One. Flourishing
Flourishing is the opposite of concupiscence flourishing, from the Greek word eudaimonia: means to blossom, to become who we were meant to be.
When Jeff Henderson becomes an illegal “business man” being followed by the feds, rationalizing his illegal activities, and living on easy money, he’s not the person he was meant to be. He is rather a grotesque variation. We see his misshapen character in prison when he becomes the enraged, nihilistic, disaffected victim.
Only when he learns a passion and accepts his responsibilities as an adult, does he begin to flourish and he becomes happier than he was as a concupiscent drug dealer.
Two. Ascent: Building One’s Character During the Redemption Process
1. Cruel Awakening; the brutality of seeing reality for what it really is.
2. Replacing victimization with accountability
3. Finding a passion.
4. Taking pride in not just work but one’s integrity and honesty
5. Fortitude
6. Becoming a mentor
Three. Taking a Close Look at Fortitude: The strength and tenacity to push forward in the presence of ever surmounting obstacles. What are Jeff Henderson’s obstacles to starting over?
1. Jeff Henderson discovers that the world is full of “haters and dream crushers” (crabs in a bucket). These are the haters who don’t want people with good intentions to be afforded a clean, fresh start because they want everyone to share in their failure and misery.
2. Others don’t trust us. Nor do they forgive us for our past deeds.
3. Often we have an inability to forgive ourselves for our past deeds creates baggage
4. Often we lack of confidence: We fear that we may backslide into our old ways
5. Often a past label like “convicted felon” creates a stigma that is extremely difficult to erase. We see the felon. We don’t see the husband trying to support his wife and two kids.
6. Jeff Henderson has to tone down his “stroll” and his muscles with baggy clothes to remove the hard gangsta look. See page 2
7. Jeff Henderson has to remain gracious and poised when he gets pooh-poohed by Caesar’s Palace, the very place that was happy to take his money when he was a dealer “back in the day.” Now Caesar’s is playing all high and mighty.
Four. Jeff Henderson's Misguided Talents
1. He identifies and disdains chump behavior like Will’s on page 41.
2. He seeks to be freed from his boss T so he can achieve independence.
3. He’s meticulous or detailed in his production of illegal substance: details and skills he’ll need to be a great chef. See Chapter 1.
4. He knows how to manipulate people like Funky Blood to do his bidding. 42
5. Jeff’s interest in drugs is pure business: no recreation; he doesn’t take drugs himself. 42
6. He makes plans for improving efficiency; bigger packages mean less travel. 43
7. He imitates inconspicuous dealers rather than the bling. See 45.
8. He avoids street sales; he only buys behind the scenes on his pager. 46
9. He stops hanging out with his crew. 47
10. He stays away from gang rivalries, parties, concerts, risks.
11. He guys dope hard, not soft, for bigger profit. 57
Essay One Review:
The Fall, Perdition, and Redemption in Cooked
In 1-1.5 pages, write a salient, concrete, colorful profile of someone you know who experienced a fall, perdition, and redemption. You can write about concupiscence, denial or the effects of being fatherless on one's childhood. If you don't know such a person, find a character in a film or a work of literature.
Then using an appropriate paragraph transition such as "Similarly" or "Likewise," you might start your thesis paragraph this way:
Likewise, we read in Cooked about the extraordinary Jeff Henderson who undergoes his own Fall into the abyss of insanity and a redemption born from necessity. JH's Fall is caused by ___________________, _________________________, and _____________________________. Only after sinking to the rotten depths of nihilism does he begin his journey toward redemption. This salubrious journey is born from _____________________________, ____________________________, _____________________________, and ______________________________________.
Your body paragraphs will correspond to the components you use to fill in the above blanks. Your conclusion will be one sentence, a brief, dramatic restatement of your thesis. Your final page, your Works Cited page, will show the sources you used from Cooked, from my blog, from interviews, or from other helpful sources you find. Your Works Cited page and manuscript must conform to MLA format. Be sure to make your own catchy, creative title.
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