1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story.
(How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of ____ in his story “A Lucky Man”?)
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story
ReplyDelete- Denying aging
- Toxic masculinity
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story.
How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of toxic masculinity in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
Jamel Brinkley develops a short story that narrates the struggles of a middle-aged man that lives in New York. The main character, Lincoln, can not comprehend why he does not feel young and healthy like his wife. Blinded by his selfishness, Lincoln believes he is worthy of everything, including a juvenile body and his daughter’s love and attention. As Jamel Brinkley writes, “A man of a kind should get what he deserves, and if a man like him could’nt get a woman like her, then something was terribly wrong with the world”(151). Also, the narrator uses the character's sadness to justify sexual assault. Therefore, with the characterization of Lincoln, the author criticizes the stereotype that says men deserve everything due to the simple fact that they are males.
- Amanda Conde
1) Two main ideas that I find in the story are perversion and secrets.
ReplyDelete2) How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of perversion in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3) In this story, the author doesn't specifically refer to the theme of perversion, but rather focuses the narrative on the protagonist's masculinity, aging and loneliness. Yet, his loneliness arises from the perverted behaviors that he himself displays, although the narrator tries to justify or minimize them, saying “… boys took these sorts of pictures all the time and sent them to each other. What he had done, or was doing, wasn’t nearly as bad. Not even close.” (p. 146). The protagonist acts perversely when he takes pictures of the girls, having "about thirty of them" (p. 157), and then lingers on analyzing those pictures. Also, it is perverse of him to walk in front of his daughter's old school and take the time to think about the uniform, accessories, and bodies of the girl students. This last event occurs when the narrator says “The uniform the youngest girls wore hadn’t change much over the years. The jumpers were…” (p. 154).
-Angelys M. Rivera Hernández
30/03/2022
1. Two main ideas/concept in the story: aging and perversion
ReplyDelete2. Question: How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of aging in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Paragraph to begin answering the question:
The short story “A Lucky Man” by Jamel Brinkley narrates the life of a disturbing and lonely man named Lincoln Murray. Overwhelmed and still mourning his life’s failures and disadvantages, he admires and takes pictures of young women. When examining closer, these women have something in common: their youth and distinctive characteristic that seem to remind Lincoln of some aspect of his past. As the reader continues Lincoln’s journey and analyze/examine his behavior thoroughly, they can interpret that he’s going through a mid-life crisis. Therefore, the story follows a middle-aged man that longs for his youth back- where everything seemed simple, there weren’t any burdens, duties, and/or significant and life-changing losses (divorce, aging appearances, weak relationship with his daughter, ect). He is reminded and seems to be satisfied with capturing others’ “youth” on an image of a young female stranger- that unlike any other aspect of his life, won’t change. Brinkley writes [Lincoln comparing the young woman with his ex-wife and daughter]: “The young woman on the train was the same way too. She could use her face like that, he thought. If she had a lover, she showed him that face…” (pg. 142). The narrator continues on describing Lincoln’s experience to prove and, to some extent, justify his messed-up behavior because he’s reminiscing of his past and where he longs to go back to.
-Pennélope Alers
03/30/2022
I. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story: toxic masculinity and fractured relationships.
ReplyDeleteII. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story: how does Jamel Brinkley explores the theme of toxic masculinity in his story “A Lucky Man”?
III. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story: In Jamel Brinkley’s story “A Lucky Man”, the author makes it seem like Lincoln is in a gray area between good and bad, where you can identify the character’s wrong doing but you do not see him as evil. Lincoln is a family man with a secret, which is that he likes to photograph young women. He excuses his voyeurism by saying that it’s not as wrong as taking perverted photos and it is show in page 146 when he says that “They were all pictures of faces, not that other kind” and “what he had done, or was doing, wasn’t nearly as bad. Not even close”. Lincoln is a man who loves his family but at the same time objectifies women and justifies it by saying its benign or subtle. The author exposes the toxicity without judgement exploring the role of masculinity and vulnerability in relationships. Only after being confronted he is overwhelmed with shame and deletes the inappropriate photos. As it is almost impossible to permanently delete something from technological memory, you can not delete something from memory or reality. It still exists and can have damaging consequences after its deleting or denying. The author questions the expectations of masculinity with empathy. I do not see him as a victim but can see why some people would feel sorry for him.
