Dave Saunders is a 17-year-old male, working as a field hand for money that his mother holds onto for him, because she deems him too irresponsible to handle his finances. Dave struggles to gain respect from the other workers due to his young age, as they often "talk to him as though he were a little boy" (p 6). Saunders begins to consider himself a work mule; he does all the work for none of the pay or glory. He fantasizes about the day he will become a respected man. Dave feels he can obtain this respect by owning a gun. He becomes totally enamored with the idea of buying the weapon and officially proving himself a man. Simply holding the gun fills him with a sense of raw power, "In the grey light of dawn he held it loosely, feeling a sense …show more content…
He uses the weapon unsupervised, and takes no immediate safety precautions. He shoots the gun with eyes closed, and single-handedly after “wav[ing] it wildly for a moment” in the direction of a field mule named Jenny (p 9). The weapon’s recoil is too much for him to handle, as Dave almost shoots his arm off, and hurts his fingers. Following his injuries, he places his hand in his mouth (like a child sucking their thumb) and throws a tantrum. In response, Dave “gritted his teeth and kicked the gun. Yuh almos broke mah arm!” (p 9). He blames the gun instead of himself. Dave eventually comes to the realization that he has mistakenly killed Jenny. In an effort to hide his crime, Saunders attempts to plug the bullet hole with dirt, instead of getting aid. He then proceeds to lie about Jenny’s death, claiming that she hurt herself while plowing and eventually died. Dave refuses to acknowledge his mistakes and tell the truth. Instead, he continuously lies about Jenny’s death until his mother directly asks him, “Dave, whut yuh do wid the gun” (p 9). He ultimately confesses, is humiliated, and is asked to return the gun and work off the cost of the mule. Rather than acknowledge his mistakes, Dave heads into the forest once more and fires the gun off repeatedly; he eventually chooses to keep it for himself. He proceeds to calculate how long it will take him to pay the cost of Jenny and chooses to escapes his punishment
...with the people in his town is filled with belittlement and inequality. Dave as a person was a selfish individual with a narrow mind goal to get a gun, for approval of others to look at him differently. Dave thought that having a gun will make him a man and will change the racial barrier in his home town. In reality Dave leads to killing the mule, to becoming the laughing stalk of the town, and to have to run away to start a new life in another town. Dave’s story of tragedy, shows that it is of appalling importance for a person to have a self-identity. So that in the end it is possible to avert any serious problems from occurring later on in life, therefore to prevent having a life like Dave. Though this short story did show that in the south there are implications of racial differences. The story also shows how important it is for a person to have a self-identity.
David Denby thoroughly explains the distinction between the reality of high school life to what is portrayed in movies in the article, “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies.” He argues that many of these movies are extremely predictable and all have the same story line. Denby gives numerous examples of the cliché teen movie, which entails the skinny, blonde popular girl and her jock boyfriend who, let’s face it, has his shining moments in life, in high school. Denby’s main objective throughout this article is to distinguish whether these films reflect reality, or just what we imagine to be reality. He also touches on the other side of the social spectrum which usually consists of a quiet, female outsider who is known to be smart and
Bobby Mcleod was an Aboriginal activist, singer, songwriter, poet, healer and Yuin Elder. He overcame challenges for Aboriginals at the time and fought for their rights, singing to convey his thoughts for many people and publishing a few books of his poetry. Bobby Mcleod inspired hundreds of people from all over the world to strive for greatness and think about the importance of culture, through his books, music and actions.
David Kennedy’s Over Here: The First World War and American Society demonstrates Americans connection to global society. President Wilson “called the newly elected 65th Congress into special session on April 2 to receive his war message.” Wilson’s message would impact America socially, economically, and politically; that would continue to influence America throughout the twentieth century. Wilson presented to Congress four proposals on how America was to wage war: a bold tax program, a compulsory draft of young men into the nation’s service, “for the enforced loyalty of all Americans in a cause to which many were indifferent or openly hostile, and, by implication, at least,” and the expansion of presidential powers.
A lack of communication between parent and child can lead to insufficient development of language skills, limited emotional bonding, and behavioral concerns. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen Reb Saunders isolates himself from his son Daniel by raising him in silence. Seldom few words pass between them unless they are debating the Talmud. Over time, their lack of verbal expression results in a decline of their vigor and energy and an unloving relationship. Reb Saunders does not make a reasonable decision by raising Danny in silence because it forms a problematic relationship between the two and presents each of them with numerous mental and physical issues.
