Frankie blames her father for encouraging her brother Finley to enroll in the Army.
If you pressure someone to take a risk--or encourage them--and they take that risk, do you bear some of the responsibility if they undergo any suffering as a result? (271)
How much blame do Frankie's parents bear for Finley's fate?
I think that it depends on the context of the risk. If one is pressured into doing something risky, then the person who pressured them does need to take accountability for possibly putting them in danger. However, there is nothing wrong with encouraging someone when they feel they should do something. I feel like Finley made his own decision when enlisting, and their father only encouraged him to do it. Finley was confident in his choice before leaving and didn't make any nods to being pressured into it. In my opinion, Frankie's parents don't need to take the blame for what happened.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the circumstance. If you encouraged someone to do something stupid like jump off a bridge then yes, you should bear some of the guilt. I do not think that Frankie's parents' should feel guilt in their situation. Going into the military was sort of a family tradition so it was natural that Finley would've gone.
ReplyDeleteQuestion one- When encouraging someone to take a risk, you do take some of the blame if there are consequences to their actions. While you did not do it yourself, you were part of the reason they suffered.
ReplyDeleteQuestion two- I believe her parents should hold part of the blame for Finley’s fate. Pressure and expectation from family can be a maddening experience. Consistently trying new and grander things to receive approval from the parents you idolize can become a dangerous routine. I do not put all the blame on the parents because there is also the ideology of heroism that frames mili
I believe that some of the blame truly is on the parents regarding Finley’s death. Finley could have not gone to Vietnam at all, like some of the other wealthy families mentioned who managed to keep their sons away from the war. Finley and Frankie’s father had a Hero’s Wall that was glorified and probably put pressure on Finley to go overseas to a horrible conflict, just so that his parents would be proud of him and increase their reputation. Not all of the blame goes on the parents though. Some of the blame also goes to America itself as well. The news kept mentioning that they were at the end of the war and winning, as well as saying that it wasn’t too bad either and not the hellscape it actually was. There are many factors to blame, but the parents and America are the two major ones. -Zeeva Skidmore-Beaney
ReplyDeleteIf you peer pressure someone into taking a risk, then yes part of the blame if they suffer falls to you. However, if you encourage someone or just tell them you will support them in their decision then no it's not your blame because in the end, they are the ones who made the choice to take the risk.
ReplyDeleteI think Frankie's parents should bear some guilt. I say this because Finley has grown up staring at their families Hero Wall and has been told his whole life about all the men in his family who have earned different medals and honors from their service. He also grew up knowing his father was disqualified from service and was ashamed because of it, so Finley could be feeling like he needed to do this for his father. I believe Finley's father indirectly peer pressured him to join the military, but Finley knew the risks when making his decision and I do not believe his fate can be blamed on his parents. Also, in chapter 1 Finley quotes President Kennedy and Frankie thinks about how much they both admired him. This leads me to believe that Finley was not just persuaded by his father, but he had personal reasons and beliefs as to why he decided to serve.
Question 2:
ReplyDeleteI think this question ties very well into one of the first questions asked about if it's fair to have an expectation to go into the military. I feel that it isn't fair to children to feel like they have to do something that they don't want to do, and if that pressure ends up in that child dying, like what happened to Finley, then I think that the parents would be at some sort of fault for what happened. No one can know what Finley would've done if he were raised in a different family, but what we do know is that he had an immense pressure put upon him so he had to either decide between military service or disappointing his family. So I feel that Finley's parents bare a lot of blame in his fate.
If you pressure someone to take a risk--or encourage them--and they take that risk, do you bear some of the responsibility if they undergo any suffering as a result? (271)
ReplyDeleteHow much blame do Frankie's parents bear for Finley's fate?
If you pressure someone into doing something you bear some responsibility for what happens to them. At the same time, Finley knew the risks that came with enlisting. I understand Frankie's anger but she can't put all the blame on her parents when Finley chose to listen to their word.
I think that in this circumstance, Finley's father definitely influenced him to go fight and become a hero. I do think that the parents are definitely responsible for his DECISION to go fight, but not his fate. I believe the fate is obviously just the sad truth of soldiers heading to Vietnam at this time. To answer the question, No I do not blame his parents for his fate. Especially knowing how many young men were drafted and dragged into war.
ReplyDeleteIn their family. Going into the military was seen as a necessity. Finley was not only pressured my his father, but my his legacy. It is not fair to blame Finley's father for pressuring him to join the service because that was all he knew. Their culture that that of service. His father never knew what it was like in a war like Vietnam. It was wrong on everybody's part. Finley should have had the backbone to stand up to traditions, but like his father he knew no better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the notion that if a person pressures someone to take a risk, they bear some responsibility of the outcome. I think we see this more if the outcome is positive than if it is negative. We hear success stories of how an individual was encouraged to take a risk by another person, and how that advice led them to their success. When an individual is given bad advice, or the risk did not work out, we often blame that individual rather than the person who pushed them to the decision.
ReplyDeleteI put a good portion of blame on Finley’s parents for Finley’s fate. While there are many factors as to why Finley joined the military, a driving factor was the familial pressure put on by Finley’s parents. While Finley tried to reassure Frankie during his going away party that he is will be fine, Frankie noted the fear in his voice. Ultimately, Finley joined the Navy based off pressure from his parents, and so they are partially responsible for Finley’s death.
I believe that if someone pushes someone toward an action or mindset they do deserve some of the blame and responsibility of the action they are promoting. Even though they are not the one doing the action they are partially responsible for they still convinced the person to do the action despite any consequences. I also believe that the person who made the decision is at fault more than the person who convinced them. Regardless of what others say, we have free will, we can do or say whatever we want. Sometimes people make it harder to choose certain options but it is still your choice. In this case the parents do hold some responsibility for Finley's death but it was Finley's choice to go into the military. The parents did encourage him but they didn't know how bad Vietnam really was. The parents clearly loved Finley very much and I am sure if they knew how bad Vietnam really was they would not have wanted him to go.
ReplyDeleteThis is by Brayden Benson
DeleteQ1 yes i think you should take some of the blame afterall if you push someone towards a direction they wouldn't go normally then its your fault and you should take some of the blame for what happens especially if its negative.
ReplyDeleteQ2 i think he should take a good chunk of blame he heavily encouraged him to enlist in the army to keep their tradition going making it hard for him to make another choice however that said in the end it is still his choice he chose to join.