- Miranda Martínez
1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story.
ReplyDelete- confusion
- perversion
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story.
How does J.B. explore the theme of confusion in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
Jamel Brinkley in the story "A Lucky Man" presents a brief narrative about the life of a man named Lincoln. This man suffered from an obsession with taking pictures of women, including young women. Throughout the narrative, he finds himself trying to justify his actions. Through these justifications, a sense of confusion can be perceived. In other words, he “does not know” the gravity of his actions. The author lets us know this through the following quote: “Alexis had been upset when she discovered the pictures, but why? They were all pictures of faces, not the other kind. (…) Tameka said boys took these sorts of pictures all the time and sent them to each other. What he had done, or was doing, wasn’t nearly as bad. Not even close.” (p. 146) Here we can see some of the excuses Lincoln used. When a person knows that something they do is wrong but wants to keep doing it, they will always look for a justification.
- Amanda Quiñones
03/30/2022
1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story
ReplyDeleteSecrets and aging
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story.
How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of aging in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
In the story “A Lucky Man” we are told about the life of a man named Lincoln. We know that this character is an adult since throughout the story we know that he has a daughter and had a wife with whom he is not currently having a relationship. As the events unfold in the story, we can become aware of their problems, concerns, and, above all, their excessive comparison and memory of their past, where things were easier and not as overwhelming and painful as in the present. Brinkley says: “He knew. She and their daughter were the same way. The young woman on the train was the same way too.” (p. 143) This quote shows us how the protagonist nostalgically remembers the beauty of his ex-wife and daughter, thus transporting himself to when his life was in order and it was not the chaos of now where he constantly has to face his demons.
Emmanuel Santiago González
1.
ReplyDelete- perversion
- toxic masculinity
2. How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of toxic masculinity in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. During the story “A Lucky Man”, Jamel Brinkley portrays Lincoln as a guy that has good and evil, we can see his misbehavior but don't think of him as completely vile. Lincoln has a habit on photographing young ladies. Throughout the story he justifies his indecency by claiming that it isn't as terrible as taking pornographic photographs, as he states, “They were all pictures of faces, not that other kind”. We can classify Lincoln as a loving and caring man to his family, however he objectifies women, by justifying his actions and claiming that they are normal or harmless. The author explores the role of masculinity and vulnerability in relationships while exposing the poison without passing judgment. He is overcome with embarrassment and deletes the indecent photographs only after being confronted. Even when you eliminate something from technology, it’s still persists on some people’s memory.
- Marisabel Cordero Méndez
List 2 main ideas or concepts that you find in the story.
ReplyDelete• Unconsciousness
• Perversion and secrets
Choose 1 to use it to formulate a question about the story.
• How does J.B. explore the theme of unconscious perversion and secrets in his story “A lucky Man”?
Write a paragraph in which you begin you begin to answer the previous question.
• Lincoln Murray shows a low sense of agency (when an individual doesn’t believe they influence their own results in life (simplicable 2022)) throughout the story. A clear example of this victim mentality is shown when the author writes, “Alexis had been upset when she discovered the pictures, but why? They were all pictures of faces, not that other kind.” (Page 146) He asks himself why Alexis thinks the multiple pictures of women’s faces on his phone is wrong, that to me shows a lack of self-awareness. Perversion is not directly illustrated in the story we can reach the conclusion that Lincoln might get aroused with the pictures. By the end of the story the author clearly states that Lincoln is hiding something from his daughter when he (the author) writes,” he told her what he could. He told her a lie.”(page 158) Even though my argument is that Lincoln is unconscious of his sins, this line contradicts that. Lincoln is unconscious enough to think he’s innocent but aware that what he’s doing is wrong.
Work cited
Spacey, John. “14 Examples of Victim Mentality.” Simplicable, Simplicable, simplicable.com/en/victim-mentality. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
-Amanda D. Mendez Rodriguez 3/30/2022
1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story
ReplyDelete- obssesion
- aging
- secret
- sexuality
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story.
(How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of obsession and aging in his story “A Lucky Man”?)
