Blog Post 1
Alyssa Bearse
Melissa Santos
English 102
28 January 2018
Braiding Sweetgrass
In
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, the chapter called “The Gift
of Strawberries” really stood out to me. Kimmerer explains how strawberries
come as gifts and says, “It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or it to you,
or even deserve it,” (page 24) which I agree with. Strawberries go through a
process of growing just like humans do, so eventually when they are fully ripe
in comparison to an adult, for example, then their life gets taken away by
someone who is going to eat it. Also, when Kimmerer brought up commodity versus
gift giving, it made me think of my real life. Her point was that people go to
the store and buy something, where you have a brief interaction with a cashier
just to give them the money for the items you bought. With gift-giving with
homemade gifts that is something you’re going to remember and continue to keep
that relationship with the person. Back home, I actually am a cashier in a
grocery store, so I understand the brief interaction aspect. The main point is
just to ring the items up, have the customer pay, and then you both go on with
your days and forget about it eventually. This happens hundreds of times in a
shift of working and it’s something I have gotten used to. I definitely agree
and understand how homemade gifts or gifts between close people of someone, is
a more meaningful and memorable experience
I agree, Gifts are more personal. And they also bring people people closer to one another. A commodity is just a raw material.
ReplyDeleteHomemade gifts are the best! For some reason our society is so focused on material things that when someone is presented wih a homemade gift, it is viewed as "cheap". I love making people homemade things and it does bring people closer.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa I completely agree with your statement... buying a good or product for yourself does not have the same feeling as being rewarded or gifted for your service! When you are rewarded for providing an act of kindness, it will only make you feel better about yourself and constantly providing these acts.
ReplyDelete