Respond to this quote, either in an essay format (non-fiction, explaining the quote and how it applies to your life and the observations you make around the world) or with a fictional story (creating characters and situations that demonstrate the quote).
Due at the end of Wednesday's class. 500 words.
"I believe that always, or almost always, in all childhoods and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met." - Marguerite Duras
My mother might be crazy sometimes but it’s all for my own good. She might get angry at me for not doing something, or get upset when I’m not home to say hi to her but it’s understandable. She is my mother and she always cares about me, that is why she is sometimes crazy. She wants me to be safe, whether it’s just checking in when I get home or when she texts me to say have a good practice or day. All mothers are the most loving human beings. Some people might not understand that love and think of it as being crazy. Most people misunderstand their mothers. Everyone thinks that mothers are there to hold you back, to prevent you from doing fun things. They will stop you from hanging out with your friends. You always think that they are against you. You think everything that they do it to spite you. Nothing you do is right. They just want to protect you. I hear kids just complain about their mothers for not letting them do this, or not buying this. They only do this because they care about you. If she doesn’t want you to do something then she will have a good reason for it. She really just cares about you. Not only does she care about you but she worries about you. All mothers worry about their children, or at least they should. They worry about your health and your safety. This is what makes them stay at home with you when you were little when you were sick instead of going to her job. She gives up her own time to help you with whatever you need. When you ask for a ride she will give it to you even if it is inconvenient for her. That is a mother’s nature. They try to nurture you into a great human being. They push you, they care about you, and they just want you to be happy. They would like to see you succeed, but some people just don’t get that. They just see them as being crazy. Why do they do that? If they ask you to do something around the house you should do it. It is the least you can do for them. They feed you and they buy you things. Put forth some sort of effort to show them that you love them. Don’t just do it on mother’s day or her birthday, or even Christmas. You should show her your love every day because some days they really need it. After coming home from a long day of work they want to see that her children love them instead of being asked a million questions that she doesn’t want to answer. Instead of asking questions like can I get this or can I get that, ask the question how was your day, or how was work? Mothers might be a little crazy but it is all because they love their children. Sometimes they need that craziness to prove it.
ReplyDeleteAs Marguerite Duras says, "I believe that always, or almost always, in all childhoods and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met." She says this in reference to how we view our mothers, rather than how strange and crazy they are in reality. As children, we view our mothers in moments to be proud of, moments of weakness, and moments of complete panic. The love of a mother is incomparable to anything else in this world, and as a result of that, creates wild responses that can be construed as “crazy.” Oftentimes the children of loving, yet protective mothers don’t quite understand the complexity of emotions it takes to mother a child. Those being raised by a woman can feel that a mother may be wrong in their decisions of parenting as well as completely insane in being over-protective, over-bearing, over-curious and over-intrusive into the lives of her children. The truth is that this viewpoint is formed because the actions and drive of a mother can only be seen by her children, yet not fully understood by them. Nobody else in the life of a child growing up from the care of a mother will intrude and have such a bond and sincere emotional attachment to that person. The feeling of being a mother cannot be felt by one other than a mother; it is something unique and often misunderstood, coming off as crazy.
ReplyDeleteOftentimes I find myself deeming my own mother insane. She protects me like no other, asks me too many questions and overall seems to take more responsibility for my life than I’d like. More times than not I find my mother making decisions for me and having no other response than “this woman is absolutely insane.” Not a single person in my life makes such rash decisions as she does, nor do they turn around and claim that they care for me when they are suppressing my joy. I realize that taking a step back from my own emotions and observing the situation objectively helps me understand that my mother is in a place of love, rather than insanity, but the idea is often distant from me in the times it seems important to use it. Even in my youth I felt my mother was a bit of a psycho. I never understood why she would jump up and scream when I ventured my way into a clear roadway to retrieve my ball. Clearly, there were no cars coming, so I could just travel out into the middle and pick up my ball. My mother saw danger in situations like this, and out of love, responded in a maniac manner. Had I realized then that it was out of love and for my safety, I may have appreciated the unusual gesture more.
Mothers always own a special place in a child’s heart. That place is one that has many emotions surrounding it, all circling back to love. Often the following, under ideal circumstances, from the second a mother gives birth, her all is given to that child. Whatever priorities she had before are rewritten with advanced instinct, care and a lot of craziness revolving around the child. Not only humans, but many species display the craziness that is over-protection. Mothers often want to keep their child under her wing for as long as possible and it pains her to see them drift away to adulthood, whether she’s aware of it, or not.
ReplyDeleteHumans are complicated people and it’s hard to generalize all mothers. However, it’s not too far to say that all mother’s wish the best for their children. This is the case everywhere, but the specifications on exactly what the mother believes is best varies. In some cases, she is right, others, not so much. Recently in English class, we read The Glass Menagerie. In that play, the mother, Amanda, is very protective and demanding of her children, Tom and Laura. They live in America during The Great Depression, so times are tough. Amanda, a now single mother, who was used to living in elegance, was then forced to make ends meet with Tom. She had to change from her previously elegant lifestyle, to a rundown house. Psychologically, it was hard for her to deal with not being able to provide for her children because there was a lot of failure. Her heart was in the right place, but despite this, what she wanted to instill was rejected by her children. Tom, a writer at heart, wanted to do just that rather than work in a factory to support the family’s expenses. Laura, who is slightly disabled, kept rejecting her mother’s insistence of “gentlemen callers.”
Mothers are, indeed, the strangest, craziness people we’ve ever met. Anyone who has encountered one can safely say that there is a tangible off-ness about them that isn’t necessarily a bad crazy. It’s a sincere loving and intuition that only a mother can possess. Though often confused with nagging craziness, it is out of the bottom of their heart.