Justin Torres
Read: Justin Torres, “Lessons” (https://granta.com/lessons/)
Write:
a) What do you think are the most effective/impactful two lines in the story? Quote them using signal phrases.
b) Explain in detail why you found these lines to be so effective.
a) One of the most effective/impactful lines of the story is “‘This is your heritage,’ he said, as if from this dance we could know about his own childhood, about the flavour and grit of tenement buildings in Spanish Harlem, and projects in Red Hook, and dance halls, and city parks, and about his own Papi, how he beat him, how he taught him to dance, as if we could hear Spanish in his movements, as if Puerto Rico was a man in a bathrobe, grabbing another beer from the fridge and raising it to drink, his head back, still dancing, still stepping and snapping perfectly in time.” (para. 13).
ReplyDeleteThe second most effective/impactful line of the story is “And Ma, who had nearly drowned me, who had screamed and cried and dug her nails down into me, who had been more frenzied and wild than I had ever known her to be – Ma, who was so boiling angry that she had made Manny sit up front with Paps and she had taken the middle back, wrapping her arms around us – Ma replied by reaching across me and opening the door as we sped along.” (para. 22).
b) The line of paragraph 13 is one of the most effective because it allows us to understand the father's background. We can understand and empathize with his behavior. The father acts according to his upbringing; according to his culture, which he tries to pass on to his children while saying "This is your heritage". This line is telling us that the father is Puerto Rican, is an alcoholic, and that his own father had a strong influence on him - he used to beat him and taught him how to dance. Knowing all that, it makes more sense to us the way the author's father is raising him and his siblings. We discover the reason why the father spanks his children, but then cooks for them, takes care of them, among other behaviors that the author recounts throughout the story.
The line of paragraph 22 is the second most effective line I found because it allows us to compare the behaviors of both parents and determine if it is a healthy environment for the author and his siblings. In this line, the author tells us how the mom almost drowned him and then, to top it off, threatened to throw him out the door while the car was in motion. This behavior shows us that the mother is not caring for her children and may even be mentally unhealthy. In the narrative, the author does not emphasize his mom that much. Thus, we do not have enough information to know the background or characteristics of his mother. All we can conclude is that the family environment is not very healthy for the author and his siblings.
-Angelys Rivera
02/28/2022
a) “Lessons” by Justin Torres narrates the struggles within a toxic and abusive household. Its powerful and moving descriptions urges the reader to analyze and reflect on precarious circumstances and effects on the children in the family. An impactful and effective line in this story is: “And when our father was gone, we wanted to be fathers.” (Lessons, pg. 1, par. 5).
ReplyDeleteAnother effective and impactful line in the story is: “Of course, it was impossible for me to answer her, to tell the truth, to say I was scared. The only one who ever got to say that in our family was Ma, and most of the time she wasn’t even scared, just too lazy to go down into the crawlspace herself, or else she said it to make Paps smile, to get him to tickle and tease her or pull her close, to let him know she was only really scared of being without him. But me, I would have rather let go and slipped quietly down to the lake’s black bottom than to admit fear to either one of them.” (Lessons, pg. 3, par. 29)
b) The quote: “And when our father was gone, we wanted to be fathers.” from “Lessons” by Justin Torres, is effective and impactful because of its emotional heaviness and analytical interpretation. According to the story’s context and descriptions, the main character’s father is sexist, abusive, distant, and, to some extent, manipulative. These children have a father figure that represents an erroneous conception of what a father truly is. This conception, depending on how the children decide to manage it with the unavoidable trauma, will affect them for the rest of their lives and future relationships. Furthermore, this behavior reflects a vicious and toxic coping mechanism that consists of being abused and returning the abuse to another being.
