A & P Blog # 7

In John Updike's A & P, women are depicted as haughty and clueless, in a way. For example the woman that Sammy referred to as a "witch" who watched the price closely, was rude and gave off the impression that she was better than Sammy. Another example is how Queenie walked down the aisles, she walked with her back straight and head up; Sammy made the comment about not knowing what was going through girls' minds as Queenie's feet hit the ground a little too hard.
In this piece the role women play would be considered a major role. The women's actions help tell the story and the culture at the time. It was not acceptable to go into stores without your shoulders being covered or even shoes on.
 The girls or "Queenie" comes off as dominant with the way her posture is set as she strolls through the store with her followers, but as the manager confronts her of her lack of proper clothing, she turns into the submissive role.
The women's role play a major part in this story. Without them in the story there would be no purpose. Sammy would have still been working at his boring job, dealing with the usual customers that he disliked. The women showing up in the story showed him about breaking the rules the consequences and the fun of them.
Sammy's attitude towards women is that they are clueless, but the pretty ones are nice to look at. Sammy couldn't take his eyes off of Queenie and her followers. Sammy saw the women as beneath him along with every other customer in the store, even though his class would be considered the same or less.
The male characters in the story talk down to the women. The manager scolded the girls for not wearing proper clothing, Sammy's thoughts went to "is there even a mind in there or a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar."
The females all talk with a female authority to the males. Example the older woman the "witch" spoke to Sammy as if she were his boss. Queenie spoke to the manager as if she were going to flirt her way out of the predicament, using her female sex appeal.

Blog #6 "The Story of an Hour" The Facebook Page of Mrs. Mallard

Mrs. Mallard

Married to Bently Mallard
Sister: Josephine
Friends with:
Richards
Heart Doctor
High School Reunion of 1967

Mrs. Mallard- 8am This morning my sister Josephine informed me that my husband was killed in a railroad disaster.-with Richards.

Mrs. Mallard 8:10am- The pain is too much. It's difficult to distinguish between my heart break or my actual heart failure.

Mrs. Mallard 8:20am- A black cloud of sorrow consumes me. Opening my window, I feel the possession will win over my mind, as if something dark is reaching for me.

Mrs. Mallard 8:30am- The black clouds outside my window aren't black anymore blue sky is shining through. Maybe my husbands death is a good thing.

Mrs. Mallard 8:40 am- I can breathe again. My husband's control is no longer upon me. I can fly down those stairs and run in the fields. I can do what I want with my life.

Mrs. Mallard 8:50am- Don't get me wrong my husband wasn't too bad, but we weren't in love like we should've been.

Mrs. Mallard 8:55am- I feel free, finally. After all the years I can leave my house and see people and the world. I can find out who I am as a person.

Mrs. Mallard has shared "Life has knocked me down" photo.

















Mrs. Mallard 8:56am- I can see my family and friends when I want now. I can get a job. I don't have to clean house if I don't feel like it! No more cleaning his filthy clothes! No more making dinner at 4 so its done by the time he gets home! No more! Yay!

Mrs. Mallard 8:57AM- I will always love my husband for I do care for him, but its better that we now have our time apart. This could be my chance to live.

Mrs. Mallard 9:00am- Well my sister Josephine won't stop knocking I better let her in and know I haven't withered away. She must be letting me know Richards is coming so we can make funeral arrangements.

 Mrs. Mallard likes this webpage https://www.facebook.com/SeasonsOfHealing?ref=profile

Blog # 5 "Orientation"-A Guide to the Office

 "A Guide to the Office"

This is the front desk. This is the back office. Doctor’s office is here. Kelly’s office is right across from Doctor’s, she is his wife, and she is responsible for the medical and patient billing. This is a room used for storing medical files. This room is for doctor’s children.

