mary sutter assessment

Section A: Life lesson learned through a character, theme, conflict in novel.

     In the novel, My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira, many lessons were being taught to the reader as the novel advanced. The main lesson that influenced me as a reader of the novel was to never give up. Mary was determined on become a stronger and more independent woman throughout the entire novel. Other characters including her own sister would try and make her suppress her beliefs. Even with all the negativity being pushed on her, she didn't let it affect her everyday life. I have heard people say "if you're told something enough you begin to believe it." Well this wasn't the case with Mary. Mary's sister, Jenny, believed in the easy way out. Jenny wanted to follow society's beliefs of a woman's role. Jenny wanted to be a stay at home mother who only focused on keeping her husband happy and to ensure that her children  are well taken care of. Mary believed she could be more than just a mother and a wife. She wanted to save people. Mary got her determination passed on to her through her mother. Mary and Jenny's mother was a nurse who helped the emergency soldiers that were wounded in the war. Mary witnessed her mother’s devotion to her job and vowed to one day be as committed as her mother once was. At times, Mary was continuously pushed down and told she was not good enough to become what she one day wished to be. Mary was not like the other women and she did not like that she was expected to follow suit and be a normal women. Mary found a way to persevere through the difficulty of constantly being told that she was not good enough to be what she wanted to be. When Mary pushed through the constant negativity she finally got to do what she loved and she was so respected for all of her hard work.
     Mary not only refused to give up on her dreams but she also never gave up on a patient. Mary told every wounded soldier that she would do everything she could to save them, and she did. She was told that she had to pick the ones to help and that she could not save them all. But she didn't listen. She wanted to save everyone. She never gave up on a single person who needed her assistance. Her job was extremely time consuming and overwhelming and she did not mind. She cared more about the wellbeing of the wounded soldiers with whom she was taking care of than she did about herself. On average Mary was required to do about thirty five amputations per day. That itself can take a lot of energy out of anybody no matter what the situation may be. Mary did everything she could for the men she took care of. Not only was she required to do the amputations but she was also needed to perform emergency surgeries on the men that were most likely to survive. Mary is extremely ambitious and always strived to do the best she possibly could. Mary devoted most, if not all, of her life trying to save these men.  Her mother was just as devoted as Mary. Mary had learned everything she knew through her mother. She grew up observing and witnessing how her mother rescued those in need of her help and she wished to one day become as empowering and as helpful as her mother had once been. She never gave up on her dreams of helping as many people as she possibly could. Dreams and life goals take determination and devotion. As difficult as it already is to accomplish the dreams that you set your mind to, it makes it even more difficult to be successful when there is the constant weight on your back of a family member holding you back. Jenny always told her sister to give up and that she was not good enough. Jenny's constant nagging did not seem to slow Mary down. Jenny's negativity seemed to make Mary stronger and more independent. Throughout the novel, Mary became more and more independent. She was never married. Of course there was someone that she fell in love with but Mary was more of an independent women. Her sister, Jenny, was the type of women who needed someone, needed a man as a backbone and that is why Jenny married the woman that her sister was in love with.
    Lessons you learn through books, observing other people, and  first hand experiences all carry you throughout your life. This novel has taught the readers many lessons that they may carry with them through the rest of their lives, but the main lesson that is being taught in this novel is to never give up. Always set your dreams high and never let someone tell you you are not good enough and to prove them wrong.

Section B: Quotation from the novel that speaks to you with response explaining why it resonates with you.

     Everyone has that one quote or saying that always stands out and resonates with I'm that individual. The quote that I found most recognizable in the entire novel, My Name Is Mary Sutter, was “But darling, life goes on, and this pain is just agonizing evidence” (Oliveira 229). I have wondered many times why this quote has made such an impression on me. After many puzzling days I finally decided why this quote made such an impact on me. Everyone has their own past, their own failure, their own pain, their own struggles, and there is no avoiding it. There is no way to change your past and there is no way to pause your life at a certain moment to cope with what has happened because life goes on no matter the amount of pain that you may feel in that moment. Yes, there are ways to avoid the pain, but the pain may teach you lessons. The pain of losing someone or the pain of someone leaving from your life abruptly can teach you lessons. And even though it may seem devastating and like the end of the world, you have to move on because life will go on without them. The pain you feel for them is just evidence of that. As the author, John Green, says in his novel, The Fault In Our Stars, “That's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt.” There are some emotions that are much simpler to hide but pain is not one. Whether it's physical or emotional turmoil, it will always be felt and difficult to hide that pain. Mary struggled to hide the pain of seeing the man she loved, love another woman. Mary had to live with the pain of observing her sister love the man that Mary had fallen in love with.

Section C: Explanation of character page.

     We were assigned to draw or create a picture or collage of some sort of interpretation of Mary's growth and development throughout the novel. I attempted to draw an image of Mary helping a wounded soldier. As she is helping this poor man the thoughts of her mother are in the back of her mind creating words of encouragement. Her mother was a nurse for the wounded soldiers which was what gave Mary the dream of helping people as much as her mother did. Her mother was the one who had taught her all her methods of treatment for those that had been injured. Mary had always been in her mother’s shadow when she was a child. She was constantly watching and observing her mother’s every steady and confident move in a desperate attempt to save each and every one of those men’s lives. Mary grew to learn and have dreams of her own. She dreamed to one day help as many people on need as she had seen her mother do the same. Mary had made those dreams a reality and helped and promise to save as many men as possible.

Section D: Where are you in your heroic cycle?

     I believe that I am still in the early learning stages of my heroic cycle. I wish to one day become a veterinarian and being a veterinarian is just like being a heroine. Only for animals and not people. As a child I found that I connected much better with animals than I did with other people. I still find that to be true. All through elementary school and middle school I would say that my pets were my best friends. I've had dogs, kittens, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, if a pet store carried it, we owned it. As a child I didn't get along with the other students because they all viewed me as an outcast. So I would go to school and run home to see my family and pet. Even now that I'm in high school, my mother still calls me “the animal whisperer” and tells people that I “love my pets into submission.” I had a rabbit that I could carry around on its back like a baby. I now have a lizard called a bearded dragon that I walk around the house with it on my shoulder. Animals have always been what I love most. I only have a few more steps to follow in order to become what I wish to one day be. I've already decided what I wish to be. I have worked at animal clinics that have shown me what it takes to be who I want to become. All I have to finish is learning how to be what I wish. I need to learn how to save what saved me, what kept me sane. Without my dog, Molly, or my bearded dragon, Benny, I would go insane. Animals are my escape from the chaotic life of a teenage girl.