Sound and Fury

There was one main argument in Sound and Fury that broke into different pieces of other arguments. The main argument was whether a cochlear implant was a good thing or a bad thing. The two families in the film had different views on the cochlear implant. The family with hearing parents, Chris and Mari, did want their son, Peter, to get the cochlear implant. The family with deaf parents, Nita and Peter, did not want their daughter, Heather, to get the implant.  This whole issue came back down to the concept of how the deaf culture was perceived by both the parents.

Looking into the family with Peter and Nita, they were strongly against letting their little girl get a cochlear implant. At first, they were curious to find out what positives could come out of the surgery, but their love for the deaf culture took over and helped them make their final decision. They did not think the cochlear implant left enough of the deaf culture in their child. They saw kids who no longer signed and instead talked almost to the same capability as a hearing person. Since so many people in their family were deaf, they wanted their daughter to be able to sign.  They also feared that her love for the deaf culture would fade. They thought that since she would be able to hear, she would lose interest in her true self which is being a deaf person. I found this very interesting. Being able to hear, I don’t think I can truly understand how important their culture is to them. I personally saw deaf people as having a disability, but they believe they are just the same and just learn in different ways. This was very cool to hear and changed my vision of the deaf culture. I now do not see them as having a disability, but I do still think life is harder being deaf. There are some activities in the world that require being able to hear and without having that ability they are missing out on job opportunities and other hearing activities.

The other argument came from the family with Mari and Chris. They strongly believed in giving their child peter a cochlear implant. They realised that the best time to give him one was when he was the youngest possible age to get one that way he would have the best chance to develop the best possible hearing. They argued that even though Peter was deaf, they still wanted him to get a chance to be able to hear and have all the opportunities of a hearing person. They believed they were not taking away his deaf culture. He would always be deaf, they are just giving him the option to be a part of the hearing culture as well. I personally side with this choice. The other family with Peter and Nita believed that the a deaf person should not be exposed to the hearing world then they would be considered “not accepting of the culture”. I disagree with this. Even though the cochlear implant gives the child the ability to hear sound, they can’t hear perfectly which will remind them that they are deaf. Also, the implant can be turned off which would make the child deaf again and have to use sign language to communicate so it wouldn’t be forgotten. Also, I was surprised to see how many jobs deaf people can actually get with hearing people, but there will always be those jobs they for sure can not get. The cochlear implant gives them that opportunity to have that job.

Overall after watching the film, Sound and Fury my vision on the deaf culture changed.  Living in a hearing world, I never would think that someone who is deaf could function so well. To my surprise the deaf culture is very good at reading and writing and can actually get jobs in the hearing world. I liked how the film included the deaf people using sign language then added the voice in the background to let hearing people understand. This is a good stylistic choice because it allows the movie to be seen by both the deaf and hearing world. If another parent had a deaf kid or if they were deaf themselves, they could understand the film and get information from the different examples of why or why to not support the cochlear implant.

Fear of Cucumbers

Most people fear creepy crawlers or haunted objects that appear in the dark, but I fear the oddly colored, innocent looking vegetable—a cucumber. A vivid memory of being forced to eat one sticks with me every time I see or smell one. It was a normal night at the dinner table. My family ate mash potatoes, my favorite, and chicken. The house smelled of a warm thanksgiving aroma that drew you to the kitchen. I couldn't think of anything that could possibly make this dinner bad. My mom called my brother and I and within seconds we were both seated and waiting patiently for everyone one else. Once everyone had sat down I grabbed my fork and knife, ready to dig in. Without even noticing I dug into my mash potatoes. The smell of the thanksgiving meal had never smelt better. Bite after bite the meal got better and better. I continued to scarf down my meal until a hint of a smell I feared snuck its way over the thanksgiving aroma. I looked down at my plate in slow motion to see the innocent green vegetable staring at me. Instantly the tree bark, sour smell took over the tasty thanksgiving smell. I all of a sudden didn't feel so good. How could I have gone the whole meal without noticing the horrendous smell coming from the cucumbers? I looked at my mom who was biting down on her cucumber that instant. She loved cucumbers and always wished my brother and I did too. I reminded her that I hated cucumbers and that I was just going to throw them away so why would she put them on my plate. She stared at me and smiled and said, “Not tonight you aren’t. You are going to eat those cucumbers before you leave this table.” This was my worst nightmare. The smell was getting stronger by the minute and I started to feel light headed. My family began to finish up and leave the table. I sat there glaring at the cucumber that sat in the middle of my plate. I held my nose shut to block out the nasty smell. Three hours had passed and I hadn't even attempted to eat the stupid vegetable. My mom came back and gave me the option to eat it with another food that was left on the table. Then and there I wished I still had some leftover chicken or mash potatoes to accompany the cucumber as I ate it, but all that was left was carrots and grapes. I told myself to just forget about the smell and eat it as fast as I could. I threw it in my mouth and chewed as fast as I could. The texture gave me chills and I swallowed as quickly as I could. I shoved five grapes in my mouth to follow the cucumber, but nothing was making it better. I ran from the table straight to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth more than three times. I will never forget the torture of eating that cucumber that one night I thought was going to be the best dinner as it turned into the worst dinner ever.