What effect does a person's environment have on future success?

By -
        An individual's surroundings have an immense impact on one's likelihood of success in life. Certain cultures have caste systems that restrict people from being able to escape poverty or climb the latter of success. Junior's position is similar except he has the option to run away from the Rez, as we read we learn there is no escaping. The environment Arnold was raised in affected his future. Arnold summed it up perfectly by saying, "There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away"(107). Junior is aware that addiction is often interlaced with poverty and hopelessness on the Rez. He is surprised, however, to see that addiction is universal across all ethnicities and classes. He sees that although someone may carry it well, it may still be heavy. It is also important to remember when you meet someone new to not judge because you don't know their past.  
    The book introduces Rowdy, a troubled child who lives in poverty. His parents are so frustrated with their living situation they take it out on Rowdy. This is the sad truth for some. On page 16, Rowdy refers to his scars and bruises as "warpaint." This is alarming as we realize he seems to be proud of them. I think he was just acting tough as a coverup. I do believe if the element of poverty was somehow removed from both Rowdy and Junior's life they would not be so angry. 


Comments

  1. A'Keriah PraylowSeptember 8, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    I love how you compared Rowdy's situation to that of a caste system. That was a great connection between literature and History. Due to you mentioning that Rowdy's parents take their frustration out on him, do you personally believe in generational curses?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Logan SandorSeptember 9, 2020 at 9:54 AM

      No, I believe you can do your best to escape them or die trying.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Speak and the Symbolism of Nature

By Anonymous -
   Laurie Halse Anderson's,  Speak , dives into the murky, muddy waters of adolescent rape culture. When the book was published in 1999, rape was not a comfortable topic to discuss with adults, let alone teenagers. Anderson writes about Melinda Sordino and her freshman high school experience which is turning out to be rather negative. Soriano stands as a thriving young role model for struggling teenage girls all over the world. Although she isn't an outstanding student or have plenty of friends to juggle, through Melinda, other young women can see that it's completely normal and okay to struggle in high school not only academically, but socially and emotionally. One of my favorite parts of the novel isn't a super obvious quality. Throughout the novel, Melinda's attitude changes and grows with the coming of spring and through nature and art, she learns to move past her troubling end of summer experience and once again find the importance of her voice.    Melinda st
Read more