The Worth that Lies in Family Memories


    In Ellen Goodman's "Spring Cleaning"(2002) she informs readers that the evidence of memories and family stories are more important than heirlooms. She organizes this essay through her process of spring cleaning, she takes the audience through the development of deciphering where true importance lies.  Goodman uses her process of thought of in order to inform readers where true value and worth lies. Her intended audience is individuals who tend to hold on to thing. 
      
    My first thought from reading the title was that the passage was going to be about making your life better by taking out the old traits. I was surprised actually because the passage was very literal as it talked about actually spring cleaning. The author was just talking about how her family spring cleaned and what it meant for her. To me personally, my way of spring cleaning in my family is by giving my old stuff to my relatives. My family believes that we must share our blessings with others as God has blessed us and I believe in giving also. 
     
    The author, Ellen Goodman, utilizes her personal experience and memories to explain to her audience that the true value of things is not materialistic but sentimental. She starts off by describing her experience of spring cleaning with her husband. She states,” When we talked of cleaning, he would begin with the assumption that everything was junk. I would begin with the idea that everything was an heirloom. He saw the aging, peeling play school giraffe as kindling wood. I saw it as something to be resurrected for grandchildren”(Goodman pg.9). Her wanting to keep everything and him wanting to throw away most of their things, made her come to the realization that she has to make decisions on what items held real value. Coming to make these decisions was a journey for her as she “learned that what the next generation will value most is not what we owned but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it’s the family stories that are worth the storage”(Goodman pg.16). All things considered, the value of certain items and things are determined by the holders and how it will not only affect them but also the next generation.

Works Cited

Goodman, Ellen. “Spring Cleaning Our Lives.” SF Gate, April 13, 2002. Launchpad Solo for
    Readers and Writers , 2017. Macmillan Education. macmillanhighered.com.

Comments

  1. TTAV1102February 23, 2021 at 10:11 AM

    the way you conducted your response was great. I enjoyed how you gave a personal experience to show how you connected to the essay. I also like how you used textual evidence in the third paragraph to help support what you were saying.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John PhamFebruary 23, 2021 at 10:12 AM

    Good job on the 3rd paragraph to show Ellen message in the story.

    ReplyDelete
  3. TiborFebruary 23, 2021 at 10:17 AM

    I agree with the comment about giving and sharing with people in your family. There is no better feeling than seeing someone smile because of the things you gave them.
    Good job on writing all three paragraphs. Furthermore good job on integrating the quotes in the third paragraph.

    ReplyDelete

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