The story “Shooting Dad” was about a daughter and a father having totally opposite views on guns. Sarah is an active democrat that believes in the 1st Amendment right to free speech and she believes that the 2nd Amendment could be altered. Her father could care less about the 1st Amendment and feels that every person should support their rights to bear arms. Sarah grew up not understanding her father and his beliefs; she feels that people should not be able to have the control over something so dangerous or the ability to carry something into a convenience store, as she put it, and blow someone’s head off.
Sarah grew up with a very open family that gave her the ability to choose for herself. Sarah’s parents never stopped her from viewing her opinion even if it was different from theirs. Her father however didn’t stop letting her know his views. Throughout her teen years Sarah and her father had fights about what they both felt was right and their relationship was strained because of it.
As she grew up Sarah wanted to have a better understanding of her father and his beliefs so one day after her father made a cannon she wanted to go with him and try to understand his fascination over it with him. Sarah came to discovered that she liked the feeling of the loud painful noise that the canon made when fired and the overly excited feeing that it gave her after it went off. It was good for Sarah to ask her dad to there when he fired the cannon for the first time because she discovered that she and her dad was more alike than not.
The name of the story comes from Sarah realizing that she was going to do what her dad wanted when he passed and takes his ashes and fire them like cannon balls into the mountain on the first day of open session. Sarah likes that idea because she wanted to feel the pain of the sound that the cannon made when she laid him to rest.
Sarah grew up with a very open family that gave her the ability to choose for herself. Sarah’s parents never stopped her from viewing her opinion even if it was different from theirs. Her father however didn’t stop letting her know his views. Throughout her teen years Sarah and her father had fights about what they both felt was right and their relationship was strained because of it.
As she grew up Sarah wanted to have a better understanding of her father and his beliefs so one day after her father made a cannon she wanted to go with him and try to understand his fascination over it with him. Sarah came to discovered that she liked the feeling of the loud painful noise that the canon made when fired and the overly excited feeing that it gave her after it went off. It was good for Sarah to ask her dad to there when he fired the cannon for the first time because she discovered that she and her dad was more alike than not.
The name of the story comes from Sarah realizing that she was going to do what her dad wanted when he passed and takes his ashes and fire them like cannon balls into the mountain on the first day of open session. Sarah likes that idea because she wanted to feel the pain of the sound that the cannon made when she laid him to rest.
I feel the best part of this story is that she could express the way she felt by being very open and posting things she believed in. Although, it did strain the relationship with her dad it gave her the abilty to stand up for what she was passionate about.
ReplyDeleteOur perception of things are so much different when we are younger and I believe when she matured and got older she just realized that they both had a love for art it's just that's dad's art was a little bit different than music and reading.
Thanks,
Dina
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteYour post has me thinking about the way parents choose to raise their children. In Sarah Vowell's case, her parents decided to allow their children to decide for themselves, even if it meant creating a warzone in the home.
In my own family, my parents wanted me to make my own decisions and to decide on important issues myself, but not at the expense of family peace and union. A warzone is not something my parents would have tolerated.
While I don't think it's good to indoctrinate children in ideas, I'm not sure a constant battle in the home is effective too. What's the compromise? How do parents teach children to think critically without allowing war to break out in the family?
Thanks for giving me more to think about.
Take care,
Lauren
I did like that Sarah's parents allowed her to believe in what she wanted to. I liked that her father did not force his beliefs onto her. I think that if he had done that there relationship would be way worse than it was. I agree with Lauren in that it is not good to force your ideas and beliefs onto your children, but there should be some way to come up with a compromise, like maybe not talking about politics in the house, so that there is not the battle of beliefs in the house that Sarah and her dad had.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story and especialy liked how they raised her. I was raised in a family just like that and yes it did create war zones only because we never really saw the things the same way. We all have our own oppinions and in some cases we may agree on certain topics but may disagree in others causing each of us to continue supporting our beliefs until we have the last word in. At the end of the day though, I knew that I still loved them as my parents and they loved me as well but they valued my oppinions as I did theirs and I think that's what really made me who I am today and not be a follower but to be myself.
ReplyDeleteAbout the story, I was confused at first about the title and what I was going to read so I was thinking she was trying to shoot her father like kill him but in reality he wanted to be shot from a cannon once he was dead. It was an interesting story to read.
I think that she was lot like her parents. She was dedicated to what she enjoyed doing and she was a strong believer of what she believed in. I think that growing up with your family your either with them or without them. Sarah had the opportunity to state her beliefs and be the person she wanted to be. She ended up realizing the bond that she did in fact have with her dad.
ReplyDeleteMichelle:
ReplyDeleteI too liked the way you pointed out her and her sister being raised in an open view household where they can each have their own opinions. I believe it is important that our parents influence us but allowing us to express ourselves is equally important. I must express that parents are responsible for their childrens welfare and I think sometimes it is misguided and they become keepers of their children instead of allowing them to view the world out of their own eyes and choices.
Thank you for your reading
Daye