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The jilting of granny weatherall essay
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The jilting of granny weatherall essay
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Sierra Pitock Professor Mello English 1B 25 September 2015 Take-home Midterm Prompt #5 In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Ann Porter, the name Weatherall is very much linked to Granny’s life story. Throughout her life, Granny lives up to her name by weathering all obstacles that face her with great strength and determination. Although Granny is not physically strong, she is very strong emotionally. An example of her strength is how she thinks of John, who caused her so much pain. “Sometimes she wanted to see John again and point to them and say, ‘well, I didn’t do so badly, did I?’” (Porter 85). Instead of wanting to see John to ask his reasons for leaving her, Granny uses her children as support and motivation for her success. …show more content…
While it is done with a bit of frustration in Granny’s old age, she is still strong enough to care first for her children before herself. An example of this is when she told Cornelia to wipe the tears off of her face (86). Another example of Granny’s strength is her ability to step into the unknown. Although she calls the situation she is in “cruel” and unforgivable, Granny still is the one to blow out the light for herself (89). She could have gone involuntarily, but her strength allowed her to be the one to make the final move. This action can also be linked to her determination, because she refuses to allow anyone but herself decide things for her. Determination is a very strong trait of Granny Weatherall. This is made clear when she is described caring for a whole household of people and animals alone, saying, “I hardly ever lost one of them!” (Porter 85). This physically and emotionally demanding job could only be fulfilled by someone who has determination. Even on her deathbed, Granny’s determination is experienced by her daughter and the doctor in the form of stubbornness. “ ‘Get along now, take your schoolbooks and go. There’s nothing wrong with me,’ ” (83). She is determined that she is perfectly healthy and will recover quickly, so she denies the help of the doctor. This determination of Granny’s has been present in every major action taken in her life, and has not diminished with old age. Prompt #11 In Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path,” the modernization of Africa is described in a negative way. According to the story, the effects are destruction and a rift between those from the West and native Africans. The author believes that the modernization described in the story will only lead to ruin. The destruction is clear in “Dead Men’s Path.” Due to the impossibility of coexistence, both sides are harmed. This is shown in the end of the story in the Supervisor’s review. “…tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster,” (Achebe 202). In the story, the headmaster represents the West and the village represents modernized Africa. The headmaster refused to compromise, and the result was destruction. With one side refusing to cooperate, it is impossible to form a connection. Instead, the opposite will form. “Dead Men’s Path” is not only a title but a description of the modernization of Africa. According to Daya Thussu, a professor of communication at University of Westminster, modernization was flawed because “[the modernizers’] dismissive view of the culture of the ‘indigent natives’ led them to believe in the desirability and inevitability of a shift from the traditional to the modern,” (Alyah 3). This behavior is modeled by the headmaster during his exchange with the village priest. When the headmaster laughs off the priest’s wishes because he sees them as foolish, he demonstrates one of the key failures of modernization as it is described by Thussu above. Just because one culture is different from the other does not mean that one is more desirable. All that is accomplished by this type of thinking is an irreparable clash between cultures. Prompt #12 In Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron,” the main theme is the ridiculousness of forced equality.
This 1960’s picture of equality painted by Vonnegut is relevant in today’s American society, and its themes should be kept in mind. Competition is a good thing. Success is determined by one’s desire to become better, and if that desire is taken away then so is the motivation to improve. Imposing “handicaps” on people to level out the playing field is in no way healthy or ethical. According to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the freedom of thought (Art. 18). However, George Bergeron was not free to think what he wanted to due to his great intelligence. This is why the theme of the story should be kept in mind; equality is possible up to a certain point, at which it just becomes an absurd contradiction. Vonnegut’s story is relevant today, but not in such an extreme. Everyone gets a trophy, everyone strives to reward others equally. In spite of this, an inherent desire to compete would never allow for widespread “equality.” Harrison represents this desire to be the best. He is the most handicapped, and he is the most resistant. When Harrison says, “I am a greater ruler than any jan who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!” he is symbolizing everyone’s desire to fulfill their upmost
potential. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. “Dead Men’s Path.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Pearson. Boston, MA:, 2012. 199-202. Print. The United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948. Print. K., Alyah. "The Failures of Modernization Theory." From the 640. N.p., 15 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2015. Porter, Katherine Ann. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Pearson. Boston, MA:, 2012. 83-89. Print. Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. “Harrison Bergeron” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Pearson. Boston, MA:, 2012. 216-220. Print.
