Lee Smiths novel On Agate Hill
Mariah Snow wrote, “We lose our names as we lose our youth, our beauty and our lives” (163). This quote from Lee Smiths novel On Agate Hill says a lot about Mariah and her own life. She had always been treated like a ‘second citizen’, as most women were in that time period, being that men held the power of most relationships, as well as in society in general, Mariah felt as though she had been pushed around a lot but could not even speak up. When women get married, they give up their last name, almost symbolizing that their individuality is completely gone. In Mariah’s case, once she got married to Dr. Snow, she lost her name; once she had babies she lost her youth; and she did not feel beautiful anymore because life’s stresses were taking toll, and she really did not love herself much at all.
Mariah gave up her ability to make decisions on her own. Mariah did not wish for Molly to attend Gatewood Academy but Dr. Snow made the choice for her. “But now – NOW, how dare he call me the Headmistress yet refuse to allow me the right of participation in even such a basic decision as this one? Truly I am his Servant, NOT his Partner, whether he owns it or not. Basically Dr. Snow does nothing but read, while I work my fingers to the bone, yet have Nothing to say on any topic, him determining all according to his whim though he understands nothing, I repeat NOTHING about the administration of this Academy or anything else” (147). She also gave up the right to name her own child and let her husband name her after someone she did not even remotely like. “…I will name her Susannah in hopes she will have a happier Spirit and a Lighter Heart than her mother … At last Dr. Snow has come to see the child, he has named her Frances Theodosia, for his Mother, whom I Hated with all my being”(163). She expressed remorse at having a girl saying “I confess my sorrow at having a girl, for I know how she will struggle in this world. The burdens of our sex are heavy” (163).
She also gave up the right she has to her own body, unable to control when, where, or how often sex acts are to be preformed.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
It is a very controversial topic but at least now it's a choice and it only affects ignorant teenagers who often have sex or “petting” and get pregnant and have no idea how to take care of a child or the precautions to not have a baby and have safe sex Nonetheless Margaret Sanger is a true fighter for women's rights and I admire that. As a woman who is focusing on her career it will be devastating if I were not to have access to Birth Control and have a sense of when I would want to have
For example, this girl may get kicked out of her house, or won’t even be able to support the baby financially. She might even lose her education, just trying to take care of the child. I support the idea that she learns and understands from her mistake and ultimately it was her decision to do what she wanted with her body. Rather than put her in a state of repression, the results from her experience would be social maturity and evolution. With abortion, none of these issues would be a concern, accept, then she would have to deal with the emotional part of determining to terminate the fetus.
She had an abortion. Her daughter is taken away from her. She divorced carter. Her mother was killed or committed suicide on the road. She participated in BZ’s suicide but not helping him. Her career is on the verge of collapse if not already collapsed. She is in the mental health hospital. Maria has lost everything. As Tyler Durden, from the movie Fight Club says: “It 's only after we 've lost everything that we 're free to do anything (Fight Club CITE). Maria is in a position to reclaim her life because she does not owe anything to anybody anymore. A great example of hitting bottom and coming back is a success story of J.K Rowling, the author of Harry Potter Series. She recalls "An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless ... By every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew" (Gillett). Yet she carried on and kept writing Harry Potter and chasing her dream and she ended up as the most successful writer of the modern era. She was laser-focused on her goals. That is a great example for Maria to follow. “Aside from being a good mother, her (J.K Rowling) goal was to get Harry Potter published. That’s it” (Roberston). Maria’s two goals could be rebuilding her life and getting Kate
...ther’s sovereignty over her body outweigh the right of an unborn child to live. The answers to these questions are very diverse as a result of the diversity of the American society. With the issue of abortion, one’s attitude toward it is going to be based on many things such as religious background and personal morals. There is no black and white answer to the abortion issue. Luckily we live in a country where we are able to decide for ourselves whether something is morally right or wrong. Thus, ultimately, the choice is ours. As with the many other ethical issues which we are faced with in our society, it is hard to come to a concrete answer until we are personally faced with that issue. All we can do is make an effort to know all of the aspects which are involved so that we may be able to make a sound decision if we were faced with this problem in our own lives.
