Integrating a Quote

Having a positive male influence is what I consider to be one of the most critical aspects of every child's life as they grow up. In Color Me Butterfly by L.Y. Marlow, Rollie could not greet his ailing father, Issac, and he says, “I ain't got nothin' I need to say to him.” (287) Rollie's statement regarding his father struck me because it is a prime example of how a father's mistreatment of his child will have long-lasting, damaging consequences.

though many years have passed since Issac leaves his family, Rollie is still unable to forgive his father for his abominable behavior toward his family and his response to seeing Issac again seems to dredge up a lot of resentment. All of the other children were able to forgive their father when they see him in a weakened state, except for Rollie. Consider though, they were never forced to eat a disease-riddled rat from the basement. I believe that in life there are some wrongs people find it just too difficult to forgive. However, I also believe that it is easier to forgive a parent's wrongs than a those of a stranger. That is one thing that I have noticed about abused children; they seem to forgive their parents the most unthinkable mistreatment. Rollie is an exception.

Bibliography
Marlow, L.Y. Color Me Butterfly. Bowie, Maryland: eL Publishing, 2007. Print.

Peer Review Experience

The aspect of the peer review that helped me the most when revising my essay was reading it aloud to Bev, my peer reviewer. Most people do not think to read their paper aloud, even to themselves, but it really does help you catch those errors or awkward portions that make sense to you in your head. When I was writing my essay I was stumped as to how to present my experiences with group projects so that they would support my argument. Bev's review was very positive and it gave me confidence in my essay. She said that she enjoyed my "story" format, which I was a little hesitant about using at first. Something I will take away from this experience and utilize in my other class, and when writing outside of Ursuline, will be to read my writing aloud.

Women's Ways of Knowing

Lydia's daughter, Treasure, is very much a received knower at the beginning of the last section of the book. Lydia raises Treasure to be a strong, moral girl and Treasure never questions her mother's authority. When Treasure gets to know Lloyd she becomes his received knower, instead of Lydia's. This is shown on the day that Treasure screams and hits Lydia (pg 355). Her father is the authority figure and he has influenced her at this point to believe that violence is acceptable, especially directed at another person. Treasure becomes a subjective knower when, on pg. 384, Lydia describes Treasure to Mattie: "She still refuses to talk about it [Lloyd's bank robbing]." Treasure avoids even Elton and withdraws into herself. She feels she cannot express herself at this point in her life.