Rush home road, Spadework, of mice and men - Theme comparison
... (Familial injustice towards Sharla from her mother) Topic Sentence: In Rush Home Road, the main characters Sharla and Addy experience injustices from their families, and as a result have an affect on each other. Sub-Topic Sentence: Sharla’s mother abandoned her, and therefore when Sharla met Addy, Addy was affected by the injustices put upon the girl, and decided to take her in. Sharla helps Addy to remember her past, and the memories of the injustices she experienced as a child from her parents. Proofs: · Collette abandoned Sharla so that she could be alone forever with her boyfriend · Addy realized that this young girl was lost and didn’t have anywhere to go, so she decided to take her in Quote 1: “Sharla had not seemed as troubled by Collette’s disappearance as Addy had thought she might be, but children were good at coping, and Sharla’d learned that skill early.” (Lansens, 113) Explanation: Because Collette had neglected Sharla, Sharla had to learn at an early age to cope, and to not depend on anyone. Sharla would have grown to not trust anyone if Addy had not come into Sharla’s life and taught her otherwise. Quote 2: “Addy didn’t ask questions. She knew Collette was never coming home and thought it might be easier for Sharla if they didn’t talk about her at all.” (Lansens, 321) Explanation: Sharla would never get to know her mother, and her mother left it up to Addy to try and introduce this idea to Sharla. Addy also grew up without knowing her mother, so she knew the feeling of this injustice against Sharla. She was touched by the girl and knew that she had to help her. Proofs: · Seeing Sharla, a young girl with so many injustices put upon her, Addy was instantly reminded of her past life and the injustices that she had to overcome · Addy was raped at a young age, and her parents disowned her when they discovered that she was pregnant. Quote 3: “It didn’t matter what Laisa and Wallace had been told. It didn’t matter what they believed. The only truth was that Addy was to blame. She watched her father cast his eyes over her round stomach and saw that he hated her.” (Lansens, 91) Explanation: Addy’s parents could only see the fact that Addy was pregnant at such a young age, and without a husband. They did not know the circumstances. It was not Addy’s fault that she was raped and became pregnant as a result. Because of this, Addy’s parents disowned her. Addy had grown up without her family, and with people judging her because of it, and so Addy wanted to bring up Sharla as well as she could to prove to Sharla (and even herself), that people could be good. Closing Statement: Sharla was affected in a positive way as a result of the injustices against Addy, as opposed to Spadework, in which the injustice forms a negative result to the child. Concept 4 (Societal injustice from the view of how ‘theatre children should be) Topic Sentence: Will, being a ‘theatre-child’, would grow up in a world to adult for him Sub-Topic Sentence: The people of society who were parents who were a part of the acting world were bringing up their children to become aware of things that they should not be aware of yet. They were growing up too old for their age. Proofs: · Will, growing up with his dad being away from home majority of the time would be brought up incorrectly, and be easily influenced by his ‘theatre children’ friends. Quote 1: “Theatre children are a breed unto themselves. Their parents, in the eyes of non-theatre children, led grandiose, glamorous, distant lives – their pictures in papers and magazines and often displayed in public ventures such as grocery stores, shop windows and restaurants. Questions such as: is is true your father’s a queer? Were not uncommon; nor were straight out statements such as: everyone says your mum’s an alcoholic.” (Findley, 122) Explanation: While most children Will’s age were learning addition and subtraction, Will was learning about drugs, sex, and alcohol. He had no influences in his life other than those of his friends, who were in the same predicament as he was. When his mother realizes how the theatre life had affected Will, and how society perceived him and their family, she knew that she had to solve the problem. So the injustices upon Will affected his mother in a positive way because she started realizing that problems, when left alone, would only get worse. Closing Statement: The lack of Will’s parents raising him caused society to influence him in a negative way and therefore affect Jane in a positive way, making her want to be a better mother. The opposite happens in Of Mice and Men – when Lenny does something wrong, it makes his best friend George want to lash out at him and verbally abuse him. Concept 5 (Society’s perception of Lenny, and the injustice towards him because society is unaware of the circumstances) Topic Sentence: Society was unaware of Lenny’s circumstances, and therefore judged him and acted rashly, and because George had to stick by Lenny’s side, he suffered for The