Friendswood Readings 11-14

Taylor Gudenkauf
English 1101
24 September 2016
Prof. Young

• How does Hal use blame to protect Cully and himself?  What is Hal trying to protect himself from?

           After learning about Cully's drunken state on the school's premises, Hal is very worried about his son's actions.  He is very angry and afraid that his son will end up "absorbing all his own failures, and he prayed about it constantly" (Steinke 148).  Hal is living in the past; he idolizes and worships Cully.  He blames himself for Cully's poor choices and does not make him take responsibility for his actions.  As Hal remembers the glory days between him and his son, he fondly recalls how Cully could bring him "out of his funk" (Steinke 130).  

             Hal wants to protect Cully from ending up like him and having his glory days be in the past.  When Hal recollected his past, "the feeling was of looking at relics of someone who'd died.  His son still had all of that glory, the bright, athletic blue, unfaded," (Steinke 148).  Therefore, Hal will do everything in his power to protect Cully.  

            Hal blames Willa for that night at the Lawbourne's.  After he confessed to his father that him and one of his friends both slept with had sexual intercourse with her, Hal said that "there always were and always would be girls like that" (Steinke 149).  He is trying to protect his reputation by protecting his son's reputation.  His son's behavior reflects upon him.  He wants his son to have a brighter future than his own and to relish every minute of high school.

• Discuss Dex's mother's reaction to learning that perhaps Dex attended the party.  Who does she blame?  What does her response reveal about her character?

          Dex's mother "trusted him too much" to ask him where he had been the night of the party.  She thinks that the "boys need to learn that not everything comes to them-they're not entitled.  They need to stop spending so much time staring at the Internet, thinking they can have whatever they want." (Stench 179).  Boys need to control their hormones and understand that girls are in charge of their body.  It is not a girl's job to give a guy whatever he wants right when he wants it.  Men need to stop making excuses and have discipline.  Dex's mother tells her friend, "My Dex knows how to control himself, no matter what present he's offered." (Steinke 180).  She thinks her son behaves better compared to his peers. Dex's mother sees Willa as the victim and blames the boys, more specifically their hormones, for the rape.  

         Dex's mother distrusts men.  She feels that they let their hormones control their lives and overpower their decisions.  She believes that men need to own up to their actions more than they already do and not expect women to please them sexually on demand.  Dex's mother is a feminist.

• Dex begins to befriend Willa.  Is his friendship genuine?  Why does he befriend Willa?  Does he blame himself for what happens to her?

           Dex befriending Willa is genuine.  Although he feels guilty about bringing drugs to the party and not being able to protect her, he truly wants to be her friend.  Dex had a crush on Willa before the rape, and he still does now.  Dec tries to look out for Willa by finding out what actually happened that night so he can help her piece back together her memory.  Dex also tries to find out what rumors are being spread. Despite Dex feeling guilty about that night, he does not blame himself completely for what happened.  He realizes that Cully is the one to blame. 

          Dex wants to get close to Willa and be there for her; "He did't care what Dani said-she didn't know for sure what Willa would want." (Steinke 211).  Dex becomes Willa's partner for the English project.  He hopes that by spending time with her on this project he will be able to support her.  Dex goes out of his way and gets her flowers - "a nice bunch of assorted ones he didn't recognize except for the roses" (Steinke 212).  The flowers could be seen as a silent peace offering for that night, or it could be seen as Dex trying to get close to Willa.  Dex is infatuated with Willa; "her beauty rushed at him all at once, the intensity of her eyes flaming up in front of him." (Steinke 213).  Although Dex feels guilty, he genuinely wants to express his feelings for Willa and strengthen his relationship with her.

Works Cited

Steinke, Rene. Friendswood.  New York: Riverhead, 2014. Print.

Readings 5 & 6 Reading Log

Taylor Gudenkauf
English 1101

5 September 2016
Prof. Young

Discuss the perception of City Hall officials to Lee.  How do they treat her?  What quotes support this?  Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?  

Lee has a very well-known face in City Hall.  She has shown up innumerable times to speak out against the EPA and for the safety of her fellow citizens.  Unfortunately to many, her speeches and encounters have become tiresome and she is left fighting alone.  After finding the container that was supposed to contain chemicals come up to ground level due to rain, Lee finds herself at another City Hall meeting with the EPA.  As Lee speaks out about her newfound photographic evidence, Mayor Wallen reprimands her and asks, "Your trespassing aside, would you let Ms. Dawson give her report?" (Steinke 90).  As Lee continues on her rampage, Councilman Burns, addresses her saying, "We're very familiar with your work, Ms. Knowles.  And we've established that there was no container on the site the day after you supposedly took those photographs" (Steinke 90).  City Hall officials are also getting tired of Lee’s frequent appearances in the courtroom and outspoken demeanor.  Instead of hearing what she has to say, they shut her out because the EPA has higher authority.  Instead of fulfilling their responsibility to protect, City Hall officials seem to cover up their tracks and side with the EPA in order to move on with the building and improve their economy.  Officials of power are ready to move on from the past and do not want to accept that their past problems are still a current reality.  By doing so, they are putting the townspeople at harm instead of protecting them from the chemicals.

