How are the Characters Different and Come Together

 

    The character of O. E. Parker, in Flannery O'Connor's story, "Parker's Back," is very distinct and in some ways the same as the charters of the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin. In the story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother, considers herself to be a lady and that times are changing and there is becoming less and less good people. In the story, "Revelation," Mrs. Turpin is a lady who believes she is better than other people and tends to judge them. Parker is the opposite of them, he is what they might think of as trash or that he is from a lower social class than them. All three of them however share the fact that they all have a revelation. It is important to show how the grandma and Mrs. Turpin are different from Parker.

    Parker has many distinct qualities that make him different from the grandma and Mrs. Turpin. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin are from a higher social class and Parker is considered to be in the lower social class. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin are judgmental and tend to believe that they are some what better than other people. Parker instead is someone that they might judge, because his body is filled with tattoos. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin believe in God and religion, and Parker does not. But, religion is what brings these characters together and connects them.

    How these characters come together is through the fact that they all have revelations. Also, even though Parker is from a lower social class, he still tends to judge people and make assumptions about them. Parker obviously does not believe in God or religion, but his wife however does. Sarah Ruth, states that God will look down on him because of his tattoos. Parker grows very irritated and frustrated with her. Parker believes that tattoos help him deal with his frustration. He only gets tattoos on the front of his body, because he wants to be able to look at them. But, when he runs out of room, his frustration with Sarah Ruth grows even bigger. He decides that to deal with this he needs to get another tattoo that she will enjoy, on his back. While he was working, he wrecked the tractor he was on and it caught on fire, this is when his revelation starts to happen. He decides right then and there to go get his tattoo on his back. He picks out the picture of the Byzantine Christ, he heard a voice that told him to stop and go back. It is almost like Jesus had told him to pick this picture. Parker believes that Sarah Ruth will be amazed by his tattoo and will like it. After, Parker's tattoo is finished he does not want to even look at it, and some what wants to deny that he ever got it. On his way home Parker sat in an alley examining his self and he finally realized that he now believes in God. When Parker gets home and shows his tattoo to Sarah Ruth, she gets very upset with him and says that he is an idolater and she beats him. This is what connects him to the other characters because, even though they see things clearly in the end and realize the true meaning of religion and faith, they still get punished. The fact that Parker is completely opposite from the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin does not matter; really they are all the same, because they all did not know the true meaning of faith in the beginning and realized it in the end. .

Word Count 623

Reflection Oct. 24

    Today I am reflecting on Halloween. I can not wait for next weekend because I am going to a Halloween party with my boyfriend and we are dressing up as gangsters. Every one I know is dressing up for the party. His middle brother and his wife are dressing up as pirates and his youngest bother and his girlfriend are dressing up as baseball players. I am so excited for this party because, I have not been to a Halloween party in forever it seems like. My boyfriend's uncle's band is playing and there is going to be contest for the scariest, most creative, and best overall costumes. I doubt I will win anything, because I just went to the store and bought a costume, instead of trying to create my own. But, I can not wait to see what all costumes people are wearing. We bought so much stuff to decorate for the party, like fog machines so the house will be foggy, banners, extra, the whole works. Also, two houses down there is a haunted house. These people make a haunted maze in their backyard every year to make money. It supposed to be scary; my boyfriend went through it and says it is pretty good, so we will probably go through it before we go to the party. I think that this Halloween is going to be great and one to remember. I hope it is a lot of fun and I can not wait for next week to write a blog about what went on at the party and Halloween night.

