Thursday, October 7, 2010

"Mercy" Discussion Question: Autumn T.

At the beginning of the story, does the father envy his neighbors, or does he just not like them? 

24 comments:

  1. I think he doesn't like them because they have "useless" pets and you can't "work them, can't ride them, and can't eat them."

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  2. I think that in the beginning when he speaks about the horses being delivered her sounds envious that his neighbor has enough money for all the horses. "Ponies, he kept saying, ponies ponies ponies, like if he had said it enough of times, he might be able to make them go away. Or make himself believe they were real, one or the other" (Page 119, Second Paragraph.) But later further into the story, when the boy begins fixing the fence, they boy and his father begin to realize that the neighboring farm has no reason to have the ponies, especially if they don't even take care of them. "The field the horses occupied was completely skinned now, dotted with mounds of horse dung. Because the trees were bare of leaves, I could see through the windbreaker to the principal barn of the place, surrounded by dead machinery. I couldn't tell if anyone was caring for them at all. I don't belive a single animal had been sold." (Page 127 Paragraph 2)

    - Erin, Period 3

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  3. I didn’t feel like the father hated the neighbors. I think he had a problem with the way did things, because his values and the way he ran his farm was something he took pride in. “but our angus were the sovereigns over them all,” from page 121 shows that there is a fire and pride that the family takes in the hard work they do to get to where they are. “What goods a fence that doesn’t go all the way around? He asked me. Keeps nothing out, keeps nothing in” said the father on page 122. I think that that means that the father doesn’t waste time doing unproductive things. If something is useless, he isn’t going to give it the time of day. He values hard work and earning things for yourself, not taking the easy way, and he doesn’t like it when people mess with core values like that.
    So I don’t think he envys or dislikes his neighbors. I just don’t think he has a whole lot respect for them because he feels like he has worked hard for everything he has and they have not, so he doesn’t feel they are honorable people.
    Danielle period 3

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  4. I think that the father is just jealous of the other farmers because they have better animals that were worth more money than his angus farm. In the story it says, “and even rumors of a man up in pocahontas county who wanted to start an ostrich ranch, because ostrich meat was said to be low in fat and cholesterol, and ostrich plumes made wonderful feather dusters that never wore out.”

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  5. Ponies, he kept saying, ponies ponies ponies, like if he said it enough times, he might be able to make them go away.
    I think that the father envies the neighbors for having the miniature horses. Although he was acting like he disliked them I don’t think he really does.
    Can’t work them, can’t ride them, and can’t eat them. Useless
    I think he is making this up so he can cover up his real feelings.
    Kennedy. K period 3

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  7. I doubt the father envies the neighbor because the child said "useless is the worst possible word my old man could say." So that some what gives the hint that he just doesn't like the neighbors. I don't blame him either because, the father is a farmer that raises cows for meat and sells them to get his fair share of money. So the father just probably says their "useless" because he thinks maybe that the land the miniature horses are being raised on could be used in a better way ,like raising cows, then having the miniature horses ruin the good field.

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  8. i think that the father does not envy the neighbors by the way he acts

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  9. Both because he wants more money but he does not want to give up his ways and dispises his neighbors for theirs

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  10. I think he just does not like them because of the changes they made to the surrounding farms. Ware he was born and rasied.

    Pg.120 When the father is talking about the why there is not use for the fence. "Keeps nothing out, keeps nothing in."

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  11. I think he envies them because he said "Horses ponies can’t work em can’t eat em uslles."pg 120. Someone also said "this is a beef valley."pg 121 Tristan p3 I think he is envoys

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  12. I think he envies his neighbors because of the ponies because he said this was "Angus territory." And because they brought two truck loads of them he said, "What the hecks next? What? Giraffes? Crocodiles?

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  13. I don't think either - I think the dad just wants life in the valley to be how it used to be, before the bottom dropped out of beef prices and everyone left. The valley was originally an angus valley and I think that the dad wishes it was still that way because when it was, it was familiar to him. Maybe the dad just doesnt like change. The narrator says "Around us, the Charolais and Simmentals went first, then the rest of them all in a rush, and we were alone."

    And ~ "The valley was a beef valleu from long before I was born."

    Lauren Hayes
    P.4

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  14. I think that he doesn't like the naighbors because he works really hard on his farm and the naighbor is leaving the fence for them to take care of. I think also that the dad dosen't like them because for as long as the dad could remember that all the farms had been for cows and when the man bought it he put something that is usleess there. the dad said that the people who own the ranch arn,t taking care of it. later he said that if they come over he will kill them.

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  15. I think the his dad is just used to having neighbors with beef farmers. In other words, I think the dad does not appreciate their livestock. "Can't work them, can't ride them, can't eat them. Useless." he says. In the second paragraph on page 121, it says, "For generations it was Herefords all around our place, mostly, and Charolais, but our angus were the sovereigns over them all," and thats why I think that they are more partial to beef farmers.

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  16. I think he dosn't like them, because when the narrator says the neighbors used to be beef farmers but switched the farms to another type of agriculture because of the bad meat prices. So the dad would think just another farm that has nothing to do with beef.

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  17. I think he is just set in the past and doesn't like the newer things in life. I think he is used to hard work and raising his food. When he talks about the horses on page 120 the dad says " Can't work them, can't ride them, can't eat them. Useless" I think he is trying to say that why would the neighbor buy something that can't be to use for anything and not even take care of it, he shouldn't have got them in the first place. On page 122 " What good's a fence that doesn't go all the way around?" I think he is just trying to find something to pick on the rich surgeon just because the dad doesn;t like the way the sergeon lives.

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  18. I think that he just didn't like the neighbors and that he might have also envied them to at the same time.

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  19. I don't think he liked it, that the former beef grounds are being turned to useless horse grounds."Horses, ponies, my old man said. He swept out a dismissive hand. Can't work them, can't ride them, can't eat them. Useless.
    "For generations it was Herefords all around our place, mostly, and Charolais, but our angus were the sovereigns over them all,"
    sence they were former beef grounds and now useless ponies. He has the mind set to hate everything that goes on the former beef grounds around him.

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  20. I think the father felt both, but for different reasons. I think he may have enveyed the neighbors in a way such as they have all those horses to show off, but also may have just not liked the neighbors because the father was used to have everything was before that he didn't want change.
    On page 120 The father said quietly "Horses, ponies. Can't work with them, can't ride them" can't eat them. Useless."
    In this story the son meantiond many times that the father didn't like the thought of change.

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  21. I'm thinking that thd dad didn't envy them or dislike them, he just thought that they were kind of stupid for bringing the horses there. Like what he said"What good's a fence that doesn't go all the way around?' he asked me. 'Keeps nothing out, keeps nothing in"- page 122, second paragraph. Like Danielle said, I think that he just doesn't like wasting anything, or anything that is useless, which he thinks the horses are. "Useless. They're good for nothing. You can't ride 'um, can't eat 'um. Useless."- page 120 second paragraph.

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  22. i agree with emmy i think that he thinks that everything should have a purpos and work right

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  23. The father dosn't necessarily envy or hate the neighbors, but he just dosn't agree with their values on what they think is important.
    "Horses, ponies, my old man said. He had heard. He swept out a dismissive hand. Can't work them, can't ride them, can't eat them. Useless."
    Kennedy K., Kaylin K., Tyson G.
    Period 3

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  24. I think that he just doesn't like them because they brought ponies into a place that had only angus not ponies. He seems to hate all of the people who have moved in around him, because they are not like him and the people who lived around them that sold angus.

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