"...Remember, never take no cut-offs and hurry along as fast as you can." said Virginia Reed, a Donner Party survivor. Explain the meaning and wisdom of her quote based on what you have learned during this unit.
Virginia Reed was reflecting on the choices that the party had made. They had tried to take a short-cut and it ended up killing half of the group. The Donner party knew that they had to make it over the Sierra Mountains before winter, but their travels were slowed by the overload of supplies and the many obstacles that they came across through Hasting's cutoff. They didn't keep on schedule and payed the price for it when they finally reached the final snowy mountain pass. Virginia Reed's quote applies to many other things in life. The easy way always has consequences.
The donner party truly paid for their relative laziness. They decided that the old way was not fast enough and that Hastings could be trusted. They paid the ultimate price for that, and the party ended up taking a way that was not only longer but more trecherous. Virginia Reed's quote demonstrates that the shorter or easier way is not always the way to go. The donner party traveled onto an unpassable trail with danger around every corner, if they had stayed the course then they would have made the trip safely.
Virgina Reeds quote is a warning to her family and the rest of society. Take no cutoffs has the literal meaning of don't take hastings cutoff, but it also means not to try to get anywhere faster in life. Today we all want more than what we have and we want it as fast as possible. The quote tells us to not take the cutoff and take the long way, even if it means waiting a little longer, or a little more time, the easy way will have consequenses that will come back to haunt you. what virginia said to her cousin still applies to the world today, even though it was said all those years ago.
Virginia reeds quote from a letter to her cousin about her journey westward stated "...Remember, never take no cut-offs and hurry along as fast as you can." She makes a point to stress this because the Donner party took the Hastings cut-off and it led them into great despair. She had to struggle through snow storms, sand storms and starvation and she was trying to warn others not to make the same mistake. She is also trying to tell people that they should hurry because the Donner party decided to rest one more day than necessary and the consequence of that was that they got caught in the worst snowstorm on record in the Sierras. Virginia Reeds quote also relates to today's society and how people are always trying to save time by taking short cuts, and how its not worth taking the chance because the shortcut usually has worse consequences.
Virginia Reed uses the word "cut-offs" to signify the Hastings Cut-off the Donner party used to reach California. The group harmlessly wanted a short-cut from Missouri to California. This misleading short-cut ended in a tradgey with more that 40 dead from the Donner party. While on the "short-cut" the group tended to be very laxed and took many breaks along the journey. This in turn through the group off schedule. The party ran into snow and death soon followed after. "Hurry along as fast as you can", means dont take breaks and try to reach your destination on schedule.
Virginia Reed is advising those who decide to travel to California to "never take no cut-offs and [to]hurry along as fast as [they] can." After her experiences, she passes on her advice and knowledge to prevent others from making the same or similar fatal mistake. She is telling others to continue on the known trail and not be persuaded into taking a trail that is unknown to the party. She also advises them to "hurry along as fast as you can." Saying that, she is reflecting on the five day rest they undertook with only one mountain pass left before the Sacramento Valley. From her experiences she advises them to hurry along and not take many days to rest.
This quote and the whole experience proves one very important thing! Don't take shortcuts in life. Do everything the right way. It could be disasterous, like the Donner Party. Or it could just not be worth it. In the end you'll feel better about yourself if you do things the right way. Also, don't slow down. Keep going. If the Donner Party hadn't stopped so much, they would of made it! They missed it by one day! One day!
Due to the Donner Party's deviation from the suggested route, they found themselves trapped high in the midst of the Sierra-Nevadas. Virginia's words of wisdom reflect back upon the naive decisions made by the expeditions leaders and advise speed in order to beet the snows which block the high mountain passes in the deep of winter.
As a survivor of such a horrific event, Virginia Reed took out one of the most important lessons from this experience. She was writing to her cousin when she said/wrote this, and was passing on the critical point of how one should never try to skip ahead in life. Being a child during the journey, she had had no control over which route they took, but she was smart enough to pay attention and realize their mistakes. Also, she noted "hurry along as fast as you can". At one point they stopped to rest for 5 days, which was another set back, and she picked up on the fact that they didn't have that much time to waste sitting around.
I agree with what Mabel Jefferies said. They said that even though Virginia was a child during the time she still saw and realized the mistakes the group had made. They made many mistakes on their journey but the worst ones came from the fact that that they did take a 'short cut'. A short cut is only a short cut when you know it takes less time. They didn't know this though they went on Hastings word which turned out to be wrong.Because of this they couldn't hurry along as fast as they could have ultimately a decision that almost destroyed them.