The second most impactful and effective quote in the story highlights how the narrator feels in his household. According to the quote, it’s obvious the child is afraid to be himself and be truthful about his feelings. These circumstances are mostly due to the “macho” ideals enforced at home and the dominant and distant relationship between the parents and children. The reader confirms the parents aren’t as involved in their children’s lives as they should be. They can also interpret that the parents don’t care for their children’s feelings. Therefore, the importance of sharing and facing emotions isn’t enforced so sexist standards are met and avoid disrupting their parents’ independent and separate lives. Moreover, the narrator explains only his mother seems to be “honest” about her feelings. However, not even then, the mother’s feelings are genuine. It appears ulterior motives and manipulation are the only reason why the narrator should share his feelings.
-Pennélope Alers
03/01/2022
In the story “Lessons” by Justin Torres, the most impactful lines are the following:
ReplyDelete1. “ Ma replied by reaching across me and opening the door as we sped along. I looked down and saw the pavement rushing and blurring beneath, the shoulder dropping away into a gravel pit. Ma held open that door and asked, ‘What? You want me to teach him how to fly? Should I teach him how to fly?’” (Lessons, 3. The Lake, par. 9)
2. “Manny rolled his eyes and kept dancing, and so we got in line and kept dancing too” (Lessons, 2. Heritage, par. 3)
The reason I chose quote (1) is because I found it to be a bit shocking. I know she was mad for what her husband did to both of them but grabbing his son and opening the door to prove a point, while they were driving close to a pit, was very irresponsible. If Justin's dad took a hole or something, he could have fallen and gotten himself really hurt, or even worse he could have died. In quote (2) we can see that they are happy. Aside from the bad things that happened in the story, we see that Joel, Manny and Justin are bounding with their father and they are having a good time dancing together, which seems that for Justin it was a good experience because he remembered it and decided to write in this story, maybe to show that his dad wasn't a bad person or at least that's what i think.
-Jekxelmaniel Martínez
Impactful lines:
ReplyDelete1. “We knew there was something on the other side of pain, on the other side of the sting.” (Lessons 1. We Wanted More paragraph 8)
2. “And the whole car erupted in laughter; all was okay again.” (Lessons 3. The Lake paragraph 22)
Explanation:
1. For me it looked like he was excusing his father’s behavior, like it was for their own good. In his mind, the beatings had a purpose. Maybe he was trying to excuse his father to make him less horrible, because he is suppose to love him. I can understand this because I think what children mostly want and need is to feel loved, especially by their parents.
2. It looks like they are used to this kind of behavior. Where the parents mistreat them and then act like nothing happened. No accountability, regrets, or consequences. Like it is normal to abuse your children. The parents even sounded amused by the whole ordeal and the children probably had to go along for their own good.
- Miranda Martínez
Justin Torres in the story "Lessons" presents the life of a dysfunctional family. Through the narration of one of the sons of the family, we can appreciate the neglect and abuse by their parents.
ReplyDeleteA striking quote from the reading was the following: "We wanted more. We knocked the butt ends of our forks against the table, tapped our spoons against our empty bowls; we were hungry. We wanted more volume, more riots. (...) We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet; we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more." (p. 2) In this quote the children demonstrate a hunger that goes beyond food; these children express a hunger for attention, guidance, security, stability, etc. These needs are things that their parents did not provide for them. All children need that supportive role in their life, whether it comes from parents or not. Therefore, these three children, to some extent, had to fulfill the role of a parent to create a "balance" in their life. Moreover, it’s unfortunate to see how this child portrayed this reality as "normal".
On the other hand, another quote that impacted me was the following: "But me, I would have rather let go and slipped quietly down to the lake’s black bottom than to admit fear
to either one of them.” (p. 6) Continuing what was mentioned in the last paragraph, the image of a father should radiate trust, love, friendship, etc. Something these children did not feel with their parents. There is a fine line between learning to respect and learning to fear. Evidently in this situation, fear was the prevailing feeling among the children. Furthermore, what a child should learn is to have fun, not to be a parental figure to those around them.
