In Aaron Aupperlee’s article, “Motherwho beat cancer walks miles every week to support son who is heading to prison”
I thought that Gail Hammett’s characterization was really interesting. Her
first quote is, “He’s my son; I think that any mother would. Maybe I’m not just
any mother. I’m his mother.” This contrasts starkly to what we learn later
about her alcoholism and her absence. I wonder if it would have been possible
to interview the son, Jimmy, and see what he thinks and how feels toward his
mother. I also took issue with the focus that is elucidated in the long title—that
she walks miles every week despite her struggles. But walking four miles a day
is less than an hour of walking, not that much really and also pretty good for
you. I suppose overall it’s a story of Gail Hammett’s redemption but it doesn’t
particularly touch my heart. Although she does admit that she allowed alcohol
to wreak her life and refers to her husband’s arrest because of meth dealing as
“bad luck”. At the end of the article I’m just mostly confused about what the
point of it is. I would be interested to re-read it after gleaning Aupperlee’s
perspective.
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reading of the piece as a little contradictory. How cool would it have been if Aupperlee could have interviewed Jimmy. I think we would have seen an entirely different story. I think the mother's absence and alcoholism are incredibly important to the piece and in some ways define her role as a "mother." Also, I was a little thrown off by the title of the narrative. I thought her cancer would be a much bigger issue than it was. Since it's not, I wonder what the purpose of using the word "cancer" is. What kind of images does it evoke? How does it make us view the mother before even reading the article?
Alaina