The Bribery Aisle: How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico
Close Reading

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/business/walmart-bribes-teotihuacan.html?hp&_r=0

David Barstow covers a corporate maneuver south of the border in his article The Bribery Aisle. The New York Times writer used syntax, details, and diction to paint a picture of corporate greed and shady transactions south of the border.

The format of this article is much like a report - from the secret service. The introduction, "SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACÁN, Mexico — Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda Pineda’s alfalfa field. It was an ideal location..." Um, do you have some sort of pipe dream for being a secret agent? "San Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico" - Generally, that appears on the screen after the opening credits to an action movie. And it only gets better from there. "The plan was simple..." really, it was. But stating it so dramatically somehow makes a simple payoff sound all the more sinister, and maybe even interesting. Obviously, corporate transactions aren't exactly headline news, but Barstow is determined to make this report into a full-blown investigation, and maybe even a screenplay. "The Story of the Altered Map" premiering on Nickelodeon at 8/7 Central. He even divides the article into 'episodes', as it were, with flashy titles such as "City of the Gods, An Altered Map, A Helpful Mayor, Getting By the Guardians (my personal favorite), A Gathering Protest, (and last but not least) Open for Business". Wouldn't those look great under the "Scene Selection Menu"?

Specific details dehumanize Wal-Mart, and bring a rich sense of setting to the already well scripted narrative. "With its usual precision, Wal-Mart calculated it would attract 250 customers an hour if only it could put a store in Mrs. Pineda’s field." This personifies Wal-Mart as a cold, calculating figure, caring only about 250 faceless customers per hour, and no compassion for Señora Pineda. More crucial details, " Protesters decried the very idea of a Wal-Mart ... They contended the town’s traditional public markets would be decimated... Months of hunger strikes and sit-ins consumed Mexico’s news media" depict how opposed the local people are to Wal-Mart, making this a civil rights and culture issue as well as a business concern.

The specific words used to describe this 'operation' further paint a picture of a sneaky, greedy, merciless corporation 'exploiting' the local Mexican people. The article describes 'out-muscling protesters', implying that Wal-Mart did not have right on its side, but sheer bulldozing force. Also, 'vanquishing' small town markets makes the company sound like an evil wizard.

Rhetoric techniques like diction, details, and syntax can effectively engage a reader in an epic battle of zoning rights and technicalities, if done well. This article proved that, as well as used excellent work choice and detail to villainize Wal-Mart.

1970   Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.

Anita Diamant's novel The Red Tent is a retelling of the biblical story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob. In this book, a specific inanimate object stands as a refuge for Dinah and her mothers, a connection to their ancestors, and a symbol of womanhood. Three guesses what it could be...

 Every new moon, the wives of Jacob enter the red tent for their monthly cycle. According to their culture, women were to be separated from men during this time.When Dinah comes of age, she is accepted into the red tent as a young woman. Here, the fertile women spend three days in peace; resting, praying, and singing.  The red tent, in the tribe of Jacob, was the symbol for womanhood and fertility.

In a patriarch-dominated society, the red tent symbolized refuge from demanding and sometimes cruel men. Ruti, "whose eyes seemed permanently blackened, was the slave-wife of brutish Laban. She found sanctuary in the few days of the month that she spent in the red tent, where Laban could not follow her. Even for the wives with gentler husbands, women were expected to submit completely to their husbands, and could not talk and joke freely in the presence of men, "In their day along in the red tend, Jacob's wives spoke among themselves about their husband's dreams and plans". It was also here that they were able to plot without being overhear. When the tribe of Jacob choose to leave Laban, his daughters steal from him his idols (gods), to take with them to their new home. Leah hides them in the red tent. Laban searches for them everywhere except, "his eyes fixed upon the women's tent on the edge of the camp. It was unthinkable that a healthy man would walk inside that place during the head of the month, among bleeding women - even worse, his own daughters". The taboo of the tent protects them from intrusions; and makes trespasses all the more horrible. Once his idols have been "polluted beyond redemption" by laying in the tent, he believes their magic to protect him is lost, and he never bothers his daughters again. 

