Moment: [She held up her uniform up before her. She stared at her name tag and found it hard to connect herself with the name and the the uniform and the naked person they belonged to. Am I really who they say I am? Bleeding. Bleedin. None of Derek's people had ever used the "g" on their -ing words; one of the first things she herself had been taught early in life was never to drop the "g". The "g" is there for a reason, they told her. It separates you from all the rest of them, those who do not know any better.]
I selected this moment because it deals with the association between proper grammar, names, clothing, skin color, and wealth with a certain class of individual. Throughout the story, the narrator mentions the fact that the "good neighbors" on Eighth street looked down on the Benningtons for being a different class of people. When Sharon questions if she really is who they say she is I finally understood that this story is more of a commentary on the different ways in which societies, neighborhoods, and individuals create their own perception of class. I took this passage to mean that they refers to the "good neighbors" of Eighth Street that would have looked down on her love for a man that used -ing words. When Sharon was young she saw class through the lens of her neighborhood, but as an adult, Sharon questioned whether the Benningtons were actually "bad neighbors" at all. The dialects, the stereotypes, and racial slurs used in this story were all meant to get the reader thinking about what class of people the Benningtons might belong to and how their class affected their career choices and love prospects.
For Discussion:
1. Do you think that that the Benningtons where actually bad neighbors or where they simply thought to be bad for being of a different class?
2. After Sharon had finished her introspection, I found myself wondering whether she would continue hating what her father hated, the Benningtons and the digital clock, and stay in her relationship with Terence or actually go through with her fantasy of murdering Terence in his sleep and seek Derek. Why end the story with the expensive digital German clock?
I selected this moment because it deals with the association between proper grammar, names, clothing, skin color, and wealth with a certain class of individual. Throughout the story, the narrator mentions the fact that the "good neighbors" on Eighth street looked down on the Benningtons for being a different class of people. When Sharon questions if she really is who they say she is I finally understood that this story is more of a commentary on the different ways in which societies, neighborhoods, and individuals create their own perception of class. I took this passage to mean that they refers to the "good neighbors" of Eighth Street that would have looked down on her love for a man that used -ing words. When Sharon was young she saw class through the lens of her neighborhood, but as an adult, Sharon questioned whether the Benningtons were actually "bad neighbors" at all. The dialects, the stereotypes, and racial slurs used in this story were all meant to get the reader thinking about what class of people the Benningtons might belong to and how their class affected their career choices and love prospects.
For Discussion:
1. Do you think that that the Benningtons where actually bad neighbors or where they simply thought to be bad for being of a different class?
2. After Sharon had finished her introspection, I found myself wondering whether she would continue hating what her father hated, the Benningtons and the digital clock, and stay in her relationship with Terence or actually go through with her fantasy of murdering Terence in his sleep and seek Derek. Why end the story with the expensive digital German clock?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.