When Judee Norton expressed how she felt about reading and writing she stated, “When I read, I was somewhere else. I was no longer the oldest child in the most dysfunctional family in the universe. Writing was magic and I wanted to be a magician, to take people out of what was awful to another place” (Chevigny). Born in Arizona, in 1949, Norton was raised in a poor family with five children. As a child she took on the responsibilities of taking care of her siblings. Her autobiographies and stories depict how tough her life was, and she describes her background as one of “addiction, poverty, low self-esteem, and a general sense of bewilderment about the business of living” (Scheffler). Norton was arrested and was set to serve five years on a
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By using those words, the reader senses the depth of the hatred Judee has for the corrupt authority in the prison. Her story begins by an announcement coming over the intercom demanding for her to obtain a pass and go to the captain’s office immediately. She shows no reaction; in fact her fellow inmates have to ask her if she heard the announcement. Her response to them was, “Who the fuck knows” (3491). The emotions she displays in front of her inmates’ mask the emotional and mental pain she is feeling inside. When she is on her way to the captain’s office her body is beginning to expose that pain, “My heart is beating much too fast. My mouth is dry, my tongue feels like a landed trout thrashing in that arid, alien place.” …show more content…
Even though “The Professional Instinct” left an interesting cliff hanger, it is not enough to keep the reader wanting more. Both stories are based on the desire to be brave in the decisions they make but Judee Norton’s portrays more of an everyday reality. That makes it easier for the reader to connect to her situation rather than Ellen Glasgow’s. Furthermore, the emotions that Norton writes about show the agony she feels and also the mask she puts on for everyone else to see. So the reader is able to see unbiased experience. Lastly it would be a great story in the “Gender and Class” unit because there is discrimination against her and if she were from a rich family, there would have been a lawyer at the snap of a finger. Since she was from a poor family, she made bad decisions and landed herself in a situation that broke her heart even
By using those words, the reader senses the depth of the hatred Judee has for the corrupt authority in the prison. Her story begins by an announcement coming over the intercom demanding for her to obtain a pass and go to the captain’s office immediately. She shows no reaction; in fact her fellow inmates have to ask her if she heard the announcement. Her response to them was, “Who the fuck knows” (3491). The emotions she displays in front of her inmates’ mask the emotional and mental pain she is feeling inside. When she is on her way to the captain’s office her body is beginning to expose that pain, “My heart is beating much too fast. My mouth is dry, my tongue feels like a landed trout thrashing in that arid, alien place.” …show more content…
Even though “The Professional Instinct” left an interesting cliff hanger, it is not enough to keep the reader wanting more. Both stories are based on the desire to be brave in the decisions they make but Judee Norton’s portrays more of an everyday reality. That makes it easier for the reader to connect to her situation rather than Ellen Glasgow’s. Furthermore, the emotions that Norton writes about show the agony she feels and also the mask she puts on for everyone else to see. So the reader is able to see unbiased experience. Lastly it would be a great story in the “Gender and Class” unit because there is discrimination against her and if she were from a rich family, there would have been a lawyer at the snap of a finger. Since she was from a poor family, she made bad decisions and landed herself in a situation that broke her heart even