Life Changes Of Pivotal Moments In 'Shame'
Sara Ross
Ms. Jarrard
Eng. 101
14 June. 2014
The Life Changes of Pivotal Moments Pivotal moments can sometimes be created to help people learn from a mistake, or to keep a great memory going. Some pivotal moments can be a great burden, if you allow it. Other pivotal moments can make a person stronger, healthier, or become a motivation to be a better person. It is those sentimental, heart wrenching, crucial, or maybe life threating moments that change a person for the good or for the worse. This essay challenges those pivotal moments of another person’s story.
In the story Shame, Gregory Dick was faced with a moment that made him into a stronger man by facing things that he felt ashamed of. Dick had a very difficult childhood. He grew up very poor. With matted hair and only one outfit that he washed daily with melted ice, he would make his way to school only because he wanted to see a little girl named Helene Tucker. Dick had a crush on little Helene, who was an upper class from dick. She always dressed nice with her pretty pig tails. Dick felt ashamed that Helene had a father, and he didn’t, and decided on Community Chest day he would pretend he had a daddy. (Dick) …show more content…
Community Chest day was a day the school would raise money for the needy.
Dick and his family was on relief, so the school was taking up money to help Dick’s family. As the teacher called out every student’s name and recorded their amount, she skipped Dick. He was eager to top Helene’s $2.50. He stood up and argued with the teacher that his daddy was going to give $15.00! The teacher shamed him by saying, “We know you don’t have a daddy.” (Dick). Dick was extremely embarrassed not only because he knew he had lied about having a daddy and giving $15, but because Helene heard it all. He could tell Helene felt sorry for him when she turned around to look at him crying. He was so embarrassed he did not go back to
school.
Throughout Dick’s life from that point on, he dedicated every achieving moment to Helene until he was 29 years old and making money. That one shameful pivotal moment created an urge to become better; to push for accomplishments. When Dick played drums in high school and broke track records in college, he dedicated those achievements to Helene. The shameful moment that had happened at nine years old created a better life for the now adult Gregory Dick. He learned to feel ashamed and take action.
Gregory Dick made something of his life. Going from poor boy wearing one pair of shoes that were never his to winning a scholarship and graduating college. Gregory Dick became a stand-up comedian, writer, and social activist. He had many accomplishments. He was active in the civil right movement. He also ran for president of the United States in 1968 on a write-in ballot. That humiliating moment for Dick turned into a long record of achievements. He gives thanks to Helene for it all. (Dick)
Works Cited
Dick, Gregory. "Shame." Sieg, Judy. The Norton Mix. New York: Norton, 2012. 133-139.
Ms. Jarrard
Eng. 101
14 June. 2014
The Life Changes of Pivotal Moments Pivotal moments can sometimes be created to help people learn from a mistake, or to keep a great memory going. Some pivotal moments can be a great burden, if you allow it. Other pivotal moments can make a person stronger, healthier, or become a motivation to be a better person. It is those sentimental, heart wrenching, crucial, or maybe life threating moments that change a person for the good or for the worse. This essay challenges those pivotal moments of another person’s story.
In the story Shame, Gregory Dick was faced with a moment that made him into a stronger man by facing things that he felt ashamed of. Dick had a very difficult childhood. He grew up very poor. With matted hair and only one outfit that he washed daily with melted ice, he would make his way to school only because he wanted to see a little girl named Helene Tucker. Dick had a crush on little Helene, who was an upper class from dick. She always dressed nice with her pretty pig tails. Dick felt ashamed that Helene had a father, and he didn’t, and decided on Community Chest day he would pretend he had a daddy. (Dick) …show more content…
Community Chest day was a day the school would raise money for the needy.
Dick and his family was on relief, so the school was taking up money to help Dick’s family. As the teacher called out every student’s name and recorded their amount, she skipped Dick. He was eager to top Helene’s $2.50. He stood up and argued with the teacher that his daddy was going to give $15.00! The teacher shamed him by saying, “We know you don’t have a daddy.” (Dick). Dick was extremely embarrassed not only because he knew he had lied about having a daddy and giving $15, but because Helene heard it all. He could tell Helene felt sorry for him when she turned around to look at him crying. He was so embarrassed he did not go back to
school.
Throughout Dick’s life from that point on, he dedicated every achieving moment to Helene until he was 29 years old and making money. That one shameful pivotal moment created an urge to become better; to push for accomplishments. When Dick played drums in high school and broke track records in college, he dedicated those achievements to Helene. The shameful moment that had happened at nine years old created a better life for the now adult Gregory Dick. He learned to feel ashamed and take action.
Gregory Dick made something of his life. Going from poor boy wearing one pair of shoes that were never his to winning a scholarship and graduating college. Gregory Dick became a stand-up comedian, writer, and social activist. He had many accomplishments. He was active in the civil right movement. He also ran for president of the United States in 1968 on a write-in ballot. That humiliating moment for Dick turned into a long record of achievements. He gives thanks to Helene for it all. (Dick)
Works Cited
Dick, Gregory. "Shame." Sieg, Judy. The Norton Mix. New York: Norton, 2012. 133-139.