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The Half Husky Essay Zainab Naeem - The environment in which an individual is raised affects the “person” that individuals become. Introduction: Do you think the environment you live in affects who you become? Individuals in distinct environments grow out to be different individuals. The way you’re raised has a huge impact on the person you become. If you’re treated with love and have support, you’ll become a caring and supportive person. If you’re raised in an abusive and unappreciated environment, you’ll be an abusive and less caring person. The way you have been treated is the way you’ll treat others. The short story “The Half-Husky” by Margaret Laurence demonstrates how the environment in which an individual is raised affects the “person” …show more content…
Vanessa resides in a safe, clean environment, in a brick house, south side of the tracks. Vanessa’s mom keeps the house neat and tidy which results in Vanessa’s life always being in order. The brick house shows the wealth in the MacLeod household because bricks were uncommon on the prairies and also were expensive, especially during this time period (depression). Furthermore, the Macleod’s were a middle-class family, as they “could afford only one load” of birch wood because “it was expensive.”. The brick house symbolizes her family, supporting and strong. Harvey, on the other hand, comes from a filthy and neglected home on the north side of the tracks, also known as the marginalized part of town. Harvey and his aunt Ada are unfortunate, which is proven in the story when his home is described; “The North End of Manawaka was full of shacks and shanties, unpainted boards, roofs with half the shingles missing,windows with limp… for the Town Council did not pay much attention to this part of town.”. In addition, Harvey worked as a paperboy to be able to afford necessities since aunt Ada didn’t have a job and wasn't able to provide herself nor Harvey. In conclusion, Harvey Shinwell and Vanessa Macleod live in two different environments, their environments affect who they are as a …show more content…
Vanessa gets her character traits from her grandfather like arrogance and from mother loving and caring . Vanessa’s relationship with her grandfather is important because of the restrictions that are placed on her. Grandfather cares for Vanessa as her father is no longer living. Just as Vanessa cares for grandfather, when Vanessa is asked if she wants the dog she keeps in mind that her grandfather wouldn’t allow her. “Oh sure, she will. But-” by saying that its shows how she knows her mother will allow her but her grandfather wouldn’t. When Roddie suggests the name Laddie. Vanessa snaps out at Roddie “Laddie! What! A corny old name like that?”. But she then realizes “ … that [her] own voice carried some disturbing echo of [her] grandfather’s.”The way Vanessa and people around her treat Ada is a relationship that has a negative effect on Vanessa as a person. Grandfather says, “She was nobody a person would know, to speak of.” ; which shows grandfather’s self-centred nature. This has an effect on Vanessa because later on, when Ada sees Vanessa on the street and says hello, Vanessa doesn’t reply which is rude but then she later realizes that “This was probably not fair,”. Vanessa is a caring person but throughout the story, she changes to become like her grandfather. Vanessa’s caring side is shown throughout the story by her relationship with her
Throughout the short story “The Half-Husky” by Margaret Laurence, every character is affected by external forces in many ways. The audience sees the author suggests ideas on external forces as early as the second page of the story. When Laurence embeds the story with external forces so early, it advises the audience that it is very important. Also, the author affects every character with external forces which also proves why they are vital to the story. Margaret Laurence suggest that the majority of the external forces are negatively influencing the characters throughout the story for instance Vanessa, Nanuk, and Harvey. The author develops ideas such as Vanessa growing up with a tough Grandfather, Nanuk being assaulted his whole life, and Harvey growing up with an abusive aunt, by using external forces.
What is it that determines what a person is to become? Is it our genetic makeup or is it our environment – the sum of our experiences that brings our personalities upon us? In the short, loosely autobiographical story; ‘The Half-husky’ the author; Margaret Laurence, gives her say on this. Harvey’s attitude and personality correspond with his environment; Vanessa’s attitude is in tandem with her environment, and Nanuk has both a loving and a savage side. Is this simply his nature or is it the sum of his experiences? Margaret Laurence is suggesting that it is our experiences – the environment we live in – that determine what we are to become.
of how someone was raised. It is obvious that environmental factors can have an effect on a
Throughout Vanessa MacLeod’s life she was able to have many different influences on her. She had her Grandfather Connor who was a rough and protective man but taught her respect and practicality. Her Grandmother Macleod was a proper woman who believed strongly in God and traditions, which taught Vanessa to work hard and God’s work is not always what you expect. As for her Uncle Dan who was fun to be around and also believed in tradition influenced Vanessa to have fun and be proud of where you come from. “Laurence stresses that family and a common place of origin bind people together and become the backbone of individuality” (224).
When Beth, Vanessa’s mother went into labor and was taken to the hospital because of complications Vanessa was left under the care of her grandmother. When Vanessa’s first heard her mother in pain she knew something was wrong and all she could think about was the time when her sister was born and didn’t make it past birth. Imagining all the scenarios that could go wrong Vanessa worried herself. To occupy her mind she explored the house while her dad took her mother to the hospital. Grandmother Macleod and Vanessa had many different views and butted heads a lot of the time.