As well as being an oasis in a patriarchal world, the red tent is a place for passing on stories. These are the women's tales; being the only daughter of Jacob, Dinah "heard all the stories from her mother and mother-aunts, which her brothers wouldn't be bothered to hear or pass on". Dinah's aunt Bilhah tells her the story of how man first learned to spin wool into thread, and Rachael tells the stories of the births she has midwifed. Along with personal stories, the red tent is a place where Jacob's wives carry on traditions from their grandmothers and great-grandmothers, "The women sang all the welcoming songs while Rachael made fine wheat-flour cake in the three-cornered shape of woman's sex". The make sacrifices to their goddesses and welcome Dinah into the red tent with the traditional ceremony, "they put kohl on my eyes, and perfumed my forehead...painted my arms and legs with henna". The red tent is a place for the women's traditions to be carried on.

The red tent literally symbolizes the isolation of menstruating women, but within, it is a place for Jacob's wives to escape the controlling  men of their time, and share their personal histories and traditions. The red tent is a very important object.

Death of  Salesman - Summary and Analysis

The play Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. This was a time of doubt in the midst of the post-war boom. Miller and his colleagues had lived through the Great Depression and WWII, so although these time periods are particularly avoided by the play, they are very much prevalent in the attitudes of the characters. Being a play, there is only dialogue as a medium for Miller to editorialize, which he does through the most respected character of Charlie, who gives the oft quoted speech

      Nobody dast blame this man. For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don't put a bolt to a nut, he don't tell you the law or give you medicine. He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back -- that's an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you're finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.

This is the bread and butter of Death of a Salesman. Obviously, this is not Charley speaking. This is the raw message of Arthur Miller, thinly veiled in a time of increasing fear of socialism. Death of a Salesman is set, in the present, in 1949, as well as in flashbacks to the 1930s. The Loman home, suffocated by the city, is struggling for nostalgia in the jungle that is New York City .

The story is, essentially, from the point of view of Willy Loman, a depressed, aging salesman who is prone to flash backs (so, not the greatest description of him). He is fixated on an American Dream where being "not just liked, but well-liked" can get you ahead. He denied his true talent for carpentry to be a salesman, where he believed his personality could keep him going forever. He was never very successful, but told his sons that he was, and they hero worshipped him as boys.

Linda is Willy's wife. She is practical, mothering, and takes care of him in his crazy, disappointed old age. Willy is her primary concern, and she tries to protect him from himself and from his sons. Willy's Madonna-Whore complex desexualizes their relationship and causes him to disrespect her.

Biff is Willy's oldest son. Like everyone else in his family, he has failed to grow. In high school, Biff was big man on campus, and absolutely in love with his father (reverse Oedipus). After flunking math and catching his father in an affair, Biff is heart-broken and stunted. He is a kleptomaniac and cannot form healthy relationships with women. Biff sees the foolishness of Willy and hates him for his betrayal. He cannot, however, move past it and be mature, so he lives in disillusioned, unilluminated misery. He is constantly going out west to try and find himself, but always ends up back home, hating himself.

Happy is Willy's younger son. He is completely ignored by Willy both in the present and in the past when he lived in his big brother's shadow "Look Pop, I lost weight!" :( Happy (ignorance is bliss) does not have the ideals of Biff, but cannot form healthy relationships with women either, and sleeps with the fiances of his superiors. He keeps alive Willy's childish dream of making it big with no skills, because he can't face the existential hell which Biff lives in.

Ben is Willy's older brother, and a "role model" for him. Ben and Willy's father abandoned him when he was a baby and this has forever infantilized him. Ben's catch phrase is "When I was seventeen, I walked into the jungle. And by twenty-one, I walked out. And by God, I was rich!" ugh. He is Willy's idol, and represents what Willy thinks he could have been (yeah right). *Linda doesn't like Ben.

Charley and Bernard are foils to Willy and Biff. Bernard studied hard and became a successful lawyer, while Charley is a shrewd business man. However, these men are not petty and jealous like Willy. Charley gives Willy every week and tries to offer him a job. Bernard worries for Biff, and confronts Willy about the incident that ruined Biff.

Other characters; there is a Woman who Willy has an affair with, and other women whom Biff and Happy abandon their father for. There is so much Madonna/Whore in this play. Also, a waiter is the only man who will be kind to Willy when he is having delusions in a restaurant bathroom.

