For this post, you will have a choice of two different topics of which to respond.
Option #1: Many families have unique traditions like Lahiri's family tradition of carrying loads of food back from India. Think of a tradition that is unique to your family or to another group you belong to--for instance, a holiday celebration, a vacation activity, a way of resolving or avoiding disagreement. Describe that tradition, focusing on the objects used, the activities involved, and the feelings associated with it. (This is a chance for the class to get know "who" you are).
OR
Option #2: Do you find the Las Vegas wedding industry and its clients, as described by Didion, to be ridiculous, depressing, amusing, harmless, or something else? Explain your impression. Describe another ritual or social custom (for example, a graduation, military induction, presidential inauguration, religious service). What does the conduct of this custom tell us about our attitudes toward it?
I find the wedding "industry" in Las Vegas to be rather humorous and absurd. In Joan Didion's piece she describes weddings not as beautiful, meaning ceremonies but more as strange and rushed ordeals. It seems that weddings are more of a business in Las Vegas with all of the advertising that takes place regarding them. It seems that in Vegas there is more alcohol involved in the decision to get married than there is love. I take it this way because of the entertainment that has been made off of Vegas weddings. There are countless movies that range from comedies to dramas that are centered on weddings in Las Vegas. The subject is not a thing of care and commitment but more of humor deriving from stupidity. After taking this into account a big thing that speaks to me is that the place that these weddings take place is "Sing City" itself. I'm not saying that these marriages can't work but just the fact that such a holy ceremony takes place in a city where there is so much infidelity and lust makes me question the commitment of those who decide to marry there. Another subject that I find quite funny in the world is the process of presidential elections. The voting is not based on who has the best character or who will lead the country the most efficient but instead it is who has the most money. You could be a man of incredible integrity, honesty, and faith but if you do not have enough money to get your name out there with ads and posters then there is seemingly no way for you to win. This displays the stupidity of the American people. They allow dishonest and unfit people to lead them and make decisions for them because that was the person that most entertained them. As a politician its about appealing to your audience and manipulating their ideas about important subjects and about the opposition. To be president all you have to be is a good talker. If you can charm your way into the hearts of the people than you can easily be in the running for the oval office, as long as you are backed with some cash. This process makes me slightly embarrassed to be an American because we elect these men into office on such a shallow basis. We look not deep into their hearts and minds but into their wallets instead.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a satire should be written about this subject. Or, perhaps, the commentary on the institution of marriage is enough of a satire.
DeleteEach year my family takes a vacation to the beach for a week, and when I say 'my family', I don't mean just my immediate family. I mean my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents too. The majority of the family on my dad's side stay at a beach house that we rent every year. There are seventeen of us, five families total. None of us live close enough to visit often and everyone has school or work the majority of the time, but beach week is the one week of the year that we all put aside whatever else is going on in our lives and we get together. It is our time to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and any other holiday or important occasion that we missed. However, even all living in one house, we do not always see one another, but there is one place that we all get together each day. You would think that place would be the beach, but Strangely enough, the kitchen is actually the center of our activities at the beach. When the beach week tradition was created, we had to make a meal plan. There are five days where we have to get food from somewhere. So, we divided it up to where each family gets one day to cook. This system doesn't just make sure we have food each day, it also allows for us to see the different traditions of each family. Our family, is one of many different cultures and many different personalities. Every night at the dinner table is a new experience and a look into the lives of all the other people that make up my family. One of my Uncles is Egyptian, so his family's night is full of spices and red sauces, and my favorite, Baklava. The Baklava is a sticky sweet, flaky dessert. It crunches as you bite into it but quickly melts into sugary sweet syrup in your mouth. It is not just a delicious dessert, it is a cultural experience. The loud sound of my Aunt rummaging through spice cabinets, and the careful way she sprinkles just the right amount on to each dish is a look into their home. It helps me picture the three children with plates and silverware clinking around as they set the table, listening to the clanking of pots and pans as my Aunt and Uncle prepare to serve dinner. It is like stepping into their home for a night, and sharing their world. Each family has it's own little quirks. My Aunt and Uncle from Baltimore have loud personalities and are very adventurous, so their meals change frequently as they get bored of the dish, introducing us to something new each year, whether it be spicy, red hot stir fry, or crab cakes with a cooling ranch sauce. Whatever it is, it is loud. There will be music, dancing, and story for every dish. Every burst of laughter and explanation of the dish brings in a new perspective of their lives. I can picture a house full of vibrant colors, creativity spilling out of every corner, and the two of them and my little cousin Spencer in the kitchen throwing together new and inventive dishes. Slinging things in to bowls, pots, and pans, dancing their way through the kitchen to the beat of new spices and ingredients flying into bowls, splashing across counters, and sometimes crashing to the floor. All of my family is different, and strange as it sounds, I feel like I get to know them best when we are eating dinner. The food tells a story about their lives, personalities, and culture. The kitchen is the one place we can all be together and act like one family, each experiencing and sharing part of ourselves, so that we become one combined family made up of the best parts of each individual family.
ReplyDeleteMaggie,
DeleteYour response makes me want to be a part of this vacation. Sounds like a lot of fun and a way for your family to stay connected, even if it's only for a week. Your "food tells a story about their lives, personalitites, and culture" seems like an interesting descriptive essay or a classification essay-group people together in food categories.
When I read this I really wanted this to be part of my families tradition as well. I think it is very unique and exciting. My Uncle Rich married my Aunt who is Indian and we visit them about two or three times a year. So whenever we go there (Washington D.C.) we get together with everyone from that side of the family and have lots of Indian food. So reading this made me think of my mother's side of the family and the amazing, spicy Indian food we consume. I agree that food does bring out a person's personality as well as culture. In a way, that is how certain people can express themselves.
Delete"Voted Best Chapel for 2011 Weddings from $199 & Free Coupons" (taken from Viva Las Vegas)
ReplyDeleteI think this says enough about the Las Vegas wedding industry. The whole purpose of a wedding, the life-long bond between a man and a woman, is lost in promotions, and the sanctity of marriage is cheapened. Sometimes, these marriages only last as long as the ceremony, and this is what I find depressing. Because the process of marriage is severely simplified, the thought and time which should go into marriage is lost, sending the wrong message. Getting married in Las Vegas is easy; marriage in reality, is difficult.
