Ellen: a young girl in search of someplace to call "home". She endured a painful struggle just to fit in with the crowd. She was judged not by her character, but by the way she dressed. To offer us an example, Saunders tells us that she wore "these blue cats eye glasses that at the time only old ladies wore." In relation to the time period, those glasses were out of style. The audience understands that during this time, young girls who wore these glasses would experience teasing and bullying from the author's insight on this topic. Today's readers (especially those under 18) would likely not have any knowledge regarding fashion during the era of Ellen's childhood, nor would they have any idea how Ellen felt.
Not everybody knows the horror of being bullied, ostracized, demeaned. Not everybody has even seen this occur. Ellen would walk through the halls, "eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked." The imagery of this statement condemns the act of tormenting others. What looks like a joke to you, is a life of pain for them. Being able to see the scene, to feel Ellen's pain, offers a whole new perspective on the sheer magnitude of the story. Why must she be the one to go through such injustice? What prompted those bullies to do such unspeakable things to Ellen? As a society, there's one thing (among many) that we continue to do and never learn from. We resent the unfamiliar. During the Cold War, people hated communists. During the Iraq war and even today, people hated Muslims. And now, in Saunders' experience, people hated Ellen. Why? Because she was different.
Saunders tried to help, but his assistance was overshadowed by the malicious intent of the other students. It is Ellen's suffering that causes Saunders to remember her so fondly. Despite the fact that Saunders is telling the story, he connects it to everybody. He asks the audience, "Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope, who in your life, do you remember most fondly?" This question proves interesting to the audience, showing that everyone has at one time been in Saunders' shoes. Everyone in this room, everyone who is reading this post right now, knows someone special in their life. My dad, the one who raised me from when I was an infant in New Hampshire to now, and he's still going. Every struggle and accomplishment that I've had, he's been there. With my sister away at college, he's all I have to talk to. Who in your life makes all the difference regardless of where you are?
Not everybody knows the horror of being bullied, ostracized, demeaned. Not everybody has even seen this occur. Ellen would walk through the halls, "eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked." The imagery of this statement condemns the act of tormenting others. What looks like a joke to you, is a life of pain for them. Being able to see the scene, to feel Ellen's pain, offers a whole new perspective on the sheer magnitude of the story. Why must she be the one to go through such injustice? What prompted those bullies to do such unspeakable things to Ellen? As a society, there's one thing (among many) that we continue to do and never learn from. We resent the unfamiliar. During the Cold War, people hated communists. During the Iraq war and even today, people hated Muslims. And now, in Saunders' experience, people hated Ellen. Why? Because she was different.
Saunders tried to help, but his assistance was overshadowed by the malicious intent of the other students. It is Ellen's suffering that causes Saunders to remember her so fondly. Despite the fact that Saunders is telling the story, he connects it to everybody. He asks the audience, "Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope, who in your life, do you remember most fondly?" This question proves interesting to the audience, showing that everyone has at one time been in Saunders' shoes. Everyone in this room, everyone who is reading this post right now, knows someone special in their life. My dad, the one who raised me from when I was an infant in New Hampshire to now, and he's still going. Every struggle and accomplishment that I've had, he's been there. With my sister away at college, he's all I have to talk to. Who in your life makes all the difference regardless of where you are?
I really enjoyed how you went into detail about the story of kindness. Even though this was a post about the authors voice, I saw you have some voice in your post. But this brings me to this question what specific act of kindness really stands out to you the most?
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about my life experiences or Saunders' story?
DeleteSomething I have tried to live by my entire life was being kind to everyone. I dont care if they are mean to me, meant to others, but I will never be mean to them. I think thats part of wht he is saying, no matter how people act, there is usually an underlying reason for it, and to let that dictate how you judge someone is just wrong. Do you think there is a good way to spread kindness?
ReplyDeleteI've learned that regardless of what people say about a certain person, or how well you know them, it never hurts to just say "what's up" to them and give them a high five.
DeleteI like how you talk about how not everyone knows what it feels like to be bullied. Which is true because some people never get bullied because they are on the other side and that they are the ones bullying others and don't know how that makes their victim feel. Why do you think some people move towards bullying what pushes bullies to make others feel awful?
ReplyDeleteBullying is a complex issue that can be explained through a multitude of reasons. The bully could have abusive parents that make the bully more aggressive. Other times, people like to make jokes about each other (which isn't always harmful) and they don't know where to stop.
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