Shame In Chanda's Secrets

Anxieties and misunderstandings in relation to AIDS began when the homosexual community was affected. Consequently, people started to believe that it was only homosexuals would contract AIDS and accused them of the cause of the disease. The public was not worried until some people who were not homosexuals got the disease. Because of this, the attitude of the public changed into the fear that anyone could get AIDS since it was an STD. Numerous of people were misled by the actions of the government. An example in the film shows one woman who started to become sick after her blood transfusion. She always believed that it was because of the surgery, however, she actually she got AIDS. The doctors were aware but did nothing to notify her. This triggered fear because the government was aware that the AIDS prevalence was increasing and being spread yet

Fears and misconceptions regarding AIDS began when only the homosexual community contracted it. Therefore, people started to believe that only the homosexuals would get the AIDS and blamed them for the cause of the disease. The public was not in fear until some people who were not homosexuals contracted the disease. It was at this time, that the public’s attitude shifted into the fear that anyone was able to have AIDS; it was a sexually transmitted disease. Many were also deceived by the government’s actions. For example, one woman in the movie began to become sick after a blood transfusion. She always thought that it was due to surgical problems, but actually she had contracted AIDS and the doctors knew but didn’t do anything about it. This also caused panic because, even though the government knew AIDS was spreading around they did not do anything about it.

Esperanza’s situation is a reminder that shame can have a positive effect on people’s lives by being a source of motivation and inspiration.

Have you ever felt so ashamed that you have become ashamed of who you are becoming? Shame is always reminding people it is a soul eating disease. For instance, in the book The Kite Runner Baba and Amir are so caught up in their shame they can hardly stand each other. In the beginning of the novel Baba pays no attention to Amir and by the end of the novel Amir realizes why his father paid no attention to him. We can become a changed person by facing our shame and allowing it to remain in the past while we move on to our future.

According to Harris Perry, in Sister Citizen, there are three essential elements in the emotion of shame (104). The first element of shame is social; the fear of embarrassment or humiliation around others in our community. For Black women the social element of shame may cause all-encompassing feelings of guilt, especially when the possibility of public exposure by others to those who are family or close personally.

Shame is unspoken, it is the main secret behind different forms of broken behaviors. The aspiring researcher Brene Brown, in her earlier talk, “The Power of Vulnerability”, which became a viral hit and the most favored TED Talk video, explores what the possibilities are when people confront their shame. Along with her most recent video “Listening to Shame”, Brown speaks of both shame and vulnerability throughout the presentation. She digs into the uncomfortable, unacceptable, and human emotions that we keep deep within us and dares us to show our authentic selves. The presentation includes the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos and pathos to build the fundamental objectives of the talk. In which throughout her talk, Brown portrays great credibility

She believed it was her fault that she let them stayed home without her. If she didn’t none of these problems occurred, none of this tragedy had happened. This is true, she came to Tiro because she thought Soly and Iris can live happy. Besides, her friend Esther and Mrs. Tafa convinced her to go to Tiro so, she can end the family feud, but she never wanted to due to the reason, after what they did to her Mom. At the end, she compromised, forgot what happened and went to Tiro only for the sake of her family. In Tiro, Chanda’s had many complications for example she had to listen to conversation against her mom. Also, they want her to marry with their cousin. Importantly her brother and sister were separated from her. Who can listen to discussion talking against their mom? Chanda loved her mom and she couldn’t hear anything negative about her mother. As a result, she decided to go back home to Bonang though in the middle civil war arise which let her stopped there. After coming to Tiro, it only caused her problems and there was no one to help her. If she blames someone who should she blame, but blame herself? If Soly and Iris were kidnapped who’s fault was it? People would say it was her she was the one didn’t take them with her since she knew her grandma and her Auties and Uncles were at home, so they can take care of her siblings. Did her cousins take care of them? If so, why they were not able to save two children’s. This tells that it is only Chanda who

Likewise, sin/feeling sinful is also part of the stigma of AIDS. In small, sub Saharan African villages such as the ones previously mentioned, having such a well known, yet feared disease could begin questions, and judgemental opinions to be made. If a person has the virus, it could send a message that the person has been ‘sleeping around’. To further explain how sin is part of the stigma of AIDS, Mama was thought of as somewhat of a whore/slut by her family, because she had four husbands, when she was originally supposed to marry the man her parents picked out for her. Lilian’s family believes that because she refused to marry Tuelo, a curse was brought upon her. They concluded that her loved ones were dead because she dishonoured the family and ancestors. They believe her children and husbands died as a form of punishment. An example of Mama feeling sinful would be when just as Auntie Lizbet is just about to leave for Tiro and she says to Mama “as you sow, so you reap sister. The sins are visited upon