An apt social custom to discuss is... Prom. When we consider all the time and money that goes into choosing gowns and suits, hiring DJs and designers, coordinating limos and corsages, we have to eventually stand back and ask, why? When has this four lettered word become something so anticipated or dreaded... When or why has the effort of an almost mini-wedding been accepted as a social norm such that we have the audacity to question why others may choose not to attend? I ask this not from criticism but rather curiosity (being guilty of the same fixations of prom). Is it that we are so concerned for our entertainment (or that of others) that we are willing to spend hundreds of dollars for it? Or is Prom simply a harmless excuse to live a fairy tale for a night? Or is it just another endorsed celebration to fuel the economy?
(Gabby Do)
Gabby,
DeleteI think your reference to the "four letter word" says a lot about this topic. I think what is lost is the purpose of the early proms--a class getting together to celebrate a milestone. The prom used to be in the school gym and the students did all of the work involved in putting the prom together. It was something to be proud of. Why not have a charity prom and donate money you would have spent and just have a down-to-earth "friends" party?
I agree with you completely about Vegas weddings, they do cheapen marriage and the values marriage should be based on. I also love that you brought Prom up as another social custom, especially since it is getting so close to prom time and people are spending money and making preparations right now. So those questions are extremely relevant right now. I think that it is an odd social custom, but also one that we anticipate and consider one of the most important in our high school career, which seems odd since there are so many other important moments to prepare for in life, but Prom is the thing we fixate on, because we imagine it to be a moment or a night we will always remember. I think that prom is different for every person and everyone has a different reason for going. Some just want to go to have fun and make memories, some go to have that perfect moment or perfect night, some just want to dress up and be a princess for a night, and some go because it is what other people expect. But why did Prom become such a huge and celebrated tradition? It could be just another way to fuel the economy, or just a form of entertainment, but it is clear that it is a tradition that is here to stay. I thought that was a really great question, and I’m not really sure what the answer is, but it is interesting to think about the social traditions we have and why they matter.
DeleteI agree completely with gabby. Now when you think of a wedding, and especially a Las Vegas wedding, the word does not bring as much of an impact. Because now, a wedding is just a one night fairytale, not the real world, and a wedding is no longer a mark of a lifelong committment because one in two marriages ends in divorce.
DeleteI never thought about prom and how it is the same premise. But she is completely correct. Prom is treated like a mini wedding. The only difference is that there is no lifelong committment that you are making during prom, although you could argue that most of the time there is no lifelong committment when you get married in Las Vegas either.
TOPIC 1:
ReplyDeleteLast year, I was introduced to many traditions in my family through my sister's weddings. The tradition I found the most creative was melting the gold from your mother's old jewelry, to create new jewelry that the bride would wear on her wedding day. When I first found out about this, it was a little confusing but then my grandmother shared the whole idea behind it with me. The process is that the mother gives her daughter a piece of jewelry that she received on her own wedding. After this, that certain piece of jewelry is melted down and then the jewelry maker incorporates the gold into a new piece of jewelry that the bride will wear on her own wedding day. My sister took a pair of my mothers ear rings and that gold was used in the bracelets she wore on her wedding day. My grandmother gave my mother a necklace made of silver and that silver was incorporated into anklets my mother wore on her wedding day. The basic idea behind this tradition is symbolism. The idea of using your mother's old jewelry is that it symbolizes the morals and manners that your mother taught you. By wearing jewelry that is made from something old of your mothers, it is a constant reminder for the girl to hold true to those manner and morals that you learned growing up. When I talked to my sister about how she felt about this tradition she spoke of how she felt thankful for this tradition because it is a reminder that she can use to have a healthy marriage. Also, she like the idea that it was something she could use to hold true to her Pakistani culture and pass on to her own children.
I think that this tradition is really cool and unique. I've heard of things like it such as wearing the mother's wedding gown or something but I feel like this is a way to keep your heritage and your mother's ways while still being able to create and form your own, new, unique life. It's a mixture of both old and new and is a really awesome way to keep ties to your family.
DeleteDuring the Christmas season, my family and I have a certain tradition every Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve night it is tradition for our family to open only ONE present that someone else chooses for us to open. We always start from the youngest to the oldest. Since I am the youngest in my family, I was always happy for this part because I was always the one who got to open a present first. My dad got remarried so now we are a blended family of eight, including parents. I am no longer the youngest so I don't open the first gift anymore. But now I am older and it doesn't bother me one bit. Also, the week before Christmas, wrapping gifts is all we do because we always leave it to the last minute. The way you wrap the presents is always a big deal and extremely important and is done in the same room every year, "The Playroom." There is a TV in there, and a futon. So there is plenty of space. My siblings and step siblings and I thought of this tradition. If you get a gift that you don't know who to say it is "From" you have to make up something absurd and crazy to who to say this gift is "From". This is usually the time to express inside jokes that you have with certain siblings, or just freak them out by writing something that makes absolutely NO sense. For example, it would say something like, "To: Aubrey From: Simba" or something really absurd like, "To: Aubrey From: The Million Lost Penguins." Again, something totally random and absurd. My sister, Kaitlin always wraps gifts in a very crazy way. This past Christmas she wrapped a certain present over and over with layers and layers of wrapping paper and tissue paper shooting out of it, making it look like a volcano. There was no joke meaning behind this, she just wanted to do something random and creative. Kaitlin also wrapped another present and made it look like a car for no reason at all. This whole process of gift wrapping is strange, I know, but it is how our family bonds at Christmas time. We communicate and bond through inside jokes. It always results in uncontrollable laughter until 3a.m. We didn't start doing this tradition until we were older, now we do it every Christmas and it is always something everyone looks forward to.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww. The whole sentimentality of your family tradition is so cute! The time that it takes to wrap a present makes it that much more special and...presentable. Wrapping presents at my house is almost the opposite; my family doesn't put nearly as much effort. Sometimes we open presents with a knife, straight from the UPS box. It gets the job done, but I like how a simple task (concealing a gift) can be done in different, interesting ways.
Delete(Gabby Do)
In our family it is the tradition of the Groom to be "surprised" chair lifted. Even if he doesn't want too. After he is put on the chair a large circle of people we do the debke around him in a huge spiral circle. Every time we go back to our old town I must attend every wedding birthday party and social gathering not because im forced to but because I was invited. And it is a offence if you reject...joy me. Another tradition that my family does is family gathering at my great great grand parent's house. My entire family gathers and we stay the week there.
ReplyDelete(Ali)
By going back to your grand fathers house, it appears that you hold on to your Lebanese culture. In my family, we have a similar tradition where the family of the bride takes the grooms shoes and the groom's side of the family pays to get his shoes back.