Equality appears to be the ideal factor that can perfect a society. It eliminates the need to feel envious of any human or their qualities. Nevertheless, with impartiality comes lack of diversity and ambition. Inequality is the entity that provides individuals with the passion to strive for a better life. If everyone has already reached their full potential there is no purpose for living. The short novel “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut presents a futuristic portrayal of a world where everyone is equal in every way possible. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut displays the clear flaws in society that lead to the creation of a horrific dystopia that lacks genuine human emotions, fails to develop as a civilized community and is strictly government
In the story, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, written by Katherine Porter, Granny Weatherall is a character of depth. Her name is synomonous with her character. Three main qualities of her character are her strength, her endurance, and her vulnerability. Her strength is not so much physical but mental. She lies upon her bed contemplating all that she needs to do. Her daughter Cornelia does not even come close to handling affairs as well as she does in her own mind. In addition, she tell the Doctor Leave a well women alone...I'll call you when I need you. She does not like the patronizing position that she finds herself in. The fact that she has already avoided death once seems to add to her image of strength. As we follow her mental ramblings we obtain insight to her character as a woman that has endured heartache as well as hardship.
“Harrison Bergeron” features a society that emphasizes some fundamental problems of total equality. While it is human nature to want to be accepted and up to par with others, there has to be a distribution of achievement for the sake of achievement itself. We wouldn’t be human without our differences in aptitude. We just have to celebrate that diversity in order to
Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” Kurt Vonnegut portrays Aristotle’s philosophy brilliantly in his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” The story depicts the American government in the future mandating physical handicaps in an attempt to make everyone equal. Vonnegut describes a world where no one is allowed to excel in the areas of intelligence, athletics, or beauty. Yet, the inequalities among the people shine even brighter. Vonnegut uses satire to explore the question of whether true equality can ever really exist.
To begin, Granny Weatherall is inherently a prideful controlfreak. Granny Weatherall is at her deathbed, facing everything she has staved off for so long. This and all other adversity she faces throughout the short story map out her true personality. For instance, she is full of pride. When that pride takes a hit, as it does several times throughout the short story she metaphorically hits back at whoever or whatever
Harrison reaches freedom and takes it to the extreme. When he takes over the Television studio, he exclaims, "I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!" (Vonnegut 237). Harrison completely takes away equality. He creates this caste system with him and his queen at the top, which is then to be followed by his loyal subjects. His mentality only brings him to a downfall where he literally tries to bring back anarchy. Moreover, Vonnegut tries to warn today 's society of too much inequality. Although differences in brains, beauty, and brawn are a matter that should not be tied down, there needs to be a limit. Vonnegut shows that individuality can be a downfall because humans do tend to become envious and power hungry. He makes this point in the beginning when Hazel and George were discussing "the dark ages…with everybody competing against everybody else" (Vonnegut 235). People need some type of equality so that one will be able to be an individual and remain just as equal as the
In conclusion, the complete freedom and absolute equality have been a goal of innumerable societies throughout human history. However, these two ideal cannot exist together in their most perfect forms because the perfect forms of either freedom or equality represent total chaos or total oppression, as we can see in “Harrison Bergeron,” the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality. The author uses the story of this imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists is not only oppressive, but also inert and unproductive. Using his futuristic scenario, the simplicity of the society, and the actions of his characters, Vonnegut makes his point of view of a repressive society. In addition, societies that try to create total equality have almost always proven to be oppressive, such as China.
What gives the reader the false idea of utopia in Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is the deep social control in the form handicaps where individual’s abilities and competence and even appearance are neutralized and vilified as a form of inequality. The characteristics of equality chosen by Vonnegut; beauty, athleticism, and intelligence is important to the story’s message. The main focus of the story are the characteristics of equality that are subjective, the very same characteristics we are born with that makes us different and minimally states the objective ones, the ones that plague our society today. This not only satirizes the epitome of equality itself, but rather the people’s flawed ideals and belief of what total equality is supposed to be or should be.
