Stephen
Sharpe
Event Analysis
Dr. Ellis
Responsibilities
Having
rights and responsibilities is part of being a human person. It is to be able
to demand respect and to show respect to others. To be human is to know that
you are valuable and that you have an important job to do. It is to acknowledge
that you have rights to be upheld and a job to be worked. The Catholic social
justice lecture entitled “Rights and Responsibilities” illustrated that human
beings do have rights and responsibilities and the literary works
“Frankenstein,” “Theology” and “Tableau” illustrate this as well.
The
lecture I attended focused on the fourth aspect of Catholic Social teaching,
which is “Rights and Responsibilities.” The speakers at the event were young
teens that are participating in a nonprofit organization called “Wide Angle
Youth Media.” This organization puts the tools of film production in the hands
of Baltimore’s youth so that they can tell their stories and be the powerful
voice of change in their community. We watched several videos that the teens
had made. One video titled “More than Jobs” focused on how there are very
little job opportunities for the youth in Baltimore. Another video focused on
how a teen had overcome self-doubt about his academic potential, and
another focused on “food deserts” and recycling. Every video illustrated a
problem that Baltimore has, and every video proved that there is a teen that
is willing to take on the responsibility and face that problem.
The
teens in “Wide Angle Youth Media” have exercised their rights, and have
acknowledged their responsibilities as citizens of Baltimore. However in Mary
Shelley’s “Frankenstein” the protagonist Victor seems to have done the
opposite. After creating a hideous monster that escaped, Victor learns that his
brother William was murdered. A woman named Justine was blamed and faced
execution. However, Victor is convinced of her innocence and that his monster
is the murderer. Clearly, Victor is faced with the responsibility of
demonstrating Justine’s innocence. However, Victor remains silent and lets
Justine die for fear that people will think that he is insane. However,
Victor’s demonstration of irresponsibility is not limited to “Frankenstein.”
In
the poem “Theology” Dunbar falsely leads the reader into thinking that he is a
pious person, until the last two lines reveal that he is judgmental. As a
Christian, it is clear that the speaker is forging his responsibility to spread
love to others. In a way, he is making himself God by condemning his neighbors
to hell. It is clear that the speaker is not a responsible Christian. The theme
of responsibility appears in another poem as well. In “Tableau” two boys of
opposite colors walk side by side to the astonishment of the adults. In this
poem, these boys are exercising their responsibility of working for solidarity
with others. Unlike Victor and the Christian, but like youth in “Wide Angle
Youth Media,” these kids know that it is important to acknowledge their
responsibilities.
In
conclusion, every human being has an important responsibility in life. The
event I attended and the literary works demonstrate that some people acknowledge
and uphold their responsibilities while others shrink away from them. It takes
courage to be responsible, and it is something that the youth have, and something
that Frankenstein and the Christian of the poem did not.
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