When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?
I would call Richard a "bad" boy because he lets his curiosity get the better of him, and he uses poor judgment when faced with temptation. However, I do not blame him entirely for being "bad". Lack of common sense adds to Richard's horrible actions. When Richard decides to light his curtains on fire, he ends up burning the whole home down and clearly lacks any sort of wise thought process, "My idea was growing, blooming. Now I was wondering just how the long fluffy white curtains would look if I lit a bunch of straws and held it under them. Would I try it? Sure" (4). Richard clearly was not thinking during this time. During the first two chapters, Richard proceeds to kill a cat, become a young drunk and loiter at the local saloon, repeat obscenities to his family and public, and mainly disobey his mother's orders. I would consider these all "bad" things, but again, I do not blame Richard for being a "bad" boy.
In this case, I would mainly blame Richard's obscene behavior on the environment he lives in. Richard has grown up in rough parts of town, and has also been moved frequently. He also has had little education and structure in his life. Due to the lack of education and order in Richard's life, his boredom leads to his nasty behavior. I think Richard also acts so poorly because he feels the need to rebel against the cruel and abusive authority figures in his family. His mother, grandmother, and other family figures scold and beat him so often that it is no longer effective. When Richard and his brother and taking baths, they blatantly ignore their grandmother's orders and continue to disobey her, "'Stop that foolishness and wash yourselves!' 'Yes, ma'am,' we answered automatically and proceeded with our playing"(41). Behavior should be blamed on the environment if it contains poor models that people grow up with believing is acceptable. If this environment lacks any effective discipline, structure, or model behavior, then most likely the children living in it may be corrupt. Behavior should be blamed on the person if they mentally choose to be horrible and are horrible with a purpose. If they choose to take the negative path of actions and are aware of the consequences, then I believe that person should be blamed for being "bad".
-A
3 comments:
Amanda,
Your ideas are really solid and you have alot of good examples, although i do disagree with the statement that Richard is a bad boy. I don't think he is bad becasue he doesn't think things through. He was only 4 years old when he lit the curtains on fire, and i don't think any 4 year olds think about their actions before they do them. I do not think it was his fault he was young and curious.
Amanda,
I agree with your statement that Richard is a bad boy, and that the decisions that he makes are affected by his environment. This makes sense, becuase his mother isn't around that often to watch over him, and he often just finds himself in trouble. I also really liked how you showed that because of all the beatings that the mother, and grandmother gave, the boys don't really care anymore, and it makes it even more difficult on Richard to fall into the bad boy area.
Amanda, for the most part, I agree with what you are saying. But consider this, if a little kid was taught that right was wrong and wrong was right, then is it his fault if he makes the wrong (for him 'right') choice? It's not right to judge someone just because they appear to be 'bad'. We need to really understand and analyze WHY he does what he does. Great thoughts and analysis.
-Ryan
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