Autobiography 3

Southerners are known for their southern hospitality. I came from a town that has a nickname "Small Town Friendly" so southern hospitality is quite common in this area. Neighbors are constantly cooking for one another or just stopping by to check in. People always open doors for one another or help each other with unpacking groceries. Whatever people can do to help, they do. I've grown up around this so I'm quite used to people who are interested in other people's lives. However, I can see how this would be quite strange to someone who is not from around here. It would seem like everyone is nosy. Here, a person is considered rude if they don't show this hospitality. They are often deemed an outsider. I think that this hospitality helps define the southern region. It also is one aspect that causes southern pride. Southerners are known for their hospitality and they are proud to be known for it.

Feeder 3.1 Rough Draft

In the literary works of Horwitz and Mason and the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou?” the South is portrayed as a culture that feels obligated to uphold past traditions because of its overwhelming southern pride even though these traditions may be detrimental to individuals and society. In the chapters “Dying for Dixie” and “Cats of the Confederacy,” Horwitz seems to portray the South in a negative light; the southerners whom he comes across seem to be completely consumed by past traditions and beliefs that they call southern pride. They are so consumed that they dwell in the past which not only is detrimental to themselves but the region as a whole. In “Drawing for Names” Mason also discusses the detrimental effects of following a dying tradition but on a more personal level. Although the authors of the three texts seem to paint a negative picture of the southerners, they are warning people about the dangers of blindly following traditions and how this can be detrimental to society.
The movie “O Brother Where Art Thou?” follows the adventures of three “brothers” named Delmer, Pete and Everetts as they break out of jail to uncover $1.2 million that had been buried by Everetts. Come to find out, the money was only a ruse made by Everetts to convince the other two to break out with him because he could not have accomplished the task alone on account of they were all chained together. The motivation behind this deception was his family. Because Everetts had been thrown in jail, his wife divorced him and planned to marry another man. Everetts, being raised in the Deep South, could not allow this divorce to happen so he was willing to sacrifice his life along with his two companions’ lives to win her back. His pride “would not allow this to happen” therefore, even when his wife did not want to take him back at first, Everetts would do anything to stop the shame that came with losing his children and his wife as a result of a divorce. One of the other characters, named Pete, also displays this undying loyalty to his family even when he is betrayed by his brother for ransom. Pete becomes angry with Everetts when he steals something from Pete’s “kin”. Both of these characters display this undying loyalty to their family which forms the basis for their motivations and personalities, and is one aspect in which southern pride arises.
In “Dying for Dixie”, Horwitz discusses the previous symbols of southern pride, including the Confederate flag and the Confederate soldier, and how these lead to tension and violence within Guthrie, Kentucky. In Guthrie, a man by the name of Michael Westerman was murdered because of his display of the Confederate flag on his truck. Whereas the Confederate flag had previously been the symbol of southern independence during the Civil War, Westerman put the symbol on his truck for its aesthetic appeal. His girlfriend, Hannah, said that “He’d do anything to make his truck look sharp. The truck’s red. The flag’s red. They match.” Though the flag had lost its meaning to Westerman, he displayed it on his truck and as a tattoo because he had grown up around the flag. His school proudly carried the flag; it’s mascot was even a Confederate soldier. Guthrie, because it was a southern region, was trying to uphold tradition though the tradition was not necessarily theirs. Horwitz says that Guthrie had not been a rebel state yet the citizens of Guthrie annually participated in Confederate memorials such as the election of “Miss Confederacy.” This southern pride as demonstrated by the confederate symbols caused tension within society that often resulted in violence. Yet, the citizens of Guthrie blindly followed this tradition.
Whereas, Horwitz discusses the detriments to society in “Dying for Dixie” and “O Brother Where Art Thou?” explores the detriments to family and companions, Mason discusses the detriments to the individual. In her short story, “Drawing Names,” she paints the picture of a typical southern family gathering together for a Christmas dinner. However, there seems to be no happiness within this scene. The family feels obligated to uphold this southern tradition even though it no longer holds the glory and happiness of the original tradition. The grandfather is no longer asked to say the blessing before dinner, the mother no longer puts out tablecloths or napkins and the family no longer buys one another gifts but draws names out of a hat. One of the three sisters is also getting a divorce; however, she still brings her soon to be ex-husband to dinner so as not to ruin the tradition or destroy the family pride. However, in the process of trying to uphold this dying tradition, each one of the family members sacrifice their personal happiness.

Autobiography 2

Because my family lives so close together, it's tradition to have Sunday supper at my grandparents' house after church. My grandma usually spends all day cooking fried chicken, corn bread, sweet potatoes, okra and pecan pie for the family. It's usually not too big of a gathering; it's just for the family nearby and every once in a while my uncle and cousins will come up from Georgia. I really don't have a huge family. My mom is from up north so her brother and his family is in Illinois so we don't get to see them much. My mom's parents both have passed away so the family is composed of my dad's side of the family. My dad has one brother and one sister and they both have families but his brother lives in Georgia. Though these Sunday get togethers don't have alot of people attending, my grandma still prides herself in cooking a feast.

Christmas is different; we have more people over, not just the immediate family. This includes my step-uncle's family and my grandmother's sister and her husband. We usually have two get togethers, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas day. It's tradition to go to my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve and. She, like always, cooks a feast and allows each child to open one gift. It is also my grandma's birthday on Christmas Eve so she opens her gifts then (She still insists on cooking even on her birthday). Then, on Christmas day, my family gets up and opens presents and we go down to my aunt's house for breakfast.

