What kinds of violence have you experienced?
For example: In Our America two nine and eleven year old boys killed a five-year old boy by throwing him out of a fourteen story window. They had seen a lot of violence and were used to it. The violence didn’t seem to bother them.
1. Are you used to seeing violence in your own environment? If so, what type of affect does it have on you? (Consider anything from fighting, arguing, and media to video games)
2. Do you think that violence can solve problems? What kinds of problems might it solve? In what types of situations do you think violence can be helpful?
3. Choose a violent experience in your book to discuss. How did violence affect the character after it happened?
These questions were written by Rakisha and Mark
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13 comments:
I'm not use to see violence right in front of me but i am in a general area. Sadly violence barly even effects me anymore. You always see violence on the television everyday like it's nothing. I do think that violence can solve problems to a certain extent. I believe it can solve problems when everyone is stubborn and doesn't want to listen or participate, like in Iraq. I believe violence in Iraq is necissary because some people are rude and don't understand how to listen and understand that other's are trying to help them. A violent experience in the book Stranger Than Fiction is "You think you're cute? Well, you're not. You're just stupid. You look fucking stupid..." (pg. 55) I think this quote is very rude and shows a type of violence. The man just said it to some one out of the blue. Violence doesn't always have to be physical it can be mental and verbal abuse also. The saddest part is that the person who this quote was said to didn't even get affended, he just walked past like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Violence is a normal thing around my neighborhood I've been robbed twice and once at gun point. On a scale of 1-5 violence around me is probaly at a 3-4. It makes me more careful, and watch everyone around me at all times. Violence really cant solve any problems it can make you feel better for the moment or have a situation under control but it can also lead to other things for more than you expected and can become worse or deadly. I dont think violence could be helpful in any situation, but thats easier said than done. When Eric Morse was thrown out of a 14th floor window it made the characters angry. It made the whole neighborhhod actually realize how bad things are it probably didnt solve things but it definitely made people think.
In the world today it seems as if everyone is used to some sort of violence. It’s as if the world had become accustomed to throwing up the “middle finger” at one another and saying that they are in it for themselves. That is the way this generation and the generation before us was raised up. In the book “Our America” there is a lot of violence going on throughout the story. It is actually a common thing. In the story the brother of the Johnny, (the boy that threw Eric Morse out of the window), after the incident was harassed everyday in school because of what his brother did. He was never a child that liked to fight but he had to look out for himself since he had nobody to look out for him. This is what I mean by our generation being accustomed to violence. That is the first thing that people do when they have the feeling of being threatened. I don’t believe that violence always solves the problem but sometimes you do have to defend yourself. You can’t always walk away from a fight or it will come back to haunt you.
Violence is not something that I have experienced a lot first hand. I've seen violence around my neighborhood and in my school. I have only been a part of it very few times with fights. I don't think violence can solve problems. I think the only reason why some people resort to violence is because frustration. Violence in forms of war is not right either because we can't expect to fix fighting with more fighting.
Violent events happen all the time in Our America. From the time the kids are very little they are beaten by their parents. Later on they join groups that influences them to commit crimes. Whenever someone gets shot or murdered the kids in the book show little emotion because they have seen many people dying throughout the years. To them it is just a part of life.
I have experienced violence mainly in the media and in video games. I personally have only experienced fighting, just a handful of times. Although I'm pretty sure that everyone has had an argument with someone at some point in time. I think that it is natural to experience this because not everyone will agree with everything people say. I do not think that violence solves anything; in fact I think it only makes the situation worse. Although for some people, talking out their problems will lead to violence; because that is the only way they know how to handle things. In the media, things are different; they show violence so that people will be interested in what they are talking about. Also the same goes with video games, not many people would be games that have no violence in them. So it helps out with selling their product.
In Stranger Than Fiction, the chapter "The Lady," it depicts some violence. A man and a woman, who was recently divorced, began to date each other. They fell in love and went on a few dates. Coming home from the third date, the ex-husband of the women was at the house waiting. He shot both of them, because he was a jealous person, and he was also very violent. It did not really say what happened to the man after he shot them, but I would imagine that he did not regret it. He had a history of violence, that is why so left him, and he could not control his anger. I feel kind of bad for him, because he was probably not thinking when he did this act of violence. But he should be punished for the crime that he committed.
Personally I haven’t experienced much violence in my lifetime. Maybe little fights in grade school or arguments with my dad got a bit out of hand. Overall I haven’t experienced violence, I’ve seen it(We've all seen it, its everywhere), but haven’t personally experienced towards myself. In high school I had seen a few fights. I look back on those moments now and wish I would have stepped in to stop it instead of being just another kid who would sit back and watch. I usually am the peace maker in an argument. Personally I don’t know about the question “Do I think violence can solve problems?” I’d like to believe the answer is no, but unfortunately there are so many people out there who only learn through violence. Obviously if you have a prime suspect in an interrogation room you won’t get answers if you’re asking questions in kind manner. You would typically have to use force. In “The Last American Man”, I’m getting to parts where the main characters father is showing aggression and abuse to his wife. Personally to me, I believe that there is always an alternative, and to try the alternative to violence first…and than a second time...and why not maybe a thrid time. It’s just unfortunate that some people in this world will only learn through violence.
