Outside reading post

 In Oh The Glory of It All, Sean Wilsey has grown up with a life split in half. One with his mother and one with his father. This twisted life has sent Sean on a rough path through life; he has made poor decisions and doesn’t seem to care. His half brother, Mike, reminds him; “ None of us understand why you were sent away to school. You’d always been a good kid, despite your eccentricities. So I asked Dede, and Dede said you’d pulled a knife on dad and that’s why they had to spend you off. She said you’d threatened him” (Wilsey 287). Sean has screwed up his life and has made his own ethical decision. Sean has chosen instant gratification of a quick escape only finding that there is no escape from his family’s separation. Sean doesn’t necessarily say “none of this is worth it” but he does describe things he does as if he regrets them: “ Cascade was a High School made up of the rejected students of many other High Schools, opposite of the cream, the most marginal characters to lurk in the corners of a normal High School” (Wilsey 291).  Sean has been sent to a “ special” High School for troubled teens. WE can see through his description that he obviously doesn’t want to be there. We can also assume that when he talks about the marginal characters he is talking also about himself. He is almost mocking himself and what he has become. This memoir has been getting more intense each chapter. I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Stay tuned. 

OTW Post Question

In the movie On the Waterfront character exude their various beliefs of what they believe to be a “ stool pigeon” or D and D. On the Waterfront there are multiple characters that believe that if you speak to anyone about “the job” down at the docks you are considered a rat; these people include Jerry, Doogan, and the Mobsters.  Both Jerry and Doogan are witnesses to what happens when a person rats on their so-called “friends.” To these men if you squeal you are not only a “rat” but also a traitor to your friends and partners. A traitor cannot be trusted and unfortunately for Doogan, being a traitor resulted in his demise.

Knowing what position these men were in and the choices they faced I can make a decision on the difference between a traitor and a snitch. In comparison to the mobsters I believe that a snitch is nothing but someone who has the confidence to speak the truth.  In this particular case it was important for the truth to be let out even if it meant sacrificing yourself. A traitor, in this case, would be the mobsters. A traitor is someone who betrays their country or fellow workers for their own selfish desires. If I had to choose between the traitors of the movie and the “snitches” the traitor would be the mobsters and the snitches would be everyone else. 

AMS Blog Question

In Arthur Millers’ play, All My Sons, Characters make choices to act depending on the needs of their family over societies laws. Joe, Kate Chris, Ann. In the play Joe Keller is one such character; in his attempts to save his family Keller foolishly sends off 120 cracked engine heads. In his defense he states, “ It was to late. The paper, it was all over the front page, twenty-one went down, it was too late. They came with handcuffs into the shop, what could I do? Chris. . . Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you. I’m sixty-one years old, when would I have another chance to make something for you? Sixty-one years old, you don’t get another chance, do ya?” ( Miller 70).  Joe is telling us that the reason he sent the cracked parts was for his family so they could be successful.  Joe  did something in order to benefit his family even if it meant going against societies’ laws. Another decision made was when Chris, Joes’ son responds to the news. He believes that his father should have never sent out the cracked engines. He scolds his father, “ For me! Where do you live, where do you live, where have you come from? For me!- I was dying everyday and you were killing my boys and you did it for me? What the hell do you think I was thinking of, the Goddam business? Is that as far as your mind can see?    What is that, the world-the business? What the hell do you mean, you sis it for me? Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in the world? What the hell are you? What must I do to you? I ought to tear my tongue out of your mouth” ( Miller 70).  Chris has chosen society over Family, he thinks his father never should have sent the cracked engines. So much for  “ The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”

In my opinion I found the play very funny and gripping the different characters and their opinions resulted in a interesting reading. Throughout the play there was the question of family or society. Does family come first or the laws of society? In my opinion family is very important but society wins by a hair. If we didn’t have society and people didn’t follow the rules there would be chaos. No one would listen to anyone and people would be going around doing whatever they wanted. This is an example where society would be placed above family.