A very brief synopsis of Death of a Salesman: 
Willy Loman can't keep his mind to driving and keeps drifting of the road. He goes home to his wife Linda, and his son Biff, who he is always fighting with (also Happy, but he couldn't care less). He tells his sons to go ask Bill Oliver for money to start a family business. They don't get the money because Biff had stolen from him when he worked in the warehouse. At dinner with their father, they try to break the news to him, and he goes into another flashback. He goes home, tries to plant a garden, and has it out with Biff. A hallucination of Ben encouraged Willy to commit suicide to give Biff some start up money, so he goes and crashes his car. Nobody comes to his funeral but Bernard and Charley. 

The flash backs: in every flashback, Biff is a strapping young football star with no respect for authority or women. He is admired by all and loves no one better than his father. When he flunks math, he expects that Willy can get him out of it. When he sees his father's fall, he is shattered and looses faith. 

The central themes of Death of a Salesman are the failure of the American Dream, betrayal, and delusions of grandeur. Willy cannot face his failure (that he is not well-liked, nor a good salesman) so he lies lavishly and pretends to his wife and sons that he is much more successful than he really is. His obsessions with outward appearances and popularity prevents him from developing strong values and skills. This illusion crumbles around him when Biff catches him having an affair - his betrayal is his downfall. 



Other motifs:
The flute represents Willy's father, an entrepreneur who worked with his hands. Willy has not lived up to the father who abandoned him.
North, South, East, and West all represent different things. North is purity and self-reliance (he thinks Ben goes to Alaska), South is hedonistic and without reason or rule (where Ben actually makes his money, and where Willy keeps his woman), East is your roots (Willy never leaves the east so he never evolves or matures), and West is self-discovery and adventure (Biff spends all his time there, but ends up returning East to his roots). 
Stockings symbolize Willy's guilt
The car and the pipe represent technology replacing humanity- note that Willy dies crashing his car.
Dairy Products - Willy is constantly drinking milk or eating cheese. This is because he is still a child, and sees Linda as his mother, not as a sexual creature or an equal to him.

Response to Course Materials #4

So, this past month, we've finally gotten to hear the famous "Holmes-ey stories" that seniors from classes passed have told me about. And they are awesome. As far as the curriculum.... well I really appreciated an insight on the 'method to madness'. The sequencing of AP has at times baffled me, but I completely understand why we are reading the books in the order we do. American Dream is crazy and post-modern, so all of the symbolism and deeper meaning is really obvious, because otherwise the entire thing would be completely random. Then, Death of A Salesman is also about disappointment and failure of the American Dream, but its more subtle and gets into family relationships in a much more intimate, emotional way. So much Oedipus! I was simultaneously disturbed and impressed by the complexities of Willy and Biff relationship. I never would have interpreted their relationship to be Oedipal, nonetheless liek lover, but the text speaks for itself.  How they 'spoke on the phone together for hours' and how they embrace and cry and Biff kisses him (so awkward). So, speaking of incest, its time for Hamlet! I am a huge fan of Shakespeare, so this is probably going to be my favorite unit. I've also found that reading The Other Boleyn Girl has actually been very helpful to understanding the dynamics of the court of Elsinore. At this time of year, lit teachers generally ask us to write sonnets, and that is actually my very favorite part of English. Freshman year, I wrote twelve (so much extra credit, I didn't have to work for the rest of the year), and in Brit Lit, I got to write a condensed Twelfth Night in iambic pentameter. So, yes, I am very excited to be reading Hamlet.

Close Reading
It Was the Best of the Worst of Times: Breaking Dawn, Part 2
Mary Pols, Time Magazine
http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/15/it-was-the-best-of-the-worst-of-times-breaking-dawn-part-2/

So, in a half-ironic, half-nostalgic attitude, I found myself reading a review of Breaking Dawn, Part 2 in Time Magazine. The details, imagery, and syntax were very effective in convincing me of the reluctant mediocrity of the final installment of the Twilight series.

The details which Pols chooses are all  humorous but uninspired quotes. In one of the first direct quotes, Pols gives an example of Bella's new-found humor, "Vampire Bella is even funny. "You think you have some sort of moronic wolfie claim on her?" she bellows...". I highly doubt this is what the script writers would consider one of their golden lines. Neither is "You named my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?", but these are the longest direct quotes from the movie, among precious few. Note that she does not  insert the inevitable diatribe about the value of love, family, and post-marital sex that we all know will make an appearance sooner or later. Her focus is on the shallow, quiet chuckle-worthy jokes which she sees as the best part of the movie. Not the highest compliment. The entire review focuses on the minor improvements in dialogue and aesthetics while choosing to ignore the essential details of the plot and culmination of  saga, because it deems them unworthy or uninteresting.

