Debunking the Myth

Watkins 1

Morgan Watkins
Mrs. Parkinson
English III
12 April 2016

On Dumpster Diving

       Lars Eighner seemed very educated. Based on the fact that I had to look up almost ten words in the dictionary showed that. He was a Dumpster diver and he himself debunked that myth of Dumpster diving. He speaks very highly of Dumpsters, saying in the first paragraph,  "Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters" (Eighner 712). When he said this, he showed us that he was us, looking at Dumpsters, but he admired them instead of being disgusted by them. He later introduced a specific stigma that new Dumpsters, or scavengers as he liked to call them and himself, "cannot erase from their mind" (Eighner 718). This new scavengers cannot get over how gross it all is, but then, it passes with experience. True scavengers, have only a few "precious" (Eighner 720) courtesies. One of them is that they hate to have good stuff go to waste, so what they will do is set it out in plain sight for other scavengers to have, a sort of community, even when the other scavengers are competition.

      The way that Eighner talked about the scavengers so highly and how intricate their lives actually were, it made us realize that Dumpster divers are actually scavengers, and they are educated and they are smart--they have to be smart--so that they can pick out what's good and what's bad. Eighner completed debunked the stigma using his tales of scavengers, but mostly using himself. 

Dreams

Morgan Watkins

Mrs. Parkinson

English III

15 March 2016

Dreams

    For so long, George and Lennie had a dream: A dream to “live off the fatta the lan’ ” (Steinbeck 14). They were working towards this goal to buy a plot of land for sale that has kept them motivated for a long time. The only thing was, George never thought it was going to happen. It was just a nice dream that comforted Lennie. But as soon as Candy offered his money and his will, George and Lennie realized “This thing they had never really believed in was coming true” (Steinbeck 60). The visualization of a goal, helped make their dream happen. This visualization is similar to the cross country coach telling us to set our goals for the season; especially the BHAG—Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Our coach has us set these huge goals to reach during our season that we think might be unreachable. Our picturing of this BHAG actually gives us a better chance of reaching it. In this case the house and the farm and the land was the BHAG. And George and Lennie—with the help of Candy—are that much closer to making it a possibility.

Tableau

Morgan Watkins

Mrs. Parkinson

English III

7 March 2016

“Tableau” by Countee Cullen

Countee Cullen titled a scene between two kids—one black and one white—“Tableau”, which is a picture or scene that is striking. Striking can either mean impressive, noticeable, or both. The boys are both noticeable and impressive when they are getting judged and stared at behind “lowered blinds”(5) by the “dark folk”(5), as the author compares them to “That lightning as brilliant as a sword”(11). And yet, they do not think of themselves as noticeable or impressive. “Oblivious to look and word / They pass, and see no wonder”(9-10). The boys are in pleasant oblivion. Just as they ignore, we should ignore. Do not listen to the whispers and the gossip and be in that pleasant oblivion.