DeleteOPTION #1
ReplyDeleteEvery Thanksgiving no matter where my immediate family may be we get together to go to Virginia where my grandparents live in order to meet with the entire family. It is one week where we can all catch up with eachother while also reminiscing on the past and all of the great times we have had. For this one week we are reminded that we are never alone and we are family and will always be there for one another. We may fight and bicker about things, but these arguments are quickly forgotten because we are family. We all sit down and eat together and have a great time. Each year we go around the room and say what we are greatful for with the majority of people saying that they are thankful for family. One is not able to choose their family, but I am blessed to have mine, and I am reminded of this every year.We have had this tradition since I can remember and it is always a time of great joy and happiness.
(Jenny Lind)
The idea of a quick wedding seems very efficient to me, especially because weddings are so expensive and from what I have heard, more fun for everyone than the couple getting married. For people who do not have the money to plan a party or buy the flower arrangements, token gifts and wedding dress, the idea of a short, inexpensive ceremony can be tempting... but you don't need Las Vegas for that, anyone can go to the courthouse and be legally married. Everyone has their own ideals to how a wedding should be, the fancy ceremony tends to be more important to the parents and brides rather than the grooms. Some people may find a las vegas wedding "ideal" but many of the people who use these facilities are not going based on ideal but rather impulse and stupidity... often they are under the influence of alcohol, not thinking so much about how this will affect their futures. Though the entire piece, I found it fairly amusing how silly and impulsive people can be on something as serious as marriage... that was until the end when the author described the scene of the family after one f these weddings; the young, pregnant bride saying how "wonderful" the "wedding" was, choking out the words with tears... that made me feel sorry for the poor girl because she clearly had other ideals on what her wedding would be... I felt for her because if the universe were to ever be so strange as to put me in the position of marriage, I would want the wedding to be extravagant, and somewhat inefficient (if I can afford, of course) because I like frivolous, pretty things... and even though she made a poor decision that got her pregnant prematurely, she could still have s pretty wedding, the act of having a wedding like that seems almost out of embarrassment and scramble... not the sacred thing she imagined since childhood.
ReplyDeleteSomething I think is a little silly is the hype for the Superbowl. People gather to watch this game and sure, if you are into football, it would be nice to see one of the more important games of the football season (as you can tell I know next to nothing about football) but why do people treat it like christmas dinner minus the good food (I am guessing based on all the sales for junk food at grocery stores during this "season') To me it just seems like another excuse for a holiday where advertising companies can release more ads and people can gorge themselves more on chips and burgers, only this "holiday" is on a weekend so that no one can have a legitimate reason to be absent from school.
I agree with you. It does that most of the holidays within today’s society are stripped of the spirit, and focused more on the amount of money spent and the prettier thing bought. Within the story it is obvious that the girl only had this wedding because she became pregnant. Was it a stupid move yes, however who are we to judge. We as humans make impulsive decisions on a daily basis. It just so happens that the corporate world takes advantages of our impulses to “have the new iphone”, the next Beyonce CD, or even worst the tickets to see “The Hunger Games” at 12:00 in the morning!
DeleteHowever you did stab me with the Super bowl comments. I am one of those people who gather around the TV. set every year with my family, to watch the major game of the season! It is something I’ll never get tired of. I’ll never get tired of my throat being soar from cheering on my team with my brother. I never get tired of my fingers feeling numb from clutching on to the remote when the opposing team scores, or my stomach burning from laughing at the commercials during half-time. No, I won’t get tired of sitting next to my Dad on the couch eating the fried chicken my mom and I made hours before, and rubbing it in his face that his team made bad passes, or lost a chance at a touch down during the fourth down. I’ll never get tired of my adrenaline running high, eyes glued to the T.V., me crawling on my knees to the screen slowly as my team (usually the underdog) makes the miraculous touch down! NO! I cannot get tired of doing my version of the “Pitt Dip” ( Reference from the show The Game) with my mom because like every year so far, all of our teams have won! Yes I am a Giants girl by heart even though they’ve only won twice in the past five years. Best of all I can never get tired of my family sitting down together that very night up to the next morning, because the next day we may not talk to each for a long while the way we did that night.
I didn't mean to be hurtful, It was just my impression of the whole ordeal, the way you describe a Superbowl get together with your family is meaningful, lively and more than just the commercialism outsiders like myself see in the grocery store sales. An event like that would not be successful or even considered in my family because we have no passion for sports. Yes, something like this would be silly through what I know and how my family behaves, but it is very important for your family.
DeleteSusanna, when I was reading the story "Marrying Absurd", I also to felt sorry and pity for this girl. Numerous windows and avenues in her life have been closed off, never to be ventured and explored all because of a mistake that she made that she will regret for the rest of her life. When she uttered those words on the brink of tears, "It was just as nice, as I hoped and dreamed it would be." That really stuck with me, few times in my reading do I actually stop and feel complete pity for a character. That one word "just", a classification. It's a word used when a vicarious object can not compare or live up to the original, it shows that there is an apparent lack or diminishing in quality or value. And then she adds "as I hoped and dreamed it would be", those words, to me, carried great emotional weight because they illustrate her longing and desire and admiration of this momentous event in her life. All for it to be disgraced by the disappointing excuse for a marriage that was her "special night".
DeleteOption #1
ReplyDeleteOne of the most popular festivals that I celebrate in my religion is Holi. Holi represents the arrival of spring, and it is also a way for everyone to get together and release all their stress and tension. Holi is also a religious occasion because it is the day that we as Indians worship eternal love among our Gods. It is a festival of colors due to the wide use of colored powders and water mixtures. In India, Holi can last as long as a week in some parts of the country. Children get out of school to celebrate Holi, and parents get out of work too. During this time all the kids and adults go outside and have a fun time chatting, playing, visiting, and eating. It is one of the only times where it is appropriate for people of all ages to go wild and crazy. People wear white clothing in order to allow the colors to show on their cloths. Kids mix water and colored powder together toss the bucket full of water or cup of water onto each other. Sometimes people get water guns, water balloons, and even hoses to spray water on each other. There is a big ground so everyone can run around and play. The colored powdered is made especially so that it will not harm the environment and people if it gets into your eyes or mouth. Personally, I celebrated Holi just a few weeks ago because you usually celebrate it toward the end of March. I celebrated Holi with my Youth group at our temple with a lot of people. We invited little kids and adults so everyone could enjoy. Some of my friends even filled a trash can full of water and poured it onto someone. Everyone is kind toward each other, and even if you have a grudge toward someone, you just let it go during Holi because it is the time to forgive and forget. During Holi, you love everyone just like you love your family because everyone is having fun. You will never see someone with plain white clothing during Holi because everyone will be covered with colors. You even get it in your hair, and for me that is very inconvenient. My friends made me into a human bull because people put color onto my hair and made me head-butt other people.