- Amanda Quiñones 03/02/2022
a)
ReplyDeleteOne of the most impactful lines appears when the author writes “we wanted to protect her, this confused goose of a woman, this stumbler, this gusher, with her backaches and headaches and her tired, tired ways, this uprooted Brooklyn creature, this tough talker, always with tears when she tells us she loves us”. Also, the author creates a powerful imagery when he adds “as if Puerto Rico was a man in a bathrobe, grabbing another beer from the fridge and raising it to drink, his head back, still dancing, still stepping and snapping perfectly in time”.
b)
The narrator describes the three boys’ eagerness to have it all. They were never satisfied and would do anything to get what they wanted. Then, the plot changes when their mother goes to sleep. Suddenly, everything becomes calm and quiet. I understand the behavior change observed in the first line reflects the comfort they find in their mother. She represents a place of peace, security, and stability. Her work, love, and personality made them acknowledge what is truly valuable, family love.
I found the second line powerful since I can see myself in that environment. When I was little, my father cleaned the house with a beer in his hand and El Gran Combo bursting through the speakers. He always reminded me of the importance of music. Each song narrates a crucial moment in the history of Puerto Rico; they talk about racism, abuse of power, and sexism. Memories may fade, but songs remind us about our past, our heritage. Like the narrator points out, music represents the essence of Puerto Rican culture.
-Amanda Conde
I think that One of the most effective or impactful lines of the story is, “And when our Paps came home, we got spankings.”(para. 4) because we can identify two patterns. The first one is the absence of the father when the narrator says, “And when our Paps came home” does this mean when he gets home from work or when he gets home after a few days, weeks or months. The second pattern is abuse. The second part of the quote lets us know that whenever the kids saw their father, they’d receive a spanking. This quote gives away two awful traits of the father that later in the story get confirmed and aggravated.
ReplyDeleteThe second most effective or impactful lines of the story is, “She asked the question as if she was meeting me for the first time...”(para. 17) because we can detect an absence from the mother as well. Not knowing something so simple like why he doesn’t know how to swim and even asking him, shows just how little the mother cares about him. She even explains why her husband has this skill yet when it comes to her CHILD, she proceeds to ask him about it. The reason I think I get slightly pissed at this is because I'd be extremely upset if my mother cared so little about me.
-Amanda D. Mendez Rodriguez 3/2/2022
“- we wanted less: less weight, less work, less noise, less father, less muscles, and skin and hair.” (Lessons, 1. We wanted more)
ReplyDelete“But me, I would have rather let go and slipped quietly down to the lake’s black bottom than to admit fear to either of them.” (Lessons, 3. The lake)
I think both of these lines reflect on how damaged the relationship between these kids and their parents were. In the first line we can see that the presence of these parents drained the kids and made them want silence and peace. You can hear the narrator’s voice worn out, the kid just wanted everything to stay still for a moment so he could appreciate not dealing with his mother’s tiredness and their father’s attitude. In the second line we can conclude that these kids were scared of their parents, they couldn't confide in them and be vulnerable because they feared their reactions. These parents were so toxic towards their children that he preferred to drown before telling them he was scared. These are both very eye opening lines in the sense that they tell us more about how these kids were raised and how neglectful their parents were.
- Ismary Negron 03/02/22
A. The first line that I want to introduce is one in which the brothers are finally enjoying the silence of their home. It’s a scene that shows the maturity they have developed in contrast with the beginning of the story. The line goes: “… those mornings, when silence was our secret game and our gift and our sole accomplishment.” (par. 6).
ReplyDeleteThe second line that I want to mention is one which we can find at the ending of the story. This is a point in which I can see the self-control and maturity that the brothers had to develop while dealing with their parents. The line which effectively represents this is: “‘What kind of…’ he started to say, but didn’t finish. Instead, he picked up a rock and hurled it out away from him as far as he could.” (par. 33).
B. A very interesting factor in the story is the journey of maturity of the brothers. At the beginning of the story, we see them as loud chaotic kids; but as the story progresses, the ones who appear to act more like this are the parents. The boys come to appreciate the calmness of when their parents weren’t present and aimed to maintain that ambience amongst themselves. This first line shows that they had matured from being loud about wanting everything, to only wanting nothing more that peace. They learned to appreciate the moments of calmness as if they were a gift or an accomplishment.
