Being human means accepting the things you can't change, and having the courage to face them with all your might. Sometimes this may be hard considering your circumstances. But being human gives you rights. It gives you the chance to solve problems however you think is best; even if you make a wrong decision and it means the end of the road for you or for someone else. Being human means trusting yourself, and making decision according to your own beliefs. Being human gives you the chance to think what you want to think, feel what you want to feel, and do what you think is right or wrong. Being human means making mistakes and learning from them. But unfortunately being human also means that sometimes you have to be the victim of these mistakes. The victim of other humans who make the wrong decisions. Who have liberty of choosing between right and wrong, and end up choosing wrong because being human also means not being perfect.
Lakshmi is a young 13 year old girl who lives in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is very poor, but she is able to live happily with the meaningful thing she has, her goat. Lakshmi is mistreated and used by a human whom she is taught to see as her step father. Her step father has made many mistakes in life. Mistakes he seems to not learn from. As a human, Lakshmi's stepfather has made the decision of making himself into a cruel human being. He has chosen to treat his wife's daughter as something that's not human, "a girl is like a goat. Good as long as she gives you milk and butter. But not worth crying over when it's time to make a stew (8)". Lakshmi's step father made the cruel decision of lying to her. After their cops have been wiped out, he made her dream of working as a maid with a wealthy family, and tore her happiness down by selling her into prostitution. Lakshmi's step father was able to strip Lakshmi from what a human is. A human is supposed to have the right to make themselves how they choose is best, but he made the dark mistake of taking her human rights away.
I like how you related being the victim of other human's mistakes to Lakshmi's step father. The two paragraphs really compliment each other. Also, the quote that you chose really supported how you described Lakshimi's step father.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through your post (several times actually!) it had come to my attention that it was formatted very well like a CCQC, which helped me better understand the point that you were making.
ReplyDeleteThe relation between humanity and what she had of it, because of her stepfather, was put in a very complimented way within your paragraphs.
So far in the novel, Lakshmi's stepfather seems the most inhumane of all. I love how you gave clear evidence of what he thought of women- comparing them to goats. As we all know, men and women are both human, and it is interesting to think about how we ourselves seperate eachother from other beings, even within our own species. When Lakshmi is sold in the chapter "A Trade" her stepfather sells her for 800 rupees. "My stepfather says he knows the going rate for a young girl like me," Lakshmi explains to the reader on page 53. This is another example of how he is so disgustingly uncompassionate towards his own stepdaughter. It is disturbing to realize that things like this go on everyday, where people act out of their element and behave in ways that question how human we all really are.
ReplyDeleteI really like your claims in your two paragraphs, Nicole. Another example, I would add, about the cruelty of her step-father is how he also doesn't let Ama be who she wants to be. He doesn't give her attention, money, love, nor respect ever. Living in this kind of situation (no women's rights) is something American women may take for granted, but reading this story that shows how powerful men are in other places is heartbreaking.
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