Lauryn Lockman 1-2 Zachary Hill Period 6. Educated by Tara Westover, Tara grows up in a dysfunctional Mormon family. They don’t go to school, don’t have birth certificates, and believe that the government is out to get them. Her father is bipolar. He uses fear to control his family by saying things such as “ “ Her mother supports her father in everything he does. When he yells, she stays silent. When he says “A woman's place is in the home.” Her mom puts her head down and agrees. Tara has 6 siblings, 5 brothers and 1 sister. Almost all of them support their parents by buying into their fear mongering and abuse. This leaves Tara with no support system to fall back on. Often Tara is seen as independent and even her mother doesn’t know her age. “ “. In …show more content…
Her parents would never let her in the hands of a stranger, for fear that it would be a government worker in disguise. Letting Tara entertain herself miles deep in the forest was cheaper than babysitters, and her father believed it grew character. Her mother supported it as well because her childhood consisted of ironed dresses and shiny shoes. She hated it, and wanted the opposite for her children. The line between well-intentioned and neglect was something Tara’s parents frequently walked. “I wondered what would happen when my family discovered I was missing. ” At age 10 Tara was working in unsafe environments. Her father had a new idea: to make money by salvaging scrap metal. He flung a sharp piece of aluminum through the air. Tara learned to duck. Often Tara was accused of changing who she was for others. When she went into the town she would act “normal” and hide her family history. Her father blamed this on the devil possessing her. However, that adaptability was learned long before she left her home. She developed a crude replication of her father’s constant mood as Tara’s father preached the word of God, yet he was the one forcing Tara to
Mary Pipher shows how different levels of affection and control lead to various problems in a teen-parent relationship. She talks about her encounter with a fourteen-year-old named Franchesca, who was an adopted Sioux Indian. As a child Franchesca had no issues with her white parents, but when
Young Mary headed into the Residential School full of faith and ambition to devote herself to God’s true beliefs. She taught the Native children religion and music in class, which they all seemed to greatly enjoy. Although, it did not make up for all
After feeling ostracised by the township, the alienated Brennan family are driven to leave the town of Mumbilli at 4:30am. With hardly any peer support, Tom begins to lose his sense of security, resulting in his transformation into an unconfident teen who is afraid of public opinion. It is no wonder that Tom is unable to move on in his new town as he is being held back in fear of revealing his past. Burke tactfully illustrates Tom’s emotional kaleidoscope through phrases such as “I felt the knot snap” and “my guts landing at my feet” (Burke, pg 172) when reflecting on the accident. On the contrary, with encouragement from family members, Tom begins to step out of his comfort zone and face the future that is to come.
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
Imagery like “several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy” illustrates the harsh conditions that the children are forced to work in. By describing this for her audience, Kelley clarifies how poorly the children are forced to live due to the lack of laws. Another example of this is her description of a little girl who, “on her thirteenth birthday, could start away from her home at half past five in the afternoon, carrying her pail of midnight luncheon”. The emphasis on the innocence of children portrays the pity and sympathy that the audience should feel. She creates a scenario that seems much too real when she says “The children make our shoes in the shoe factories; they knit our stockings, our knitted underwear…They carry bundles of garments from the factories to the tenements, little beasts of burden, robbed of the school life that they may work for us.” By going into detail about what kinds of work the children do at work helps to open up the audience’s eyes to a perspective that is more personal and in-depth than Kelley merely lecturing them. In doing this, Kelley is able to invoke a sense of guilt that the audience members share. Consequently, the audience members thus feel the need to make change and rid themselves of the guilt they feel by allowing the continuation of children’s forced
Taylor Greer had been running away from premature pregnancy her entire life. Afraid that she would wind up just another hick in Pittman County, she left town and searched for a new life out West. On her way getting there, she acquires Turtle, an abandoned three-year-old Native American girl. Taylor knows that keeping Turtle is a major responsibility, being that she was abandoned and abused. Yet, Taylor knows that she is the best option that Turtle has, as far as parental figures go. "Then you are not the parent or guardian?’…. ‘Look,’ I said. ‘I’m not her real mother, but I’m taking care of her now. She’s not with her original family anymore." (Kingsolver 162) As the story progresses, Taylor accepts Turtle as part of life. This sacrifice later turns into a blessing.
...than facing her own internal demons. The grandmother, however, made a gesture of love before her untimely death. The grandmother’s life transformed the instant that she experienced her revelation with the Misfit. Mrs. Turpin, however, has a lot of time to contemplate the revelation that she receives when Mary Grace literally throws the book, coincidentally entitled Human Development, at her. Mrs. Turpin is alive when she receives her revelation but the grandmother is killed by the time she experienced her revelation. Most significantly, both women only sought spiritual guidance when it was convenient, instead of daily. They also started to question their roles with their higher powers when they could not manipulate a situation. Overall, both protagonists share numerous commonalities, but their differences are what made their transformations more credible to readers.
