Not only was Esther forced to hate her own origins, she also had to repress her longing to go home and all her feelings toward her real family. While reading, I realized that the only reason why she was doing so was her love for Laurence, if denying who she really is was the only way for her to be with him then she was ready to do it. So you can imagine the shock it can cause to hear the person you sacrificed everything for giving up on you and claiming that you are not worth of either his love nor his respect. If it was me the loss, anger and disappointment it would cause might lead me to consider killing myself. The worst feeling someone can feel is the loss of a life you had imagined for yourself, taken away by the one person you love and that was nowhere near deserving it.
But I am afraid this goes much further than a broken heart. Esther did not kill Laurence out of love and jealousy. She was the victim of a monstrous racism, a twisted racism that crashed her self confidence, a racism she unconsciously accepted from the people she considered her new family. People she trusted and respected unconditionally.
As a woman, I was myself outraged and incredulous going through the reading and I myself wanted both Laurence and his uncle punished. Who do they think they are to consider Esther, a woman, an actual human being, as an animal they were taming, like some kind of hypocrite charity for their hypocrite faith? So yes, I totally and completely understand Why Esther killed Laurence.
Now, no matter how justified was Esther's desire to kill Laurence, the question of whether it is acceptable or not is very debatable. The action of killing itself is wrong, regardless of the context. But violence, in all its forms, leads to violence and as all of us know, racism is a common form of violence. It is only fair to say that Laurence's death is the consequence of both him and his uncle's own actions.
Hello, I'm Sungtae Kim. Thank you for sharing this free writing. I really enjoyed for two reasons. One was because it was well-organized and easy to understand. I really liked the paragraphs you designed. You first mentioned some points in the text explaining it adequately and then stated some of your feelings. For just a little suggestion, I think it would be better to connect second and third paragrph into one paragraph. It will make the paragraph resemble the previous one and make the whole writing look more organized. About the contents I totally agree with you. Actually though I didn't cheat, the contents were remarkably similar with mine. One more thing, I found some mistake at the last sentence of second paragraph. Maybe you should connect the sentences and change period into comma. Other than that this writing was really great. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHello Aya, this is Sunny!
ReplyDeleteEverytime I read your writing, I am trusly astonished by your thought or the form you contained it in.
I've never agreed more with your opinion that violence leads to another violence. In this light, my point of view have something in common with yours. I wrote that the situation she was confronted made her commit a murder. Basically, we can find the origin of her deed from the betrayal by Father Paul and Lawrence.
I always learn sth from your writing! Phrases or new words! Thank you for sharing Aya:)