Thursday, February 9, 2012
Dave's Neckliss
The thing that struck me as the most crucial theme of the story was the effect labels can have. The allegory with Dave and the ham illustrating this point rather well. He held strong in his beliefs at first, but after relentless verbal abuse from the people around him, coupled with the physical ham being tied around his neck, he broke down. He became so used to the label, that he became it. He even missed the ham around his neck. The fact that he could read and was a preacher makes the fall even more drastic, and the statement even more powerful. The whole story also makes you sympathise with Julius' point of view about ham, and feel the effect of labeling as well. I know that, for a while at least, I will be reminded of this story whenever I see a ham.
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Chris, that's a great way to put it: "He became so used to the label, that he became it."
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about the immense effect labels can have on a person. While this text was originally written to talk about slavery, I think that it can easily cross over to today as an anti-bullying text. With all of the problems surrounding bullying today, I think this text shows the immense harm that can occur when one is pushed too far.
ReplyDelete-Stefanie Eggers
I also find it interesting how the acceptance of a certain label can cause certain behavioral changes and requirements. Maybe before the necklace, Dave might have killed himself in a less original fashion if at all, but since he was meat, he just has to hang himself in the smoking house.
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