This aspect of shame was highlighted in two characters, Marshal (regarding his sexuality) and Tamara (regarding her body image), although it is more noticeable in Tamara. Tamara is first described as the "overweight" girl with "seriously bad skin" by Avalon. If this is just a first impression of her, it'd be hard to imagine what else she had gone through regarding her appearance. The chapter "big is beautiful" really highlights the shame Tamara feels for her own body, as shopping can often be a real self-esteem wrecking ball for plus sized girls. Even asking Avalon to come with her in the first place made her "drop her eyes" in shame. Whilst looking for clothing, Tamara completely seemed out of it and would turn away from any options given to her. Trying on clothing was another matter entirely. The clothing "[was] crap" and looked "terrible" on her, the jeans especially, purely because they were "too low" and "[too] tight." Having Alice and Julie there also really did not help. As they flung insults at her, calling her "Shrek" and telling her she "[wasn't] beautiful" they were only building on the growing shame that Tamara felt. Alice's snarky remark of "stop eating" left her "seething" and "mortified," and in the end Tamara went off and binge ate fatty food. The constant pressure and image of her needing to be "skinny" was degrading for her, and is teaching her to hate

In the short stories of Shame by Dick Gregory and Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield clearly displayed how the both characters in the story behaved socially unacceptable in their life. In the story of Miss Brill, she is described as an old English teacher from a town where she go for a walk in every Sunday afternoon in the park wearing an old but favourite fur, which she spends her time in sitting and walking around the park. Miss Brill also use to sees the entire world in a different angle and enjoys watching the people around her by judging them very strangely. However, one day she hears a young couple's comments about her badly and then she realizes that she is also very bad as the people that she commented. The Short story of shame

Since it is a disease contracted on one’s own, it is oftentimes seen as the fault of the person living with HIV or AIDS, therefore causing others to feel as though they should not be held responsible for such accomodation. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the stigma of HIV and other marginalized groups, such as queer and people of color. For a long period of time there was a general misconstrued idea that this disease only affected gay men or those who were economically disadvantaged and seen negatively, including minority groups.

The writing Shame, was taken from Nigger, an autobiography written by Dick Gregory. This narrative was about two childhood experiences that can teach a lesson on how the negative actions of a person can have a profound effect on a person’s life. Gregory tells about two different situations and how they affect his childhood, one in which he has no control over, and the other, where given a choice, he fails to respond.

Throughout several plays and films analyzed in this class, the idea of secrecy and the damage that happens from it is highly involved. Secrecy is the habit or practice of maintaining secrets or maintaining privacy or concealment. This is a key part to many plays and movies because keeping a secret can have severe consequences. Some works that I have analyzed in this class that have this relevant idea are as follows: Buried Child, How I Learned To Drive and Suddenly, Last Summer. All of these works show that hiding the truth and keeping secrets can do damage to other people. This damage can be physically, emotionally or mentally.

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change”(Brené Brown). In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman is publicly shamed for having a child with a man who is not her husband. Another example of public shame can be seen in modern day articles “Florida ‘Scarlet Letter’ Law is Repealed by Gov. Bush,” by Dana Canedy, and “Houston Couple Gets ‘The Scarlet Letter’ Treatment.” Both talk of public shame that people have had to endure in the present day. Public shaming is not an effective punishment because it is a cruel and unusual punishment, it does not deter crime, and it can emotionally traumatize the one being shamed.

Throughout “Our secrets”, Susan Griffin explores the secrets and fears underneath the life of different characters. People are usually afraid of revealing secrets since the truth behind the secrets has the power to make a significant difference to people’s life, particularly in a negative way. As a result, the truth is often feared and concealed. “I think of it now as a kind of mask, not an animated mask that expresses the essence of an inner truth, but as mask that falls like dead weight over the human face”(Griffin 349). The mask shields what is on the inside, covering up ones’ feelings of their own will. The hidden side to them is as a barrier to their fear of the unexpected consequence of uncovering their secrets.