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ReplyDeleteBeing a tad repetitive there Sneh
DeleteOkk thanks... the first time it said error, so i thought it didnt go through.
DeleteI actually saw this on a television show once and the excitement of it and uniqueness of it definitely made me understand how this holiday is viewed by its observers. It was really cool because everyone seemed happy and carefree and there really was color everywhere. Between the mass of colored powders everywhere and the jolly spirit it is easy to see how this holiday can be so exciting and looked forward to. Neat tradition.
DeleteOPTION #1
ReplyDeleteEvery summer, my mom's side of the family has a family reunion. These reunions are always hard for us to coordinate because we have three pastors in just this side of the family. We have to come together during the summer because it is the least busy time in the church year; there are not any big holidays. Pastors like any other profession have to get vacation time approved ahead of time, but it is a little different because of the fact that the most important day of the week is a Sunday. Most people do not have to worry about missing Sundays because they are already not working, but with my family, it is a little different. When we finally have a date set for the summer, my grandparents have timeshares at resorts and we decide a place. We all usually pick a beach because it is agreeable to everyone. When everyone arrives, there are eighteen of us altogether. And the ages span from third grade to eighty-one. There are so many differences among us because we live so far apart and this is the only time that we see everyone at the same time every year, but there is still this love that I can feel from every family member. Everyone is so willing to help each other and so happy to see one another that it brings so much joy to every single person. All of us that gather have one thing in common, our religion, and I feel so blessed to have something that brings us each that much closer to one another. We always leave the week with fun-filled memories, a re-found joy and hope in life, and a stronger bond to one another.
Option 1
ReplyDeleteGeneral Conference has been a tradition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since its founding in 1830. Every April and October, Mormons from around the globe either flock to the Conference Center, the largest indoor facility in North America, in Salt Lake City, Utah or tune-in to LDS.org to view the meetings from over the internet. Over the course of two days, the highest authorities in our church, who we know to be prophets and apostles, teach us about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Topics ranging from Old Testament stories and parables to modern day drug and alcohol abuse are presented, and in return, the elders give to us their advice and wisdom attained from years of church service and life’s trials and relate their experiences with the teachings of Christ. Often times, members of the LDS community in Augusta will congregate at the church building on North Belair Rd. to watch each session in the company of one another. General Conference is one of my favorite times of the year because of the knowledge I glean from powerful talks and testimonies and the spirit of love and community that is felt when we gather together as a people to learn about something that we are all passionate about.
As Kenyans, we have various aspects of our culture that unique to us as a community. The two activities that we always do in all of our gatherings is sing and pray. In every social event, whether it may be a birthday, wedding or even a graduation party, there is always room for an intense cession of praise and worship followed by prayer. You can be at a birthday party and when the time arrives it feels as though you are in church deeply in the presence of God. During the time of worship, one feels spiritually moved and when you are surrounded by people deeply in the spirit of worship, it gives one a chance to reflect of his personal spiritual life and relationship with God. This shows that in everything we do, we always take time to reflect and thank and appreciate God for all that he has done. We have someone who comes up and speaks and then leads us in praise and worship, most of the time it is an older person in the community and we gather round them as they lead us through a few songs. This is then followed by prayer. This lasts for quite a bit of time, it can be quite lengthy at times, especially for the restless kids who are anxious to play. Prayer and worship is very important to us as a group of people and it is a tradition that identifies with us totally.
ReplyDeleteI understand exactly what you mean. In my culture, we usually pray at almost every event as well. At birthdays we pray to God and ask for a happy and prosperous life. We as Indians believe in God greatly, so technically our weddings are entirely worshiping God and asking him for a good marriage. The groom and bride sit around a fire, while a priest says various chants that is suppose to be the groom and bride praying to God. Even if we do not pray to God at certain events, we always have to touch the feet of our elders asking for their blessings. Whenever we have guests over it is my job to come and meet them and ask for their blessings. We also ask for the blessings of our family members that have past away. Asking for the blessings of my elders has become natural to me, and even if you meet the same people over and over again, you still have to touch their feet. In my culture, touching someone's feet is a sign that I have surrendered myself to you, which is probably the most important and widely spread way to honor someone in my country.
DeleteRoy that's a really interesting custom. It is similar to how we as Muslims keep up with our five daily prayers even when we have special events or gatherings with one another. Prayer is the most important ritual of every Muslim to perform, so one must always make sure to remember God throughout the day and pray on time. Whenever we have any gathering, as the time approaches for prayer, one man will always make the call for prayer called the Adhan, and following that everyone lines up to form a group and we begin to pray side by side. That to me is a spiritual uplifting, because no matter the location, we are all remembering God's name together.
DeleteRoy, I appreciate your openess to share your religious background. Some people are not alawys proud of who they are and what they come from, but the way I was raised, and evidently you as well, we are taught to be proud of what we beleive. Power to you. More related to your post, I can relate to its openess as well. In congregations, LDS people also begin and close activities with prayer. I also agree with you that being surrounded by people with the same beliefs is spiritually uplifting.
DeleteIndian Takeout reminds me a lot of my own family. I remember when I was younger my parents used to do the exact same thing, they too were pirates, of a kind. Unlike Jhumpa Lahiri’s family though, my family spends more time visiting old friends and distant family members, then they do eating. I remember one year we when to Pakistan we had to visit so many people that day after day we would visit five to eight houses. I ended up meeting so many people in such a short span of time that I just gave up on trying to keep everyone straight. One day I remember that I was so tried from visiting that I just walked into one of Uncle’s house and walked straight to the first bed I saw. I ended up immediately falling asleep. Afterwards I found out that I had slept through an engagement party. Which is not that bad considering that Pakistani weddings last up to two weeks, if not more.