The violence that I see is mostly in the media, mostly video games, movies, TV shows such as CSI. Real world violence that I see in person such two people getting into a fist fight in the lunch room back at my home school or the clips from Iraq where they show the injured and dead with blood still on the pavement from a suicide bomber still disturbs me. It makes me careful to try to avoid situations that I could become a victim of violence. It does not make me worried that it will happen to me however, but it still causes me a bit of a chill. Personally, I believe violence is something that should try to avoid at all costs, for “violence breeds violence” to quote Robert Kennedy. Only way I think of that violence would be helpful is to stop an atrocity that is refusing to back down and end peacefully, like genocide. In the book Stranger Than Fiction, Palahniuk’s father was killed. He was affected in that he lost weight so much weight that his doctor prescribed anabolic steroids and the chapter discussing what the experience was.
I see no violence in my enviornment now but growing I did alot. I saw fights and arguments often but never have I witnessed a murder.I see violent video games being advertised on every chanel i turn to so thats nothing new to me. It seems they make all video games base off shooting and killing now and wonder why young boys are violent. violence never solves problem they make things worse. People may feel they have to get revenge and maybe the outcome of that is death.
Growing up in the city I violence was all around me with in my family, neighborhood, and in my school. But then when I moved out of the city I saw barley anything. There is so much of nothing going on where I live I’m almost hoping something happens. The most “action” with violence I get in my neighborhood is a cop pulling someone over for speeding. I think that violence effects most people when its in their face all the time. Like video games, and music and even professional sports. Now days, violence can probably found under a rock, there is so much of it going around. Especially in the city, Chicago already has at least a thousand deaths, and most of them are due to gang related activities. And what’s unfortunate about the gang shootings is that some of the time they hurt somebody that they didn’t even intend on killing. Instead killing another gang member, a 6 year old girl is shot outside playing with her friends. Violence doesn’t ever solve any problems; it just causes more and more violence. Even wars between other countries aren’t good. They only situation that I can think that violence is helpful, is self defense or playing sports. In my book Stranger Than Fiction, the chapter “Demolition” describes they playful side of violence. Crappy cars are mashed together so that when there is match every week, they can run them into one another and the winner gets a thousand dollars. And to the characters in that chapter are used to it, because that’s all they have to look forward to; is the demolition every week. And the fact they don’t have to sign any papers in case they get hurt makes them even happier. This shows their more reckless side.
I have never really experienced a lot of violence in my life. Arguments, couple of fights, and video games are the most I have dealt with in my life. My neighborhood is very quiet. It’s mostly filled with little kids and adults. Seeing violence is kind of rare in my environment. Don’t get me wrong we are not the best block in the world, we have had our share of fights and arguments it’s just not an everyday thing that happens. It depends on the situation that you are in were violence can be helpful. If you are defending yourself and you feel like someone is trying to really harm you, yes violence is needed. But most of the time it just makes situations worse than what they already are or have to be. In the book Our America one incident that was violent was the description of a boy that LeAlan and Lloyd came across as they were getting on the bus. The characters described him as a drug dealer that was only 13 and couldn’t read. He hated school and he felt as if he was going to either die or go to jail by the time he was 21 anyway. This was violent to me because he was so young committing crimes and hated school. Violence doesn’t always have to mean killing or fighting, in this situation it was the destroying of the youth to drugs and ect.
Growing up on the south side of Chicago, I see violence every day. I’m used to it but I do not accept it as part of my lifestyle. My aunt lives in Englewood and she looks outside when some is fighting or when they are shooting. She looks at me funny and says, “Boy get off the ground. They ain’t doing nothing but shooting. I understand to a certain degree why she has that mindset. I mean if it happens so much than you get immune to it. I t actually feels weird when they don’t shoot.
I’ve seen people get jumped on by a gang, girls fight over boyfriends, slicing of someone’s face by a knife and the list goes on and on. The media has a big role in how we as a whole defend ourselves but that’s a conversation and a half. Some violence though I think is better than others. I think if you are walking home at night than you should have something to protect yourself. If someone takes a swing at you it is very hard to walk away with a fist following you every move.
In Stranger than Fiction, The only violence is with wrestlers purposely trying to get cauliflower, which is violent all around.
I’ve experienced some acts of violence in my environment. I’ve seen people who have done nothing get jumped for no reason. I’ve seen gang fights and almost anything else you can think of besides somebody getting shot. My cousin was riding home from the store one time and some guys jumped him and shot him in the back with a bibbi gun a few years ago. There is also a lot of arguing in my family usually from family members. My mother stays getting into arguments with somebody so I can say that I am used to it. Honestly I think that violence only temporarily solves the problem. Once you commit an act of violence then it’s a like a ripple effect. Somebody gets mad then has to retaliate which makes you have to then retaliate against them and it never stops until somebody realizes that what they are doing is childish. I cannot see violence as a means to solve any situation. In Stranger than Fiction the most violent chapter in my book is demolition. The demonists were not violent people but you see that they had a lot of pent up aggression that they used to let out by smashing their cars into one another. This shows that there are different ways to release your anger and you don’t have to go fight or hurt other people just to release your anger.
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