The story My Name is Margaret by Maya Angelou is about an African American girl who works for a white old lady and how she faced an act of oppression from the white old lady. The white old lady, Viola Cullinan, called Margaret Mary because it was shorter and so in order to get out of this difficult situation, Margaret did what she had to and broke one of Mrs.Cullinan's favorite casserole dishes and 2 green glass cups. I understand why Margaret did what she did because there was a time in my life where I was oppressed and my grandma always told me how to dress and how to act.
Did you agree with Margaret's choice to break the casserole dish and two green glass cups? Yes I did agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and the two green cups. I believe she did what she had to do. The time frame that this story takes place in really explains why Margaret broke Mrs.Cullinan’s most prized possessions. African Americans have gone through so much from slavery to Jim Crow Laws and for Mrs.Cullinan to go and call Margaret Mary was just utter disrespect. I don’t care how young Margaret was or what color she was, Mrs.Cullinan should’ve respected Margaret as Margaret respected Mrs.Cullinan. If I was in Margaret’s situation I would’ve done the same thing. Margaret couldn’t tell her mom she wanted to quit her job because she brought in income for her family and she tried to do things the wrong way so Mrs.Cullinan would complain about her but that didn’t work. Margaret’s only other option was to make Mrs.Cullinan angry with her so, she broke Mrs.Cullinan’s most prized possessions so that she didn’t have to deal with a name that a white old woman gave her. When have you made an important choice to either resist or not resist oppression, challenge the status quo, or refuse to obey an authority figure? A time I did not resist oppression was when I used to visit my grandma very often and she’d tell me how to act and how to dress. When I was younger I used to be more of a tomboy I wasn’t into fashion or make-up. I am more than willing to admit that my clothing choices were not the best, but I didn’t care. Every time I went to visit my grandma she’d always have something to say about my outfit or my looks. She’d say things like “That outfit is not appealing to the eyes” or “Do you need to go clothes shopping?” It made me self conscious to think that my own grandmother was making bad comments about my outfits so, I started wearing outfits that were more feminine and even though they made me uncomfortable I knew they’d please my grandmother so I wore them. I do not wear fancy, dressy outfits anymore and as bad as it is, I only visit my grandmother on holiday’s because I don’t like hearing her comment on my outfits or the way I look. My grandmother not only told me how to dress, she also told me how to act. I had basic manners when I was younger, but she wanted me to cross my legs every time I sat down and expected me to put a napkin on my lap every time we ate a meal. While I’m sure these are good mannerisms to have I didn’t like being told what acting “like a lady” meant. Again I only visit my grandmother on holidays because I don’t like hearing her telling me how to act.
1 Comment
Molly Zahner
2/8/2018 04:11:04 pm
You make a lot of great points in your blog! I agree with you that Margaret did not have many options to get out of her job and she had to break the casserole dish and green glass cups in order to get fired. Also, I think your narrative about your grandmother is a good example of how you were oppressed by an authority figure. I feel like you only seeing her on holidays now is kind of a way of standing up to her, even though she probably doesn't know it. Great blog!
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Gabrielle Heck
This blog is to express my thoughts and options on specific topics. Archives
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