ReplyDeleteI find this interesting because my parents follow the exact same routine whenever we visit Pakistan. It is a custom to take gifts from America and to visit all of the family and friends there. When I was little, this definitely was not something I looked forward to, but now that I know everyone and I understand more of the language I actually want to go back and do the same thing
DeleteA wedding… a bond created between two people in holy matrimony. However getting it in Las Vegas, the city of sin, is really ironic and strange; just as Didion describes the weddings themselves in this city. Nevertheless bond created between two people is what matters, not where or when it happens. The only thing that matters is that moment of happiness and purity. This tradition of marriage has been something that has been around since the beginning of time being done from small stables, from small churches, and even to the slaves in small cabins that have the tradition, after saying the vows, to jump over a broom before leaving the platform. Traditions are special and unique to everybody however they all have one thing in common, being done for a certain purpose. One tradition my family has every year is to create chitlin every Thanksgiving with my grandmother, mother, and any of my aunts. (May I say it is the most disgusting thing I have ever smelled in my life!) Nonetheless I find no matter how I detest the smell and the preparation of the whole thing, I find that the quality time with my family is priceless. It is the one time of the year we all see each other get together and act stupid, and remembering in moment nothing else matters but the bond between each other.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother was a strong lady from southern Germany, we called her our "oma." She migrated to America and started a family, and later in life she began to take vacations to Hawaii where she would assimilate into their culture. She would bring back all sorts of things from the Hawaiian culture to share with her grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I would be picked up from school every Friday and go to the mall with our oma. She would take us to the toy store and buy us a new toy. Afterwards, she would take us to her house and give us plastic baggies of assorted candies. My brother and I would then indulge ourselves on the chilled Ginger Ales that our grandmother kept in the refrigerator. Later in the evening, our grandmother would teach us a new word in German, followed by a phrase or mantra that she had learned from her recent trips to Hawaii. Then, as the night showed her face, our oma put on some soothing Hawaiian music. The tune rocked back and forth like an ocean and the warm voices of the singers would bring us to Hawaii and we felt the heat of its sun and taste the fresh, crisp air washed in by an ocean breeze. Our oma took our hands and swayed us back and forth. We laughed. We had fun. We felt loved. Our grandmother was a warmth of love that brought us together every Friday; she took us beyond the mall and beyond her home. She was Hawaii.
Cody :)
Option 1
ReplyDeleteWe all have our own family traditions that are unique to us. Like Lahiri, my parents too tried to keep the culture alive in our home and that is reflected a lot by the foods that fill up our pantry and freezers from Pakistani grocery stores. But, one thing that I like about my culture is that I can implement it in my everyday life. Being a Muslim, certain rituals are practiced in our homes, at weddings, holidays,even funerals.
This past November, my grandmother passed away in Virginia. I was fortunate enough to see her the last few hours before her death. But, she passed away before I could see her a second time. That morning we woke up and already had the whole day planned ahead of us. First, we went to the funeral home where we cleansed her body. My sister and I sat in the waiting area, but all of the women of my family helped to cleanse the body. Shortly after that she was wrapped into a white cloth. In Islamic traditions this is to purify the body and to preserve the dignity of the deceased person. Following that, the funeral car brought her body to the mosque, and the coffin was brought inside to pray Salatul Janazza, prayer of the deceased. After that, her body was returned to the car, and we drove to the cemetery. I did not realize that even in the burial, you had to be precise with the direction the body faces. The head is positioned towards Mecca, the holy city. We said our final prayers before covering the grave. I remember not being aware of the process of the funeral and what prayers I was supposed to say until that day. Now that I've seen the process first hand I have a better understanding of why we follow those steps.
Option 1.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to holidays, Koreans take it seriously...especially on New Years. It all starts on New Years Eve at 11PM. We, young and old, gather at church for a service. This is one of the five times out of the year where the whole church will have joint services. Usually, since our church has roughly about 600 people, we have five services every Sunday. We get together to share what each of our ministries (Korean, English, Korean Young Adults, College, Youth, Middle School, and Sunday School) have been through in the past year. We'll have performances, slideshows of pictures, and just a time of worship, fellowship, and fun. There's a short sermon, usually about starting fresh into the new year as one congregation, and At midnight, we'll all countdown together as one voice. After walking around saying Happy New Year to all of our friends, some families leave, but many stay and join their families to receive a blessing from all six pastors. Families are seated individually at the front of the sanctuary to be prayed over. To wrap up the night, the parents go home or get together at one house, not to drink but, to talk. We, some of the high school kids, will get together, not for a crunk party but, to just bond as friends. This is the one night we're all allowed to stay out as late as we want to just to have fun and enjoy each other. The next morning, New Years Day, we meet up at church again to have breakfast. We dress up in our traditional attire, hanboks, and eat rice cake soup. After eating, we have a bowing ceremony. In the bowing ceremony, the youth bow to the adults, elders, pastors, etc. Upon bowing, we usually recieve a Bible verse to reflect on and an envelope of money to signify a prosperous year to come.
New Years is more than just a holiday for us. I think the point of all of this celebration is more than just to celebrate a new set of 365 days. For us, we celebrate unity in our church. We celebrate the many generations that exist in our church. A lot of the time, the Korean congregation and the English congregation will butt heads due to cultural differences. The older members and the younger members will butt heads due to language barriers or just miscommunications, but this is the one day, we can all get together, connect, and enjoy each other's companies. It's a day where we can really be one family under God.
Until now, the idea of weddings to be a business never occurred to me. I always thought that weddings were beautiful events; were the bonds of a couple become invulnerable and unbreakable. A glorious event were precious memories are created to be never forgotten. I find that the Las Vegas wedding industry and its clients described by Didion completely understandable and harmless. Didion describes that the Las Vegas wedding industry can be considered unusual with their 5$ wedding licenses and it completely tarnishes the wedding tradition. Marriage is a serious matter and people may consider this industry harmful. However, marriage is not about the traditional decor or fancy receptions. It is about the everlasting bond people create. The saying of "I do" completes this everlasting bond with their soul mate. I believe people have the freedom and right to create this bond regardless of age or gender. Some may say the Las Vegas wedding industry destroys tradition and is absurd. But I believe that the business motto of The Las Vegas wedding industry is to give people a choice to create these everlasting bonds. Wedding ceremonies is like graduating from high school. The point of a graduation ceremony is to never forget the bonds people create during their years in high school. That is why we sing the Alma Mater of Lakeside when graduating. "Never Forget"
ReplyDelete-Taj
I disagree with Taj, I don't think that Las Vegas gives people a way to express their love. I think it tarnishes the beauty of it. I don't think it proper to use something that was supposed to be holy and beautiful in such a tragic way. All Las Vegas does is use marriage to gain money and to speed the wedding process up. Weddings should be done slowing so that the bride and groom can actually think about what they are doing. I think it is ironic that in the end of the story the girls starts crying and says that the wedding was exactly how she pictured it. I remember thinking about how low standards have gotten. Weddings are something you should go all out on, its the end of one book and the beginning of the sequel! So why are u starting out in Los Vegas when you should be in a garden?