Word Count 265

Reflection Oct. 22

    My reflection today is about how people's dogs seem to reflect their owner's personalities. I was at the vet the other day and realized that the dogs in some way really represented what kind of person the owner was. The first person and dog, that I realized was like this was this big guy who seemed to work out a lot. I did not talk to the owner, but his dog was an English bulldog. They both had broad shoulders. The dog seemed like all he was thinking about was running and playing fetch, as the owner seemed like all he could think about was working out. At first I thought this assumption might have been a coincidence, but then I saw a teenage girl and her miniature poodle. The girl seemed very prissy, and very in to herself. Of course I know it is bad of me to say things like that about her because I do not know her, but this was just the impression that I got. She was all made up, as if going to the vet were a fashion show. Her dog had that kind of attitude to. The dog would not sit in the floor, it either had to sit beside her in the chair or the girl had to hold her. The dog's fur was very clean and white; it looked like the dog was rarely outside. What was crazy is that I over heard the girl talking to the receptionist and the reason they were there is so that the dog could get groomed. The girl told the receptionist that she would pick up her dog after her massage appointment. I was laughing in my head because the dog gets pampered to while the owner gets pampered as well. This is when I really started thinking that dogs are seriously like their owners. The next dog and owner I saw was and older gentle man and his dog that was a basset hound. The man looked around the age of about seventy and the dog looked pretty old as well, because he had grey fur. The two of them walked in real slowly together and they both slowly sat down. The man did not really talk to anyone and seemed to be observing the other people. The dog did the same, he did not get up to go see the other dogs, and instead he just laid there watching the other dogs bark at one another. Then I started looking at my dog and I realized that my miniature dachshund, Missy. I realized, like my self she is interested in what everyone else is doing, but sometimes just wants to be alone and not bothered. Also, she can not stand the fact that our other two dogs get attention. I was like that with my brother when I was little; I hated it when my parents paid attention to him and not me. I guess this means that the saying that a dog is a man's best friend is true, because the dogs since how their owners act and learn to act the same way.

Word Count 525

Reflection Oct. 20

    My reflection today is about my service hours for my special education class. I have to earn only five hours of service to people with special needs. I have not decided what I might do for these hours yet. The reason I have not done it yet is because, even though I am excited, I am also very nervous to do it. I have been around people with special needs, but I have never had a whole lot of interaction with them. I am scared that I might do something wrong. But, I also know that other students might feel the same way, and that the people who direct these events understand that some of us might be nervous. With that said I feel some what reassured that everything will be okay. I know that I will enjoy working with special needs people and that I will learn a lot. I am becoming a dental hygienist, and therefore this experience will help me to understand how to deal with patients who have special needs. It is getting closer and closer to the end of the semester and I need to figure out what I might do for my volunteer hours. I keep delaying it, because of all the other school work I have and also because I work part time. I need to stop procrastinating and get it done. I really hope that these hours will be a great way to learn and get to know how to interact with people who have special needs.

Word Count 255

Reflection Oct. 16

    My reflection today is about my grades. I am so nervous about my grades this semester. I am trying to get into UT, so I can become a dental hygienist, but they only accept thirty four people a year. Therefore, it is very competitive. I also, just found out that if I retake a class UT will not take the better grade and instead they just average them. So, now I am really scared, because I am afraid that my grades will not be enough. I only have a 3.0 GPA, therefore I have to get a B or better in all of my classes. And I know that there is tons of people trying to get into UT. So, it is not just based on grades it is also based on who you know as well. I have tried to shadow at my dentist's office, but it is really hard to get hours between school work and my job at Schnucks. Plus, I am under pressure about my grades and if they will be good enough. I really hope I can succeed in my grades and be able to go to UT. If I do not get accepted I do not know what I will do because, even if I retake a class again to try to get a better grade it will not help that much because, they will just average it. I want to get accepted the first time, because I will feel like a failure if I do not. I am really hoping to increase my GPA over the next year to a 3.5, even know it says they accept as low as a 2.75 GPA, I need to make sure that I am the best of the best. I am stressed out, I think I just need to take a deep breath and relax, because I know that it will all work out in the end.

Word Count 321

Reflection Oct. 15

    I love to go walking especially in the fall that is why my reflection today is about me and my boyfriend's mom walking in the park today. Her and I always walk together and also, go to the same gym together as well. We were going to go work out at the gym, but since it was such a nice day outside we decided to go walking at the park by the house. This park is one of my favorite parks to walk at because it has lots of trees and also a small pound where you can see a lot of ducks and geese. Also, the walking path goes all around the park, and there are such cute little houses all around the park. Anyways, the reason why I decided to write about this particular time is because, we saw a lot of different characters there.

There were a lot of people at the park that day, I guess because it was such a nice day. We passed a lot of people on the walking path; of course you have to say hello and wave because, that is what people do in Bartlett. The people we passed were of all different shapes and sizes. There were very young people walking to very old people walking. The whole time while we were walking our attention was kept the entire time because of all the different types of people we saw. The first group we saw was a bunch of preteens, dressed up as witches. We could not figure out what exactly they were doing but, they had a whole bunch of balloons and they were playing some type of game. The next people we saw were little kids, I guess they were around the ages of five and seven. Their parents were with them and they helping them feed the ducks at the pound. Also, while we were walking we heard some one playing the bag pipes. He was an older gentleman probably around seventy, he sounded very good on them and I am sure it is a hard instrument to play. When we passed him on the path he said he was getting tired and we told him that he was great and we enjoyed his music. And last but not least we passed what looked like a class from a school on a field trip. They were by the jungle gym and the tennis courts. They were all dressed up in different Halloween costumes. They were all so cute. The characters were, Indiana Jones, Snow White, a Ninja, Star Wars characters, and also one of them was dressed up as a teddy bear. They were all playing and were having so much fun, I could remember back when I was that age and Halloween meant so much to me. The walk was very enjoyable that day because, of all the fall activities going on. We enjoyed our walk at the park very much.