injustices against Lenny as well. Sub-Topic Sentence: Lenny was slower than others because he had been dropped on his head as a child, so he was easily amused and unable to differentiate right from wrong. Proofs: · Lenny liked to touch soft things, and when he saw a soft looking dress that a girl was wearing, he wanted to touch it Quote 1: “Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress. Jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse – Well, how was she to know you jus’ wanted to fee her dress? She jerks back and you held on like it was a mouse. She yells, and we got to hide in an irrigation ditch all day with guys looking’ for us.” (Steinbeck, 18) Explanation: The woman did not understand that Lenny viewed the world differently that other people, and didn’t understand that feeling a strangers dress while she was wearing it was wrong. She jumped to conclusions, assuming that he was sexually assaulting her, and took drastic measures to get him out of town. Because George had vowed to stay by Lenny’s side through everything, this affected George, because he was seen as a bad person as well, and also had to leave town and his job. Closing Statement: Even though Lenny could not help the fact that he got himself and George into trouble, George was still affected by it, and took out his anger on Lenny because of it. This is also seen in Rush Home Road, because Addy and Sharla could not help the fact that they got into trouble. Concept 6 (Societal injustice from Addy’s town towards Addy as a result of her being pregnant, and from Sharla’s town towards Sharla as a result of her appearance) Topic Sentence: Society judged Sharla and Addy for reasons beyond their control, but it bettered the two, because they decided to never judge people the way they were judged. Subtopic Sentence: Society was unaware of the reasons why Addy was pregnant, and why Sharla had such a poor appearance, so they judged the two unreasonably. Proofs: · Sharla’s mother abandoned her, so she had no control over her poor appearance · Addy couldn’t help the fact that she had been raped and became pregnant as a result Quote 1: “Her father held her responsible for the tragedies, as did most of the town, and Addy feared being sent to prison for the murder of her brother and Chester and Zack Heron, even though she was innocent and they were the ones who brought tragedy to her life. Best, she thought, not to be seen.” (Lansens, 129) Explanation: Society as a whole judged and looked down on Addy because all they could see was the fact that she was pregnant, unmarried, and so young. They didn’t know the circumstances under which these incidents happened. They made her feel like she was to blame, at a time when she needed to be comforted the most. However, as she grew, she realized that she wanted to show people that this way of thinking was wrong, and as a result, Sharla’s life with Addy was happy and fair, and she grew up acting justly towards the people of society. Quote 2: “As they rounded the corner onto the mud lane, Addy became aware of the neighbors watching from their yards and windows, and the way their eyes judged Sharla. She looked down at the girl, dusted with dirt, too small shorts, top stained and torn at the shoulder, her face grim and grimy.” (Lansens, 114) Explanation: Again, society didn’t know Sharla’s circumstances – she had just been abandoned by her mother, and dumped on the doorstep of a complete stranger. Her mother neglected her, so her appearance when she was placed in Addy’s care was rough. But society gossips, judges, and is unfair in general. However, Addy wanted to help Sharla, and this made Addy’s life better – it gave her a reason to keep going. Closing Statement: Society unjustly judges the people who appear different, without being aware of the circumstances under which the people are. The circumstances for these characters were beyond their own control. Concept 7 (Circumstantial injustice as a result of Jane’s rape) Topic Sentence: The circumstances that were placed upon Jane were unjust in themselves, and as a result, jeopardized her marriage. Sub-Topic Sentence: Jane could not have helped that she was raped, but even though this is true, her husband did not take the time to try and understand what had happened to her. The circumstantial injustice affected him in a negative manner. Proofs: · Jane and Griff’s marriage was already unhappy, so Griff was basically looking for an excuse to end the marriage · Jane was alone in the house and a strange man walked in, showing her vulnerability Quote: “He leaned in before her and grabbed the back of her head, holding it brutally by the hair. With his other hand, he yanked at his underwear, exposing himself and shoving himself inside of her brutally.” (Findley, 46) Explanation: This shows how vulnerable people are in general. Jane was humiliated, hurt, and scared, and there was nothing that she could do about it. And just when she needed Griff the most, he turned his back on her and assumed the worst of her. Closing Statement: The circumstant...