Reading Log Questions 2

1.     How does Hal use blame to protect Cully and himself?  What is Hal trying to protect himself from?
If he allows Cully to take responsibility for his actions that means he has to let go of how Cully used to be and see him as he is and he can’t, because if he does that it means he’s letting go of the past. Hal cannot let go of the past. A part of him wants to keep the good in the past and the other part of him cannot get over the bad things in the past. He also does not want to take responsibility, he does not want to deal with Cully’s behavior so he pushes the blame for his failure to identify and do something about Cully’s behavior onto Darlene. “He was too angry to say anything else to her-how could she not notice?” (Steinke 130). None of this is Darlene’s fault, but Hal projects his frustration and responsibilities onto her so that he does not have to be responsible and neither does Cully.

2.   Dex begins to befriend Willa.  Is his friendship genuine?  Why does he befriend Willa?  Does he blame himself for what happens to her?
I think Dex is trying to be genuine, because he does still like Willa, however, he may also be reaching out to her due to his own guilt for not doing anything. He knows so much about what happened because of what the football players tell confide in him and what he himself saw but he’s afraid to come forward and speak. “You’re threatening me?” (Steinke 208). Dex is not so subtly threatened by one of his ‘friends’ on the team. He wants to stand up for Willa but he feels like he can’t really do anything yet.

3.       Choose an institution (marriage, government, academic, church, family, mass media) to discuss why “they” are speaking and why “they” are blaming.
One of the institutions in Friendswood that is using blame is the institution of family. Willa’s mother is putting blame on her to criticize and punish her inability to remember. She is in pain about her daughter being raped and failed to protect her so she is displacing her anger and pain onto Willa. She also blames Willa’s best friend, Dani, for being a bad influence on her even though Dani is doing whatever she can to protect Willa. Hal on the other hand is using blame to absolve Cully of his responsibility and his actions. He blames his wife Darlene for Cully’s drinking. He’s not letting Cully learn responsibility or accountability. Hal idolizes Cully and cannot accept anything about him that does not adhere to the image he has of his son.

Works Cited

Steinke, Rene. Friendswood. New York, New York: Riverhead Books, 2014. Book.

Friendswood Reader Log Questions 1 and 2 (pages 63-94)

Institutions are meant to help, protect or aid people. That is their purpose. Unfortunately, institutions do not always adhere to this purpose. The institutions in Friendswood, specifically City Hall and the EPA, are examples of institutions that have failed to protect the people.

City Hall completely ignores Lee's arguments and information about the oil spill. They act as if she's just some angry woman who wants to cause trouble. Yes Lee is angry, but that tends to happen when "no one goddamn listens." (Friendswood page 90). They are failing the people of Friendswood. City halls are supposed to be a place where townspeople can get involved and bring up issues they think need to be addressed and are able to have their voices heard. Friendswood's City Hall seems to just want Lee to shut up about the chemicals, they obviously haven't been listening to her, and keep trying to invalidate her research.

The EPA treats Lee no better than City Hall. It is implied that the EPA has been adamantly ignoring Lee. She says "Just give me the address, not just the general EPA one, but yours in particular." (Friendswood page 90). It is very possible that the EPA has just been tossing any and all information that Lee has sent, which is why she asks for the specific address of someone who seems at least moderately interested in reading her report.

Who should speak? When is it okay to dissent? (Friendswwood pgs 30-62)

When is it okay to dissent? Sometimes the world is a dark place, filled with tragedy and it seems like some fresh new hell is just around every corner. We bristle at injustices and cruelty towards innocent people or groups while others ignore or applaud such actions.

Dissent is not something people like to talk about. Those who dissent are often ostracized and sometimes targeted by those who hold a majority opinion. However, in order for anything to change, dissent needs to be present.
There is no real guideline or rule for dissenting, and everyone’s reason for dissenting is going to be different. The consensus is that dissent is ‘okay’ when an individual or a group of people are unjustly hurt and no one is held responsible or justice is not had.

In Friendswood, dissent of any kind would not and is not looked upon kindly. Lee is isolated and ostracized by the majority of the townsfolk due to her inability to “stop making a fuss” (page 53) about Rosemont and the pollution there. The readers can understand Lee’s position and beliefs, considering the recent tragedy in Indiana. About a thousand people in Indiana are being forced to find new homes after being informed that the soil is poisoned with lead. Angry, and with good reason, at the government and EPA for not doing more to help them or warn them, many of the residents can identify with Lee’s struggles, and if things take a turn for the worse, her grief. Lee lost her daughter to cancer caused by the chemicals and the people in Indiana could potentially lose their children due to the high lead content in their blood. This is more than a good enough reason to dissent.

Due to what we know about Friendswood and what we know will happen to Willa, we can assume that some form of dissent is going to happen, and most likely she will be ostracized, or even blamed for what happened to her. Like the Stanford rape victim, Willa can’t remember what happened, and people will most likely try to invalidate her accusation or what happened to her because of this. The Stanford rape victim had the two men who helped her, her family, friends, boyfriend, and people across the U.S. supporting her and demanding justice. When the judge denied her that, it became another case where the people responsible for protecting others have failed in their duty.

Who should speak? Ideally, it should be everyone, but not everyone is willing or able to speak up, for a myriad of reasons, and there are other ways to dissent that do not involve being vocal about it. However, just thinking something isn’t enough to cause change. People. Everyday people, like the two men who helped the Stanford rape victim. People like that guy that owns the pizza place across the street. People like that woman walking to the park with her children. People who are willing to give to cause they believe in. People who want to cause change for the better. Most importantly, people who are responsible for the welfare of millions of people need to speak up and be honest.