September 13, 2010
Theme Notebook Entry #2
Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued.
The theme Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued is evident in the short story Thank You Ma’am. In the story, “Thank You Ma’am,” Roger was a boy who didn't have a place to stay or a family, which means he didnt have someone to take care of him and he had to find food by himself . But when he tried to rob Mrs. Jones she didn't do what normal people would have done, instead she grabbed Roger by the neck and dragged him to her house. Mrs. Jones wanted to help Roger, but she wasn’t too nice at first, when they arrived at her house, she asks Roger for his name, I think when you ask someone that you just met their name, it makes them feel valued because its a sign of friendship. Mrs Jones also told Roger to go wash his face and asked him if he wanted to eat. Roger had a chance to run, but he didn’t because he felt that Mrs Jones was a trusting woman which means that she showed belief in him and he will do the same. While they were eating, Mrs Jones asked Roger why he tried to steal her purse. Roger’s reply was that he wanted to buy some new shoes. After they ate it was time for Mrs Jones to dismiss Roger. She decided to give him ten dollars, so he could buy shoes. Before he left he said, “Thank you Ma’am,” deep down he wanted to say more than that and also he remembered her full name Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones.
The theme showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued is evident in the short film, “Making a Difference” is what Miss Thompson did to a boy named Teddy Stallard, It got to the point when she didn't bother marking his papers, all she did was put a large X on every problem and an F at top of his paper. Miss Thompson was required to read every child’s past records, she put Teddy’s last. When she read Teddy’s she felt like a horrible person. Miss Thompson discovered that Teddy’s mom died and his dad didn't really care about Teddy. Miss Thompson opened Teddy’s Christmas present in the middle of the class. Some students started to laugh and she told them how valuable his present was to her. Teddy stayed after school and told her that the perfume and the necklace were his mom’s. Miss Thompson started crying for no less than an hour. She started to show Teddy some respect and made him feel like he was loved. She believed in him throughout the school year and she succeeded. By the end of the year Teddy had to admit that Miss Thompson was the best teacher he’s ever had because she believed in him. Later in life, Miss Thompson and Teddy remained in touch. Teddy e-mailed Miss Thompson when he graduated and told her she still is the best teacher ever. A couple of years later he invited her to his wedding and she came wearing the necklace and the perfume that he gave her when he was in fifth grade.
Showing belief in someone can help a person to feel valued was a theme that was shared in both “Thank You Ma’am” and Teddy Stallard’s life. In “Thank You Ma’am,” Roger was a poor boy who wasn’t taught how to behave well and Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones tried to help Roger by showing that she believes in him. In Teddy’s life it was very similar. Miss Thompson realized how bad Teddy’s life was without his mother, so she decided to help him and work with him. In both stories Roger and Teddy felt valued and loved. In “Thank You Ma’am” Roger wanted to thank Mrs Jones and in Teddy’s life, Teddy said that Miss Thompson was the best teacher he ever had.
August 19th 2010
There Are Two Sides To Justice
In life there are many colors, but in "Lamb to the Slaughter" the color is black. In "Lamb To The Slaughter," Roald Dahl explores the theme that there are two sides to justice. Mary Maloney was a caring housewife until one day her husband decided to leave her. After the shocking news, Mary decided to do whats best for her, she killed her husband with a frozen piece of lamb. What Mary did describes two sides of justice, because she did whats best for her, she saved the baby but killed her husband. Mary saved the baby because, if her husband left her she would be considered as a bad wife and she wouldn't get any money to feed her child. Mary also fed the death weapon (the lamb) to the cops. In the story Mary kills her husband with a frozen piece of lamb, the cops don't have any evidence that she killed him after they ate the lamb. Also Mary described two sides of justice because, when she feeds the cops the death weapon they have no evidence of Mary killing her husband. Now he cops think that Mary is just an innocent widow carrying a baby in her stomach, now that Mary is free and on the safe side, plus she will receive money from the government so she can raise the child.
A real life example is a protest. My example is, Several thousand demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Egyptian city of Alexandria to protest against the police. The protest is about the death of the 28 year old Khaled Said. The protesters think that the police beat him to death. I think this shows two sides of justice because, when the protesters heard the shocking news about the death of Khaled Said they changed from normal people to crazy protesters. The protesters are crazy because the only proof they have is a picture of Khaled Said's face injured.
The story "Lamb to the Slaughter" relates to real life because Mary was a very happy housewife then one day her husband leaves her. In real life it similar people seem to be normal until it comes to something has terrible has happened to them or someone they really care about. In "Lamb to the Slaughter" Mary killed her husband to save her baby who seems to be more important to her, in real life people would sacrifice their lives. In the news article it says people "PROTESTED" against the police all this was because of one dead man. However Mary did the opposite which was kill a man. I think two sides to justice means, people can sacrifice a lot for one person.