Williams will continue to act in civil disobedience against some of the beliefs held in the Mormon Church; questioning everything she is taught. She attributes her work in part to her faith. This is perhaps because of her upbringing in Mormonism and her vision of a person in white that confirmed her faith. The love she had for her mother was perhaps another reason; Williams’ mother was a devout Mormon who took her religion seriously and closely followed its traditions. The independent spirit that she possesses, however, keeps her from accepting Mormonism in its entirety. She believes that it is right to challenge one’s beliefs, that it prevents one from blindly accepting everything.
The story turns out to be a real plot twist – Tara is actually jumped, not pushed as what Allison admitted to. Evans try to imply that because of the huge amount of suffering the character Tara has been through, she decided to jump because with that jump, she might be freed from people around her. It might also because she wants her parents to be there with her, since her parents doesn’t seem to have spent quite a time with her; they always busy with their environmental trips to many parts of the world. Tara wants to receive love and affection like every other 9 years old kid. It may also as a sign of rebellion towards her grandmother and to take over control of her mind and body – not being stranded by Lydia. In our society, many parents often neglected their children – care less about them and their development. Parents nowadays only drop their children off in the daycare or school, but never really teach them directly how to behave the community, giving examples how to take and give, and more importantly, sharing love and affection. They are too occupied by their own business that they forget to give their love and warmth to anyone around them – including their children. In this way, children are more likely to suffer from lack of attention and they will grow up without the feel being loved. This kind of situation could lead to lack of self-esteem and confidence, which will affect children’s mentality. Evans tries to suggest the readers that
Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.
Like most peoples families there is a dynamic of people involved, although all from the same environment and teachings, it is ultimately an accumulation of personal experiences that shape us and defines how we perceive our existence. “Everyday Use” is a story of conflict of right and wrong and also family values. Walkers’ narrator, “Mama”, struggles with her disrespectful daughter ‘Dee”. Though “Mama” was quoted to have worked hard like a man to send her to school gratitude is never mentioned. “Clearly, Dee privileges language over silence, as she demonstrates in her determination to be educated and in the importance she places on her name” (Tuten). Since “Dee” had been out of the house and to school in the city she had lost touch with where she came from and had little respect for the family heritage. Maggie having been burned in a house fire had learned to love the shelter that only a family can provide. Being burned makes you like no one else, everywhere you go you feel eyes looking. Since she had not been out of the house and had the time to learn the value of family she regarded the quilts as a part of her heritage.
“A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” by Mary Rowlandson is a short history about her personal experience in captivity among the Wampanoag Indian tribe. On the one hand, Mary Rowlandson endures many hardships and derogatory encounters. However, she manages to show her superior status to everyone around her. She clearly shows how her time spent under captivity frequently correlates with the lessons taught in the Bible. Even though, the colonists possibly murdered their chief, overtook their land, and tried to starve the Native Americans by burning down their corn, which was their main source of food, she displays them as demonizing savages carrying out the devil's plan. There are many struggles shown during the story, both physical and emotional, but her greatest struggle is her ability to prove the satanic nature of the Indians without diminishing her reputation, but, instead, elevating herself into a martyr-like figure. From beginning to end, Mrs. Rowlandson strives to display that she is an immaculate Puritan, that within the Indian tribe and the Puritan community she has superiority, and that the Indians are barbaric creatures possessing satanic dangers.
Mary Rowlandson was a pretentious, bold and pious character. Her narrative did not make me feel sorry for her at all, which is strange since she really did go through a lot. During the war, the Narragansett Indians attacked Lancaster Massachusetts, and burned and pillaged the whole village. During the siege Mary and her six year old child were shot, she watched her sister and most of her village either burn or get shot. She was kept as a captive, along with her three children and taken with the Narragansett’s on their long retreat. The exposition of the story is set immediately. The reader is perfectly aware of Missus Rowlandson’s status and religious beliefs. She constantly refers to the Narragansetts in an incredibly condescending way, to the point that you know that she does not even consider them human. She paints them as purely evil pe...
“Reclaiming Culture and the Land: Motherhood and the Politics of Sustaining Community” is about a mother who is a Native American activist who has two children, she wants them to be raised and go to school in an Indian community. “I put my children in that school because I wanted them to be in the Indian community.” She explains that she is not sure if her children know what she is doing is common, but they know that what she is doing is right. “My children do have the sense that what I do is not necessarily common. Recently my daughter started asking me if I’m famous.” She has fought for her children to have a good life, full of community, ritual, and an understanding of who they are and where they come from.
In the story Reclaiming Culture and the Land: Motherhood and the Policies of Sustaining Community, the author describes just some of the challenges of working while being a Native American living on and off within a normal Caucasian society. One of the issues brought up in the story is that the author does a poor job in raising her children while they are at the most important stages in their childhood. In this Indian community, everyone knows each other and it is a close, tight knit community throughout. One of the principals which backs this up is that one or more mothers in the community take care of all of the children of the community, kind of like a daycare center. The author is indeed one of these caretaker mothers that would spend a lot of time with all the children. As a result, outsiders look at her and believe that she is doing a poor job at what she considers to be a fine parenting job. And other hardship that she has is trying to understand her place in society because she is a woman. In the story, she describes how things are constantly being taken from her and assumed by the male sex. These and more are some of the problems that she has to deal with in the story.