Brian Kelly
Dr. Ellis
Literature-101-17
21st March 2013
Event Analysis
The
story titled A Father by Bharati
Mukherjee tells the story of a Hindu family who recently immigrated to America.
The father, Mr. Bhomwick, is a hardworking, cautious man who is deeply
religious to his Hindu faith. His wife, Mrs. Bhomwick, works at an insurance
company close to home but gets up extra early to make her husband breakfast
every morning. Their marriage was arranged thereby causing tension between the
two, which resonates on to their 26-year-old daughter Babli. It becomes very
clear to the reader that Mr. Bhomwick faces “new-world reasonableness and
old-world beliefs” as he longs to abide by his Hindu way of life while living
in Detroit. His daughter, a electrical engineer, desires greatly to have a
daughter and eventually becomes pregnant out of wedlock, something very
shameful within the Hindu way of life. Mr. Bhowmick, secretly found
out about her pregnancy but was hesitant as to how he would approach her and
let her know that he knew. There is a feud between accepting the new,
progressive culture that is the American way of life or holding true to the
outdated beliefs Mr. Bhomwick grew up with in his generation. This story presents
a question regarding two very difficult cultures and how we should answer
it. The idea of willingness to change is
very prevalent throughout this story and urges the reader to understand the
idea of adapting to one’s situation in order to make a positive change in the
world.
Serving up Hope,
by Stephanie Shapiro is an article that emphasizes the impact one person can
have on the world they live in. The article takes place in Hampden telling the
story of the Sampson’s who opened Baltimore’s “Dogwood Deli” in as well as the
employees who worked there. Ranging from a drug addict inspired to complete
rehab, to friends through local recovery programs, the employees at Dogwood
Deli had a tremendous amount of love for their jobs. Along with their of of
running the Dogwood Deli, Bridgette and Galen Sampson “train former drug users
and convicts in skills that will launch their careers”. The article tells the
remarkable story of a loving and caring couple who are determined to “make the
world a better place”. It is a compelling article about the ability to change
in positive ways and to always give people second chances to prove themselves
as important members of society. By simply acknowledging all the tremendous
potential around us, we are more than capable of affecting change for the
better.
Richard
Hague’s poem “Directions for Resisting the SAT” encompasses the mindset to
truly be an individual and not just be pawns on the chessboard that is
society. “Listen to no one. Make your marks on everything” says Richard
Hague. He encourages young adults to question everything they encounter and not
to live their lives by dogma. This poem correlates appropriately with both “A
Father” and “Serving Up Hope” in the sense that it illustrates the idea of
change and how strong of an impact we can have on the world around us.
Gary Gildner’s poem First
Practice is a passionately written poem from the point of view of a High
school football coach speaking before his players. Referencing his military
background, the coach relates his experiences to his players experiences not
only on the football field, but in their future lives as well competing for
jobs. Lining the players up in two lines
facing one another illustrating his point that we must compete in life to get
ahead. Correlating with the three previous works of literature, this poem
illustrates the point that we are capable of doing great things in life as long
as we are ready and willing to fight for what we believe in.
At this point in my
meditation “career”, I have developed the ability to use the time spent
meditating as a way of slowing my life down and prioritizing everything in
front of me. Simply taking the time to look within myself has enabled me to
gain a better understanding as to what I desire most in this world. I know that
I am capable of having a positive affect on those around ultimately making the
world a better place. The conjoining of ones body, soul, and mind into one
functioning machine is the first step we all must take in order to better
ourselves, which will allow us to then better those around us. The four works
of literature all highlight the idea of change and the ability to provoke it. Our
responsibilities in this world begin with, and ultimately end with our
behavior. As the famous saying goes, we all have the ability to “be the change
you wish to see in the world”.
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