What does the title mom mean? Mom/Boss/Bus driver?

Post 2

(Please be sure to click on the hyperlink, titled Sheryl Sandberg, below.  Reading this article will help clarify how you can connect the novel to current events. It also helps show how I use concrete facts to back up my claims in this post.)

Huck is lucky to have Miss Watson in his life!  So far she tells Huck to "pray every day", gets him to go to school, provides him with a bed, and tries to teach him manners (Twain 10, 15).

Miss Watson is really trying to serve as a positive role model for Huck, even though he would rather live without her restrictions.  She serves as a mother figure for Huck.

Her role as a mother figure is still important today, but we expect women to do even more.  Women are expected to teach children manners and provide love and support.  They are also expected to be successful in the workplace.  There has been a great deal of controversy recently over Sheryl Sandberg's recent book and commencement addresses.  She urges conversations about "gender in the workplace and educate people on how gender holds us back" (Mossberg).  Society believes that women must not only serve the traditional Miss Watson role, but they must also work a full time job.  While society pressures women, we too are to blame. 

 I am to blame.  I want to be a dedicated professional and mom.  I want to get to school early to prepare. I want to provide students with timely feedback and engaging assignments.  I want to create great connections with colleagues. I want my daughters to be successful and smart.  I want to do fun activities with them.  I want a clean house and to cook great dinners.  I want. I want. I want. But I can't do it all!  I have to recognize my boundaries and find a balance between my own expectations and what is feasible.  

Not only does society expect women to serve as a positive example, but men are also expected to hold up cultural values and norms as Miss Watson does.  Men must hold a reliable full time job and serve as a positive role model at home.  They too must help with the housework, indoors or outdoors.  

Today there are a lot of expectations on adults.  These expectations surpass the expectations in the 1850s and 60s because gender roles are different and expectations are higher.  Since Huck's time there has certainly been a change in gender roles and expectations. 

(Notice I examine a character and extend the meaning.  I include a link to a Wall Street Journal article about Sheryl Sandberg.  When I quoted this article, I include a citation at the end of the quote.)

Lessons from mom…or just doing the right thing?

Post 1

While Huck Finn is an orphan, he does have Miss Watson who provides him with daily moral lessons.  One such lesson is about “spiritual gifts”.  Huck says that spiritual gifts meant “[he] must help other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about [himself]” (Twain 11).  Ultimately, Miss Watson is trying to help Huck become a morally responsible young man, as any mom wants.  However this provides an internal conflict for Huck; he does not see other people behaving this way.  He also does not completely “buy into” her philosophies. However, his foster mom’s voice is in the back of his head.

Don’t we all have advice or morals from our parents?  Our parents are the first people we learn from and often their advice sticks.  While it may seem silly, I always try to have a coat with me because, as my mom always said, “you never know what the weather will do or what could happen in your travels.”  This is a simple example, but mom’s advice and lessons echo in my mind.   

Some lessons from mom are not just pieces of advice.  Miss Watson is giving Huck advice on how to be a good person.  Helping others and being selfless are important.  While driving home the other day, I came to a stop sign.  I looked at a house near the sign and saw an older couple struggling in the driveway; the man had fallen from his chair and his wife could not lift him up. Their struggle was evident, so I pulled into the driveway to help the man into his chair.  Now, my mom obviously didn’t tell me to do this, but I knew the right thing was to help this couple.   While Huck says he “couldn’t see no advantage” in these spiritual gifts, he does comment on them (Twain 11).  I am sure that he will use his “spiritual gifts” to do the right thing later in the book.  

(Notice how I wrote about internal conflict, made a personal connection, and extended  the meaning.)