Socratic Seminar persuasive Essay
Julia D
9CP English A-1
Miss Melanie Transue
27 October 2011
The Curse of Blondes
Reese Witherspoon said, “Being a Southern person and a blonde, it's not a good combination. Immediately, when people meet you, they think of you as not being smart” (“Blonde” 1). The story I picked was “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant.” This story was written by W.D. Wetherall. I think this one was the best because it’s not only simple, but it’s a good story and its kind of funny, because Sheila Mant symbolizes the stereotypical blonde. She acts like a typical blonde because she is rude and self-centered.
The first time Sheila is rude and self-centered is when she goes on a boat ride with the narrator to a fair. She sits in the front of the boat while he sits in the back, rowing. She sits with her back to him. The story says, “She let herself down reluctantly in the bow. I was glad she was not facing me” (Wetherall 4). If went for a boat ride with a friend, I would face them so I could actually talk to them. It is rude to put your back to someone because they invited you and you can’t talk to someone when you are not facing them. This is only the first example of how Shiela Mant is rude.
The second time Shiela is rude to the narrator is when she talks about herself. She does not try to make conversation in the boat by talking to him about the things he is talking about. She just ignores him and talks about herself and about other guys she likes. She says, “Eric said I have the figure to model, but I thought I should get an education first. I mean it might be a while before I get started and all” (Wetherall 8). She even talked about a party where there were college men, and talked about where she wanted to go to college. If I was the narrator, I would have been offended about how she talked about other guys.
Some people portray Shiela Mant as nice and kind. They might say that she is nice to accept the boat ride from the narrator. He is younger than her, and she may have accepted the boat ride so she did not hurt his feelings. I personally do not believe that is true.
The third example of Shiela Mant being rude is when she finds the narrator and tells him she is going home from the carnival with someone else. She went home with Eric. The narrator thinks, “…all I really remember is her coming over to me once the music is done to explain that she would be going home in Eric Caswell’s corvette” (Wetherall 10). When a girl is invited to go with somebody on a date they usually go home with the same person.
The way Sheila Mant sits in the canoe, talks about herself, and leaves the carnival with another guy show that she is a stereotypical self-centered rude blonde. As a brunette, I think this is a good story, and it’s kind of funny. Shiela Mant symbolizes the stereotypical rude blonde.
Works Cited
"Blonde Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.
Wetherell, W. D. "The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant" Pathways: Literature for Readers and Writers. Logan, IO: Perfection Learning, 2008. 4-10. Print