Ever since the beginning of time, Americans have been struggling to obtain equality. The main goal is to have a country where everyone can be considered equal, and no one is judged or discriminated against because of things out of their control. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Plays with this idea of total equality in his futuristic short story, Harrison Bergeron. The setting is in 2081, where everyone is equal. No one is allowed to be better than anybody else. The government makes anyone who would be considered above average wear a transmitting device to limit their thoughts to twenty seconds at a time, which is considered average in this day. They also must wear bags of buckshot shackled to their necks to ensure no one can be stronger than anybody
Although the comparisons are well hidden, both today’s society and the story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ share similar qualities. They both deal with equality, which leads to problems and consequences. A second similarity is the struggle of competition and trying to prevent it from occurring, which also leads to problems. Lastly, both struggle with normality, and the fact that it’s hard to accept that different is okay now.
Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian fiction, or a type of fiction in which the society’s attempt to create a perfect world goes very wrong, “Harrison Bergeron” was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1961. This story is about Harrison Bergeron, who is forced to diminish his abilities because they are more enhanced than everyone else’s. This short story is an allusion of a perfect society and it is maintained through totalitarian. The author expresses his theme of the dysfunctional government of utopia through his effective use of simile, irony, and symbolism. Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential American writers and novelists, and his writings have left a deep influence on the American Literature of the 20th century. Vonnegut is also famous for his humanist beliefs and was the honoree of the American Humanist Association. “Harrison Bergeron” is about a fictional time in the future where everyone is forced to wear handicapping devices to ensure that everyone is equal. So can true equality ever be achieved through strict governmental control?
In a society where the talented are so handicapped that they cannot even function, the theme reflects the impracticality and dangers of egalitarianism. Harrison Bergeron symbolizes defiance and survival next tot eh TV symbolizing brainwash. The third person narrator creates an effective and fair method of detailing all the events in this futuristic society. Harrison Bergeron’s conflict creates an understanding of the result of total equality. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. emphasizes the need for competition and individuality in society, in order to live with freedom and prosperity.
“The narrator of the story Harrison Bergeron definitions’ of America’s equality begins not by positing a future equality as much as exposing the misunderstanding of it in the past and the present” (Hattenhauer). The story Harrison Bergeron has two meanings: too much equality and too much inequality. Too much equality is expressed through the Handicap General, Diana Glampers, as she wants everyone to be equal because she envies the talented and beautiful. However, “it is not fair to the productive, the risk taking, or the hard working, to deprive them of what they have produced, merely to make them equal to others who have worked less, taken less risk, and produced less” (Moore). This society would never work because “no one who has lived very long can think that all men are equal in physical, prowess, mental capacity, willingness to work or save, to assume leadership, to design or invent new products or processes, to get votes, to preach sermons, to play the violin, or even to make love” (Even Fingerprints Differ). In any society one should not have the power to make people equal for each “were endowed by our creator” (Moore). In a society where there is too much inequality, or a potential dictatorship- Harrison Bergeron, society would fail as well. Kurt Vonnegut wrote Harrison Bergeron in order to show the world that we cannot take away talent or
The grandmother is very old and has lived a very tough life in Vietnam. She “‘lost four of [her] children… twelve of [her] grandchildren and countless relatives to wars and famines’” (Meyer, 74) while in Vietnam. During her life she had very little time to enjoy herself, instead she had to focus on not only surviving, but also holding a family together and getting them through the hardships as well. On top of the Vietnam War, which killed an estimated 500,000-600,000 Vietnamese citizens alone (Weisner), she had to live through 2 additional wars and several famines. The implicated stress and hardships are almost unimaginable. This is evident in her stories and fairy tales she tells her granddaughters, which always have dark twist or no happy ending, or as the granddaughters say “The husband comes too late” (Meyer, 77) to stop the bad guy or save the
Knapp, Peter, Jane C. Kronick, R. William Marks, and Miriam G. Vosburgh. The Assault on Equality. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1996.