Friendswood Reading Log for 9/26/16

Henry Lockwood

9/21/16

College Writing

Friendwood

Question: Dex begins to befriend Willa.  Is his friendship genuine?  Why does he befriend Willa?  Does he blame himself for what happens to her?

            Dex’s relationship with Willa does seem to be a genuine relationship; however, the relationship seems to have formed due to a malicious event to Willa. Dex appears to have used Willa not being in school to gain the ability to talk with her. Dex befriends Willa because after talking with Dani, he sees that Willa has no support and nobody to talk to, and he is hoping Willa will open up to him. Dex somewhat feels guilty about Willa’s rape. Dex sometimes gives pills to Cully and his friends, and there is a possibility that his pills were the ones used to sedate Willa. As we can see in the relationship between Dex and his mother, Dex has a very protective personality for those he loves. When Bishop, Trace, and Cully mocked Willa by calling her “trouble… crazy and a liar” (Steinke 215) Dex stood up for her and proceeded to fight the boys, knowing of a possible suspension. Dex has strong feelings for Willa both as a friend and romantic interest, and he will continue to support Willa and be there for her.

How does Hal use blame to protect Cully and himself?  What is Hal trying to protect himself from?

            Hal is stuck in the past, which prevents him from moving on through his life. He is always reminded about his alcoholic past and poor choices he made in his family life. Cully has been having a slump in football and Hal doesn’t want his son to give up. Cully is an important player on the team, so when he doesn’t do well, the team doesn’t do well. After a devastating loss, Hal tells his son, “you’ve got to get your defense to bulk up, not be so afraid to hit” (Steinke 205). Hal blames the other players on the team to protect his son from taking it out of himself. One of the implications of blame is to discharge pain and discomfort. Hal is blaming the other players so Cully doesn’t need to feel the guilt and pain of the loss. Hal also blames Willa for the rape, rather than accepting it was his son, to protect his feelings and memories about Cully. Hal told himself “there will always be girls like that” (Steinke 149). Hal does not want to see his son as a rapist so he blames Willa for tempting his son into having sex with her; though this appears to not be the case.

Choose an institution (marriage, government, academic, church, family, mass media) to discuss why “they” are speaking and why “they” are blaming. 

                A major institution that plays a role in Friendswood is family. Family is always supposed to support you and your actions, and to care for you when you are in a time of need. However, Willa seems to not be getting the true support she needs. Instead of comforting Willa, her parents seem to be focusing mainly on how to cover up the incident to protect their family. Willa’s parents are angry with her, as seen when they come home from church. This may be because people are starting to talk about it and Willa’s parents are upset over the fact. Willa states, “[her parents] seemed to be angry with her – it was in the pinch of her mother’s smile, in her father’s averted eyes” (Steinke 220). Her family is blaming her for the situation they are now in and are taking it out on Willa through anger. Since it is a small, highly religious town, rumors can spread, putting shame on Willa’s family. Willa’s parents are also blaming other people to protect their parenthood. Parents have a duty to protect their children, so when something tragic happens, parents tend to blame themselves. By blaming others, they relieve themselves of the pain that is being caused to them. The town is also very religious, which can cause bitterness towards Willa from the members of society. In the Christian religion, it is sinful for a woman to lose her virginity before marriage. Willa is now no longer a virgin which may cause her to be shunned by the community. Willa’s parents are “speaking” by not speaking about the situation. They are hoping it all gets resolved and they are able to move on.

 Work Cited

Steinke, Rene, Friendswood. New York: Riverhead, 2014. Print.

Question: Class readings 5 & 6 introduces Lee taking on both the EPA and City Hall.  In class we have learned about these institutions. Discuss the perception of City Hall officials to Lee.  How do they treat her?  What quotes support this?  Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?  

