Functional Illiteracy and Bobby Ann Mason
Yes, We Do Matter I’ve always heard that it only takes one person to make a difference in this world, and that one person is going to be me. I matter in this world because, I’m a loving wife, and wonderful mother to my two children. Although I’m not a wealthy person, I can describe myself as an ambitious, generous, vivacious and very eager to learn woman. I have a few goals in life, and one was to teach my children that just because they don’t have money, it doesn’t mean they don’t have wealth. Being born in the country or the city doesn’t make people what or who they are, but how they are raised with morals and values makes the person who they become. Everyone in the world matters, not because of what they do, but by simply who they are.
In her story “Being Country” Bobby Ann Mason writes about how it’s like to grow up country. The author describes how her mom uses the land to its full potential, including home grown food and all homemade clothes. Life on the farm was different than life of the town folk in many ways. For example, she had three wardrobes of clothes, school clothes, everyday clothes and Sunday clothes. Sunday dinners after church were lots of food plus dessert, served on the same plate so another one wasn’t dirtied. Although living on the farm depended on the forces of nature, Mason felt inferior to the town’s people. Mason thought that in town was where it was all happening. They had magazines, radio stores and restaurants with not the everyday food. Mason believed that it’s okay to leave home and strive for something better. Mason made a difference to herself and others in her essay because she had goals and dreams. She had ambitions to want a better life. Only after reading the short story “The Human cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, did I realize that 1 out of 5 Americans is illiterate. Kozol points out several examples in his short essay of how many Americans have suffered because they cannot read. Many
In her story “Being Country” Bobby Ann Mason writes about how it’s like to grow up country. The author describes how her mom uses the land to its full potential, including home grown food and all homemade clothes. Life on the farm was different than life of the town folk in many ways. For example, she had three wardrobes of clothes, school clothes, everyday clothes and Sunday clothes. Sunday dinners after church were lots of food plus dessert, served on the same plate so another one wasn’t dirtied. Although living on the farm depended on the forces of nature, Mason felt inferior to the town’s people. Mason thought that in town was where it was all happening. They had magazines, radio stores and restaurants with not the everyday food. Mason believed that it’s okay to leave home and strive for something better. Mason made a difference to herself and others in her essay because she had goals and dreams. She had ambitions to want a better life. Only after reading the short story “The Human cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, did I realize that 1 out of 5 Americans is illiterate. Kozol points out several examples in his short essay of how many Americans have suffered because they cannot read. Many
Cited: Eds. Lynn Z Bloom and Louise Z. Smith. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s. 2011 105-108