The ironic imagery in this review mocks the attempted effects of the "wildly campy" film. A wry description of "the Irish vampires- dressed in various shades of green, fisherman sweaters and tweed caps" eludes to the stiff, one-dimensionality of many characters in the series. Further snorts of derision are buried in an observation of the "cozy, ivy-covered, fully decorated cottage" which is so disgustingly charming it repels the Volturi from harming their daughter Renesme. Pols' manipulates objective imagery into something comic using her descriptive language, "Now she and Edward... sparkle like disco balls" to support.

This review is arranged with many (parentheticals) and side comments, like a real conversation. This syntax lends itself better to an informal voice, and doesn't recommend the professionalism that a typical movie review requires. Some of these concisely and smirkingly address plots points "(He imprinted. It’s a wolf thing.)" while others are blatantly teasing "(Why the delay? Soccer season in Italy?)". This effect reminds me of a friend muttering snarky comments to you at the back of a theater. And its just as funny. The lackadaisical organization of paragraphs is a little tricky to follow, but its informality is appropriate for the tone.

I have already spent way too much time on this analysis. The DIDLES definitely support the humorous tone of this essay, as well as its suggestion that Breaking Dawn: Part 2 was a small improvement on its predecessors, but amusing if viewed with the right attitude.

It Was the Best of the Worst of Times: Breaking Dawn-Part 2

Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/15/it-was-the-best-of-the-worst-of-times-breaking-dawn-part-2/#ixzz2CdHAgeHf

It Was the Best of the Worst of Times: Breaking Dawn-Part 2

Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/15/it-was-the-best-of-the-worst-of-times-breaking-dawn-part-2/#ixzz2CdHAgeHf

Open Prompt

1984. Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

    My favorite line of poetry in the world goes "Since feeling is first/ who pays any attention/ to the syntax of things/ will never wholly kiss you" (cummings 1). This is the opening phrase in a poem by e.e. cummings.  It introduces the theme of impulse over mind. It also sets up the construction of the poem, as an appeal to his love. This short phrase is full of rich language and deep meaning. 

    "Since feeling is first" is the first line, and it makes a powerful assumption, that feeling trumps all other senses (cummings 1). This condition holds true throughout the piece, as when he declares "kisses are a better fate/ than wisdom", valuing emotion over reason (cummmings 8). He reasserts the power of small emotive motions, like kisses, in his line  "-the best gesture of my brain is less than/ your eyelids' flutter..." (cummings 11). Without an opening line to introduce and establish this theme of intuition and romance, the entire poem would be an argument, rather than evidence to an undeniable fact.

     

    Whenever one analyzes a poem, one of the most important questions is 'who is this written for?'. In the case of "since feeling is first", it is answered in the opening lines. As he explains "who pays any attention/ to the syntax of things/ will never wholly kiss you", he describes what he can offer her that many men cannot (cummings 2). He is confessing and he in convincing, "my blood approves", as he woos the object of his passion (cummings 7). In the final stanza, he speaks the vow he has been working up to all along, "We are for each other: then/  laugh, leaning back in my arms" (cummings 13). 

    The opening and most memorable line from "since feeling is first" is effective because it introduces the themes and message of the poem with conviction. The claim in the first stanza is warranted in the following stanzas, as his message of love unfolds. These important functions of the opening phrase are expressed artfully and skillfully. The message comes across effortlessly, "for life's not a paragraph/ And death i think is no parenthesis" (cummings 15).

Reflection on Course Materials 11-4-12

As of late, our energies have been focused on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Like The American Dream, it focuses on every day Americans' quest for satisfaction. Willy Loman, a salesman who has relied on his 'personal attractiveness' to succeed in the business, is losing his touch. A desperate, aging child is not attractive to customers, though his eager-to-please persona used to work. His two sons represent the reasons for his failure; Biff is moody and overly-idealistic, while Happy has no work ethic or principals. This book condemns the fate of salesmen- spending their lives convincing people to choose this brand over another- meaningless, right? But someone has to do it, and if you do it for your family, isn't that what matters? No, says Arthur Miller. There are some serious Marxist overtones to this show.
What really gets me is how Linda is stuck with her loser sons and her crazy husband and she is the only reliable person in the bunch. It is so unfair that she has to deal with it all, and she never grows as a character. She is just the responsible mother to all. I think it was rather chauvinistic of Arthur Miller not to empower her, or to even highlight the tragedy of her situation.
 I really love the daily vocabulary usage activity, but I am still sort of lost when it comes to our weekly schedule. The chapter about America was more related to what we have been studying, but we didn't have much preparation for the essay. Sometimes the online work and the class work don't completely synthesize, and I feel like I am in two very interesting but separate lit classes. I'm adjusting to it, but its still a little confusing.

