How I Learned to Drive: A Critique of Abuse and Morality in Society Child abuse is regarded as one of the most heinous crimes in society. During the past few decades, social awareness regarding child abuse has reached a new high. In the award winning play How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel explores the subject of child abuse through the life of Lil Bit. In the play, Lil Bit recalls her journey to adulthood through a broken chronology revolving around driving lessons. The play is centered on the increasingly intimate relationship between Lil Bit and Uncle Peck through her teenage years. The play provides a complex and realistic insight into the relationship between child and abuser, as well as the enduring effect the abuse creates on the child. …show more content…
In society, only certain sexual crimes seem to be denounced, while many others are chosen to be ignored. The play uses the juxtaposition of Lil Bit and her grandmother in order to illustrate the way in which different circumstances that embody the same moral corruption are regarded differently within society. When recalling the union between Lil Bit’s grandparents, Lil Bit’s mother states, “you were a child bride when Big Papa came and got you” (Vogel 1678). The play compares, Lil Bit’s grandmother’s relationship with Lil Bit’s own relationship with Uncle Peck. The wording “got you” used in this scenario seems give a tone of coercion and lack of romance involved around Lil Bit’s grandparents union. The nature of this relationship is then contrasted with the seemingly tender relation between Lil Bit and Uncle Peck. It is important to note that, contrary to some people’s claims, the play does not condone pedophilia. By portraying the relationship between Uncle Peck and Lil Bit in a tender way, the play allows the public to recognize the wrong of this relationship not based on an evil character, but rather because of the act it self. Pedophilia is condemned because children are not emotionally or physically mature for a sexual relationship. It is immoral to corrupt a child’s innocence. However, the sexual consummation between Big Papa and Grandma does not receive the same condemnation and stigma as Lil Bit and Uncle Pecks relationship even though the same moral principles are violated. The play uses this contrast to highlight the hypocritical nature of society’s perceptions as they allow certain immoralities to prevail in society. The play uses the contrast between the coercive undertones in the grandparents’ relationship against the romantic ones in Lil Bit’s relationship with Uncle Peck to highlight the way that people’s condemnation of a
A Child Called It Every year more than 2.9 million cases of child abuse are reported said “Safe Horizon”. Most kids go home to a loving family that loves and cares for each other. But unfortunately this is not what David Pelzer the main character of “A Child Called It”, comes home to. David goes through a life changing experience in this book, and yet he teaches us a very valuable lesson: Always stick up for ourselves and never stop fighting. For example, when 9 year old David had a punishment of cleaning the bathroom for being a “bad boy” she said “You have 30 mins to clean”.
Moral problems like lying, manipulation, and exploitation fill every nook and cranny of the society shown in Nightcrawler; no one tries to rectify them. Simultaneously, the overcorrection of that immorality ails the citizens in “Harrison Bergeron.” Lou Bloom’s actions led to at least three deaths and no formal punishment was given, while a ballerina was shot dead simply for dancing free of weights tied to her body. Though the two societies treat moral discrepancies in very different ways physically, as seen in their differing approach to praise and punishment, the societal consequences of both are similar, shown through the correlating morals of both societies. Punishment for immoral behavior in “Harrison Bergeron” comes swift and harsh, while in Nightcrawler it is nearly nonexistent for the guilty parties.
… Have you been playing with matches up there?’ ” (Nowlan 2). Teddy being caught up in the imagination that he lives in the attic unsatisfied his uncle and he habitually assumes that he up to mischief which humiliates him once again. Due to him disapproving Teddy’s actions, he does not consider the fact he in playing a game in his imagination quietly but instead Teddy is stereotyped and is recognised that he is good for nothing. The role of stereotypes has been given to all in the family, for example not only Teddy’s uncle but also his aunt to emphasize the authors opinion on stereotypes, judging and sexism being negative, “As his aunt gathered up the dishes, his uncle went into the living room to read his newspaper.”
Cheryl Dobbertin’s Just How I Need to Learn It discusses how it is essential that students should know where they lie, regarding pre-assessments for lessons. I think her article is great and I love how this middle school math teacher implements this station teaching into her classroom. I would use this method of reflecting on pre-assessments in my classroom, because I agree that it is important for students to reflect on their placements in learning. It actually reminds me of students doing a KWL chart on themselves: what do I know, what do I want to know, and what did I learn. Students are honest about not knowing what denominators are, or mixed numbers, etc.
“Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood explains the difficulty a woman is having managing her life and taking care of her newborn son. She is beyond overwhelmed with the outcome of her life, and it seems as if everything that can go wrong for her will. She was driving home to visit her parents for Christmas, and she was low on gas and faith. All she wanted to do was get home to "her Mama and her Daddy", and she was not paying attention to the conditions of the road or how fast she was driving. The car ended up losing control and she realized as they were spinning on ice that her and her baby could easily die at that moment.
In the plays, The Importance of Being Earnest and How I Learned To Drive, the ongoing use of metaphors aids in the development of the plot line and ¬the readers understanding of the characters. There are many examples of metaphors used in both these plays; however, some have more significance than others. In The Importance of Being Earnest, the metaphor of a double life provides insight to pretending to be someone you are not. In How I Learned To Drive, learning to drive delivers a metaphor for sex and the growing up of Li’l Bit. In both plays the characters are leading lives that are not truly their own.
On September 11, 2001, tragedy struck the city of New York. On that fateful day, two airplanes were hijacked by terrorists and flew straight into the twin towers. Each tower fell completely to the ground, taking thousands of lives with it and injuring thousands more. Not only did that day leave thousands of families without their loved ones, it also left an entire city and an entire country to deal with the aftermath of the destruction. Poet, Nancy Mercado, worries that one day people will forget that heartbreaking day.
Although the humor and irony is greatly exaggerated in this situation, the author’s style assists the reader in relating to the narrator and becoming more involved in the challenges that are presented within the text. Both in this essay and in Putting Daddy On, I was able to relate to the purpose of each narrative although they used different styles. While this essay focuses more on the effect that humor has on its readers, it is still presented in such a way that the argument becomes relatable to anyone who has encountered a situation similar to this
Although Walter does not deserve the power, the manhood of Walter Lee enables him to “control” the family. Conversely, Beneatha’s talkativeness and her aggressive personality are against how a 1950s African American should act. Ruth asks “Can’t you be a little sweeter sometimes? (Act 1, Scene 1)” to indicate the modest characteristics women should have. Furthermore, Ruth’s decision of abortion at the beginning of the play was unconventional since it was against gender expectation because it is against her duty as a wife and a mother.
Overtime, the patriarchal system has been challenged and the defined gender roles are in the process of being eradicated. By presenting the plays protagonist Loureen, as an abuse victim that finds her voice and stands up against her battery, Lynn brilliantly illustrates that
Sarah Vowell and Annie Dillard both wrote essays about their youth with nostalgia, highlighting the significance of childhood as an innocent and mischievous time in their lives. In Sarah Vowell’s essay “Shooting Dad,” Vowell realizes that despite their hostility at home and conflicting ideologies concerning guns and politics, she finds that her obsessions, projects, and mannerisms are reflective of her father ’s. On the other hand in Annie Dillard’s essay “An American Childhood” Dillard runs away from a man after throwing a snowball at his car, after getting caught she realizes that what matters most in life is to try her best at every challenge she faces no matter the end result. Sarah Vowell’s essay is more effective than Annie Dillard’s because she includes allusions and tones, which juxtaposes warfare and religion with the innocent
The Wounded Heart The book The Wounded Heart is a book written for the purpose of offering hope for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse. The book examines the reality there are so many victims of sexual abuse who are now adults, and are still suffering the consequences of the abuse they encounter as child, and how these sexual abuse have not only destroy their trust in people, but it has damage their current relationships, how it has impacted their dreams for the future, it has caused people to suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, anger, how it has made them feel with a sense of guilt and shame, even though it was not their fault. This book takes a look at the issues related to sexual abuse, while also looking for God for peace and
Throughout the play, the characters look at faith, race, opportunities, fatherhood and
As I watched the documentary “Road Beyond Abuse,” I experienced a whirlwind of emotions. From disgusted and disappointed to impressed and joyful, I felt it all. It truly disturbed me to hear about the experiences both Michael McCain and Johnnetta McSwain endured. I was disgusted that no one protected these innocent children from being verbally abused, beaten, raped, and left to fend for themselves. It was shocking to hear that these children withstood this amount of abuse from their family members until they were teenagers.
The short documentary “Child of Rage” presents an example of how experiencing abuse as a child can shape the child later in life and how some children can recover. The intrafamilial abuse that Beth experienced as a one year old affected her behavior later in her childhood when she was adopted. Beth was also able to recover from some of the effects of the child abuse she experienced once she was separated from her adoptive family and taken to a special home. Beth experienced intrafamilial abuse at the hands of her biological father after her mother passed away when she was one.