I usually don’t like talking about my religion, but after reading and
discussing “The Clan of One-Breasted Women,” I was excited that we were reading
something that I could relate to. I belong
to the group of Christians called Mormons.
My entire family is Mormon. On my
father’s side, his family has been Mormon and resided in Utah since the 1840s. As Williams states in paragraph 5, “Mormons have
a low rate of cancer,” (Williams 928) is very true. We do not drink coffee, tea, alcohol, or chew
tobacco, so one would think that we would not get cancer. My own grandmother got breast and skin cancer,
not even ten years ago. The effects of
the nuclear testing that the government was doing over fifty years ago did not
even hit her until 2010. Her father also
had prostate and bone cancer that ended up killing him before my father was
even born, which can be traced back to the government’s coverup of the
testing. They also lived on a farm
faraway from Salt Lake City, (where the nuclear testing could have been near). Williams states that “living in Utah may be
the greatest hazard of all,” (Williams 928) which is something I very much
agree with. I have never lived in Utah,
just visited a couple of times, but I can testify for my grandmother that on account
of the government, my family will be forever affected by their actions. This incident is not specific for my family,
and it was not specific for Williams either.
The nuclear testing of the government has affected so many other
families and individuals, and mustn’t be ignored.
“After you peed on me, I wanted to kill you” (Morrison 213). At the end of chapter 9, Lena is talking to Milkman about how he has peed all over his family. Now, Milkman is quite drunk, so he does not truly understand what Lena is getting at, but she tells him the story of when she took him to the woods, and he peed on her. Lena explains to Milkman that he was born with all his needs catered at his every whim and that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Their entire life, their worlds revolved around Milkman’s. Lena states that, “As surely as my name is Magdalene, you are the line I will step across” (Morrison 214). She means that she is finally standing her ground and is physically and mentally exhausted of carrying this weight on her back. For everything that his mother and sisters have done for him he has peed on them in return. “When you slept, we were quiet; when you were hungry, we cooked…” (Morrison 215). ...
Wow, Julia, that's so interesting that your family is Mormon. It's really crazy about how the nuclear testing was being subjected to innocent Americans. Did your family know about this before they moved here to Michigan, or was it completely random that you guys moved?
ReplyDeleteLoved how you gave another perspective to the story we read in class. I never thought that these terrible events would have affected people that I know, but your writing has definitely changed the way that I see the essay. Thanks for sharing this!
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