Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Chapter 1 Pat Conroy

I began reading Pat Conroy’s The Water is Wide this week and I must say, it is written with words of change. Although, there are times in the reading that I’m thinking what in the world is wrong with this guy. I know he was raised in a different time and society was not to keen on allowing for change. The mood of the chapter to me is of trying to get a grip on his guilty for even thinking the way he did and understanding why he did. Denial for people back then was we don’t talk and we don’t befriend anyone that is different. Change did happen or it started to take a change when the horrible murder of Dr. Martin King Jr. happened. All Dr. King wanted was for all to get along and be treated the same (Equal). Then, the episode at the High School happened with the students and that is where the truth of how he really felt surfaced, even for himself, because he was just in denial and not really paying attention to what was happening in the world. I’m not real clear yet as to why he wanted to go and teach African American children so bad was it because he knew that the years past he looked down on them and did not treat them as equal and the guilty was just more than he could bear or was it a way to let society see him doing something that would look good on his resume’. Whatever the reason, I’m sure that in the next chapter it will be clearer of what his actions and intent are for his request.  

2 comments:

  1. It seems to be that Conroy at first was going along with the way society was set up. Discrimination toward blacks was the ignorance of the way of life in those times. It is sad to know that any race was treated in such a manner. Conroy entangles past history that makes the reader hang onto what is to come. However, I agree with your post because I didn't know what the intentions are/were for Conroy to want to go to an island where prominently black people resided. Through the chapter is tells about how he was searching for the good in people, only to see some of the negative reactions that arose from the hatred of people being different.

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  2. I think Teresa is thinking along the right lines. We're going to see more of Pat's character as the book continues. He went on to really fight for civil rights, but early on, he was really a product of his environment. It's a good lesson for all of us. How can we reflect on our own experiences and look for ways to improve, even before we begin teachings? This is a good post, and I"m glad you are tackling these tough issues early on in your reflections. Don't forget to begin with a sentence you really like and talk about why you like it.

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