Coopers Blog

In the end of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, I found myself shocked. It was a twisted ending that you did not expect. I was expecting that the grandmother would be let go instead of being shot, and it was a shocking ending. The man even said he did not particular kill women, but he shot the grandmother in the chest three times. I was left feeling remorse for the grandmother and her family, but I felt like it was her fault that they were put in that situation in the first place. I read it multiple times to make sure I was understanding the ending correctly because the Misfit has said himself that he did not kill many women, but it was shocking that he shot her chest three times, because all the other family was taken to the woods. The grandmother was left and shot three times in the chest which was the shocking part of the ending.

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the events that could have solved this catastrophe, is the grandmother staying home instead of going somewhere She did not even want to travel to Florida, and if she would have just stayed home, the events that caused their family to die would have been avoided. The grandmother had to bring her cat along to feel better, going to a place she did not even want to go, and her going is the main reason the events that happened, did happen. They would all still be alive if she would have just stayed home like the grandchildren had said. With the grandmother tagging along, it caused her family to be killed by the Misfit she had read about in Florida. The grandmother is the main reason that her family was killed, with her cat, and her going. She should have never went on the trip that she did not even want to go on.

Armand is my least favorite character in the story for “Desiree’s Baby” because he was inconsiderate. He treated his wife poorly because their baby was not white and had African American ancestry. Armand does not know that is in fact, his own mother who contains African American ancestry, so he continues to blame his wife. He is mean enough to his wife to drive her away, with their baby in tow. He does not even check himself, but goes straight to blaming his wife. It is ironic because it is actually Armand’s fault that the baby is not white but he does not stop to check himself, and accepts no responsibility. I hated this character because of the way he treated his own wife, when what he despised her for was his fault. The author of this story potrays him as an inconsiderate and mean man, but it was just the way the times were back then. The way the writer portrays him as the mean is what made me hate this character in this story.

At Chattahoochee Valley the teachers move too fast because of the amount of material to cover within a semester. Having multiple classes per day is hard to keep up with, especially being an athlete here. The teachers move fast and a lot of the material I end up having to learn on my own, especially in math class. The problems are long and drawn out and include various methods just for solving one problem, and then it is on to the next lesson. Math is a struggle because of how fast the teachers fly through the material. Another thing is the classrooms are small and packed. There are a good amount of kids in each class, and I think the classrooms should be bigger for more room. The athletics department having little to no budget for new equipment and uniforms is frustrating as well. We do not get to pick our numbers because we cannot afford new uniforms, so we get them picked for us by what size we wear.

In English 102, the writing process is what I finally learned. In English 101, which I took in high school, and was thrown into the fire having to learn to write on my own. My English 102 experience was better than 101 because I was actually taught how to write the papers, whereas in English 101 I was expected to know and it was harder than 102 which is ironic. In English 102 I like the stories we read better because they are interesting and always teach a lesson or have morals. English 101 we read stories that were hard to keep track of, and were also harder to write about. I dislike writing in English 102 because of all the extra pages we have to put in, for example a works cited. I do miss English 101 when a citation was enough, but English 102 helped me become a better writer more so than 101.

When Hughes said “When a man starts out to build a world/ He starts first with himself.” This quote takes a deep meaning. To me, this quote means that building yourself starts with honesty and responsibility. Yourself is the foundation, and without a strong foundation, or something to rely, everything will crumble after time. With a good steady foundation, things can run smoothly. You cannot change anything in this world without starting with the man in the mirror, yourself. Being responsible and owning up to your mistakes is one step to building the solid foundation needed. Being honest is a way to gain trust with people and a great way to build a world and set a foundation. Honesty goes a long way and can sort many problems we have in the world today. Building up and changing yourself is not easy, It is a process that happens over time by repeating the process until it sticks.

My mother is the perfect example of someone like the lady in “Thank You Ma’am”. My mother wants to do good for others, even if they have done her wrong. My mother always wants to help people and lead them in the right direction just like the lady in the story did. My mother is tough, but she does not do people wring that have done her wrong. My mother always made me learn a lesson anytime I did something that resulted in negative consequences. My mother wants me to do right and wants me to make the right choices in life. She encourages me by teaching me instead of harshly disciplining me when I have done something that is wrong. My mother is tough, but she is also caring and wants to see people succeed in life.

I have found in baseball that there is a lot more to it than baseball. Its about your image and who you are on and off the field. Baseball is a condensed game of life, you’re rewarded for doing things right and you suffer from doing things wrong. As in life there are different ways of doing things in the great game of baseball. You can play both in various ways, you can play small ball, and in life lay low, and in baseball you can play the long ball and be showing out in life. In baseball as in life there are consequences for your actions. In baseball walks will always come back to haunt you and in life making mistakes will always come back on you.

In “The Necklace” I understand Mathilde’s situation. She wanted to look good and feel good for once instead of always sitting at her home looking poor. After finally being invited to a high-class party, she just wanted to feel good and confident about herself. Mathilde’s husband worked hard to provide a household and was thrilled to have his wife an invitation to a fancy party, but Mathilde was ungrateful about being invited. Her husband did indulge her giving her the money they did not need to be spending for a dress to fit in with all the high-class people. Mathilde was given a necklace that she deemed fancy and expensive. At the party the necklace was lost, and she had no idea how she would repay her friend who let her borrow the necklace. As punishment for wanting to fit in and be someone she was not, Mathilde and her husband go into years’ worth of debt after buying a replacement necklace. The necklace she bought cost more than the necklace she borrowed, which was a cheap costume necklace. Mathilde’s behavior is related to the theme that trying to be someone you’re not can backfire.  

Not everyone always gets what the wish for, but some people do. Just like in the “Monkey’s Paw” the things we wish for can often come with a consequence. Lottery winners are a great example, because they get the money, but new money like this can complicate lives. Winning the lottery can often break families apart because many problems in families stem from money. Not splitting a lottery winning, or using immaturely can create more problems. Most wishes will not make people happy because they normally come with a price. For example, in the story, a man wishes for money, and he does get the money, but at the cost of his son’s life. We may get what we wish for, but it will not always be accompanied with joy and happiness.