motivation. Tessie was so caught up in her everyday household chores that she does not remember that on this one day of the year someone was going to be stoned to death at the lottery.
During the past few days, many of our friends and family have come to our home to show their love for us and for Arlyn. I have been especially moved by the fact so many of her teachers and principals have shown up and cried with us. I am also touched by the love her young friends had for her. Our memories of this sad time in our lives will therefore not all be bad.