Welcome to our first reader response blog for ENG 2P1! The goal of these blogs is for you to consider an issue connecting to a short story we are currently reading in class. Think about your response to the blog topic, post your response, making connections to the text, yourself and to the world on a global aspect. Rememeber, making text to text connections can mean a variety of texts- i.e., movies, other novels you've read, magazine articles, poems, songs etc. Once you've posted your reader response, please respond to 2 other blogs in the class.
Blog # 1: After the Sirens
As far as the family knows, after they emerge from their basement, hours after the nuclear blast they assume they are the only family to have survived. Imagine they are offered a 'way out' in the form of a pink pill. Place yourself in their shoes- do you decide to take the pill, ending humanity or does your family persevere and struggle for survival as the last family on earth?
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5 comments:
The choice of taking a pink pill reminded me of a novel I read- same kind of idea, but in this instance, the family knowing the turmoil they are going to suffer once the radiation comes, decides to take the pink pill. It's actually really sad because the mother and father given the pill to their baby first, then once all are in the bed together, the parents take the pill- I remember crying when I read this. I would have to say I would too opt for the pill- I figure life has to be better on the other side, than struggle through radiation sickness. Chances are if you tried to survive, you might never recover anyways.
I think I remember reading the novel that you're talking about but like yourself I can't seem to remember the title of the novel. I see where you're coming from- the thought of struggling and loosing everthing is hard. But look at the perserverance of the people living in the slums of Africa, war torn areas of Afghanistan and other such areas. They have nothing (when we compare them to us) but still they live- they find a way. I have to think I would want to survive. I would want to struggle to keep the human race alive.
I think it's interesting that one of you said you'd take the pill, while the other one said you'd want to live. This short story reminds me of War of the World's starring Tom Cruise. Although the ending was absoutely aweful (too many unrealistic special effects) the idea was the same- the father doing anything and everthing to save his family. I thought the best part of the novel, which this film never quite seemed to master, was the indepth description of the setting- "the illuminous green lighting" seemed to really stick out in my mind. The repeition of the radio announcer's 'count down' to the blast made me feel like I was actaully experiencing the oncoming attack. I wish the author had given more information as to who attacked- although I suppose it could be anywhere- we are actually very vulnerable to attack...it could happen anywhere, any time.
I guess (since we're supposed to connect to other texts) I see Jack, Piggy and Ralph kind of in the same predicament- they are afterall standed because they were being evacuated from England because of war. (I thought the opening collage like sequence in the black and white movie was pretty cool-) Golding could have had them just give up- but then again the book wouldn't have gotten very far. Anyways the boys, all in their own way fought for survival- I think it's called 'survival of the fittest' or something like that. Only the strong survive- which is probably why Piggy didn't- he was an overweight complaining pain. Except for helping Ralph make decisions, no one had a use for Piggy- that's when people on Survivor get voted off- when they can't pull their weight.
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