RLife Choice: The Powers That Be
My name is Margret by Maya Angelou is short story about a servant Margret and the women she works for Viola Cullinan who is white and thinks that she is superior to blacks. Viola abbreviates Margaret’s name to Mary because her friend says Margaret is too long to say. Having Mrs. Cullinan call her Mary infuriates Margaret because to Margaret this is demeaning and takes away her identity. She knows her mother will not allow her to quit her job so she tries to get fired by coming to work late and leaving early and not completing her work however this does not get her fired. Then one of Mrs. Cullinan old servants Bailey instructed Margaret to break Mrs. Cullinan’s favorite pieces dish which were a shaped like a fish casserole dish and green glass coffee cups. Mrs. Cullinan then falls to the floor cutting up her face and Bailey ask “Who did it Viola was it Mary? Viola? Who did it? Mrs. Cullinan then replies her names Margaret and throws a piece of the broken plate at Margaret. Did you agree with Margaret's choice to break the casserole dish and two green glass cups? I did agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and the two green glass cups because by her breaking Mrs. Cullinan’s favorite pieces she was freed from being degraded and disrespected. She regained her identity and by breaking the pieces showed Mrs. Cullinan’s what she was doing was wrong and hurtful and had no right to treat her like that. Margaret showed Mrs. Cullinan that she was not a possession and she was a person with feelings that cared whether her name was said fully and not abbreviated. Reflection I remember when I worked at a nursing home as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) it was maybe my second week and I had to shadow another CNA who was showing me the routine of the residents and how to care for them. We were notified that one of the residents was going to have family member’s visits him at lunch time. I was then instructed to help her move him out of the bed, he had suffered from a stroke so he was not able to move his arms or legs I had to help her dress the man and in the process he was being difficult and we could not get his shirt on him. I could see how frustrated she was becoming with this resident and I asked her “maybe we should call a nurse to help us” she then replied, “she was getting this shirt on whether he would cooperate or not.’’ She then slapped him across the face; I told her to stop and went to report to the nurse what just happened. When the nurse came in the room with me the other CNA denied everything that happened and said that I was lying. The nurse then told me that there was nothing she could do because it was a he said she said situation and of course the resident could not speak or defend himself. I was so upset and felt sorry for the resident that was slapped. I quite that night, I told myself I would not work for a place that did not care about their residents in the way that they should.
2 Comments
Maria Martin
2/16/2018 05:41:40 pm
My mom is a CNA and I remember her telling me similar stories about the CNA she had to shadow. My mom ended up getting the lady fired. Hearing stories like this is so heartbreaking.
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2/20/2018 07:43:22 pm
I really respect your humility for that patient that got slapped. I would have done the same thing.
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