“The only real nation is humanity” (Farmer 123). This quote represents a huge message that is received in, Tracy Kidder’s, Mountains Beyond Mountains. This book argues that universal healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Kidder’s book also shows the audience that every individual, no matter what the circumstances, is entitled to receive quality health care. In the book Kidder represents, Paul Farmer, a man who spends his entire life determined to improve the health care of impoverished areas around the world, namely Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. By doing this the audience learns of the horrible circumstances, and the lack of quality health care that nations like Haiti live with everyday, why every person has the right to healthcare no matter what, and how cost effectiveness should not determine whether or not these people get to live or die. Two texts that also argue this idea are Monte Leach’s “Ensuring Health Care as a Global Human Right,” and Darshak Sanghavi’s “Is it Cost Effective to Treat the World’s Poor.” Leach’s article is an interview with Benjamin Crème that illustrates why food, shelter, education, and healthcare are human rights that have to be available to everyone. He shares many of the same views on health care as Farmer, and the two also share similar solutions to this ongoing problem. Leach also talks about the rapidly growing aids epidemic, and how it must be stopped. Like farmer, he also argues that it is easier to prevent these diseases then to cure them. Furthermore, Sanghavi’s article represents many of the questions that people would ask about cost effectiveness. Yet similar to Farmer’s views, Sanghavi argues that letting the poor d...
the woman should be allowed to make her own choice, as it her body and
Specifically, she focuses on how love is the main reason for marriage in today’s society as opposed to economic or financial reasons from decades ago. Now, in other countries where women are oppressed, changing a woman’s last name obviously is not argued. However, in a country like America where women are supposed to have equal rights, it is not shocking that people like Filipovic question the legitimacy of the changing of a woman’s last name in 2017. This brings up an even bigger point-- how women see themselves. Filipovic explains it as if one “understand[s] that part of being a woman is subsuming [one’s] own identity into [one’s] husband’s, that impacts [one’s] perception of [oneself] and [one’s] role in the world”, making a woman ultimately feel inferior, after all, “[men] don’t grow up under the shadow of several thousand years of gender based discrimination” (Filipovic). The idea that in today’s day in age, a woman’s last name is still considered inferior to the husband’s is shocking, yet not difficult to believe for readers. But still, this one-sided debate continues to convince readers that she has a irrefutable
...If a pregnancy is unwanted, and the woman has to continue and have the child anyways, it could cause serious physical and mental problems to her personal well-being, but getting an abortion does not get rid of any physical or mental problems destined to come, and if she did not want to get pregnant that bad, then she should have been chaste.
...dition, so the doctor thought that this weakness was the reason she died.What really killed her was being put back into the role that was forced and expected of her. When her husband walked in, all of her feminine freedom vanished.
There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.
...dering of children who have never gotten a chance at a future, should be considered a crime. I think that this idea can reduce the rate of abortion in many ways. Why? Because she would not have to deal with a situation where she would feel afraid, or where the child would be undesirable.
She wanted to keep her maiden name, LaBelle. She simply said she liked her own last name. My mother explained how she felt it was wrong to change her last name because it shows her shutting out her family. I don’t necessarily agree with my mother. I do not think that it strips your identity to your family before marriage. You are still in your family, but by getting married you are creating a new family. Identity isn’t determined by a last name, we grow up and move on. According to the BBC article, “Why Should Women Change Their Names on Getting Married,” saying I do, can fundamentally change the answer to the question “who am I?” Which is an understandable reason to keep your maiden name. My mother said “it’s just a name, a name doesn’t make a marriage.” This is more of an opinion than pure evidence. Anyone can argue that a last name changes identity, to me, you are who you are no matter what your name
to have given herself a new name because she “[could not] bear it any longer,