The American Dream
Summary
The American Dream is the story of... well, it isn't really a story.
At the start, Mommy tells Daddy all about a meaningless and very absurd mix up with hats, and Daddy's impotence is more than implied. Grandma enters laden with boxes and makes generalizations about what people think of old people, while everyone awaits an elusive and late "them", who will supposedly bring satisfaction. Mrs. Barker (them) arrives, but cannot remember why she is there. As Mommy and Daddy try to fetch missing things from missing rooms in the house, Grandma explains to Mrs. Barker that Mommy and Daddy adopted a child before, but when he was curious about his sexuality, and preferred Daddy to Mommy, Mommy mutilated him and murdered him. Then, a visitor shows up at the door (not the 'van man' that Grandma had been threatened with), who Grandma names The American Dream. He is physically beautiful, but completely empty and without feeling - he is the twin of the mutilated son who Mommy and Daddy are named in relation to. Mommy is 'satisfied' with this new American Dream, and begins suggesting that he satisfy her later that night, when Grandma interjects a goodnight, breaking the fourth wall, and speaking to the audience. Its sort of a confused play.

Insights/Themes/Analysis
This is all about the replacement of the original American Dream with consumerism. Grandma's homespun wisdom and frank manner are no longer valued in this society where everything can be manufactured and bought - even children and sexuality. The idea that we can buy satisfaction is prevalent, as well as an emptiness in our new values, as characterized by the American Dream, who is nothing but a pretty face.
Another theme is the castration of America. Daddy's masculinity has been stolen, and Mommy's femininity is equally absent. This desexualization of America is connected to the commercialization of sex. This could be interpreted as a message about how sex is becoming a commodity, and commodities are only a step away from losing all value.  In this universe, sex is not only meaningless, but quite absent. It is replaced by other equally meaningless activities. Here, a child is also a commodity, and thus replaceable.
Edward Albee uses many absurdist elements, but The American Dream is not entirely a part of the Theatre of the Absurd, because is does have a message (other than 'life is absurd'). He shows us the absurd world that our society is moving towards, but uses Grandma as a voice of reason, offering us a choice between a meaningless existence, and the old values. When Grandma speaks directly to the audience, she practically appeals to them "Don't become like Mommy and Daddy". This show parodies everyday behavior to the extreme, in an effort to offend and frighten people away from a meaningless existence.

Close Reading: How Healthcare is Changing - for the Better
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/10/18/how-healthcare-is-changingfor-the-better

This Article, 'How Healthcare is Changing - for the Better' convinces us that new measures are more appropriate, cost-effective, and useful in treating patients. The author, Christopher Gearon, uses personal details and straightforward logic to argue this point.

Right off the bat, Gearon describes a specific patient, Sarah Holobaugh, who is living with respiratory and cardiac problems (Gearon 1). He uses a 'zoom-in, zoom-out' approach that personalizes the issue with 80-year-old Sarah, then explains how her situation is that of millions of Americans. The tiniest detail of her roof being rebuilt to avoid damaging mold spores brings humanity to politics and policy, so he makes sure to refer back to it later, "The goal is to expand... attention to the realities of daily life—like transportation and financial issues and Holobaugh's leaky roof" (Gearson 1). This organization helps us feel the personal relevance of changes in the health care system. This structure is repeated in a successive paragraph, this one about "Retired IBM engineer Stephen Hennessy of Essex Junction, Vt." (Gearson 2). I think its a little cheesy, but these individuals give a face to the reforms and grab interest.