This room is the break room; it’s mainly used for storing food in the refrigerator or heating food in the microwave. Check expiration dates, I found mayonnaise in here that expired back 2005. All the Nutrisystem items are doctors don’t eat them, he doesn’t eat them either, but he’ll know. Don’t heat your breakfast here Kelly will have a fit and complain that it nauseates her. You can heat your food up at lunch, but not before you will get in trouble for sitting on your bottom. Lunches are an hour unless it’s your week to answer the phones. During those weeks you can’t leave the office, but you can eat your lunch. Be mindful that you are still working and Kelly will give you lots of things to do, even if you are eating. Doctor comes back from his lunch early sometimes to take a nap, Never ask him anything when he is taking a nap, don’t knock on the door, be really quiet; if you don’t he will be really mean for the rest of the day.

These are the patient rooms. Keep them cleaned and picked up. Patients don’t need to see a dirty room and the wife will find out and make you feel like crap. Always wipe down the tables after each patient, and make sure the lotions are put away nice and neat. If you drop lotion on the floor just rub it in the carpet with a towel or your foot, doctor or the patient won’t notice anyway, because the floors look awful and they were cleaned a week ago. Green gowns are the biggest gowns save those for large people. Red gowns are for medium sized they can go on average people. Blue gowns go on small people, there aren’t very many so use them on small people.

Do not put large people in this room, they will break the table. Put people with big bellies in these rooms the tables drop down for their bellies. Use lots of lotion on hairy backs, it is gross, but refrain from making comments you will be fired. Use lots of pressure on bigger men when giving a massage, they will complain if you don’t. If your hands are not hurting by the end of the day you didn’t use enough pressure. These tables will rise up to be level with your hip, do not touch the tables to do this, you will be yelled at by doctor and so will the rest of us. Don’t ask common sense questions to Doctor he will think you are stupid just ask the staff.

If Doctor comes in cranky and rude, his wife will be really nice. If the doctor compliments you on your hair or your outfit Kelly will copy you the next day to see if he will give her the same reaction, he won’t so be sure to compliment her. When doctor and Kelly argue from their offices there will always be a patient in the lobby, be sure to speak to them so they don’t over hear. If you have any questions ask me or another co-worker, don’t ask doctor or Kelly they don’t run the office they just think they do and the answer is always wrong.

Blog Assignment # 4 A Good Man is Hard to Find

In the story A Good Man Is Hard to Find we understand the reality of that, a good man is hard to find. A family of an American Southern background embarks upon a family vacation and run into “the Misfit” a serial killer on the loose that escaped from Federal Prison. This Southern family believes in God and forgiveness. They believe in repenting and asking for forgiveness through prayer. The misfit felt he was wrongly accused and sentenced to prison. He claims he was in there for so long he doesn’t understand his crime. He doesn’t believe in God anymore and certainly does not want to pray. The misfit claims he has lost all of his morals once he was wrongfully imprisoned. He does not understand why he should be good now when he was imprisoned for being good. This story lets the readers believe the family will have a happy ending, that the family will meet a good man. The story does not end that way. The story is grotesque. From the very beginning of the story the old woman pointed out a newspaper clipping about the Misfit, along the way she mentioned the Misfit to the diner the family ate at, and when they wreck there vehicle it’s the Misfit they run into. Instead of saving the family and being grateful for being out of prison the Misfit shoots the family and takes their belongings to his better gain. The Misfit is a secular grotesque those who have for one reason or another rejected God's will and seek to destroy the soul in an attempt to save the body. The Misfit sees no reason to let the family live and does not care; he proves the title to be somewhat true A Good Man is Hard to Find.

In Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery," one theme is Man's ability (and need) to rationalise generally unacceptable actions. It's true in life how we have to rationalize everything or have a reason for everything, to make it acceptable in our eyes. In life we have to turn our heads the other direction when a convicted murder is set back on the streets after 25 years, it is unacceptable, but in today's society that is the law. In this story everyone went along with the tradition of "sacrificing" a community member. No one showed how they felt, but Tessie the one that was chosen. She didn't choose to be sacrificed, wouldn't it have been a true sacrifice if Tessie was actually willing to die for a good cause? Why does Man rationalize unacceptable actions? Are we truly that much of a follower to not stick up for unacceptable actions? What's it going to take to show people that in the end it's not the community that mattered in life, but the individual? Why do we turn the other cheek, instead of sticking up for what's right in our eyes?