Thursday, April 10, 2014

Shame Question # 3

3. In a word or phrase, how would you describe Gregory's tone?  What specific words or phrases in his essay lead you to this conclusion?

35 comments:

  1. Sad, pitiful because of worlds like ashamed, troublemaker, couldn't spell, poverty.

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  2. Crushing- in that one feels crushed. For Gregory, "the whole world heard the teacher that day". "She felt sorry for me." "I walked out of school that day, and for a long time I didn't go back very often. There was shame there." I'd say that the shame Gregory felt was very heavy, and that the crushing weight of that feeling eeked through the essay.

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  3. Reflective. When he is describing what was going on, he uses phrases like "I'd rub my tennis sneakers on the back of my pants and wish my hair wasn't so nappy." The diction and placement of this sentence makes the reader feel as though he or she is listening to an elder tell about a time when they were very young.

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  4. Depressing from the use of phrase such as, "you have no business being on relief" and "We know you don't have a daddy"

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  5. "Identity Crisis"
    He hates who he is and he wishes he could be different.

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  6. Sadness
    "The whole word head the teacher that day, we all know you don't have a daddy."

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  7. Resentful.

    He uses words such as "hated" and "shame" to show the pain that he went through as a child because of one teacher.

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  8. Perhaps the tone is bittersweet. He knows that this event taught him a valuable lesson, but he wishes it hadn't been so public or so harsh. The phrases that cued me to this included, "It seemed like the whole world had been inside that classroom," the repeated use of "there was shame," and vivid word such as "squirming," "thrill," and "hated."

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  9. His tone was tragic. "I was crying". "Now there was shame everywhere". "I was pregnant with poverty". Dirt, cold, shoes that were never bought for me. Pregnant with hunger. "My momma beat me" All give off sad connotations and make the reader feel the narrator's pain.

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  10. Depressing

    "I hated that truck, full of food for you and your kind. I ran into the house and hid when it came. And then i started to sneak through alleys, to take the long way home so the people going into White's Eat Shop wouldn't see me.

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  11. Madison I have to agree with you that it is depressing.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. pity, paste doesn't taste bad when you're hungry

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  14. -prince- i think it's more about changing his situation than his persona

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  15. His tone is originally pleasant which is backed by him explaining how beautiful the girl is and how he is trying to impress her. But the tone begins to change as it progresses to a more miserable and morbid tone as he explains the shame that he feels on a daily basis.

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  16. I think that at the beginning of the story, the tone was romantic and happy because he loved Helene and wanted to present himself in the best possible manner to her. By the end the tone was despair because he saw his living situation and was ashamed. After the teacher told him that he didn't have a daddy, everything became apparent to him. He was ashamed. Beginning words: goodness, cleaness Ending: stupid, hunger, cold, rotten

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  17. Gregory's tone is resentful most likely at the teacher. " Yeah, the whole world heard the teacher that day, we all know you don't have a daddy."

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  18. Depressing

    He wishes that he could have more than what he has. He does not like what he has in life but still tries to make best out it.

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  19. Reply Andrew-
    Not to mention the teacher probably hate him for eating the paste and "wasting their supplies"

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  20. Logan, I totally agree with you on how the tone changed from pleasant and happy to sad and despairing.

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  21. Reply to Esmeralda
    --Interesting take! I wouldn't have thought of resentful, but you're right. It was the teacher's fault Gregory felt shame, so it is likely that he would be resentful.

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  22. Bonnie, I also think that it was tragic. I think he was saying how he was ashamed of who he was and wishes he was someone else.

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  23. The tone is very much so reflective. Some indications of this are the contrast in the beginning of “I never learned” and the end of “Now there was shame everywhere.” He also reflects in the fourth paragraph where he talks about who Helene was and the symbolism of her.

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  24. Gregory's tone is foolish and shameful. He feels foolish and shameful after he was embarrassed by his teacher in class. "I walked out of school that day, and for a long time I didn't go back very often. There was shame there." This quote shows how foolish Richard felt in class and that is why he walked out of class. The words shame, troublemaker, and ashamed are words that lead me to the conclusion that the tone is foolish and shameful.

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  25. Bonnie:
    That post made me depressed. I know the story was sad, but simply seeing several of the more painful phrases together intensifies the upset feelings that Gregory was trying to show. Without them, the paper overall would have sounded less reflective and sounded more reminiscent.

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  26. Auslynn: Perhaps the tone is bittersweet. He knows that this event taught him a valuable lesson, but he wishes it hadn't been so public or so harsh. The phrases that cued me to this included, "It seemed like the whole world had been inside that classroom," the repeated use of "there was shame," and vivid word such as "squirming," "thrill," and "hated."

    I think that the tone you chose was very accurate. He talks about the good times during the days he is talking about, but he also talks about the bad that he did not like. The bad is the focus, but we can tell that he learned a very important lesson from that and for that he is grateful.

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  27. Replying to Jorge Nieto:
    The tone can be several things. I agree that the tone is depressing, but it is foolish and shameful as well. He felt foolish for pretending he had a father, and he felt shame after his teacher called him out for it.

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  28. Kai: Sad, pitiful because of worlds like ashamed, troublemaker, couldn't spell, poverty.

    Nice! Simple, sweet, and to the point, like me!

    Anyways, your word choice to show Gregory's tone is spot on. I agree 100%.

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  29. Bonnie: I agree that the tone is tragic because all the events he had to though is just sad.

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  30. - Reply To Bonnie
    Great response! Amazing job

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  31. To Cruz~~
    I agree that his tone is sad. He lived a poor life, but he managed. However, he also lacked a father, which made him different from the other students. These factors build up to an entirely sad tone.

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  32. Dalton -
    Well, obviously the essay is reflective. I think the author reflects in an appreciative way, in that he now seems to value the lesson taught to him.

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  33. Reply to Christian
    I agree to you to an extent because it is true that he does not like who he is but I would not say it is an "identity crisis".

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  34. Kai i also believe it is depressing

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