DeleteI would have to agree with Romesa. Two individuals need time to fully come to an understanding of the weighty decision they are going to make by marrying one another. A wedding is an intensely special moment in a couple's lives, or at least it should be. It is a ceremony for the union of two hearts that, presumably, will be spending the rest of their lives together. Why not go all out on something so special? Why not make it a big celebration? It is something to celebrate, after all. I feel that Las Vegas is sullying the unique cause of matrimony; it's making marriage into a cheap and quick business, and making marriage less about love and memories, and more about finances.
DeleteCody
At some point in time, we all must mature, come into our own. At some point in time we must grow up and enter the real world, using what our parents taught us. However when will that point in time come? When will we truly come into our own? Better question, will we end up doing what are parents did: sounding like they do, doing what they do? Within “Arm Wrestling with My Father” Manning depicts the relationship between the main character and his father through physical methods. Manning uses description and figurative language to paint the transformation of the main character from boyhood into manhood, from losing to his father, to beating his father. Within the class discussion it seemed that almost anybody could empathize with this story. However this story may not only apply to parents but also to role models. Those people we look up to who in the future we don’t want to surpass, however as time on our sides, we must. This is stated because after hearing what Mrs. Field had to say about her father, it made me appreciate my dad much more. Someone who supports me from the sidelines, someone who secretly encourages me even though he says nothing out loud. Nevertheless that just the thing, does any parent have to say anything? No one is perfect and as I grow older I have to admit I don’t see my parents in their windblown capes and the giant ‘S’s on their chests. I see that they are like me, human. I can’t read my parents minds or know their motivations; however I can say that they love me. I can thank them for making me who I am today. Whether any parent is good or bad to that child, a parent has everything to do with the person you become today. (Mrs. Field would you be who you are today without your father being the way he was? I have all the respect in the world for you, but would have turned out the same. It is in our nature to fold with or go against those who nurture us, make us who we are.) I can happily say, depending on the situation, I have gone with my environment only because I have not had a harsh environment. And it pains me more to admit that I will end doing some of the things my parents did because that was how I was raised, and some things I won’t do because there may have been a better way to handle a situation. To me, my parent’s legacy will always be there, guiding me showing me what to be. For filling their goal of watching me guide myself. However there may be a day where I must guide them they did with me. A day where I must be the one with a cape on my back and an S on my chest. I don’t want that day to come, but it will. It is inevitable. “I might have preferred him to be always the stronger one, the one who carries me. But this wish is impossible now; our roles have begun to switch.”
ReplyDelete(Jerika Reed)
(synthesis post)
ReplyDeleteManning's “Arm Wrestling with My Father”, Vowell's “Shooting Dad”, Lahiri's “Indian Takeout”, and Didion's “Marrying Absurd” all show unique and effective ways of using description. Manning shows through a simple childhood memory, how a child can mature into a man, and how life and family dynamic change as you grow older. Details such as “tense”and “straining” are used to describe the intense arm wrestling competitions between his father and him, conveying his determined and desperate goal of beating his father. As a child, all he could think about and see was his father's strength and all he wanted was to overcome that strength. The change from when he goes from an immature and young boy, to a grown man is marked by the change in his attitude towards their arm wrestling matches. He says “I discovered that I was feeling sorry for my father. I wanted to win but I did not want to see him lose”(138) and also admits “I might have preferred him to be always the stronger, the one who carries me. But this wish is impossible now; our roles have begun to switch”(139). The long continued rivalry is over, and now he is the stronger one who needs to help and protect his father. Their relationship grew and matured as it became less of a battle of strength between them, and more about loving one another. This is similar to Vowell's “Shooting Dad”, because just as Manning battled with his dad, so did Vowell. She and her dad have never seen eye to eye on the use of weapons. As a child and teen, this created a great deal of conflict, and she did not attempt to understand her father's passion for weaponry. They literally had a house divided. As she grew up though, she discovered that “The older I get, the more I'm interested in becoming a better daughter”(147). She noticed the similarities between them and she grew to respect her father and his passion. Lahiri's “Indian Takeout” uses details in a completely different way than both Manning and Vowell. She does not give descriptions of objects to show a change or to teach a lesson, she uses detail to paint a picture of her culture and what it means to her. Through her careful details you are able to discover the different parts of her culture through food and discover what it means to the family by how they treat this food. When they left India, “That first meal was never an occasion to celebrate but rather to mourn for the people and the city we had, once again, left behind”(155). When the family is sad, they have bland, simple food, and when ever they go to India they fill an entire suitcase with food from their culture. They treat it like treasure, showing how important their culture is to them. Didion's “Marrying Absurd” is different in that it uses detail to show the awful , and terrible things about the traditions of a Vegas Wedding. She uses detail to show how Vegas Weddings degrade the moral and strong foundation marriage is supposed to stand on, depicting the ugly side of a tradition instead of a good side. She uses irony at the end after describing a young, pregnant bride crying because her wedding day was just as she “hoped and dreamed it would be”(161). Didion manages to effectively use details to write an entertaining and meaningful essay about marriage. I thought that her's was very interesting and unique, especially considering that she chose to write about the negatives of a tradition instead of the positives. All of these writers, though they used detail differently, were able to write meaningful and engaging essays, showing that detail, if used correctly, make a paper even more appealing to a reader.
(synthesis)
ReplyDeleteIn all of these works description is used to the utmost in order to entice the reader and serve as a way to get ones point across. In "Arm Wrestling With My Father" a description of the authors childhood is given as the story serves to be one large metaphor for the physical relationship that he has with his father. "Indian Takeout" is yet another story from a child's point of view towards parents. Through figurative language the author is able to describe the family's trips to India in which they take back their 'treasure', consisting of various foods and spices that are not attainable in America. In "Shooting Dad", again another story of the relationship between a father and a child, description is key. The girl comes to the realization that she loves her father even if they are so different and through the activity of shooting the cannon she is able to see this. The last work, "Marrying Absurd" is different than the others as it does not have to do with the parent to child relationship, but rather the absurdity of marriages today. These 'Las Vegas weddings' are extremely popular now because they seem so fake and unreal, making marriages nothing special and a more frequent event. Instead of getting married once, why not five or six times? The 'absurdity' if this eloping is described in this work.