Discuss the response of the EPA to Lee.  What is their response to her?  What quotes support this?  Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?

Ms. Dawson, a representative of the EPA felt superior to Lee.  Ms. Dawson originally regarded Lee as if she were a bug on the bottom of her shoe.  When Lee presented her evidence, Ms. Dawson “held up her hand to stop her.  ‘Excuse me?’” (Steinke 89).  Lee continues to overtly display her disgust for the lack of regard to the threat against human health.  Ms. Dawson pretends to care about Lee’s study asking her to send it to her because she has not seen it, but then follows up by trying to blame the excessive cancer rates on “other health stressors such as nutrition, smoking habits, and older population” (Steinke 89).  Through imagery, we can see that Ms. Dawson is trying to stay calm and collected when Lee rambles on (i.e. smoothing her sleeve).   When Lee asked for Ms. Dawson’s email address and not the general EPA one,  “Ms. Dawson held her face very still, then calmly blinked her eyes. ‘I will do that’” (Steinke 91).  Ms. Dawson is smug, manipulative, and calculated.  She thinks of Lee as a nuisance, but she tries hard to conceal it.  If you were not looking closely, one might miss her well thought out remarks and slight facial expressions.  Yet those who may notice her demeanor, do not seem to mind her patronizing tone and mannerisms towards Lee.  To them, her behavior is warranted due to Lee’s persistence and lack of power. They are not fulfilling their responsibility to protect.  The EPA is covering up evidence, and not properly warning citizens of the potential threat to their health.  The EPA is pretending to fulfill their responsibility by stating that everything is okay for citizens to live in that area and by saying they will look into Lee’s study.  In reality, they will not look at Lee’s study and will not reveal the horrid truth of the situation to the public.    

Works Cited

Steinke, Rene. Friendswood.  New York: Riverhead, 2014. Print.

Friendswood pp. 31-62

Taylor Gudenkauf
English 1101
5 September 2016
Prof. Young

Who should speak? (Citizens of Friendswood? An esteemed institution?) When is it permissible to dissent?

Instead of asking the question, "Who should speak?", we should ask the question, "Who shouldn't speak?"  The answer is nobody.  Everyone should be speaking up and be an activist.  The more voices there are, the more powerful the movement.  When the problem is life altering, it is even more imperative for more people to stand together to create change.  

Esteemed institutions exhume a lot of power when it comes to speaking up and speaking out.  With this power, it is their responsibility to uphold morals and make sure that citizens’ best interest is always at the forefront. 

For example, in East Chicago, there are threatening levels of lead in the soil that can impact children’s health.  The amplitude of the contamination surprised many citizens.  Residents were “not informed until last month that even the top six inches of soil in their yards had up to 30 times more lead than the level considered safe for children to play in” (Goodnough 2).  The E.P.A. blamed the contractor they hired for taking so long.  The E.P.A. could have been more effective by speeding up the contractor, hiring a different contractor, and/ or give the residents updates.  It was essential for the E.P.A. to speak up and validate residents’ concerns.  However, now the residents should be speaking up against the E.P.A.’s lengthy and delayed process.  They should also be speaking up for more money to help aide in their moving and relocation.

When the government fails its people, it calls for folks to voice their concern.  For instance, In the Stanford rape case, rapist, Brock Turner received 6 months in prison for three felonies.  He was given a light sentence due to him being a white, affluent, attractive male with a bright future in swimming.  The judge feared that a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on him.  But what about the victim?  She will be forever changed by that night.  That night will have a severe impact on her for as long as she will live.  A man, who does not admit to his mistakes, does not deserve a lesser sentence.

This victim is using her voice, to help heal other victims and herself.  She is speaking out against the broken system- “…in public news, I learned that my ass and vagina were completely exposed outside, my breasts had been groped, fingers had been jabbed inside me along with pine needles and debris, my bare skin and head had been rubbing against the ground behind a dumpster, while an erect freshman was humping my half naked, unconscious body” (Baker 5). Her and her family should have been notified by the police instead of finding out at the same time as the rest of the world on news stations.  She also explains throughout her letter to her attacker that because she was drunk there was no consent.  There was definitely not consent in this case as she says, “I was too drunk to speak English, too drunk to consent way before I was on the ground.  I should have never been touched in the first place” (Baker 8).  It is imperative that society learns what qualifies as consent, and just because the attacker was drunk does not excuse his actions- “alcohol was not the one who stripped me, fingered me, had my head dragging against the ground, with me almost fully naked” (Baker 9).

One of the rights of being an American citizen is the freedom of speech.  Therefore, when witnessing a problem, it is important to take a stand even if it means that you have to dissent.  

In Friendswood, Lee Knowles, is trying to ensure the safety of all children since her daughter died from the chemicals in the ground causing blood disease.  Although the town has moved on, Lee continues to do her own testing to prove that the land is not safe.  Since no institution is taking action, the citizens of Friendswood should be speaking out; however, “People’s eyes glazed over, reading the data, but when she could get someone’s attention at an agency, or on the city council, she felt the ground steady beneath her” (Steinke 35).  When government and institutions fail the people, the people must rise above.