Another effective way to observe the brother’s maturity is the way their perspective on their parents has changed. They have come to realize that their actions are sometimes questionable. A great example of this is the line in which we see Manny react to when his brother tells him that their mother almost drowned him in the lake. This line is very effective in demonstrating how the boys see their parents. It shows that they are finally mature enough to realize that their parent’s actions are wrong. But even more interesting is the fact that in this line we see that he still respects his mother enough to stop himself from uttering something against her. Instead, he opts to throw a rock to express his frustration without insulting her.
-Alondra Acevedo Ortiz
In "Lessons" by Justin Torres we are told about three situations in which, from the brother's perspective, we see how a family interacts with each other in the face of everyday events. Two lines that caught my attention were during the first part when the author writes: “…when the air was still and light, those mornings when silence was our secret game and our gift and our sole accomplishment – we wanted less: less weight, less work, less noise, less father, fewer muscles and skin and hair. We wanted nothing, just this, just this.” (para. 7) This phrase represents how the brothers go from a state of immaturity, where they do not know how to control their emotions, to have self-control, and be able to enjoy the small details that life gives them, such as the silence of the mornings. Once and for all, they learn that they do not need to skip stages and that they must live in the present and enjoy each stage of life. Seeing such a drastic change in the attitude of the brothers, I was able to identify and empathize with them, since something similar happened in my life when I went from high school to university. On the other hand, the second line that impact me the most was at the end of the story when it says: “They had never been so happy to see me, they had never looked at me with such intensity and hope, they had never before spoken my name so softly,” (para. 43) in this line we can see how the child's parents can appreciate with great amazement that their son is alive and managed to learn to swim, so we can say that he overcame one of his fears, which will serve as motivation for his family so that they continue to learn new things.
ReplyDelete-Emmanuel Santiago González
a) I think that one of the most impactful lines in the story “Lessons”, by Justin Torres is: “And when our father was gone, we wanted to be fathers.” (page 1)
ReplyDeleteAnother effective line appears when the author writes: “But me, I would have rather let go and slipped quietly down to the lake’s black bottom than to admit fear to either of them.” (page 6)
b) The first quote mentioned had an impact on me because of its psychological interpretation. Particularly, in the substantial emotion it brings. During the story we can sense that the main character’s father is abusive, arrogant, manipulative, and so on. These kids have a father who reflects a distorted idea of what a parent truly is. Unfortunately, the father’s decisions will have a negative impact throughout the children's life.
I chose the second quote because I believe that a father's image should exude love, trust, compassion, among other qualities. Particularly, something that the children did not experience with their parents. Learning to fear and learning to respect are two separate concepts. Consequently, fear was certainly the dominant emotion among the kids life.
-Marisabel Cordero Méndez
a) One of the most impactful lines in the story “Lessons”, by Justin Torres could be “We wanted more” (found in the 1st sentence of the 1st paragraph) and “-we wanted less: less weight, less work, less noise, less father, less muscles, and sin and hair” (found in the 10th paragraph among the last lines). Another few lines related to the first two, that I think would be considerably impactful are found in the sentences depicting the kids talking about how their father would come home and spank them… “When our Paps came home, we got spankings […]” Furthermore, after such an experience with their father they would dream of someday having the roles reversed, assuming the role of power when it came their time to grow up and become fathers (paragraphs 7th and 8th). ‘“When our father was gone, we wanted to be fathers”.