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
The author suggest the theme of obsession and aging with the main character Lincoln, who shows a strange fixation to young women. His obsession with observing the faces of these women was so deep that he portrayed them and kept them on his phone. The consequence of his actions ended his marriage. “Alexis had been upset when she discoverd the pictures, but why? They were all pictures of faces, not that other kind” (pg. 146)
Luis Merced Cotto
1. List two main ideas or concepts that you find in this story
ReplyDelete- Toxic masculinity
- Perversion
- Denying aging
2. Choose one of these and use it to formulate a question about the story. (How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of __ in his story “A Lucky Man”?)
- How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of perversion and denying aging in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Now write a paragraph in which you begin to answer this question, including a quote from the story. Remember to use a signal phrase and provide a page number.
In the story “A Lucky Man” by Jamel Brinkley, it is seen how denying aging and loneliness can affect a man’s masculinity by being toxic or even causing acts of perversion as it is seen. Jamel Brinkley relates themes like perversion, aging and luck with its main character, Lincoln. At the beginning, was consider as a “lucky man” but not more in the end as he ends up alone. He had a wife, a daughter, career, money but lost it at the end because of pictures he took of women and young girls. In his wife’s eyes, he saw a creep, a pervert for what he had done. Lincoln didn’t see this as serious and justified himself as he says “… boys took these sorts of pictures all the time and sent them to each other. What he had done, or was doing, wasn’t nearly as bad. Not even close” (p. 146). As the story goes, the author continues to prove to some extent Lincoln messed-up acts revolving around perversion.
- Kendra Santana 3/30/2022
1. toxic masculinity and perversion
ReplyDelete2. How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of perversion in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. In the beginning of the story we can already see some aspects of the main character that show him being a pervert. First, the story describes how he takes pictures of a young girl and imagines what her life is like. He also studies the pictures he takes of women and it is revealed that he has taken more than seventy pictures. When Brinkley writes: “But he also knew that he carried guilt in him that was large, for something impossible to defend”(156) we can see how Lincoln knew that his actions were wrong but that he didn’t care enough to stop acting inappropriately.
-Ismary Negrón Fernández
1. Two main ideas
ReplyDelete- secrecy
- perversion
2. How does Jamel Brinkley explore the theme of secrecy and perversion in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. Jamel Brinkley explores the themes of secrecy and perversion in his story “A Lucky Man.” As readers we are made aware of important information about Lincoln that many characters do not know. We are given the perspective in the way sexual predators present a false reality while hiding many secrets. This way the story explores the relationship between perversion and secrecy. We know that those perversive desires that Lincoln experiences are frowned upon by society; and he knows this too. But these societal norms are not enough to stop his desires. He resorts to secrecy to hide that which has already ruined his relationship with his wife and will most certainly ruin the one with his daughter if she finds out. We can see this at the end of the story when he finally meets up with his daughter, “He described every humiliating detail of what had happened to him in front of her old school. He told her what he could. He told her a lie” (p. 158). He lied because he knows that his pervasive secrets are not acceptable by society and he will only keep his daughter by his side if he keeps lying.
- Alondra Acevedo Ortiz
Two Themes:
ReplyDelete- Marital Frustrations
- Mid-Life Crisis
Jamel Brinkley shows us in the story that Lincoln is a character going through many problems people his age go through. One of the main themes being that of marital frustrations or feeling that the relationship with your spouse isn’t the same as what it used to be. This can be seen many times through the story as Lincoln disturbingly takes photos of young girls and feeling like he doesn’t love his wife. He even feels nostalgia for how things used to be and how he wishes he could go back to how him and his wife were when they started dating. This can be seen in the following quote: “When Lincoln met Alexis, twenty-two years earlier, they were equals. He was as handsome as she was beautiful, and despite their age difference, he had as much to expect from the coming years as she did.” (pag. 149).
1. Weirdness and perversion
ReplyDeleteSecret
2. How does J.B. explore the theme of weirdness and perversion in his story “A Lucky Man”?
3. “A Lucky Man” narrates the weird and, at times, perverse life of Lincoln Murray. From the beginning of the story we start to read about how he provides a detailed description of a woman on the same subway car as him. He also compares her with his with, which raises many questions about how his relationship with his wife is. We most notably identify Murray’s perversion when the narrator writes, “He touched the part of the screen that activated the camera function and took a picture, without noise or the flashlight.” Later in the story, we find out that he has taken creepy pictures like this of many other woman.
-Simon Hidalgo