The Development of Escape Margaret Laurence's novel A Bird in the House is a collection of independent and intertwined short stories written from Vanessa MacLeod's point of view. As an adult looking back on her childhood, the protagonist examines how she, and essentially everyone in her life, experiences a sense of entrapment and a need to escape. Because the author begins and concludes the novel with the Brick House, the major theme of escape is shown to have developed in Vanessa as she matures through childhood and adolescence and becomes an adult. Firstly, Margaret Laurence emphasizes that freedom and escape are always within reach, even if one does not notice or believe it. For the majority of the novel, Vanessa's greatest want is to escape the confines of Manawaka (her hometown), the Brick House, and Grandfather Connor.
Seeing Helen from the beginning,and the way she dresses, and the house she lived in, you would think she came from a wealthy family and has been raised to dress very elegant like, when in reality it’s the total opposite. Before Charles, Helen was raised in what you call a “ghetto” neighborhood. Her mother is a christian lady but her grandmother would not be scared to run over a human being. They have a two story frame home and associate with many people regardless of who they are and where they come from. You can assume Helen has a high school education seeing that she can read, write and spell. Helen has no work experience because she has been dependant on Charles. Because Charles pampered her with what she wanted, abused her and treated her with disrespect, she has changed her ways. Helen learns to work for what she wants, stand up for herself, keep her guard up even when not needed and not put up with any disrespect.
People often have the similar opinions on same one thing if they from one community. For example, most the American believe god and call themselves “Christian”, however, most the Chinese believe the Buddha and call themselves “Buddhist”. In the article “What Makes Up Your Identity?” Tyra Marieza states, “The way that the adults in your family, in your neighborhood, church and school behave are the reason why you are the way you are, according to the nurture theory.” The author is trying to explain that the environment can shape of who you are. For instance, children in my village in China don’t study hard because everyone have no dream and don’t worry about their future; they consider that they will be farmers like their parents. In contrast, children in the city in China study hard for their different dreams, like being doctors, pilots, etc; they have no doubt that they will have the same job as their parents or
Eva was the single mother of three kids. She was the matriarchal figure in her household, which did not only consist of her children, Pear, Plum, and Hannah and Hannah’s daughter Sula, but also many others who boarded in her house. There were three young boys, all named Dewey by Eva, who had arrived to the house at the same time. Eva knew that if she named them all the same name it would make them feel as though they were equally loved and cared about. Such name-calling created a positive camaraderie between them. Also in the boarding house resided a drunk, Tar Baby, and various newlyweds. Eva kept the whole house under control.
In this novel, it is evident that Vanessa does not portray an optimistic. character. The character of the character. She has shown that she is only hopeless, discouraged, confused, miserable and a passive persona. There are chemical processes in our bodies that take place depending on which types of emotions we are feeling. When an individual is thinking about comfort and pleasure, the body changes into a relaxed state.
Jane next lived at Lowood. This institution was anything but a true family unit. However, Jane sought out people to care for and who would care for her in return. Helen Burns and Miss Temple became very close to Jane. In ways like the mother of the typical family served as a moral guide and a nurturer, so too did Helen Burns, and to a certain extent Miss Temple.
Vanessa loved the summer at Diamond Lake because she loved to listen to the loons all night. She also loved because she would go swimming in the lake. Vanessa also loved to go there because she could spent more time with her father. For example; they would go at night to the lake to listen to the loons carefully because some day they can just disappear. She also loved it because she got to see her best friend Marvis.
Vanessa took it tough when her father died because she couldn’t understand what people were saying as he was saved, and that he is going to heaven. Vanessa finally lashes out “shut up… he didn’t need to be saved”, her father meant a lot to her, why would he need to be saved (93). Whether Vanessa meant these words is not known, she still is playing around with words. Vanessa’s feelings are still evident and in this manner it is her emotions that take over and cause her to use words she might not have meant. She meant what was best for her father, but how can Vanessa rationalize where he went if she still is trying to understand words.
“Actual development requires more [than genetic loading]: an environment” (Santrock, 2006, p. 98). Two cognitive developmental theories support Santrock’s assertion of environmental influence on early development. First, Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory defines how a person behaves as how a person adapts to his or her environment. An individual’s behavior is an adaptive process driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). This theory states that development is a byproduct linking and relating our experiences to each other, starting with general environmental knowledge, until a person’s cognitive ability is composed of more abstract reasoning.
As for her Uncle Dan, who was fun to be around and also believed in tradition, Vanessa influenced her to have fun and be proud of where she came from. “Laurence stresses that family and a common place of origin bind people together and become the backbone of individuality” (Rosenthal 224). Works Cited Davidson, Arnold E. "Cages And Escapes In Margaret Laurence's A Bird In The House.