Basic elements
Characters: My father and I
Setting: Home
Plot: My father was a printer, and he was deaf.
Perspective: first person viewpoint
Genre: realistic fiction
The Printer is a realistic fiction written by Myron Uhlberg. It talks about a deaf father, who liked to fold the newspaper into a hat, earning respect from his non-deaf co-workers. At first, no one talked to him in the factory. But one time, there was a fire in the factory and Father communicated with his colleagues using sign language. By the time everybody had fled away, the fire had engulfed. Although the printing presses were destroyed, not one of the printers was hurt. Because Father saved them, his co-workers did the THANK YOU gesture with sign language.
Communication is an important way to cooperate with others and express our ideas and feelings. By communicating, people can know more about each other and can help build better relationships between each other. In life, people can collaborate better by having contact with each other, and know about each other's ideas. In the book, at first, the co-workers did not know how to communicate with Father, which made Father sad. Before Father saved them in the fire, they did not even know about what kind of man he is. From this example, we can know that without communicating, it will cause problems and distrust between people. Therefore, communication is the process of sending and receiving messages.
Judging others by their appearances or their flaws is inappropriate. If so, you could not see the person’s personality and characteristics beyond what they are given. Some people may be not good-looking, but they are maybe not the bad ones. Father was born deaf, and the co-workers discriminated against him and did not talk to him. After he saved them in the fire, they finally knew that Father was a kind man and would sacrifice himself to protect others’ lives. There are so many people being treated like this, so we should find their advantages instead of evaluating them on their flaws. Therefore, when evaluating someone, we should look at their characteristics, instead of what they are given.
We should think of others first instead of thinking of ourselves first. Putting others first, or in other words selflessness, is a virtuous quality and can lead to a sense of meaning in life. Father performs bravely in the fire. He first told others to leave before he left. Although the materials in the factory were destroyed, nobody was injured in the fire. In the fire, although Father sacrificed himself and put his life at risk, he made his co-workers safe. This quality is worth learning from all of us. Therefore, it is important to be selfless and think about others first.
In conclusion, The Printers is an interesting yet educational story. From the story, I learned three main themes. Firstly, communication is an important way to cooperate with each other and to express feelings. It is better to contact each other when working in a team. Secondly, we should judge others by their appearances or their flaws, instead we should look at their advantages and evaluate them by their personalities and characteristics. Thirdly, we should first think about others instead of ourselves. In more emergent situations, we should sacrifice ourselves to save others’ lives.
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