     This section of the novel hasn't been Lee's first time at City Hall. She has been there plenty of times to report her findings, yet they never seem to give her the time of day to actually take her information into consideration. During her argument with the city counsel and the EPA representative, Lee states "how many times have I been here saying the same thing?  Twenty times? Thirty times? A hundred times? ...and I'll say it again...because nobody goddamn listens" (Steinke 90). City Hall ignores Lee, treats her as gnat, and disregards all the evidence she brings forth. Councilman Burns expressed his annoyance with Lee when he said "Alright, there.... we're very familiar with your work, Ms. Knowles" (Steinke 90). This shows that Lee has presented her findings many times to the council, yet they have not taken anything into consideration. Also, when they went out to look at the site, they did not see anything Lee saw when she went out earlier in the novel. The city does not seem to be holding up their duty to protect the people and seem too preoccupied with helping Avery Taft gain the ability to turn Rosemont into real-estate opportunities.

Question: Discuss the response of the EPA to Lee.  What is their response to her?  What quotes support this?  Are they fulfilling their responsibility to protect?

     The EPA representative had a similar response as the city council towards Lee. Ms. Dawson was very negative to Lee and didn't take Lee's findings into consideration. When Lee was discussing her findings with Ms. Dawson, Lee was told to send her research to the EPA; however, Lee demanded her findings be sent directly to Ms. Dawson, not the general EPA address. When Lee said this, Ms. Dawson "held her face very still, then calmly blinked her eyes" (Steinke 91). Ms. Dawson's response showed
she wasn't fazed by Lee's remarks and that she probably won't take Lee's findings into consideration. The EPA is fulfilling their responsibility to protect by conducting research in the Rosemont area; however, they are not doing this to their full potential in the fact that are ignoring the blatantly obvious evidence of human harm. Ms. Dawson tossed Lee's statistics of cancer rates and other figures due to the pollution in and around the Rosemont area.

Work Cited
Steinke, Rene. Friendswood. New York: Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA, 2014. Print.

When is it okay to dissent?

Question: When is it okay to dissent?

    
To dissent means to hold opinions which vary to those previously or commonly held. Typically in society people tend to go along with what the majority believes in. This way they are able to fit into a group and not stand out or be shunned in their own community. However, in certain circumstances people speak out, and sometimes those people change society or even the world. These are the people who we remember and go down in history; not those who join on the bandwagon and follow everyone else.

     One good reason to dissent from the majority is if the belief is hurting people. In Friendswood, the common belief of the town is that the soil surrounding the town is healthy according to the tests done by the EPA. However, one of the main characters, Lee Knowles, has taken it into her own hands to construct her own tests on the polluted soil, due to the death of her daughter because of the chemical pollution. In her own eyes Lee has become “the unofficial guardian” (Steinke 6) of Rosemont; however, her obsession seems in vain to other members of the society. Lee hopes her new research will “redeem her” (Steinke 11) as she is seen as crazy to her neighbors, such as Hal. Lee hopes her newly acquired information and evidence of the unsafe conditions will open up the public’s eyes in order to permanently deal with the situation. In East Chicago, a real-life example of the problems Friendswood is facing is occurring. Local residents of housing complexes, such as Stephanie King, are being evacuated from their homes due to unsafe and possibly lethal levels of lead in their soil, which is also being found in homes. Like in Friendswood, the EPA stated that the levels of contamination of the soil was “‘under the level [they were] concerned about’” (Goodnough 2). Like Lee, the residents of the buildings are trying to raise awareness about the horrible situation they find themselves in.

            Another reason to dissent is if the situation has to do with legal matters. In January 2015, two Stanford University students found a girl being sexually assaulted behind a dumpster on campus. Many people may have moved along, not wanting to get themselves involved; however, they did the right thing and caught the assaulter. In the novel Friendswood it is hinted multiple times that a main character Willa may be sexually assaulted at some point during her story. It is clear that Willa has a crush for Cully. When Cully touches her lightly on the shoulder, Willa “feels the wind go out of her” (Steinke 60). During the story of Dex, who has a crush on Willa, it is hinted that he will be there for Willa during her time of need. He may also be her savior, just as the boys helped save the girl who was sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus. Sometimes if a girl is sexually assaulted, society makes it seem like it was her fault and she faces negative repercussion because of it. If this is the case, Dex may dissent from those beliefs and stand up for Willa because of moral values. If society goes against your moral judgement, it is a valid situation to break away from society and follow your values.

This is a reading of the victim's letter to the man who raped her.