Rebirth or Final Destination?

In my eyes, Bobbie Ann Mason's short story "Shiloh" has a cliffhanger for an end that leaves the reader wondering weather Norma Jean has given herself another chance at life, or has simply ended it all together. It is clear that the life she had with her husband is over, but where does it go from there? The last scene we see is Norma Jean on a cliff by the river and we are not sure what she is doing with her arms. To me, it would make sense in the story for her to be ending her life. Where else does she have to go after she just ended her marriage that has been the basis for her life since high school? The story does not mention anything about a college education, she has already had a child that died, leaving her broken and scarred, and despite her gung-ho attitude she seems to have little going for her. She herself says that she "can't deal" with everything that is going on, so it would not be farfetched for her to end her life. To me, the tragedy of losing her child never really hit Norma Jean. Obviously she was unable to completely ignore it, but with her husband gone for long periods of time, she was easily able to put it to the back of her mind. Even when he was at home, they never really discussed it. But with him home for a long period of time, it pushed the issue to the front of her mind. She was unhappy with his inability to get back on his feet but most of all she was confronted head on by the ugly past that they had. The child, to me, seems to be the only reason they had gotten married right out of high school. An unexpected pregnancy is no way to start a healthy marriage, so instead they started a life of mediocrity and Norma Jean was always unhappy with that deep down. It would also be a plausible scenario for her to simply leave her husband and start her life anew. Start where she left off just years behind the rest of the pack. She could finally get out from under the scrutinizing eyes of her mother, and finally move past her dead child and failed marriage. Recently, she had already began the rebuilding process with her writing and exercising classes. She could go back to school, divorce her husband, and start life anew, the way she always dreamt it would be. To be honest at the risk of being too cheesy, Norma Jean has an opportunity to do whatever she wants. She has no children, and now no husband to tie her down. Yet, as the story comes to a close, I cannot help but think that she disagrees with my evaluation of her situation. It is clear that her dead child still bothers her, and her life is a huge disappointment to her. Both death and rebirth are plausible options, yet I tend to lean towards the death. I fail to see the option of rebirth when she is hours from home with the man she just left, she is broken by her years of unhappiness, and she is on a cliff alone waving her arms.

A Bit Much

In the story A&P by John Updike, the girls come into the story scantily clad, and are chastised for doing so, yet I feel more and more in this world we are becoming okay with less and less clothing. This is of course evident through all parts of life. Celebrities, fashion, even just general dress has become more and more about covering less and less. Usually, I am fine with this fact. Let's be honest, I am a seventeen year old boy. I am still, however, a person who believes there is a time for all of that but there should still be time to put clothes on and be civilized. Clearly, walking into a grocery store without shoes is both improper and pretty gross in general. This fact really struck home today when I went to church. I am still pretty young, but even I remember the days of getting dressed up to go to church. When my grandmother was a young girl it was the time everyone dressed up to look their best for the rest of their friends at church and just to look nice in general. But today when I walked in feeling pretty casual myself in jeans and a long-sleeve collared shirt rolled up I found a large percentage of the people around me dressed in t-shirts and shorts. Now, this is Arizona and there is such a thing as West Coast casualness but this is taking it way to far. When I look around and see every girl in short jean shorts a tank top and flip-flops I can't help but think that something is wrong. 

The store manager clearly agrees with me, seeing as he chastises the girls, but his words are both lost on and unimportant to the girls and everyone else around. As I said before, I usually do not mind our societies infatuation with bare skin, but when it is at church or in a place that demands certain clothes, such as at a supermarket where it would be easy to spread sickness or disease, I think it only respectful to oblige. How can you expect anyone to respect you if you show up to church, CHURCH, in a miniskirt and a v-neck? That's outrageous. I get that just going is better than a lot of people, just as the girls in the story at least pay for what they are getting, but still it isn't that hard to put on jeans and a nice shirt, or in the case of the girls to put on some shoes. Why anyone would want to go into a supermarket in bare feet to begin with baffles me, that would be nasty who knows what's on that floor, but to go in without shoes or any clothes more than the equivalent of your underwear is just dirty in general. We have all seen the pictures of Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears wearing no shoes in public restrooms and flashing the whole world, yet we are okay with that? I personally don't care what they do, but clearly it has set the stage for what has become an extraordinarily casual society that we live in and its getting to be a bit much for me. I am not saying that church, supermarkets, or anywhere else for that matter needs to mandate a certain dress code because I believe it is a free country and people should be able to wear what they want, I just also believe that there should be a certain level of self-respect and dignity maintained. Show what you want, but at the right times.

Over-Vilified and Under-Appreciated

It is easy to vilify Daisy in the short story Teenage Wasteland but I think she is far better of a person and a mother than she is given credit for. In class, we successfully tore Daisy apart for fifty minutes; she’s too insecure, she’s too lenient; she’s too much of a friend, etc. Yes, she was pretty unsuccessful in most of her attempts at helping and understanding Donny, but at least she tries. Can we really say the same for the other men and women in Donny’s life? A father who barely appears in the story at all, let alone Donny’s life, a tutor who is just as much of a teenager as Donny is, and a set of teachers who are not much help but instead enjoy scolding Daisy for her mistakes, it is no wonder Donny turns out the way he does when so few people around him truly care about his well-being.

            Donny’s principal and teachers are more than happy to point out the issues Donny is having and give suggestions to Daisy on how to handle it, yet there is no mention in the story of any of them giving her actual help. Daisy’s parenting is even blamed and questioned for his issue with alcohol at school. The fact that he was able to get drunk during school hours is not mentioned at all, just the issues he is having with his mother. The issues started at home, but there is still definitely ways for the school to keep him from drinking during school hours. I know I would never be able to at PCDS, there are too many rules in place and enforced for me to even really have the chance.

            Donny’s father, Matt, rarely shows up in the story, and when he does he really only interacts with Daisy. There is little to no interaction between father and son in the story, giving Donny a large void for a father figure. His mother can only do so much in the fathering department, and with really no support from her husband to fall back on she is left all alone to parent the troublesome youth. She does what she can at home; she sets restrictions on phone calls and television as well as going so far as to watch him do his homework. This is not to say Daisy’s actions are perfect because she does not really bother to help Donny with his homework, she just watches him and only after it is suggested to her, and she completely neglects the needs of her other child. She does, however, make an attempt. She is not the most prepared or suitable mother but she definitely cares for Donny and tries her hardest, which cannot be said as easily for his father.

            When Daisy does realize she is incapable of handling Donny on her own, the principal suggests she speak to Cal, a local tutor/counselor. It takes a lot of courage for a mother to admit she is not able of dealing with her children, let alone for her to ask someone to help out or take over. What Daisy did not realize, however, was that she was asking for help and entrusting her kid with someone as irresponsible as Donny. Daisy follows Cal’s lead thinking he knew better and could help; she even disregards teachers and shows misguided faith in Cal’s ability to aid her in her struggle. Cal’s house can best be described using the story’s title, a teenage wasteland. In class we spoke of how much Daisy wanted Donny to like her and insecure she was, but completely neglected the obvious fact that Cal is a Peter Pan- like figure that simply refused to grow up. He is able to justify to the parents and Daisy pretty much whatever the kids and Donny want to do just so they will like him. With incompetent help and misguided trust, Daisy is left as an unqualified mother trying to do right by her children and failing all along the way.