Preview

Shame Dick Gregory

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
206 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Shame Dick Gregory
Hanan Hamdan “Shame” by Dick Gregory In “Shame”, Dick Gregory uses indirect characterization to show that an original is worth a lot more than a copy.In this story, Gregory uses the character Richard to prove his statement.
Richard does a series of actions to look good in front of Helene Tucker. The story says: “I brushed my hair and got me a little old handkerchief . It was a lady’s handkerchief, but I didn’t want Helene to see me wipe my nose on my hand”. This shows that he is embarrassed of who he really is, thus he acts differently in front of Helene to the point where he would use a lady’s handkerchief.The character’s speech shows that he does not only act to impress
Helene,but he also speaks to impress her.For example: “My daddy said he would give
...fifteen dollars”. This shows that he is getting to a point where he would lie just to impress
Helene. As a result, the teacher strips him to his bare reality by saying: “We know you don’t have a daddy”. Through examples such as these, Dick gregory seems to imply that an original is worth way more than a copy.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the memoir “Fish Cheeks,” the author Amy Tan conveys an embarrassed tone towards her family’s Christmas Eve dinner through the use of diction, imagery, and sentence structures. This is first seen at the beginning of the dinner when Tan declares that the behaviors of her relatives at the dinner table threw her “deeper into despair (Tan)” as the event dragged on. The powerful diction used in this assertion indicates her feelings of shame for the un-American manners of her family, and it creates aloof, disgustful imagery. The syntax component of this short, emphasized statement also shows this sentiment of frustration. This feeling is again illustrated near the end of the dinner, when after offered…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yes Ma'Am Essay

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After Mrs. Jones dragged him home she was nice enough to let him wash up. After that she prepared him a meal, which was also nice because she doesn’t have much and she is still sharing with others. Then she talked about herself instead of him because she didn’t want to embarrass.…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Richard was a one time a successful High School athlete who had earned a “football scholarship to the University of Massachusetts” (p.98). Richard on the surface had it all. Richard was misunderstood and possibly pressured by others to be what they wanted him to be. It is entirely possible that Richard didn’t want to be a college football player but instead just find a girl to fall in love with and raise a family in his hometown. Clearly Richard was capable of being successful at the University level, he just did not want it and people knew it “Dickie can do the work; he just doesn’t want to” (p.98).…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Krakauer compares Everett Ruess and McCandless because Ruess’ letters are very similar to Chris’ and he was also personally very similar to Chris. “Everett Ruess’s correspondence reveals uncanny parallels between Ruess and McCandless.” (91)…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He placed himself in a vulnerable position, like a sea lion sitting on a measly rock in an open sea with a great white shark surrounding him. The instructor had the right to correct the misunderstanding of Richard, on the other hand, her choice of words and tone of voice were unforgivable. The overwhelming emotion to buy himself a daddy by quintupling his original amount caused him a grave mistake followed by a lesson he did not expect to learn at that moment. Her patience came to a halt when he offered a donation from his “daddy”. She then proceeded by slapping him with the cold truth by saying, “We are collecting this money for you and your kind, Richard Gregory. If your daddy can give fifteen dollars you have no business being on relief”,…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Let’s see how Aranaud background to Discuss the reason why he Aranaud able to convince the whole family including Bertrade .He used to pretending to be other people even in his hometown to facilitate various adventure he may get to do things like impersonate nobleman in order to impress ladies and he grow in dissolute sexual adventure and youth group his experience…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Perry & Dick

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Perry and Dick are very two opposite people Dick is a very smart man who exudes confidence and malice who grow up in a stable home with two parents, he didn’t have the wealthiest family but he was supported. Unlike Perry who grew in a very unstable home having to switch between his parents because his father was a women beater and his mother was an alcoholic, his parents could barely support him so he was put in an orphanage where he was constantly beaten by the nuns who were to take care of him. Even though Dick grew up in a better environment he still came out a malicious and selfish person, even though Perry wasn’t a saint he had never aspired to be a criminal his dream was to become a Sinatra type singer and have a show on the Las Vegas strip, he believed he was smarty and artistic. One very important factor that Perry and Dick had in common was that they were both in major motorized accidents. Dick was in a severe car accident where his skull was almost cracked in half, while Perry was in a major motorcycle accident where his legs were ripped to shreds. These injuries are a very important factor later in the book. Throughout the book many examples of how Perry and Dick differ, such as the fact that Perry wanted to purchase black stockings to hide their faces but stated that there would be no need since there would be no witness left alive. After their arrest and their confessions Dick blamed everything and Perry while Perry was regretful and sorry he even said “I’d apologize, but to who.” What was also shown in the book was that Dick was a pedophile who preyed on young girls he even planned to rape Nancy until Perry threatened to shoot him. It shows how out of the two the more conscientious was Perry by far. Perry even when as far to say he despised Dick especially when he told him how stupid it was to steal razor blades, Dick’s response exemplifies his…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    He is trying to be Jerome, who has an elite genetic identity. This identity gives…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another similarity in the two readings are the two characters longing for something/someone. Gregory longs for the girl he liked in school named Helene Tucker. He always wanted her attention. He would do just about anything to get her. He mentions “Everyone’s got a Helene Tucker, a symbol of everything you.” (Gregory 2). He always wanted everything to deal with Helene Tucker. He wanted to be accepted by Helene. On the other…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The narrator, who lack social skills, was not so thrilled about entertaining a blind man and was a little jealous about his wife’s continuing relationship with Robert. He thinks that his wife may have discussed details of their relationship with Robert or possibly complained about his faults, which made him insecure, embarrassed and a little irritated with his wife and Robert.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: Kahan, Dan M. “Shame Is Worth a Try.” Models for Writers: Short Essays for…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Response to Shame

