Listening vs. Hearing

This weekend I had a horse show, and I went in for my first course and jumped the wrong fence. I had just repeated to my trainer where I was supposed to go, but I still did not do it right. There is a difference between hearing and acknowledging what someone is saying. In "Hills Like White Elephants" the man and girl have a long conversation, but neither one cares to listen to the other, and they completely ignore the subject at hand. They talk about drinks and the scenery instead of the abortion, and when they dance around the subject, they do not have strong communication. They both talk but not in response to each other. Listening and hearing are two different things. One can listen but that does not include comprehending what one is saying. In order to hear someone you have to listen and then understand and realize what the other person is trying to get across.

Loss

People are lost all of the time, and the ones they loved are left to grieve, but the feelings never leave. The relationship still changes and grows even if they are not both here. "The Worn Path" shows us this through Phoenix and her grandson. The readers do not know for sure if he is gone, but it is unlikely he is still with her. She goes to retrieve medicine every week but it has been three years since he swallowed lye, and he is not getting well according to Phoenix. She walks to town every week to remember and show that she still loves him. Another hint that he is gone is that she dances with a scarecrow and longs to have someone. She seems lonely but claims to have her grandson living with her. She continues to love like all of us even if they are not here.

What You Are and What You're Not

It is hard to live a truly honest life, though most people would prefer to ignore that fact. We all want to think we are loving, caring people who do more for others than ourselves, but we are humans, and it is not in our nature to protect and give things to others before ourselves. We all have images that we try to hold ourselves to and some of us reach too far. For example, in All the Pretty Horses Blevins tries to be more mature and brave than he really is so that he can prove himself to John Grady and Rawlins. In Araby the narrator only sees the outside of the girl he "loves." We do not always have an honest image of ourselves or others because we manipulate things, so they are what we desire them to be.

Everything Is Under Control... Sort of

We (teenagers) all say it at least once a week. "Mom, I have it under control," or "I can handle this on my own," but do we really? No. We would like to think we can handle everything ourselves because in less than a year, we will hopefully be going to college or moving out on our own, and we should be able to juggle our own schedule and work out our issues. If only growing up were that easy, but it makes for a lot of good books such as All the Pretty Horses. Coming of age stories are pretty common in this era because we have become so dependent and cannot just marry at fourteen and stand on our own. In American culture, we are slowly woven into society by going to college and then getting a secure job and renting an apartment. But for example in All the Pretty Horses, John Grady leaves his father at sixteen to go to an entirely different country with no plan or income. Over the years so much has changed regarding "growing up." It used to be when you became old enough you got a job to support your family or went off on your own; now, we all go to high school then graduate and have our parents pay outrageous amounts of money for further education so we can have assured success. John Grady did struggle and had to sleep in the middle of a field sometimes, but he was able to really mature and become his own person. We need to be more like John Grady because how are we expected to be independent when we do not pay for anything or truly understand how to struggle? "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill

True Intentions

          In books people seem to view the good and the bad. They do not as often visualize a person as good and bad, but rather good or bad. Readers generalize the characters into different groups. In All The Pretty Horses John Grady as seen as the protagonist and is considered a hero, but is he really. He shows cowardice right from the beginning. Instead of staying with his family in their time of need, he decides to travel to Mexico because he is mad at his mom. Part of this has to do with his young age, but can someone be really called a hero if when times get tough, he packs up and leaves. Yes, he has strong values, but is that what makes a hero? Readers choose to ignore his weaknesses and only remember the amazing things he did. He does not sacrifice himself for Blevins when he is arrested or admit to his flaws, but as readers we overlook that and say well, he did not do that many bad things so he is good. Where as the sheriff for example seems much worse because he killed a man but so does Grady. Readers should acknowledge the good AND the bad so they can judge the book and it's characters fairly.