Word Count 495

Reflection Tuesday Oct. 13th

    I want to reflect on peer reviewing. Our class peer reviewed today in class and I believe it helped my paper a lot. I also got an outsiders point of view on the paper and they opened my eyes to new ideas about the stories we were writing about as well. My group all chose different topics therefore; it gave us a chance to see how our other peers thought about these stories. I felt like my peers did a very good job on his or her papers. Their views on my paper helped me see mistakes that I did not catch before while I was reviewing my own paper. They gave me great ideas in which to change my paper to make it stronger and easier to understand. It was a good way to get advice on the paper before you have to turn it in. I learned a lot about my paper and how the audience would think of my paper. I know that peer reviewing open my eyes and ideas about my paper. It was a great learning experience and I hope that we continue to keep on peer reviewing because it teaches people a lot about his or her paper.

Word Count 207

Reflection on weekend Oct. 12

    My reflection today is about my weekend. This weekend was insane, but I had a lot of fun. I had tons of homework to do, that I never thought I would finish it between work and activities. Friday night I got most of my chemistry homework done before my boyfriend's little brother's homecoming game for Bartlett high school. We ended up not going because, it was raining, but the rest of his family did. After the game a lot of people came over to my boyfriend's house. It was nice to hang out with friends after a long week of school. Saturday, I think was the craziest day. I woke up late and had to be at work by ten o'clock. I literally rushed to get ready and make it there on time. I was so tired from the night before and I was running on like four hours of sleep. But, of course Schnucks was packed because, we had a good sale and the customers were trying to get their shopping done before the football games started. I do not think I sold so many Lunchables, frozen vegetables, and TV dinners, in my life. When customers here they can get something for a dollar, they go crazy and try to but all they can. Anyways after a long day at work, I go to my boyfriend's house to find out that we are throwing a party for his middle brother's baseball team, he is a coach for a new college called, "Shepherd Film Academy." So, I get there and see all these guys outside, and then I find out that I have to start preparing the food for them, because my boyfriend's mom was not there. So, I helped make the food and I guess it was good because, they all ate it. But, I think guys will eat anything, as long as it is free. Anyways, it was a lot of fun getting to meet his players, even through I should have been working on my homework, which was my intention, but it did not happen. Even though I was having a great time at the party, I decided to go sleep at about one o'clock, because I was exhausted. The next day, I heard about what all happened after I went to bed, and I was glad, I did call it quits when I did because, some people got out of hand. Sunday, I got to sleep in because; I did not have to be a work until twelve o'clock. Even though it was not as busy as the day before, it was still pretty crazy; I guess people were trying to buy food for the week. But, the rush did die down by the time I got off work. And I did however finish my chemistry homework and my lab report, and here I am now writing my last reflection for the week and fixing to work on my rough draft for English.

Word Count 497

Reflection for Thursday Oct. 8

    My reflection today is about my boyfriend's Thursday night cruise-in, for his car club. He joined his car club about a year and a half ago, they are called, "The Memphis Chevrolet Classic Car Club." They have a cruise in, every Thursday night in the parking lot at Kirby Whitten and Stage road. At first I did not like going to it, because I did not have anyone to talk to. Most of the members of the club are older men and women, my boyfriend and I are the youngest people in the club. I enjoy going now because, after joining the club, I got to know a lot of the members and they are all very nice people. Our parents think we are weird for hanging out with people that are their ages, but I told them ounce they got to know them they will see how nice they are. I can not even explain how nice and pretty some of the cars are. Sometimes, I feel embarrassed because, my boyfriend has his 1987 Chevrolet truck next to these gorgeous classic cars. But, the members of the club are very laid back and are proud of him and his truck. I used to not care as much about classic cars, but after finding out how much time and effort it takes to put into these cars, I now appreciate them. And I never thought I would say this, but I actually get excited for the Thursday night cruise-in. It has grown so much over the past two years. So many people go now, one night we had over three hundred cars there. The restaurants around the parking lot, even give us discounts on food because, we bring so much business on Thursday nights. I just can not believe how many different types of cars there from new to old. And now more and more young people are coming up there, so there are more people of my age, to hang out with. It is exciting to talk to these people about their cars and their stories behind them. Some of the members have owned their cars since they were teenagers, I guess they were pretty smart for not selling them. I would love to own one, but I am sure I will never have the chance because, as years go on they become harder and harder to find, and therefore more expensive to buy. But it makes me think that maybe thirty or forty years from now my car might be considered a classic and maybe be worth some money one day. These cars are as pretty as the ones you see on TV at the auctions. I advise anyone to go that is in to cars, you will be blown away. But, we will only be up there for a few more weeks because, winter is coming. If you do not get a chance to go this year try to come up there next spring, it starts back up again in March.