In the book it tells about him and his relationship with alcoholic mother, who beats him, starves him, refuses to give him new clothes, and doesn’t call him by his name but refers to him as "it" or "the boy". At first Dave and his mother have a perfect relationship. Soon his mother starts to drink and singles out one of her sons as the family "slave". She begins her abuse by sending him to school with the same cloths on for a year and no food at all. So for a while Dave steals food from others student’s lunch bags to fill his stomach. Soon his mother ...
As a teenager David remained primarily a loner, which came as little surprise considering his parent's reclusive nature and lack of outside social contact. He was remembered as a nice looking boy, possessing a violent streak, a bully who often assaulted neighborhood children for no apparent reason (Bardsley 2001). These are common prototype traits of many killers at a young age. Even in cases like Cash and Jeremy Stromeyer, there are small indications that the child will have future problems in dealing with people and developing relationships (Aspland, 10/15/01).
To prove that he is a valiant father, Walter Younger disregards his own desires and moves his family into a better home. Doing this, Walter sets an example for Travis, encouraging him to go after his dreams. In the process, Walter causes a racial conflict with the white community and learns to stand up for what he believes in. From the personal growth of Walter Younger one can see the significance in fighting for what’s important, as well as, making sacrifices for those that one
Dave Saunders was the man that was almost a man. Dave knew he wasn’t seen as the most masculine boy and he strived for the title of being a man. But what did being a man mean to Dave? For him, it meant having a gun. “a man oughta have a little gun aftah he done hard worked all day.” (Wright 294) because Dave has it stuck in his head, that to be a man he needs a gun, he won’t stop until he gets one.
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect born in 1827. Hunt was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. His dad was a lawyer and US congressman, so their family had lots of money. He first attended Boston Latin School, and then in 1943 when his father died, he traveled to Europe to study art and architecture. In 1846 he would become the first American to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the finest architecture school in the world. He finally settled in New York in 1855, where he made it his goal to raise the standard of design.
When they handcuffed and brought him to the conference room, he raced off from four police offers and leaped through a glass window. Witnesses of the event say that he had fallen headfirst and broke several bones when he hit the sidewalk. Investigators of criminal law are looking at how the man got a gun past courthouse security.
Jay Stanley is a senior policy analysis with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. He researches, writes and speaks about technology-related privacy and civil liberties issues and their future. The American Civil Liberties Union mainly “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." They achieve the right for anyone to have rights such equality and the right to have an abortion. His part in this non-partitioned organization gives him a strong ethical appeal with this topic. Stanley sets his aspect on public surveillance cameras and his tone by using word choice. In his argument, in the fourth paragraph,
March 5, 1973 started out as another horrible day for Dave Pelzer, his mother screaming at him to begin his chores. Dave was no ordinary child, he was abused horrifically by his mother. On this same day he was released from the clutches of his mother into police custody. Dave then uttered the words “Im free?” (pg 14) in displief that he was free from the evil in his life. This quote in the book shows how life altering his mother’s anger was on Dave. High levels of child abuse occur every year and have had mental and emotional effects on children, this essay is going to argue how cruel and life altering child abuse is. Foster Homes have saved children from child abuse for years, more than 6.6 million children suffer from child abuse each year.
Is not to be overlooked. We see that Dave “struck out across the fields” and this sounds like he’s walking through the fields without any sort of caution or care. He’s hastily moving about the fields that contain nothing in them but crops and dirt. These fields are a representation of his life as he spends all day working in them. Here we can use the fields to represent how he feels about his place in life. He’s stuck in a place that doesn’t have anything for him and he sees nothing for himself in the fields. The last bit really ties together how the main protagonist, Dave, feels about his situation. He is looking “homeward” in a sense rather than towards a specific location. More of an idea than an actual place but somewhere where he can feel at home. All the while looking through a paling light. In this context we can assume that paling means dimming and it’s as if his window of opportunity is closing. He's growing frustrated as he gets older and sees nothing change. The idea of a place where he feels at home is slowly vanishing and he is now feeling rushed to find that sense of home or to belong somewhere much like Connie. Both of these characters are severely unhappy with their current situation and
...’t maybe he wants to find out the murderer and kill him? If people think he is the murderer is he going to be grievance? The emotion is just unpredictable and fascinating. But in the movie, Dave act like he is afraid of Jim and he is guilty when he sees him cry. This action strongly suggested he is the murderer. When we know that he is not the murderer of Katie, this scene seems gratuitous. Is he just afraid that Jim might suspect him?