"My Life in France" Ethical Decisions

During Julia Child's time in France, she was very fortunate not to be confronted by many difficult decisions. She does talk about a friend of hers named Lee Brady, who worked at the US Embassy in France. In 1950, Brady was assigned to work at the Public Affairs Office in Indochina (Vietnam). This meant that he would be taking orders from the emperor Boa Dai, seen by the rest of the world as a puppet for the French. Child tells the reader "... a most difficult and dangerous assignment indeed. He would be forced to work with the Boa Dai regime, which had not been freely chosen by the majority of the citizens (104). Not only was Brady putting himself at risk by working for an unpopular government, but he was also going against the American ideals that he had grown up with, the ideas of voting for a strong leader. Child points out that "What was an emissary of the US government supposed to say when the Communist claimed, correctly, that his government supported a puppet, dictator and horror?" (104). It seemed like the wrong choice from many angles, but for Brady his only other option was to quit. He chose to go to Indochina in the end, though what became of him when the US got involved in the Vietnam War is not mentioned in this book.

I think that Brady made the wrong decision to go to Indochina. Not only was he not following his own morals and ideas, but he was also putting himself in danger by supporting an unpopular government in a country that was on the brink of civil war. It does not seem fair though that the only other option was to resign his position and find a new job. I can Kind of understand why he chose to do what he did, but in hindsight I do not agree with his decision.

On the Waterfront

Throughout the entire movie "On the Waterfront," Terry is constantly plagued by the question of whether or not he should testify in court against the mob, or remain quiet. During the first part of the movie, Terry feels very strongly about not testifying. He feels that if he does, he would be a traitor, betraying his brother Charlie and others in the mob. He outright refuses to say anything to the police on multiple occasions. But as more people are killed by standing up to the mob, including Charlie, Terry's views begins to change. He starts to realize that testifying in court is not an act of treason, but a step that must be taken if he ever hoped to end the reign of terror the mob created on the waterfront. The rest of the workers on the waterfront thought he was a traitor too when he testified, but slowly they too begin to see him as an icon for change.

I think that Terry made the right choice in the end. Keeping silent about the mob was hurting lots of people. I think in the end the safety of the workers and the ability to speak freely was more important than the possibility of you being seen as a traitor. But I can't say for sure what I would have done in Terry's position. It was very dangerous to stand up to the mob, as we can see from Joey and Doogan. I guess in the end it all comes down to which is more important, your safety or the freedom of the waterfront workers.

Ethical Decisions in All My Sons

The play All My Sons by Arthur Miller shows two very different views on the same ethical question based on their experiences and situation. Joe Keller was born with very little, forced to struggle to make a name for himself. He spent 40 years building up the business he has now and it has become almost everything he has. That coupled with the fact that he does not want his son to have to go through what he went through gives him the motivation to do whatever he has to do to save the business. As he tells his son Chris "You lay forty years into a business and they knock you out in five minutes, what could I do, let them take forty years, let them take my life away?" (69). This desperation he feels to keep his business running motivates him to make the decision to ship the cracked cylinders, even though he knew that they could be dangerous. He puts his family before society. Chris on the other hand has had a very easy life, never having to work for anything. His experience in the war also instills in him empathy for those you do not know. He can not see beyond the fact that his father's actions resulted in the death of 21 men. As he explains to his father "I was dying everyday and you were killing my boys and you did it for me? What the hell do think I was thinking of the Goddam business?" (70). He values society over family. He is unable to see the business side of the issue, making what his father did into an awful crime. These differences form a brutal conflict which results in the death of Joe.

Even though I don't support his actions, I think it is unfair to judge Joe by his decisions until you understand his background and motivation. What he thinks is right could be very different from what his son or the rest of society thinks is right. Different experiences change people in different ways and can affect who they place first, society or family. I personally believe that in the majority of cases it is better to place society above family. Every person has their own family, their own story and their own right to live. Yet occasions arise when family does come first. It depends on the situation you are placed in and what your options are. Therefore I believe that it is impossible to say for sure that either family or society should come first.

My Life in France Post 2

Throughout the book, My Life in France, Julia Child continually talks about her original incompetence in the kitchen. Coming from a typical California family, Child's parents rarely cooked, and as a result she never learned. As she tells the reader, "but I was never encouraged to cook and just didn't see the point in it" (4). It is hard to believe that the woman known for her cooking ability never touched a stove before she was married. After her marriage, it was still a long time before she was inspired to learn how to cook, and cook well. She was inspired to take up cooking when she and her husband moved to France. There, she was amazed by the wide assortment of extremely delicious food and encouraged to try her own skill. As Child recalls "Surrounded by gorgeous food, wonderful restaurants, and a kitchen at home -- and an appreciative audience in my husband -- I began to cook more and more" (42). Her astonishment by how good well prepared food could taste gave her new motivation to learn to cook, and create masterpieces of her own. Her desire and willingness to try new things helped show her a whole new world, and shaped the rest of her life.

I chose to write about this aspect of her life as a contrast to All The Pretty Horse. Throughout the entire book, John Grady is trying to find the old life that he had had to give up because of his mother. Though he matures a great deal, it seems that he can never accept a new way of life than the one he has given up. Child seems to be the opposite of that. After her marriage and her life in France, she is eager to embrace a new life style that had before seemed stupid and pointless. After reading both books it seems tome that Child had a much more fulfilling life than John Grady in part because of her willingness to try new things and change. From these books, it seems that flexibility will bring more happiness than stubbornness.

My Life in France Post 1

I decided to read the book My Life in France by Julia Child. This book is an autobiography about the amazing chef Julia Child, the woman who revolutionized home cooking by creating the first cooking show. Even though this book is mostly centered on her time in France, when her husband was working at the US embassy, there is also quite a bit on her childhood and the road to her love of cooking. She and her husband were night and day. She was raised in California and hardy ever traveled, while her husband was well traveled and well cultured. It was a huge decision whether they should get married or not. Their final decision to get married was not widely accepted throughout her family. Her husband was an artist and a democrat, and her conservative father did not agree with him on anything. Though the decision seemed to be a bad one, in the end it worked out for the better.

Another major decision she had to make was whether she should go to France or not with her husband. She had never been to Europe before and had heard countless bad comments about it and France in particular. She also did not speech a word of French. The only person she would know and would be able to talk to would be her husband. She decided that she would go to France, even if it did seem crazy. It was a good thing that she did, because it was there that she acquired her love of cooking and her desire to share her knowledge with women in the United States. Those are two major decisions that Julia Child had to make that would determine the course of her life.

Halloween Origin

Have you ever wondered where the idea for Halloween came from? I mean come on, who would ever say "Ok kids, go and knock on stranger's doors and ask them for food"? This holiday was started by the Celts more than 2,000 years ago. They celebrated the beginning of the New Year on November 1, called Samhain (SAH-win). They believed that the night before, spirits, demons, and fairies walked the earth. People would sacrifices animals over bonfires and dress in animal skins and other costumes to confuse these spirits. Sometimes they impersonated their dead family members. These traditions evolved into an excuse to break down social order for a day. Men dressed as women, women as men, children as their parents, etc. It is also believed that people who dressed up as spirits would go and perform silly acts for people for food. This is probably how trick-or-treating began. When Samhain met Christianity, Halloween was born. November 1 is All Saints Day, or Hallows Day. The night before, Hallow Eve, soon became known as Halloween. For more information about how Halloween began, and how MN had a major role in modern day Halloween, visit http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081027-halloween-facts-costumes-history_2.html

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