Second chances allow for improved behavior.
Second chances allow for improved behavior is a strong theme throughout the story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. In this story, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones gives Roger another opportunity to redeem himself after he tries to steal Luella’s purse. After Roger attempts to rob Luella, she picks him up and notices his face is dirty. “It will get washed this evening” she says. I interpreted the dirt on Rogers face as symbolizing his ‘dirty’ actions. When Mrs. Luella drags Roger to her house, she is giving him a second chance to ‘clean his face’, or to improve his behavior. In doing so, Luella has given Roger another opportunity to realize his mistakes and fix them. After Roger cleans his face, Luella gives him ten dollars to buy his blue suede shoes. This story tells us that second chances are another opportunity to fix your mistakes and to “wash your face”. Luella's actions helped prove this by acknowledging that Rogers behavior was changed. When Luella gave Roger the 10 dollars to buy the shoes, it showed that Roger was given a second chance, and even though he had made a mistake, he was still able to be a good person. Luella also shared the story about when she was a kid that she made mistakes too. These events helped Roger wash his face, not only physically, but mentally as well.
In the movie, ‘The Ultimate Gift’ Jason Stevens, who has taken everything in life for granted, especially his grandfather’s money, is surprised when the will is revealed. The will states that he must complete twelve tasks, or ‘Gifts’ (work, money, friends, learning, problems, family, laughter, dreams, giving, gratitude, a day, and love) in order to transform and improve his character before he receives the money. Jason’s life is changed when he is given second chances from leukemic Emily, her mother Alexia, and his wise grandfather who each teach him different lessons regarding the ‘Gifts’. Regarding the gift work, Emily says, “Jason, lets not be delusional. You were a bum!” The key word in this sentence, ‘were.’ Jason has been given a second chance by his grandfather, who has recorded different lessons on video, which are shown to Jason by his lawyers when the time is appropriate. Over time; Jason, with the help of Emily, learns his mistakes, and fixes them. Jason was a bum, but was given an opportunity to better his character.
In both situations, there was a character who saw the good in a boy, even though he himself did not, and gave him a second chance to prove it. In the movie, the giver of the second chance was Grandfather Red, and in the short story, it was Mrs. Luella. They both gave Roger (in the short story) or Jason (in the movie) another chance to ‘clean their face’ and improve their behavior. To conclude, second chances can be given to people so they can realize their mistakes and fix them.
~~~~~~~~~~
August 16, 2010
There are two sides to justice.
In the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter", by Roald Dahl, the theme 'there are two sides to justice' is very strong. The main character, Mary Maloney, is a subservient, pregnant, obedient housewife, who is obsessive over her husband, Patrick. The perfect world Mary has created for herself is shattered when Patrick nonchalantly declares he is leaving her. In a state of shock, Mary seeks justice in her own distorted way. Abandoning her perfect identity, Mary kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, meant for that nights dinner. After the realization of her actions set in, Mary starts to plan her Alibi. She phones the police who arrive only to be confused as what was used as a murder weapon. However, the detectives declared they were determined to keep working until justice was served. But served for Mary, or Patrick? Justice has two sides, the side of the protagonist, and the opposite.
Israeli Soldier FaceBook Scandal
Justice is often seen from different perspectives. In this case, Eden Abergil, a formal Israeli soldier, uploaded pictures of herself posing with blindfolded Palestinians. I got this information from CNN and Almasryalyoum. Ms. Abergil believes that there is nothing wrong with this "Facebook Scandal". She claims the media does the same thing, and that they don't ask for permission either. Apparently Ms. Abergil feels the IDF is ungrateful that she risked her life, and now she wishes she never joined the army. The photos were labeled IDF- Best time of my life. (IDF- Israeli Defense Forces) On the other hand, the photos were labeled as disgraceful, unethical, and wrong by the Channel 2 Army commentator. Jawad Amawi, the director of legal affairs for the Palestinian government's prisoners ministry labels this act as a breach of international law, and a breach of human rights. Abergil felt justified in her position, as the Palestinians felt her actions were unjust.
Justice suggests that there is one right and one wrong answer. But not everything is black and white. In the case of Mary Maloney, she subconsciously reacted in a way that seemed reasonable for her, and it seemed like a sensible thing to do in her state of mind. In the case of Ms. Abergil, she didn't think that what she was doing was bad, and would affect others. In both cases, there were other people out there that disagreed with their decisions. Different points of view create two sides, and justice can be served to both.