ReplyDeleteb)“We wanted more”. “We wanted less…”, in the same story the author contradicts himself and leaves the reader sort of wondering what the “correct” position or answer. Perhaps even teases at the idea that the children had a change of heart, a difference in opinion at some point. In essence, the direct answer is kept unknown, never explicitly stated throughout the story. However, as readers, we may interpret the text, make inferences, and draw our hypotheses using clues and details mixed in to help find one. From my perspective, the following scenario was the one possibility that seemed the most probable and coherent with what narrator states. The three brothers were growing up in an abusive household: an aggressive, potentially alcoholic father and an either dependent or neglectful mother. Being exposed to such maltreatment, could have made them consider this environment as the new normal, something to aspire to. They were constantly anxious and left to wonder what kind of mood their father would have the next time they saw him. Their guard was always up in the one place where they were supposed to feel protected, loved and taken care of. Tired of such feelings, they opted to hope for the day they themselves would be fathers, so that may gain control and move away from their roles of victims, trapped, controlled, and ordered as their parents seemed fit. They wished to grow up soon, to develop extraordinary muscle. Normally, this is a wish most kids their age would dream about, yet it this case it is for the wrong reasons. A considerable musculature would make them look more masculine so that their father would respect them or would give them the strength and confidence they would need to stand up to him. In any case, having this twisted paternity figure to look up not only posed a risk to their present lives, but made them confused and corrupted their future versions, long term plans and goals. At the very beginning, they said they were determined and wanted more, but of what? As the story continues the description that they give related to the spankings that their father took his time, were hard and precise, making him seem like a violent person and not the best to grow up with. Even so, the brothers wanted to practice or act like their father, maybe as a game or because they admired him. That is, until later on as the story unfolds. When they saw a different side of their father, a happy version or a not-so-drunk one, where there’s was still dancing, laughing, and learning, in this case about their heritage in music, they thought it meant there was more to the story, a happy one. Which explains why they admired the father, but their later experiences would make this conviction feel wobbly and make them question their postures and perspectives on the topic. Just like them, the reader is left to choose which perspective was the most convincing for the children in the end and what decision they came to.
- Kendra Santana 03/02/2022
One of the most impactful quotes in “Lessons” is when the author writes, “We wanted nothing, just this, just this”. In this part of the story, the narrator describes how the kids wanted a lot of stuff; ranging from loud music, to simple food, to watching TV, etc. Nevertheless, once their mother goes to sleep, the kids make everything in their power to help her sleep well. They refrain from making unnecessary noises. When the narrator says, “ We wanted nothing, just this, just this”, it appears to be as if the kids wanted to reciprocate de love that their mother gives them. At this point in the story, the mother is portrayed as a caring mother who worked hard to provide for the family.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote I believe is impactful in the story is “And when our Paps came home, we got spankings.” When the narrator gives us this information, it raises concern about how fit the father is to raise his children. The father is immediately identified as an abusive father. As the story develops, we come to learn that the father is in fact a very dysfunctional paternal figure. When the narrator, at the beginning of the story, says that his father spanks him and his brothers it acts as a foreshadowing of what will happen.
-Simon Hidalgo
One of the most effective/impactful lines in the story is when his father is talking about his sons heritage and says "This is your heritage". I believe this line is impactful because it just shows how little small things like music and dance traditions can bring together a whole family and it gave his son an aspect on what his heritage was. Sure it doesn´t really mean that is what everyone in Puerto Rico thinks culture is, but the feeling his dad gets and how it just illuminates the whole vibe in the room is enough to show a good time to his kids with what he was accustomed as a young man. Even though his father was pretty much drunk, the kids were happy to see him enjoying his time and dancing with him.
ReplyDeleteAnother line that is impactful in the story is when his father clears the air with "So, how’d you like your first flying lesson?". Once again this proves his father always tried to make the best out of every situation for the kids sake and was just an overall funny man. A scary and almost traumatic situation for the kids, with both of the parents arguing and his own mom threatening to throw her own son of a car was all fixed with a simple joke. You can see many indicatives that the family didn´t have good living situations and how it wasn´t the best environment for kids but Torres seems to always cherish the great times they spent together the most. That situation brought Torres back to when he almost drowned because then he remembered how much his parents cared for him and his brothers.
-Javier Diaz