Now that we're feeling all warm and fuzzy, it is time for some indisputable facts and logic. "Whereas most hospitals and doctors are paid only for providing direct care, and not for any time and effort they spend trying to prevent illness, doctors here are rewarded in part for making sure people keep their conditions in check" (Gearson 1). That sounds pretty reasonable. And it makes sense; if doctors are paid for attempting to cure, not preventing disease, then there is no incentive to keep people healthy in the first place, and programs like Medicare and Medicaid are strained. "Approximately 1 in 4 people with heart failure are back for return visits within a month of being sent home," is an excellent fact, because it is a simple fraction with complicated implications (Gearson 2). He goes on to explain how emergency care is more expensive and dangerous than preventative measures with consistent follow up. This is a multifaceted issue, but when these important correlations are highlighted through rational explanations and unfettered facts, an audience will be convinced.

The article goes on to describe the benefits of a new , more interactive, more preventative health care system. But an article is only as convincing as its author. Gearson's use of personal/emotional details, and clear facts makes the content accessible, understandable, and relatable to the average American.

                                                    Open Prompt 10-14

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

         The novel 'The Westing Game' by Ellen Raskin features Grace Wexler and her daughters Angela and Turtle. These seemingly opposite sisters are both ignored and neglected by their mother, though in very different ways. Everyone assumes that they would be rivals, but they share a special connection; this reinforces the book's theme of unexpected love.

        Both Angela and Turtle's problems with their mother stem from her  love of beauty and obedience. Grace Wexler, formerly Gracie Windklopper, is implied to have come from humble beginnings, but is desperate to leave them behind. She is constantly berating her husband for being "only  a podiatrist", and flaunts what wealth she has, ""I'll keep my furs with me," Grace said. She did not want to be taken for one of the poor relatives" (Raskin 22). She escaped poverty by being beautiful and obedient, a 'perfect housewife', so she wants her daughters to rise even higher socially with these same skills.

      Turtle Wexler is at the awkward age of thirteen, and she has inherited none of her mother's looks or social graces, "My mother doesn't think I'm beautiful.... when I was born she said I looked like a turtle. I still look like a turtle, but I don't care, I guess" (Raskin 63). Although Turtle is incredibly intelligent, "Mrs. Wexler always seemed surprised to see her other daughter, so unlike golden-haired , angel-faced Angela" (Raskin 10). When she is not being ignored or sent to her closer-sized bedroom, she is criticized, "I don't know why you insist on making yourself ugly" (Raskin 10). Grace only sees her daughters as future wives, so she doesn't value her fierce, independent youngest daughter at all.

       Angela Welxer is the 'perfect child'. She is "as still and blank-faced pretty as a store-window dummy" (Raskin 9). She is engaged to a doctor, and her mother is arranging the wedding without stopping to ask whether it is really what Angela wants. Grace values her because she has caught a rich man, Dr. Denton Deere, so Angela wonders "Why did they ask about Denton all the time, as thought she was nobody without him?" (Raskin 58). Although she gets her mother's praise and attention, Angela is just as objectified and overlooked as her little sister, only she is more desperate for her mother's approval. 

    Turtle and Angela are very different, but they have grown to understand each other very well. Turtle declares ""I know Angela doesn't want to marry that sappy intern"", while Angle has the strong insight that "Turtle's crutch is her braid" (Raskin 70). These details may seem random, but they reveal how much attention the sisters pay to each other. They also look out for each other. In an opening scene, after Grace scolds Turtle for wanting to dress up as a witch, Angela offers to sew the costume for her sister, because she understands the desire to hide behind a mask. Later, a distressed Angela sets off a bomb, and she pulls it away from Turtle so it hits her in the face instead. Of course, Turtle is the only one who realizes that Angela is the bomber, so she proceeds to set off her own bomb. Turtle reveals herself in an interview, ""Are you protecting Angela?" "NO!"" (Raskin 128). This mutual protection is an act of love, in spite of a mother who would have pitted them against each other. Judge Ford  discovers the true bomber is " ...Angela? That sweet, pretty thing. Thing? Was that what I saw her as? All I'd ever said to her was "I hear you're getting married" or "How pretty you look, Angela". Had anyone ever asked about her ideas, her hopes, her plans? If I had been treated like that, I'd have used dynamite, not fireworks" (Raskin128).
    The bombing incident reveals how much Angela and Turtle love each other in the face of their mother's objectification and neglect. Her cold calculation of her daughters' worth based on their potentials for snatching up rich men leads them both to act out. Although they have very different personalities, the sisters take care of each other where their mother failed.