Monday, January 9, 2012

Choices

        In our fast paced life, we are constantly making choices all the time. We all hope to make right choices and not bad choices that would affect us along the way. Our conscience is the process we go through when we make choices. As for me, I'm happy with certain choices I have made which have impacted my life in a positive way and which has also put me in a better position now. We will look at some literature that will show us some choices.
    
         A poem by Robert Frost called : "The Road Not Taken", spoke about choices a man made during his journey. The road he took in the forest was much more grassy than the other road. As the other road bent to the undergrowth. He took the road with the grass because he thought it was a better claim and he would reach to his destination quickly. The wanderer of the roads didn't return to travel the other road because he thought that the travel will be about the same distance. The tone of the poem was much more melancholy, but at the time of his choice it wasn't really well thought. He decided to take the road that was less traveled by and as for that the poem says that his choice was very poor and not thought thoroughly.

         Rudolfo Anaya wrote a short story called "Dead End".  The short story was influenced and incorporated the legend called Maria "La Llorona" .   "La Llorona" was a legend about a woman named Maria who fell in love with a sharp dresser . The Guy promised to love her , but later after having kids , he disappeared from her life. Maria was so distraught , that her actions led her to drown her kids in the river. After realizing what she done, nobody was there to help her save her kids. As for the short story about "Dead End", The protagonist Maria was a high school student who was very smart and intelligent. Many people teased her in school based on the way she dressed and about how smart she was. Maria's mother passed away and she had to raise her siblings. The popular boy in school named Frankie had an interest in Maria. After spending the day with Frankie , Maria saw the figure of the woman in the
night which had reminded her that life was a struggle.  She had decided to take care of herself  because Frankie's life was headed toward a dead end. She just didn't want to wind up with him on that street. Based on the protagonist choice, she'll have a promising future while later on Frankie future might be unsuccessful.

           The setting from the legend was very similar to the short story. Maria was busy helping raising her sibling which was the most important thing in her life at the moment due to her mother's death. With Frankie she had to deal with drugs and at times the feeling of being pressured to change who she was to satisfy him. She didn't want to be lonely forever, but she chose to stick to her family. Within Frankie, she saw a handsome guy but they really didn't share any interest. Frankie was living in the moment, as for Maria she was living in reality.  I agree in  the choice Maria chose for herself, because Frankie wasn't the guy she dreamt of. Her promise to her mother before she died, about getting an education always stuck with her and she wouldn't let nobody get in her way. A moment ago I was faced with reality and I knew that with an education, it"ll take me far in life. That I would be able to fulfill my dream as A pediatrician and staying in high school was the key to success. Since my choice,  I was devoted to make my parents proud by continuing my studies and enrolling into college.