(Jenny Lind)
Synthesis:
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading “Arm Wrestling with My Father”, “Shooting Dad”, “Indian Takeout”, and “Marrying Absurd” I discovered many similar themes that are present in my life and other people’s lives and that description is the key in making a story seem realistic. In “Arm Wrestling with My Father” the most important theme is that we should know that we will always be the love and joy of our parents. In the beginning, the narrator wants only to defeat his dad in arm wrestling because he does not want to lose; however, in the future when the narrator is all grown up, he already knows that he can win against his father but he rather lose to allow to his dad to feel better. The narrator does not want to make his dad sad because it is his dad that helped support the narrator to become this strong man. This shows that when you are young your parents take care of you and pay attention to everything you do and need, so when you are all grown up and able to support yourself, you need to pay attention and take care of your parents’ needs and requests. The descriptive details in the story show how the narrator’s thought of his dad changed so drastically because it went from wanting to beat his dad in everything to willingly giving up on games against his father to make sure that his dad still stays proud and hopeful. In “Shooting Dad”, the narrator feels no connection with her dad because they are supposedly complete opposites, yet when the narrator finds that they both like noise, she sees that they have more in common then she thought. The narrator wants to become a better daughter, and she does when she figures out that her dad’s liking for guns is similar to her liking of music. The descriptive details in this story expressed the bond between a dad and his daughter even though their likes and dislikes were not the same. The story “Indian Takeout” uses descriptive language to how Lahiri’s culture is different and what they do in their family. When Lahiri’s family goes to India they eat delicious and tasteful food, but when they come home they eat regular food for the first meal because they are getting over the sadness from returning. The food that they eat illustrates the mood in which the family is in. The food the family brings back from India shows that the food is the only connection they have with India, until they go back. The descriptive details of the food are actually personifying the emotionally and physically state in which the Lahiri family is in. For example, the scrumptious food in India is described spectacularly because the family is in a great mood. As I was reading “Marrying Absurd” I saw that how unreligious and crazy it is getting married in Las Vegas. All you need is people at the age of marriage and five dollars to get married. This shows how unreligious the weddings are in this city. The narrator uses descriptive details to express the insane and different style of getting married in Las Vegas. The narrator pokes fun at the marriages, and shows how the marriages are stupid and should be short lasting by talking about weird incidents that occurred. The descriptive details are used to show how the marriages occur and what the people do. All of the authors use description in their stories for different reasons and to portray different themes. After reading these passages and understanding the use of the descriptive details, one can see the necessity of description in stories and how powerful it is as a tool of writing.
(sythesis) Mannings' Arm Wrestling with my father, Vowell's Shooting Dad, Lahiri's Indian Takeout, and Didion's Marrying Absurd were all effective in using description to keep the audience engaged and make them feel as though they were experienceing the events as well. Ar, Wrestling with My Father depicts the one boys tranformation into adulthood. Manning uses description to define the boys "physical" relationship with his father. "He liked to put the responsibility on me, knowing that he would always control the outcome"(136). "Our communication was physical, and that is wahy we did things like arm wrestling"(137). The author uses the arm wrestling with the boy and his father as a metaphor for thier relationship and he also shows how arm wrestling was the one thing in common the two had together with brought them together to share something they have in common. Shooting Dad also shows the relationship between a father and son and how they found common ground which made thier bond stronger. Her description at the beginning of the story describes the great divide in the household " You wouldn't have needed to come inside to see that it was a house divided. You could have looked at the Democratic campagin poster in the upstairs window and the republican one in the downstairs window and seen our home for the Civil War battleground it was"(144) The narrorator felt like the black sheep in the family but she wanted to felt more of a connection with her father "Because when I blow whatrt used to be my dad into the earth, I want it to hurt" (149) Marrying Absurd uses detail to show the absurities of weddings of Las Vegas and how those weddings stary from the real purpose of getting married and forming that bond with your significant other. "To be married in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, a bride must swear that she is eighteen or has parental permission and a bridegroom that he is twenty-one or has parental permission. Someone must put up five dollars for the license. Nothing else is required"(159). Didion descripes the simplicity of marrages in Las Vegas and how it has deferred from the morals ethics, and strong bond marriage is supposed to bring to a relationship. The author uses detail to entertain the audience. In Lahiri's "Indian Takeout" she uses description to depict her cultural connections to her native land. "our treasure chest, something we called the Food Suitcase, was an elegant relic from the fifties. . . Leave it to my parents to convert a vintage portmantaeu into a portable pantry"(153). Her parents feel as though this food connects them to thier culture and it is a way of continueing to keep thier ties to thier native land. All of these writers used description to effectively enguage the audience and still keep the pieces interesting. Descirption and detail can be used to enhance and give a paper more of a punch.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the selected readings, I often would compare the differences between the styles of narration and description. They are both very similar and an author can use description in a narrative but the main difference is that a narrative is centered around the story teller and the experiences he or she writes about whereas a descriptive piece focuses more on how the reader sees the scenario and making them feel or see a certain perspective. There is less of an emphasis on pace as in the narrative in making the reader see how it was for the author and more on making sure every aspect important to the impression or main idea is drawn out. With most of the narratives we read, the impression or lesson, the thesis of the story is revealed at the end to give the reader the final impact and meaning to what was just read but with description, the author has to state the thesis at the beginning usually so that the reader already has an impression of the piece and the effort of describing everything will not go to waste, seen irrelevant and bore the reader out of finishing the rest of the piece. The first impression can be changed and usually is, especially with "Arm Wrestling With My Father" and "Shooting Dad." The author builds up the father of the first piece to be strong but later changes the roles of who is strong an who is weak and in the second piece the author comes to an understanding of the father she did not agree with to start off with. The other two pieces, "Marrying Absurd" and "Indian Takeout" describe more external and cultural conflicts and do not change the idea the thesis states by the end of the piece, instead the end off with powerful statements that reflect the times and how they have changed, with the first piece ending in a disheartening description of that sort of wedding and the other saying how the bag is no longer used because everything can be bought in this country now. There is still a change (from comical and complaining to feeling disappointment or from having something as important as the bag spend its days molding in the basement) but it is not so much a change of opinion as it is a change of environment. Change is very important to show in a description, though it can easily be ignored and underemphasized when writing description because one gets so caught up in using vivid language and colorful metaphors.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading “Arm Wrestling with My Father”, “Shooting Dad”, “Indian Takeout”, and “Marrying Absurd” I found many common relations in my family. In "Arm Wrestling with My Father", the idea that stood out the most to me was that it was the point of a child growing up. We all grow up with different perspectives of our parents. In our class discussion, the guys mentions how their father treated them and there was an obvious difference as to how a father will act with his daughter, while comparing the father relations between a boy and a girl. Personally, I liked the idea of how the son realized his father did love him. While reading "Shooting Dad" I found the description to be very humorous. "Indian Takeout" was the story story I could relate to the most. While Roy was sharing his story about his family suit case, I pondered over the idea of how I usually call my parents hoarders of anything Pakistani. It was interesting to hear how diverse our traditions are. As I was reading "Marrying Absurd" I saw the lack of morals that is found in the wedding chapel in Vegas. Really a drive through? I adored the format of this passage. By writing it in a 3rd person mode, it made it easier for me to connect with the idea the author was trying to portray. Also, I think that it might connect to a variety of age groups. After reading this mode, I found that when properly used it can be very powerful in it's mission.