 

Word count 504

Tuesday’s Reflection

    My reflection today is about my job at Schnucks grocery store, and why I love working there during the month of October. I am a cashier at Schnucks and I have worked there for a little over two years. I enjoy working there, because we try to raise money for different causes through the year. My two favorite ones to raise money for are St. Jude and for breast cancer. During the month of October our store is covered in pink. We just got through a week ago putting decorations up for breast cancer awareness. I also love working in October, because we also get to wear pink shirts, instead of our uniform shirts, to work everyday. Since the guys are not to keen on wearing pink we ordered shirts that are black with a pink ribbon on them. Our store has a lot of products like "Fiber One," "Yoplait Yogurt," that give so much money to breast cancer, when some one buys their products. Everyday, I have a bought a yogurt for lunch, because we have a box that collects the pink yogurt tabs, to benefit breast cancer. So, if you buy yogurt, save the pink tabs and drop them in the box. If you shop at Schnucks make sure to buy the products that have pink labels on them, because you are helping raise money for breast cancer. We also sell pink breast cancer reusable bags that also benefit money to breast cancer, they are only a dollar. Also, right now we are selling "Pin up a Pumpkin," for St. Jude's children's research hospital. We sell them at the register and they are only a dollar. This is a great cause, because St. Jude has helped many children fight cancer. I have even known some children that have gone there. I have had a lot of people donate, just for the sake that they are happy that their children are healthy. It is a great cause, and I hope one day that they do find a cure for cancer. I am so proud that I work for a company that tries to help these organizations and help raise money for them. It is good to see that companies do not always think of themselves, and how they can earn a buck. This is why I chose to reflect on my job, because even though they are trying to earn money, they also try to give back and help others in need as well.

 

Word count 415

Reflection on past week

    I am reflecting on this past week. This past week was very chaotic and I had a lot of stuff to do. It was stressful and I am so glad that it is over now. First, I had to help my work, Schnucks, prepare for breast cancer awareness month, by putting up pink ribbons all over the store. It was nice to see my work get involved in the breast cancer cause. I had a lot of chemistry homework to do; I probably spend at least two and half hours a night, working on it. I still have some problems left to do, but I finished most of it. I had a microbiology test last week, and it was pretty hard. I really hope I past it, because my teacher only gives three test a semester. Also, like I said in my last reflection I am was working on my informative speech for my Oral Communications class. I had to work on my lab report for my chemistry lab, and I had a lot of trouble with it, some of the questions are really hard. I also had to start preparing for my tests one is Oral Communications and the other is in my Special Education class. Both of these tests are considered to be my midterm, and I hope I do well on both of them later this week. Also, I went to the play "A Street Car Named Desire," by Tennessee Williams, on Thursday which was a lot of fun. It was a great way to take a break from school work, especially since I had taken my microbiology test earlier that day. Even though it was considered an activity for my Literacy Heritage class, I actually enjoyed myself and the play. The cast did a great job with their roles and the characters they played, especially Bronzjuan Worthy, who played Blanche. It was a great experience and I enjoyed it very much. Therefore, between work and school, I had a very busy week. I am glad its over and that I do not have another week like this one for a long time.