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Throughout the story, he tried to appeal to the reader that he was poor. He liked Helene so much so he thought he had to top the money to what Helene gave to community chest. He thought his teacher think he’s stupid and couldn’t do anything. He thought the shirts he was wearing was white folks’ shirt. Even though all the fact, incident and his thought was not anything ashamed of, he trapped himself in poverty and define it as shame in order to draw sympathy from the readers.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard’s character is portrayed as being blind to the real successes of life and placing too much importance on winning and losing, emphasised by his attempt to sell his motivational program called the Nine Steps to Success. His boldly ironic character fanatically follows his methods, only to find in the end he himself becomes a ‘loser’. Brainwashed by American society, Richard tries to impose conformity upon Olive, insisting ‘’There are two kinds of people in this world, winners and losers’’ and ‘’there’s no sense in entering a contest if you don’t think you’re going to win.’’ Consequently, through dialogue the audience is shown Richard’s winning mentality associated with status and repression which reflects dominant values in contemporary society. This winning mentality is also enriched in Frank, who was the number one Proust scholar in the country, until he gets fired from his job, thus leading to an attempted suicide. Through dialogue, Grandpa states ‘’you tried to check out early’’ in which Frank responds ‘’Yes. And I failed at that as well.’’ As a result, the audience is shown the importance Frank places on being a ‘winner’. Additionally, Dayton and Faris’ characterisation of Dwayne, who takes a vowel of silence until he can reach his goal of becoming a Fighter Pilot, further enhances the idea of society being obsessed with winning. This is particularly emphasised when Dwayne breaks his vowel at the end of the film and tells Frank ‘’It's like life is one beauty contest after another these days. School, then college, then work.’’ Due to Dwayne’s vowel of silence throughout the movie, this quote holds great significance and sends a direct message to the audience about life replicating a contest. The idea that society is one big contest in which one person always wins, and the rest…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fantomina

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Haywood’s protagonist engages in her newly found freedom of interacting and controlling, beginning her display of power over Beauplaisir. Of course, while Beauplaisir thoroughly enjoys his conversations with the beautiful young prostitute, he wants to have sex with her. Being a virgin, she puts off his request by telling him she will see him the next night, and will be better off avoiding the situation in the future, but she cannot resist the interaction with Beauplaisir. Haywood writes that "she almost dy’d for another Opportunity of conversing with…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Louise’s entire character is powerfully ironic in that she is the furthest thing from a mother. Mothers are expected to be of caring and affectionate nature. However, Louise neglects Isabelle-Marie and treats her like an outsider since she is physically unattractive. Louise only favors her son Patrice because he reflects her outer beauty and she feels the necessity to sustain it by only nurturing him. Since Isabelle-Marie is physically unappealing, Louise does not love or treat her in the same fashion as Patrice. Isabelle Marie finally gains the courage to express how Louise has mistreated her. She exclaims, “[m]other, ever since I was a child you adored Patrice because he was beautiful and hated me, the ugly one. Patrice always Patrice! You never realized that your son was stupid, that he was an idiot…nothing but a beautiful body” (104). Isabelle-Marie’s tone is filled with contempt and jealousy while she spills out all the emotions that she had been bottling up for years. Louise always favoring Patrice due to his beautiful face even if he was just an “idiot” exasperates Isabelle-Marie. Moreover, Isabelle-Marie’s ill thoughts towards her own daughter and disfiguring her brother’s face can be seen as the result of her mother’s intolerance and lack of love towards her. Louise’s superficiality and favoritism towards Patrice transforms Isabelle-Marie to turn into a self-loathing and destructive character. Hence, Louise can be held responsible for creating this dysfunctional family. Rather than loving her children unconditionally as a mother should, she loves them based upon their looks. Therefore, ironically, even though Louise is their real mother, she fits the archetypal character of an evil stepmother due to her discriminate, mean and evil behavior.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays