Inquiry post #1

Inquiry questions: How does fear of rejection stop individuals from expressing their true selves? How do friendships and connections boost our confidence?

the original text: the Friday Everything Changed  http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/kshong/files/2016/01/The-Friday-Everything-Changed-w6wb93.pdf

Secondary sources: Gandalf quote and news article

The Friday Everything Changed – a fragment from our past living on in our future.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/26/world/jade-hameister-epic-sandwich-response-trnd/index.html

the Friday Everything Changed by Anne Hart is a short story set during the 1950’s, about a remote school with a strict gender-based system for who would bring water to the school. Once a girl asks why the girls don’t get the water as well, a battle between the boys and girls begin to gain equality, break gender conformity, and prove that anyone; no matter what gender, can do the same things. Even in the world today, many people may be fighting for what they feel is right, and it could take only one person to start an entire revolution. As the story conveyed, the girls helped and supported each other through struggling times, even though they doubted a girl’s actions at first.

As an old saying goes, safety in numbers. With a bigger group, people tend to feel more secure and protected; and even going through a challenging time with just one other person would be better than struggling through it alone.

The Gandalf quote is quite symbolic to the Friday Everything Changed; as referenced in the Gandalf quote, “small acts of kindness and love” symbolic to when the girls and the teacher help each other and “keeps the darkness at bay” could reference the bullying and gender conformity. Even through bullying, threats, and exclusion from the boys; they managed to overcome their initial worry and stood up for what they believed in until the very end.

Even though in the end, the girls accomplished their goal and got to the fetch water, there were times when they doubted each other. During the rising action of the story, the girls were threatened by the boys during a softball game. The boys claimed to snap their necks if they left the field. The girls became hesitant about their decision to speak up and ask to carry the water bucket themselves; especially the girl who asked the question herself. Then a girl demanded “Oh Alma, why couldn’t you have just kept your mouth shut?”, showing the regret they had for bringing up the water bucket in the first place.

It was stated in the book that girls and boys alike wanted to go fetch the water bucket, but it was tradition that only the boys fetched it. Once the girls finally asked for their chance to take the bucket, the boys began to attack them; to prevent them from taking a privilege that only the boys had. Because of the harassment from the boys, their determination and confidence faltered. If others give us a negative response to an idea or an opinion, we would tend to abide to them and not continue through with our goal.

As the news article about Jade Hameister depicts; gender roles and demeaning language have been past down many generations into our modern society. Although, in the Friday Everything Changed and Jade Hameister’s stories are quite similar in the fact that the women in the stories were put down by men and eventually fought victoriously for their right of equality, Jade Hameister had a better chance, bigger impact, and more influential results than the Friday Everything Changed.

In the book, the girls needed help from Ms. Ralston; but Jade Hameister did it all on her own. In fact, Jade Hameister already reached her goal(s) like being a skilled skier; and was attacked after the fact. In the Friday Everything Changed, they accomplished their goal (carrying the water bucket) after being attacked.

Never the less, these stories show us that even if we still have gender inequality in our world, we are getting stronger and overcoming these problems better than before; as long as we help each other during hard times.