 

Word Count 356

Reflection on my speech

    I am having a hard time with my speech in my Oral Communication class; therefore I have chosen to reflect on it. It is very hard for me to get up and talk in front of people, especially people I do not even know, I am terrified. I am scared that I will forget my information and my mind will go blank when I am giving my speech. It is an informative speech, therefore it can not be persuasive, and it can basically only be facts. I am having trouble not being persuasive because, I want my audience to agree with me. I have to have what is called an attention getter at the beginning of the speech. I have no idea what I will say to grab my audience's attention and to make them interested in what I am talking about. I have gathered a lot of information and facts about my topic. I am not sure about what facts I am going to use yet, but I have some time to figure it out. I have to make it interesting to my audience so I am trying to figure out a story that relates to what I am talking about. This is hard, for me because I am not sure where I can fit my story in my speech and still get my point across, in enough time. I have made an outline on the speech, and I think I need to narrow down the information to fit the time limit. I also have to show a visual aid within my speech. I do not know how I am going to do this with out taking away from my speech. Visual aids are hard to use, because I have to find something that will stand out and that people will remember. I have a pretty good idea about what my thesis will be, but I am having trouble with my conclusion. I have to pull all my information into one sentence and say why it is important. Also, I am having a hard time because, I keep pushing it off. I keep pushing it off and procrastinating because, I have to do work and study for my other classes. Also, I am putting it off because, I dread giving speeches. But, I think I will be okay if I just create some time management and try and work on it everyday.

 

Word Count 403

Reflection on “A Street Car Named Desire”

    The play "A Street Car Named Desire," by Tennessee Williams at the Hattiloo Theater, was a great experience. The play was very dramatic. It represents love and what people will do to find it and to keep it. It is about a lady named Blanche who goes to stay with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley, because she lost the family land. The play represents Blanche as being a liar and some what crazy. Stanley is represented as being controlling and he reveals who Blanche really is. Stella is represented as being forgiving, loving, and she does not want to believe the rumors. The actors who were in the play did a very good job in understanding his or her roles. Blanche was played by Bronzjuan Worthy. She did a great job in representing the character of Blanche. She really connected with the audience when telling her story about what happened to her first husband. Stanley was played by Ekundayo Bandele, he as well did a great job in connecting with the audience. He also shows that he can make Stella forgive him, no matter what he does. Stella was played by Krissi Cain-Bolden. In watching the play, it turns out that Stella is somewhat the middle person, the person who keeps the peace in the house.

The play helped me understand the characters true personalities in play "A Street Car Named Desire." Watching the play, put a better description in my mind of the seen and the issues involved in the play. The play left me feeling sorry for Blanche, even though she was a liar. It shows that she was some what scarred by what happened to her first husband, and that she is desperate for a man's affection. Even though she lies about the things she has done, I believe she still did not deserve what happened to her. Stanley rapes Blanche, while Stella is at the hospital delivering the baby. Stanley then convinces Stella that her sister Blanche is crazy. They decide to send her to an insane hospital. This makes me feel sorry for Blanche, because the one time she does not lie, no one believes her. They make her think that she is going on a trip. And when the doctors come to the door to take her to the hospital she starts to freak out. But, and this actually makes you think she really is insane, when the male doctor offers his hand to her, she accepts it and says that she has always enjoyed the kindness of a gentleman. This play was very depressing and dramatic, but I believe that is what makes it such a great play.

 

Word Count 447

Reflection on Mike McCarthy Speech

    

    Mike McCarthy speech was interesting. His speech was laid back and very casual, which, with what I could gather, was kind of like his personality. His speech showed me his point of view on life and how he interprets things. I believe he was interesting, because he had a different way of looking at things, than I did. But, I believe he some what had an extreme way of thinking about life and how people should be and act. During his speech, he talked about his passion for comic books and his reasons behind his ideas and stories. For instance, he said that he uses woman in his stories, to show how women can use their womanly powers to fight evil. I enjoyed the fact that he was different, because he kept my attention the whole time while he was speaking. He said many times throughout his speech that he loves the city of Memphis and Elvis Presley. He told us that he believed that pop culture was during the years of Elvis's life, and that pop culture has disappeared in America. He also showed some of the books that he had read, that were kind of like his guide lines in life. One of the books was called "Sexual Persona," which to him, gave him some truth about his thoughts and ideas of life. Some of the things he talked about I could sort of go along with and see where he was coming from, but some things I could not. One of the things I agreed with was that we need to find something different or unique about ourselves and embrace it, open it up. And for example something that I did not agree with was when he told us to drop out of school, to be able to live life and find out who we are. I believe that we do not have to go to the extreme of dropping out of school, to be able to find out who we are. Even though his views were very different from my own, I believe it was a good experience to see some one else's views. Also, the experience helped me to understand the reasons why he chose to write comics and his passion behind them.

 

Word Count 380