Whore House or Beauty Parlor?

In this blog I’d like to explore what happened at Mrs. Maureen’s when Betsey ran away. To me it sounded like Mrs. Maureen ran a beauty shop up front for all the well to do black ladies and then as soon as you passed through the swinging door, or if it was an odd hour it was like she was running a bordello. When Betsey mentions all of the money that the people keep putting onto the table. She also mentions how people are strolling around half dressed. It’s unclear to me why Mrs. Maureen gives people back some money after she picks it all up off the table. Are both the men and women prostitutes? My other theory is that they could be a drug den in addition to a whore house. I think the entire part about Mrs. Maureen was kind of a strange interlude in the story. I think it was fitting that Betsey ran into Regina again and that Regina had fallen into hard times. Betsey LOVED Regina, and I don’t think her view of love or kissing was altered by seeing Regina’s hardship. I think Betsey truly believed that Roscoe was going to send for her. I also think it was interesting that Jane followed Betsey’s example and ran away when the going got tough at home. I really wonder where she went all that time. Was it like in The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and the mother went to a mental hospital to calm down? That was the first thought that came to mind. Overall the book left me with more questions then it did a feeling of satisfaction.

Outline of Essay

Although parents and other adults often seek to shelter adolescents from sexuality, this approach typically backfires and causes adolescents to explore sexuality without knowing important information about the dangers of what they are doing. It also leads the adolescent into rebellion against their parents, usually in a sexual nature. An example of this situation can be seen in the American book Charlotte Temple.

However, parents who are open about sexuality seem to have children who grow up well rounded and without any major sexual or emotional issues. An example of this can be seen in the Judy Blume book, Forever.

The typical American teenager is a blending between the old school way of thinking and parenting and the more progressive way of parenting. With high school health class being of litter to no help what-so-ever.

Charlotte Temple: (The character of Charlotte)

Knows nothing about sex or relationships

Asks LaRue, the authority figure in her life

Explores sex without pertinent information and under false pretenses

Goes against parents wishes by leaving England

Gets pregnant

Dies

Forever: (The Character of Katherine)

Has parents who talk to her about sex

Strikes out in a responsible way to learn more information (planned parenthood)

Has a responsible sexual relationship with Michael

Eventually has feelings for another boy, and ends her current relationship

Moves on with life

Has no major emotional or physical scarring from her experience

Typical American Teenager:

Learns false information about sex from peers

Learns unrealistic information in high school health class

Has parents that wont talk about sex or relationships

OR

Has parents that wont allow ANY relationships

Child rebells against parents by moving to fast sexually

One of two outcomes presents itself:

Child gets through adolescence without any major problems

OR

Child gets pregnant, an STD, or somehow abused before the end of adolescence.

A good conclusion that wraps it all up.

Huckleberry Finn

I think that Huckleberry Finn is a lively tale of a boy making his way in the world. Like the river the story flows from place to place, con to con, and character to character with only Huck and Jim being constant. I think that Twain captures the time just like a good painting or movie. His descriptions are vivid and bold, and hold the readers attention throughout. I think that Huck is the quintessential adolescent boy. He is brave and strong and adventurous, but still naive about the world around him and the injustices that many people faced. His relationship with Jim is so important to his development not only as a character in the story but also his growth from being a boy to being a man. Society would have viewed Huck as better then, or worth more then Jim. It is interesting then that Huck did not perceive himself as having greater worth or being better or high class then Jim. He viewed Jim as his equal. The mental struggles that he faces throughout their journey down the river show how Huck fought against common perceptions and ideals and created his own path, both by way of thinking and of actions. I don’t believe that either could have survived the journey without the other. They were entirely codependent, yet Huck still looked up to Jim as a father figure. I found the sections of the story when Huck and Jim were separated, possibly forever to be the most fascinating in terms of what each was thinking. Huck might have helped Jim to freedom, but Jim freed Huck from the constraints of societal norms and ideals, and that is what the journey was all about.

Modern Charlotte Temple

Charlotte is a high school junior at Beachwood. She is also the head of the abstinence club. Her elicit boyfriend Monty, captain of the football team, is about to graduate and go off to OSU:

Monty tells Charlotte, “I promise we will always be together, lets just seal they deal.”

“I don’t know” says Charlotte thinking about how her parents would feel if she broke her vow of abstinence, or even found out about Monty in the first place. “I really don’t think its such a great idea.”

Monty takes a deep breath and then tells Charlotte that if they sleep together now she will be proving that she wants to be with him forever, and that it will give him something to think about always while he is away at school. Eventually Charlotte gives in and they sneak off under the bleachers. Right after they are finished they hear a noise very close by. They freeze when they see Charlotte’s school guidance counselor, Ms. Larue, who also happened to be the faculty advisor to the abstinence club. Ms. Larue stops in her tracks when she see the pair. She turns and starts to walk away and the couple hear her muttering something like “ahh young love...” Charlotte is extremely confused by this, but happy that she doesn’t seem to be in trouble.

By the end of the summer Charlotte had told Monty that their affair under the bleachers has resulted in her becoming pregnant. She begs for him to stay in town so that they can be together when she has the baby. Monty refuses to stay, but tells Charlotte that he will be home when the baby is born, he just needs to spend at least this first semester down at OSU because he already paid his deposit. Charlotte is heartbroken, but consoled that at least her parents won’t find out. They had both committed to join Doctors without boundaries for a year and would be overseas.

February rolls around and the baby is coming soon. Charlotte has not heard from Monty in over a month, despite frantic texts, emails, and facebook messages. She decides to go down to Columbus to confront him. She is almost to OSU when her car breaks down and she becomes stranded. She starts to walk, and it starts to snow. She makes her way 10 miles down the road before collapsing. A passerby picks her up and takes her to his house just off campus. He finds her father’s cell number and lets him know what’s going on. Her father jumps on the next plane out of Haiti.

Charlotte delivers her baby, and is not doing well afterwards. She is begging for the kind gentleman to get Monty from school but he’s still not answering his calls. Charlotte’s father arrives the next day and sees his daughter and granddaughter right before Charlotte flatlines.

Monty only learns of what has happened when the girl he’s been sleeping with answers his door and Monty is handed a summons to appear in court.