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  • Essay / "Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski: The influence of the environment on a person

    “Life does not give you a purpose, you give life a purpose" - The Flash, what it means, is that life doesn't owe anyone anything and you are the one who has to go out of your way to be known as someone This quote comes from a superhero who is a person who is out of the ordinary and who. put himself in a position to stand up for what is right the superhero is primarily known for being someone who saves the day or even the world from impending doom and even goes so far as to risk his own life to protect. the innocent or helpless Superheroes are mainly known for saving the day, but some people don't notice that these beings also have an influence on many people, despite being fictional characters or. people who make films disguised as them Many of these influences are considered positive, which is why many people seek them out. to these beings because in their minds, some of them may be like them. Another group of people who also influence many people are celebrities. Celebrities are real people who are well known to many people across the country or even the world. Unlike superheroes, celebrities are normal humans who are more famous and tend to make mistakes, which is why there are some that people may view as a negative influence. People can also be influenced by those around them, as is the case in the book Ham on Rye. The book's protagonist Henry Jr is surrounded by many different people who influence him in different ways. So far in the story, Henry experiences negative influence from his father, mother, friends, and even classmates because they fail to show him how to do the right thing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first and main negative influence in the book is his own father who influences him negatively by being abusive when he makes mistakes, which Whether he's right or wrong, he also shows Henry that it's okay to lack respect for others. This can be confirmed on page 58 where an old man is afraid of death, leading Henry's father to make the situation worse by saying "you've lived long enough, old fart". This attitude can lead Henry to disrespect others without any repercussions or consequences. Another moment of his father's negative influence is shown in chapter 16, when Henry is playing soccer with some children until his father yells at him to mow the lawn. Henry tries to tell his father to continue letting him play soccer with the other kids by telling him "but I play soccer with the guys." Saturday is the only real chance I have'' (Bukowski 67). Her father then questions her answer, showing that he does not care about interacting with other children and may have a negative influence on her development. There is also another moment that is in the same chapter that follows where Henry is told to mow the lawn without leaving a single hair of grass, Henry then finishes mowing the lawn, his father checks the little hairs of grass and after finding two small hairs of grass, he then begins to beat Henry with a razor leather. This moment proves that the lack of healthy communication between these two is a negative influence. These negative influences can lead to feelings like anger, confusion and depression. Medical Daily reporter Samantha Olson says "they don't have the tools toto express exactly what they feel” (Olson Par 2). This is also one of the things that can lead Henry down a destructive path later throughout the book. A modern figure that Henry's father can be compared to is Lebron James, who is the complete opposite as he supports people and encourages them to achieve their goals in sports and many other personal goals. The next negative influence Henry faces comes from his mother since she is never really there for him and has no real connection to Henry other than being his offspring. One of the moments in the book is in chapter 16, when Henry is mowing the lawn, he then pretends that he has finished mowing the lawn, which causes his father to look for grass hairs. When his father finds two hairs of grass, he then asks his mother who is confused at first but eventually takes his side and leaves Henry to be beaten with the razor. This moment proves that Henry cannot rely on his own mother when he is sobbing or acting depressed. His mother also doesn't seem to care about Henry beyond his basic needs like food and clothing. This can influence Henry in a very negative way because he will think that it is normal to not need anyone to help you and that you can solve any problems you may encounter. One person she can be compared to is the famous person known as Justin Bieber, a singer and a person who has a strong influence on many young people, especially preteen girls. He has a negative influence due to the fact that, despite having many fans, he often shows little concern or does not really interact with them. He neglected many of his pets by abandoning or neglecting them. The main thing these two people have in common is that they are very careless as people and simply don't care. His friends are a negative influence because they encourage violence among the many helpless things like cats or other animals. This notably happens when a cat gets cornered by a dog belonging to one of Henry's friends, named Chuck. Henry's friend Gene tells him to watch the dog tear the cat apart, which leads him to want to help the cat. Henry even goes so far as to say, “Chuck, let the cat go.” Please call your dog back” (Bukowski 89). Here, Henry wants to help the cat but is afraid of being torn apart by the dog himself. There is another scene in which a spider is about to kill a fly, his friend Gene anticipates the murder that is about to happen in front of Henry. Henry then takes it upon himself to scare the spider away from the fly, thus saving the fly's life. One real-life figure that Henry's friends can be compared to is Simon Cowell, who is the complete opposite of his friends. Simon is primarily known for his verbal cruelty as a judge on many talent shows, he is shown to have a gentle side towards animals. This can positively influence people to think that animals deserve love and have rights like us. The negative influence his friends have on Henry is the fact that it is acceptable to mistreat an animal. This has also led Henry to not trust any humans as a whole, as he may think everyone is like that. The last negative influence so far is a girl known as Lilly Fischman who is a girl who influences Henry to expect every girl to sexualize themselves. themselves to get what they want. Lilly is a girl who is in Henry's class and he claims that she is really developed for a girl that age. On page 97 of the book, Henry states that she managed to convince the professor not to continue the..