These get togethers definitely represent the importance of family in Southern culture. These meals are traditions in my family and it is expected that the whole family will be there. However, unlike "Drawing Names," my family is really close. It is a time for the whole family to enjoy each other's company and some good southern cooking.

Response to Dying for Dixie

This article was definitely more controversial and more sensitive a topic than the previous article. It's hard to believe that people are so steadfast and obsessed in their old ways that it leads to violence. Yet it is not uncommon to hear about someone getting killed or seriously hurt because of a disagreement. People like to think that they have to always defend themselves and their beliefs or throw it in other people's faces. There's this belief that it's us versus them and this mentality adds the fuel that starts the fire. This was the case in Michael Westerman's murder. Though Michael was just a regular guy who supposedly didn't really think much about the Confederate flag, he put it on his truck so he could look cool. As a result, a group of people got offended and resulted to violence because they thought it would fix the problem or it would allow them to prove themselves. I don't think anyone can argue for these boys' actions; what they did was wrong. However, the response of the public to the murder was also wrong. Michael was just a regular guy but the public wanted to turn his death into a huge issue or attack. I honestly think that the only way that people will be able to move on from the past is when people realize that the color of a person's skin doesn't matter. I'm not saying that people should forget or be ashamed of their culture, not at all. I'm just saying that people should try to move on and not become offended so easily; the past is the past. This means that people should not look down upon people who have a different skin color or culture. However, this also means that people should not be held on a pedestal because of their skin color. A person's worth should not be determined by a person's skin color but by their actions, their character and thier merit. Only when people can view each other with a sense of colorblindness can the world finally move towards acceptance and justice.

Hey yal!

So I was born in the south and I've been raised in the south. I live in what has got to be the smallest town in North Carolina called Cliffside or Henrietta (very southern sounding names, i know). People say I have a southern accent though I really don't think I compare to some people; however, I do say yal. I used to be somewhat ashamed of my southern upbringing. I thought it made me a redneck and after college, I had this grand plan to move to a huge city and become this successful businesswoman. However, I've learned to love and be proud of my upbringing. I went to New York City and Chicago and I really didn't like the environment. I really don't think the city life is for me. I'm more of a laid back person and I'd prefer to have a house in the woods with lots of land, maybe a few horses and dogs (I love animals). I like living close to my family so that I can walk down the street and say hello to my grandma or call my cousin to hang out. It's a good atmosphere- very friendly, family oriented and safe. Of course there are a few crazy southerners in my town but there are a few everywhere. So all in all, I've had a pretty good life in the southern countryside and if that makes me a redneck, well then, so be it

Response to the Reading

Growing up in the South, I definitely met some southerners who seemed to prefer to live in the past. I used to see the Confederate flag every once in the while hanging in someone's backyard and hearing that ever so popular saying "the south will rise again." I have to say that I have to give some of those people credit; they do have a strong sense of pride in their family dating back generations when some people have no clue where they came from. However, people can get obsessive. Is there really a cats of the confederacy? If so, I would have to say that this group would be on the verge of craziness. I guess some people just want to find something that they have in common. It's funny how the Civil War was a division between the North and South yet remembering it causes so many people (Southerners) to become united.

I would definitely say that not every Southerner is obsessed with the Confederacy (myself included) and I could see how it would annoy some people. However, I think everyone needs to stop obsessing or living in the past. There is a difference between remembering the past and becoming lost in the past. If people want to remember the Confederacy, they can do so but they need to keep in mind that you can't move forward if you dwell on the past. And in my personal opinion, that goes for everyone.

Event #2: Performance at Memorial Hall

Tonight, I went to the performance of Orpheus et Eurydice by Compagnie Marie Chouinard. It was about the Greek tragedy of two lovers named Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus was a poet who fell in love with a tree nymph named Eurydice. However, Eurydice was bitten by a poisonous snake and was sent to the underworld ruled by the Greek god, Hades. Orpheus journeyed to the underworld to bring Eurydice back to earth so he made a deal with Hades: Orpheus could take Eurydice, but he had to walk in front of her and not look back when they were leaving the underworld. Hearing all of the horrible noises made by the demons as they were leaving, Orpheus looks back and loses Eurydice forever.

I must admit that the performance was not what I expected. There were really no props, backdrops or costumes. This allowed the audience to focus specifically on the dancers and their movements (minimal clothing only added to this fact). Also, the dancers were not quiet but they screamed and contorted their faces often having their mouths hang wide open and sticking their tongues out... definitely not what is typical of dancers. However, these strange antics made the audience become focused on the dancers and ask why they were behaving that way. During the middle of the performance, one of the lead dancers actually jumped out into the audience and started climbing over people and seats. This definitely caught the audience's attention. I particularly liked the introduction to the Greek myth when one dancer stood up and told the story while the others acted it out. This dancer told the story like he was in pain (this represents the Greek tragedy) and he also danced while he talked which made it seem like he and the audience were part of the story.

Overall, the performance was very strange and haunting. However, Chouinard did add some comical areas into the performance that were effective in lifting the audience's mood. It was definitely an experience that will not be forgotten; it helped broaden my horizons from what is considered to be typical and I will probably try to go see another performance before the end of the semester.