Basically, the quote means that taking shortcuts is not a good method. The quote states that if you need to get somewhere faster, just hurry up. If a shortcut wasn't difficult, it would just be the way.
11 comments:
Virginia Reed was reflecting on the choices that the party had made. They had tried to take a short-cut and it ended up killing half of the group. The Donner party knew that they had to make it over the Sierra Mountains before winter, but their travels were slowed by the overload of supplies and the many obstacles that they came across through Hasting's cutoff. They didn't keep on schedule and payed the price for it when they finally reached the final snowy mountain pass. Virginia Reed's quote applies to many other things in life. The easy way always has consequences.
The donner party truly paid for their relative laziness. They decided that the old way was not fast enough and that Hastings could be trusted. They paid the ultimate price for that, and the party ended up taking a way that was not only longer but more trecherous. Virginia Reed's quote demonstrates that the shorter or easier way is not always the way to go. The donner party traveled onto an unpassable trail with danger around every corner, if they had stayed the course then they would have made the trip safely.
Virgina Reeds quote is a warning to her family and the rest of society. Take no cutoffs has the literal meaning of don't take hastings cutoff, but it also means not to try to get anywhere faster in life. Today we all want more than what we have and we want it as fast as possible. The quote tells us to not take the cutoff and take the long way, even if it means waiting a little longer, or a little more time, the easy way will have consequenses that will come back to haunt you. what virginia said to her cousin still applies to the world today, even though it was said all those years ago.
Virginia reeds quote from a letter to her cousin about her journey westward stated "...Remember, never take no cut-offs and hurry along as fast as you can." She makes a point to stress this because the Donner party took the Hastings cut-off and it led them into great despair. She had to struggle through snow storms, sand storms and starvation and she was trying to warn others not to make the same mistake. She is also trying to tell people that they should hurry because the Donner party decided to rest one more day than necessary and the consequence of that was that they got caught in the worst snowstorm on record in the Sierras. Virginia Reeds quote also relates to today's society and how people are always trying to save time by taking short cuts, and how its not worth taking the chance because the shortcut usually has worse consequences.
Virginia Reed uses the word "cut-offs" to signify the Hastings Cut-off the Donner party used to reach California. The group harmlessly wanted a short-cut from Missouri to California. This misleading short-cut ended in a tradgey with more that 40 dead from the Donner party. While on the "short-cut" the group tended to be very laxed and took many breaks along the journey. This in turn through the group off schedule. The party ran into snow and death soon followed after. "Hurry along as fast as you can", means dont take breaks and try to reach your destination on schedule.
Virginia Reed is advising those who decide to travel to California to "never take no cut-offs and [to]hurry along as fast as [they] can." After her experiences, she passes on her advice and knowledge to prevent others from making the same or similar fatal mistake. She is telling others to continue on the known trail and not be persuaded into taking a trail that is unknown to the party. She also advises them to "hurry along as fast as you can." Saying that, she is reflecting on the five day rest they undertook with only one mountain pass left before the Sacramento Valley. From her experiences she advises them to hurry along and not take many days to rest.
This quote and the whole experience proves one very important thing! Don't take shortcuts in life. Do everything the right way. It could be disasterous, like the Donner Party. Or it could just not be worth it. In the end you'll feel better about yourself if you do things the right way. Also, don't slow down. Keep going. If the Donner Party hadn't stopped so much, they would of made it! They missed it by one day! One day!
Due to the Donner Party's deviation from the suggested route, they found themselves trapped high in the midst of the Sierra-Nevadas. Virginia's words of wisdom reflect back upon the naive decisions made by the expeditions leaders and advise speed in order to beet the snows which block the high mountain passes in the deep of winter.
As a survivor of such a horrific event, Virginia Reed took out one of the most important lessons from this experience. She was writing to her cousin when she said/wrote this, and was passing on the critical point of how one should never try to skip ahead in life. Being a child during the journey, she had had no control over which route they took, but she was smart enough to pay attention and realize their mistakes. Also, she noted "hurry along as fast as you can". At one point they stopped to rest for 5 days, which was another set back, and she picked up on the fact that they didn't have that much time to waste sitting around.
I agree with what Mabel Jefferies said. They said that even though Virginia was a child during the time she still saw and realized the mistakes the group had made. They made many mistakes on their journey but the worst ones came from the fact that that they did take a 'short cut'. A short cut is only a short cut when you know it takes less time. They didn't know this though they went on Hastings word which turned out to be wrong.Because of this they couldn't hurry along as fast as they could have ultimately a decision that almost destroyed them.
Basically, the quote means that taking shortcuts is not a good method. The quote states that if you need to get somewhere faster, just hurry up. If a shortcut wasn't difficult, it would just be the way.
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