ReplyDeleteSelections such as "Arm Wrestling with My Father" and "Shooting Dad" used vivid descriptions that provoked my senses to come to an understanding of the character's relationship with their respective father whereas "Indian Takeout" and "Marrying Absurd" use similar strategies to paint a picture of odd family traditions and cultural abnormalities, and through these descriptions I was able to understand the objective and subjective impressions the respective characters had. My father is extremely unlike the fathers represented in the first two essays that I mentioned. My dad is an open guy, always eager to share what he is feeling, no matter how sensitive it makes him look. He will cry at the sight of a rainbow or a simple gesture of affection from his family. The booming stoical mannerisms that the fathers in the essays have are near-foreign to me to see in a father. The authors generate vivid details in order to encompass these qualities for the audience to understand. Descriptions like these reveal the actions of the parents in "Indian Takeout" in full view to me, so that I can understand and explore the tradition, or fathom the extreme ridiculousness of Las Vegas' exploitation of marriage. To see description commanded so creatively encourages me to capture its ability and use it myself.
ReplyDeleteSynthesis:
ReplyDeleteThe different descriptive pieces pinpoint how description can be used (as if it were that easy) it different ways to achieve different effects. One word cannot sum up the endless approaches one can take to capture the feeling of something or its objective appearance. Out of the four pieces, I felt that "Arm Wrestling With My Father" spoke more to me as it appeals strongly to emotions. You can feel the sadness the son feels as his father's strength is built up and stripped away. Although "Shooting Dad" also targeted a fatherly relationship, it took a more somewhat comical approach with the use of figures of speech in its description. In writing my own description, I really want to focus on the dominant impression created. By using objective description, I somehow want the pieces to be, in the end, subjective.
(Gabby Do)
Syntesis:
ReplyDeleteThroughout reading this selection I realized that my parents are like pirates, every family has its weird quirks, and that I haven't reached the end of my story with my mother. If I was to write a story on my relationship with my mother I guaranty that I would focus on the bad point and leave out all the rest. Of all the stories that we read from this selection the ones that spoke to me the most were "Indian Takeout" and "Shooting Dad". "Indian Takeout" spoke to me because I can relate. My family does the exact same thing when we go to Pakistan. Although we do not focus just on food, my family still hordes stuff from oversees to bring back, regardless for their usefulness. "Shooting Dad" spoke to me because my house is territorial based too. Saturday I came into my parents room to use their computer and my dad asked me why I was on his side of the house. Although he meant it to be playful it just shows how we don't enter each others territory. In the end of the story Sarah states that she "wants it to hurt" when he leaves. For me thats a given I mean even right now, mama is in Chicago and I am lonely. Of course I am more relaxed I slept for like 28 hours and that is not possible with her around, but the house is too quiet. The reason that "Arm Wrestling with my Father" didn't appeal to me is because I don't see the world like he does. I always look forward to beating my parent in what ever we do because we have this sort of relationship where one person will not win continuously. Even if I beat my dad at tennis or a biking race, I know the next time he will probably win. In our family you never hold back because it is not respectful to. You only fight opponents with all you got when you see that they deserve the respect to be opposed with full force.
Synthesis:
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed participating in the class discussion concerning “Arm Wrestling with My Father”. In our conversation, I was given an inside view of each of the home life’s of my classmates and by doing so, I was able to grow closer to those that shared. Manning’s touching narrative on his and his father’s relationship is analogous to the bond I share with my father, and I was able to compare our friendship with those of my classmates and their parents.
It was interesting to hear and learn how love is expressed at home in the variety of cultures that our class represents. After several different perspectives were shared, I began to more fully appreciate my parents and how they express their pride and love for me.
Synthesis:
ReplyDeleteThroughout each of these selections, the use of description was used to appeal to the reader’s senses and at times pathos. In “Arm Wrestling with My Father,” Manning uses description to show the relationship between him and his father and how it grows as time goes on. In Vowell’s “Shooting Dad,” she also describes how the relationship between her and her father matures with time. “Indian Takeout” is a story about the tradition of a family, and as it is described, it shows how the family occasion is remembered by its members. Marrying Absurd is the only objective piece within these selections (except for the last paragraph). This point of view makes it different because it shows the facts without it being biased. The way marriage is looked at today is completely different than it used to be seen. It seems that it is not even possible for something so sacred and holy to be seen as the same thing that these couples are doing in Las Vegas. These people are looking for a fast wedding without looking into what a marriage actually will hold for them in the future. With description showing each of the main points of these pieces, it is easy for the reader’s senses to be taken over by the power of writing and for the reader’s emotions to be carried away by the writing of the author also.
(Abby Schwartz)
Synthesis:
ReplyDeleteThrough our class discussion, I think we, not only were able to discuss the pieces but also, were able to get to know each other better and our different backgrounds. The four authors used description so well that I could really connect to the stories and reflect on my own relationship with my parents, my own culture, and my own views on things like Las Vegas marriages.
Contrary to the in Manning's story, my father, my daddy, is very emotional and loves to show his love for my brother and me. He is rough and tough with my brother at times, but that's, of course, expected of a father-son relationship. I think he's a perfect balance of both with us, and to think about a father that didn't show any affection was hard to imagine for me.
"Shooting Dad" revealed that no matter how different we may seem from some of our family members, we are all still family, and that is the common bond that brings us together...like humans. No matter how different we are from the people around us, we unite as one common race: the human race.
"Indian Takeout" was another story I could commonly connect with since my family does the same kind of thing whenever we go to Korea. My mom came here in her twenties, so Korea was originally home for her. I think everytime she goes back, part of the reason she brings back things like her mom's Kimchi, clothes, blankets, bean paste, etc, is because it gives her a feeling of being home and comfort.
"Marrying Absurd" really made me think about today's marriages. Marriage is something that is supposed to be sacred and special to two people as they come together as one, not only uniting themselves but, their families, as well. The typical vow says something like, "til death do us part," but rushing into a Las Vegas marriage on a drunken night is like setting yourself up for a Britney Spears 72 hour marriage. It's absolutely ridiculous that people can take something like love and marriage so lightly.
These writers did an amazing job in getting my emotions involved and my mind thinking about what they were writing about. I believe that reading and reflecting upon these stories will help me greatly in writing my own descriptive narrative.