"Choices" Question 3: Does Ken show Peggy that he feels any sense of responsibility to her after the accident? Do you think he has any obligation to her? Discuss.

             Choices make up what will happen to us in the future. In “Choices” by Susan Kerslake, the main character, Peggy, decides to go on a weekend vacation with her friend Ken. Though everything seemed to be going well, a tragic accident happens. With Ken at the wheel, the pair finds themselves in a car accident, leaving Peggy’s legs paralyzed while barely injuring Ken. Afterwards, Ken shows no sense of feeling responsible for the accident, and though the accident happened at his hands, should he be obligated to be responsible for the consequences?

              While the accident occurred when Ken was driving, he could not have known the car would crash when they decided to take the trip. As well, it was Peggy’s decision to accompany Ken on the trip. The two were nothing more than friends with a “peculiar relationship built out of sand and water and sun.” (pg. 5) Their relationship was merely a physical attraction to one another. Though Ken should feel upset and possible a little bit guilty for convincing Peggy to come with him, he should not have the burden of caring for Peggy in her injured state.

              If Ken was responsible for the accident, what obligations would he have? Peggy’s serious injury can lead to many problems, such as financial issues as well as physical and emotional trauma. With her injury, Peggy will not be able to move around and care for herself, let alone go to work. If Ken does not take responsibility, Peggy will have the burden of finding a way to pay her medical bills along with caring for herself during and after recovery. As well, not only Peggy, but her family will suffer emotionally. They will have the emotional trauma of knowing this accident could’ve been fatal alongside providing possible financial aid. Although Ken cannot solve all the consequences of the accident, he should be obligated to attempt to compensate for the damage of the event.

              Since Ken’s idea had potentially put Peggy’s life at risk, he should be responsible in caring for her. If the accident had been caused by Ken, he would be required to provide everything Peggy and her family would need as support. However, seeing as though the accident had not been Ken’s fault, as far as we know, he is still obligated to help Peggy to his best abilities.

Choices Question 3: Does Ken show Peggy that he feels any sense of responsibility to her after the accident? Do you think he has any obligation to her? Discuss?

    At the start of the story “Choices” by Susan Kerslake, a girl named Peggy gets asked by her friend Ken, whether she wants to go on a road trip. Peggy “had a little while to make up her mind” (pg 3) before it was time to go. She decided to go along with Ken, and this decision would change her life forever. The two of them were driving on the highway on a hot summer morning, when all of the sudden, they got into an accident. Imagine you are Peggy. You are lying on the pavement, with the car on top of you. You can not feel any part of your body. You have no idea what has happened to Ken. Is he hurt? Is he alive? Finally, an ambulance comes. You find out you are paralyzed, but Ken, who was driving the car, only hit his head. In the ambulance, you look over at Ken. He is not showing any sense of responsibility, or even checking how you are. You try to “catch Ken’s eye, to get him to look” (pg 11) but it is no use. Now imagine you are Ken. What is going through your mind? It seems as if Ken is not feeling any sense of responsibility, because he is not even going over to see if Peggy was okay. This does not show responsibility, since you are the one that caused the accident. Because of this, now Peggy is paralyzed for life. Since Ken was the cause of the accident, should he be obligated to be by her side?
    Even though it was his fault, he should not be obligated to be at her side. Ken and Peggy are not in a relationship. They are more of  “friends with benefits” than anything else. Peggy and Ken were both shocked that it had “endured past summer” (pg 5) since they lived a distance from each other, and both of them had “intense relationships with others.” (pg 5) They can not just suddenly become a couple just because of this accident. It would not be a true relationship.
    On the other hand, Ken should be obligated to be at Peggy’s side. This was a life changing injury. Also, it is his fault that she is paralyzed! Ken was the driver, and he was driving when the accident happened. He should feel guilty, and should be at her side. This could be by supporting her through her recovery, and maybe even giving her money to help pay for rehab.  Ken was the “only one who has been through this with her,” (pg 11) and Peggy did not want him to get up and leave her. Even though they were not in a relationship, he should still be there for her. She needed him. He would be that one person who would understand what is going on.
    Peggy is paralyzed for life, and nothing will be able to change that. For that reason, Ken is obligated to be there at her side. Whether it is something little or something large that he does, he should still be there for Peggy. She will need support, and that is something Ken should be willing to do for her, whether it is obligated or not.

Choices Question 3 Does Ken show Peggy that he feels any sense of responsibility to her after the accident? Do you think he has any obligation to her? Discuss?

If you were in a fatal accident, would you like to see the cause of your life threatening injuries on a regular basis? The answer to this question for most people would be a no; and in all truth, the person who caused the accident most likely wouldn’t like to see their victim either. For both people involved, having a constant reminder of their trauma could be heart wrenching. In deed the emotional damage caused by this could be unbearable, however, as the wrong doer, is it your duty to push past this and do what you feel are your “obligations” towards that person? The story ‘Choices’ by Susan Kerslake is very thought provoking considering the circumstances of the accident, relationships, and outcomes. Peggy and Ken, the two characters in the story, venture off on a road trip together. While Ken is driving, they get into an accident which mangles Peggy’s legs and injures her more than it does Ken. After this disastrous occurrence, Ken shows no concern or responsibility for what he has caused to happen to his companion. I am going to explore how people in Ken’s situation should act regardless of what they see fitting. Although Ken shows lack of responsibility for Peggy; he is obligated to satisfy the needs that she finds necessary.

