Robinson
Servais
Eng 100
10 Nov 2010
A child growing up watching the “perfect” American child every Sunday morning on television can make that child seem like he/she isn’t “perfect” and never will be. That’s how it was growing up for Lovey; every time she turned on the television she was subjected to images of “perfect” American children, which forced her to realize she was not the “perfect” American child. This is one of the many struggles that Lovey faced growing up as a poor Hawaiian; one that made her feel as if she couldn’t draw positive emotions out of a single soul; the worst struggle a child can face.
Watching Shirley Temple on the television is something that made Lovey cry every time she watched her; the story lines, the acting. It made Lovey feel as if she were there, helplessly watching that perfect little girl in the most unfortunate of circumstances. But somehow every week that little girl pulled through and was reunited with her loved ones. Lovey knows that everyone else watching shares the same feelings she does; holding back tears because there are others watching in the room.
The girl, with her bright eyes and blond ringlets, a girl that was obviously loved by anyone who set eyes on her, made Lovey think very low of herself. Lovey, who could not even make a proper sentence felt that she was well below standard to all Americans when watching this beautiful young girl on the television. Her teacher did not help with the situation, making all of his students feel little every time he spoke by telling them that they will never be able to make anything of themselves by the way they talk. Lovey could not do anything about this, she was who she was; a poor Hawaiian girl who was raised around other poor Hawaiians, they didn’t speak or live like the average American.
At Sunday School, Lovey and her friend Jerry would make alternate endings to the ends of shows that they didn’t have enough time to watch. They made happy endings, endings like the ones that they were sure the show had. These endings made Lovey both happy, and sad. Sad because she knew that she would never be able to draw the kind of emotions that she was so sure Shirley drew at the end of each show.
This wasn’t the only show that made Lovey feel like a substandard American. The Checkers and Pogo Show; with all of the “rich Honolulu kids,” trying to look honest for their spot as the Unbirthday Child was another thing Lovey knew she would never experience. This was a totally different way the media had affected Lovey.
The Checkers and Pogo Show made Lovey realize, and attempt to cope with the fact that she was from a poor family; the fact that she would never make it to that show to win $0.57 had a larger effect than it should have and Lovey knew it.
It wasn’t the show that Lovey wanted to be on though, it was the atmosphere that the show created, being around all of the happy kids acting like happy kids is something that Lovey wanted more than going to
Honolulu to be on that show.
Lovey finally got what she wanted on her birthday when Jerry gave her the birthday present that she had always wanted: a ticket to The Checkers and Pogo Show. Of course it wasn’t a real ticket to the show, but it was something that made Lovey realize that someone wanted her to be as happy as the children on the show. Lovey had a lot of fun with Jerry, and he took very good care of her as a friend, giving her exactly what he knew would make her happy.