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Florence Gordon


A wise and entertaining novel about a defiant 75-year-old woman determined to ...
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Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

Created: 08/26/15

Replies: 11

Posted Aug. 26, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3444

Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

On pages 238 – 240 we "hear" a speech given by Willa Ruth Stone purportedly in honor of Florence. What do you think the older women approaching the microphone afterward would have said had the sound not already been cut? Do you think the speech reveals a forward movement in women's rights or a gross misunderstanding of the issues? Why does the speech make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?


Posted Aug. 30, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
melanieb

Join Date: 08/30/14

Posts: 265

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

I think the speech represents a forward movement in women's rights but the speaker did not gracefully acknowledge the foundation laid by Florence's generation. I think this is what made Emily so angry -- and I felt angry, too, for this reason. Willa Ruth Stone's speech reminded me of those historical moments when a younger speaker starts off with a brief introductory "we honor and thank those who have gone before us," but then launches into a "that was then and this is now" speech that in the end doesn't really seem honorable.


Posted Aug. 31, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jillf

Join Date: 07/30/13

Posts: 22

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

The speech was shallow and self-serving. It showed a lack of understanding of what Florence and the women of her generation had experienced, fought through and changed. To say that sexual promiscuity is the definition of an evolved women and how we express our freedom totally misses the point. Florence and the women of her generation were not prudes by any means, they taught us to respect our bodies, our minds and our souls. We "own" ourselves and our decisions good and bad. To say that we have the right to be sexual beings is progress but that should not be all we are.


Posted Aug. 31, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
cynthiao

Join Date: 08/31/15

Posts: 14

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

The speech was rude in that it did not acknowledge the strides that had been made by the previous generation, which allowed for a milder and gentler feminism. Today the struggle is not as brutal as it once was even though it is still there.


Posted Aug. 31, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 410

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

Emily was angry that an event to honor her grandmother was used to press the agenda of a women of a more current generation and that the speech was actually not really true in its implications. Emily was hurt for her grandmother's sake and disgusted that the speaker had used her podium time to declare her own opinions. I too was angered and disgusted and felt for Florence but saw the speaker as one who was more interested in making a name for herself then recognizing the pioneers who made her current life so much better than it might have been.


Posted Sep. 01, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianaps

Join Date: 05/29/15

Posts: 460

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

Stone's speech was not what Emily, or Florence, expected it to be. It was more a platform for Stone then it was honoring Florence for the grunt work done for Stone to even be there. I was offended by the way she acknowledged Florence in the beginning and just about everything that came afterward.


Posted Sep. 02, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
pennyp

Join Date: 03/22/12

Posts: 353

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

It was self serving for Stone and did not truly acknowledge the work done by Florence and others like her.it was also a very narrow speech that did not address the real strides made.


Posted Sep. 05, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Peggy H

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 272

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

It was certainly self serving and perhaps typical of social media. She had not had a lot of time to,prepare her speech and looked on this as an opportunity to state her own agenda. In think the author showed this moment and lack of response from Florence to show how ill she was.


Posted Sep. 07, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mariannes

Join Date: 12/17/12

Posts: 206

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

I thought it was rude for Stone to basically ignore Florence when the whole purpose of the dinner was to honor Her. I didn't blame Emily for being angry. It hurt Florence and made her whole life seem unimportant. I would have been angry, too.


Posted Sep. 07, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
SFONan

Join Date: 12/14/12

Posts: 1

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

I felt her approach gave glancing respect to Florence but reflected far more poorly on herself and her contemporaries than on Florence. Her shallowness and ingratitude were truly stunning.

Honestly, I was quite surprised that the author left so much out that could have been explored after this happened. After completing the book I felt the entire ending was profoundly truncated and wondered what part editing played in the book's ending feeling so sparse and whether the author basically ran out of time regarding the final deadline.


Posted Sep. 07, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Mary J

Join Date: 04/26/15

Posts: 37

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

First of all, Florence was there to be honored, but all Willa Ruth Stone did was to talk about what was happening currently. Willa Ruth gave no recognition or honor to those (like Florence) who had paved the way. What made Emily so angry, though, was that Florence did not fight back.


Posted Oct. 13, 2015 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lindah

Join Date: 04/17/14

Posts: 90

RE: Why does the speech by Willa Ruth Stone make Emily so angry? How did you feel about it?

Willa Ruth Stone was boorish, self-serving and ill-prepared. The evening was to honor Florence and the struggle which paved the way for greater parity, equality. It was a stunning show of ingratitude and angered me as well as Emily. It was a gross disservice to Florence.


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