            I suspect that the car accident occurred because of Kens reckless driving; if this is the case he would need to step up and show full responsibility towards her. The whole accident could have easily been avoided if it weren’t for his careless driving skills. Peggy did not choose to be crippled that day and she trusted him with her safety by getting in his car. Although the car accident was of course an accident and he did not mean for it to happen, it still was his fault. If you affect someone else with your careless behaviour it is your job to make things right; this rule can be applied to less extreme incidents. For example, if you broke one of someone’s belongings, most good hearted people would apologize repeatedly and offer to buy a new one; the same philosophy applies to both situations.

Financial support is not the only thing that needs to be taken care of; Peggy and her family are most likely going through major trauma. Ken should be willing to stay by her side and support her. This being said, it is her call whether she wants to have him in her life or not. By offering to help all he can, it would most likely better their situation even in the slightest way. Although it would not repair her wounds, it would be better than abandoning her and leaving her family to be burdened with all the stress. I know from experience of having myself or other relatives in the hospital, that there are other needs to be taken care of outside of hospital walls. It can be a lot to handle having to worry about the one you love whose life may be at risk; but life is still carrying on for everyone else and you need to stay caught up. Trying to balance time with regular daily tasks and getting better or visiting the ill can be a trying task. Sometimes even the smallest of gestures can make a huge difference in a situation.

            Seeing as Ken has potentially put Peggy’s life at risk, he is obligated to aid her emotionally and financially. The degree of help he needs to give her however is dependent on the fault he had in causing the car accident.  It is up to Peggy and her family to decide how to handle the situation. Once they determine his responsibilities it is his duty to grant their wishes.

 

Choices Question 3 Does Ken show Peggy that he feels any sense of responsibility to her after the accident? Do you think he has any obligation to her? Discuss?

Ken showed no sense of responsibility after the accident. First of all, he did not say anything to her after the accident. This means he did not apologize for almost killing her and because of that he did not feel responsible for Peggy. Although, maybe it was not his fault, maybe there was some kind of problem that caused the accident. If he did cause the accident he would be obligated to her and if he did not he would not be. Either way Ken should have shown some sort of sense of responsibility.

Being the driver of other people is a big responsibility. The driver is responsible for driving their passengers to their destination safely. Ken was did not do what a proper driver should do. A proper driver would care about who their driving and ask if they are okay. Also being the driver of the vehicle of the accident Ken should have apologized. It does not matter who was to blame, at the end he should have done what was right.

"Choices" Question 3: Does Ken show Peggy that he feels any sense of responsibility to her after the accident? Do you think he has any obligation to her? Discuss.

Choices are the basis to our life stories, they make up who we are and what we have accomplished. However, if you make the wrong one, they can also have disastrous consequences. This is demonstrated in “Choices” by Susan Kerslake. The story follows a young woman named Peggy, who decided to go on a weekend trip with her companion, Ken. While Peggy was not entirely keen on spending the weekend with someone she was mainly only physically attracted to and didn't really have much in common with, she decided to say yes anyways. However, this choice had horrible results as the pair ended up getting in a car accident that ruined Peggy’s legs while barely injuring Ken. While in the ambulance riding to the hospital, Ken showed little responsibility towards Peggy, as he did not make an effort to speak to her about what happened or to comfort her. Was he wrong by doing this? Is it his responsibility to take care of her now that she is severely injured?

While Ken was the driver of the vehicle, it is not for certain whether he was to blame for the accident or not. If the accident occurred at no fault of his own, Ken is not obligated to Peggy, especially in the sense that he has to stay with her. Their relationship to begin with is a sort of “friends with benefits” situation, and neither of them demonstrated the intention to begin an actual relationship with one another. Their lack of commitment to a serious relationship means that Ken does not have to suddenly become her boyfriend because of the accident. It would just result in unhappiness on both of their parts as they did not seem to enjoy each other’s company in a non-physical sense. As for money, if he did not himself cause the crash, Ken should not be under any obligation to pay Peggy or compensate for her injuries. However, he does have a small obligation towards Peggy. Since he was the other person who experienced the crash alongside Peggy, she may seek comfort in him as she goes through recovering from her mental and physical injuries. Having someone supportive there to help her through this could make Peggy’s journey easier. She might want him to be there for her as he went through the car crash with her, so he knows exactly what the whole situation must have been like for her. This is the least that Ken could do for Peggy. Overall though, both of them must learn how to move on from the situation and become accustomed to their new lives if the car crash was not Ken’s fault.

That being said, if the car crash was Ken’s fault, he does have obligations to Peggy that he needs to figure out. He still should not have to settle into a serious relationship with her because of the accident, as previously stated that sort of union would only be brought about from obligation and not actual feelings. However, he should give her some sort of compensation for the pain she will go through because of her injuries. This could be in the form of money to help her get back on her feet after the accident (not in a literal sense, because the story does make it seem like she’s been paralyzed in her legs), because she may need to take time off of work to recover or even find a new job if her current one is not suitable for her new condition. He could also help her by supplying her with food as while recovering she might not be able to cook for herself, and buying take-out from restaurants could be expensive if she takes time off from work. Ken mainly needs to be there to support her while she endures an emotionally difficult time that the accident resulted in. He should comfort her throughout her recovery process as her new situation might be hard for her to get her head around and having someone there to help will make everything easier.

Depending on who was responsible for the accident, Ken either has major or minor obligations to Peggy. If he was not responsible for the accident, Ken is really only obligated to help Peggy through her recovery time, as because he was in the car accident with her he may be one of the only people in Peggy’s life that can understand her feelings about the accident. But if the car accident was Ken’s fault, he does have many more obligations to her. In addition to comforting her, Ken should also give her some money to help her while she is not able to work, as well as giving her some food as she probably will not be able to cook for herself. Most of all, Peggy will need support, and no matter who’s fault the accident was, Ken should be there to offer his.