In looking for ways that my community is similar to the Reservation in "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I had some trouble. The main reason why I struggled to find correlation between the two is because I have grown up a lot more sheltered than Junior. He is a truly admirable character because he has dealt with so much in his childhood that I can't even imagine.
One way that I suppose my community could be compared to the Reservation would most likely have to be the closeness of people. Although my community isn't completely as familiar with each other as the people in the Reservation, there is a certain closeness about many of the older people in my neighborhood. My parents have lived in my neighborhood, Bridgeport since forever, and my siblings always joke that they are Local Celebrities. We literally cannot drive down my street without stopping at least twice to say hello to neighbors. And since my parents know all the oldies in the neighborhood, all of those people think they know my siblings and I as well. So, in this way I think my neighborhood is sort of like the Reservation.
However, one major difference between my community and the Reservation is the fact that to me, my neighborhood does not signify lost hope. I find it awful that Junior's community could hold him back in any sort of way because that's not what any kid's community should represent. I would hope that no matter where a child grows up, they can feel able to accomplish anything. Yet, unfortunately, it is clear that this is not the case especially for Junior. And for leaving the Reservation to pursue his dreams, I find Junior to be an extremely courageous boy.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Native Sons
After reading Max's speech, it is apparent that there is a huge problem in our society then and still today. Max is a communist and is very understanding of Bigger's feelings and struggles. Max seems understand that it is rough as an African American living in a society in which oppresses them from succeeding. Bigger says at times throughout the novel that he feels like he can't breathe and I think this feeling comes from the constant mistreatment of African Americans in our nation. I have never really felt ashamed of my race, and I probably could never understand just how awful Bigger has felt from all the hatred he feels because of his race. But I still do not find his feelings to be a good excuse for his actions. I believe that although you may grow up in troublesome conditions, it is completely possible to still make something of yourself and not act the ways society expects you to. I think that the only reason why Bigger killed twice was because he always thought in the back of his mind that the world expected him to do bad things. He was African Ameican, so he must be a criminal, and as long as he was in that mind set, he would automatically b set up for failure. I believ that Max tried his best to represent Bigger and save him. But ultimately his speech was ment to just expose the truth about discrimination in our society and that was more substantial than anything he could've said to win the trial for Bigger.
Monday, January 19, 2015
A Principle to Keep
Being a person with many morals and beliefs, I find it difficult to choose one principle for everyone to live by. However, a major one that I constantly find myself having to follow is: if you want something done, do it yourself. This principle additionally goes hand in hand with the quotes, "Be the change you want to see in the world" and "We need not wait to see what others do.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
I believe that if you want something done, you need to do it yourself because I've experienced first hand many times that people will tell you things and make promises that they will never actually act on. Also, sometimes most of us just depend on other people to figure things out for us, but you just find yourself waiting on someone else for so long. From experiences like these, I've learned that you can't just wait around for other people to do things and sometimes you just have to find a way to get it done on your own. I'm not saying that you cannot trust anyone, I just believe that people shouldn't wait for things to happen on their own and they should go out and make it happen for themselves. By depending on yourself alone, you can live a fuller life with less time wasted on waiting on others.
In order to be the change you want to see in the world and not wait to see what others do, you have to do things on your own. You can't just keep siting around for others to do something about our issues, you have to act on them! If every person just thinks the next guy is going to get the job done, nothing will ever get done! Therefore, I think that everyone should live by the principle that: if you want something done, do it yourself. People need to stop waiting for miracles to happen and just do whatever they can to fix their situations. Once you being to get things done on your own and stop relying on others, you being to actually see change soon because you no longer have to wait on others!
-Mahatma Gandhi
I believe that if you want something done, you need to do it yourself because I've experienced first hand many times that people will tell you things and make promises that they will never actually act on. Also, sometimes most of us just depend on other people to figure things out for us, but you just find yourself waiting on someone else for so long. From experiences like these, I've learned that you can't just wait around for other people to do things and sometimes you just have to find a way to get it done on your own. I'm not saying that you cannot trust anyone, I just believe that people shouldn't wait for things to happen on their own and they should go out and make it happen for themselves. By depending on yourself alone, you can live a fuller life with less time wasted on waiting on others.
In order to be the change you want to see in the world and not wait to see what others do, you have to do things on your own. You can't just keep siting around for others to do something about our issues, you have to act on them! If every person just thinks the next guy is going to get the job done, nothing will ever get done! Therefore, I think that everyone should live by the principle that: if you want something done, do it yourself. People need to stop waiting for miracles to happen and just do whatever they can to fix their situations. Once you being to get things done on your own and stop relying on others, you being to actually see change soon because you no longer have to wait on others!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Janie
In my opinion, Janie from "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is a compelling character. She is an older woman who has been through so much in her lifetime. I believe that Janie has this idea of love in her head and she's just having a very difficult time obtaining it. This is a bitter feeling, and although I can't relate yet, I feel sorry for Janie.
Janie learned at a young age that her Grandmother AND her mother had been raped. Knowing something as severe as that could be so damaging to a person, I personally would be completely scarred to find out something like that happened to any of my family. As a result of her Grandma warning her of the tragedies, she expects Janie to marry Logan Killicks for a sense of security and protection when she can no longer be there for Janie. Therefore, Janie goes through with the marriage and finds herself very unhappy. Seeing this sorrow from Janie, makes me upset with her Grandmother because she doesn't seem to care at all that her granddaughter doesn't love the man that she has married.
It isn't long before Janie runs off with Jody. As soon as Janie meets Jody, he sweet talks her and wrangles her in. She falls for him fast, but it doesn't take much for him to stop even trying to impress her because it says in the story that, "On the train the next day, Joe didn't make many speeches with rhymes to her," This just goes to show that Joe stopped caring much for her after he got her in his grip. Then, as we read on we just see a digression of their relationship in general. It's painful to see just how much Janie has to put up when it comes to Joe. He hits her, treats her like a child, and verbally abuses her in front of others. In my opinion, no woman should ever be put down and abused the way that Janie was.
Seeing that although Janie was put through so much thus far when it comes to relationships yet she is still back for more is actually kind of relieving. It shows that Janie is very resilient. Even though up to now she hasn't been able to find this idea of Love, she still wants it and goes after it. By Janie going for Tea Cake, she shows that nothing will break her spirits for too long. This pleases me because it is depressing to see people ever give up on their dreams or love. A lot of times you see people just plain abandon their dreams of love, but Janie has not quit thus far!
Janie learned at a young age that her Grandmother AND her mother had been raped. Knowing something as severe as that could be so damaging to a person, I personally would be completely scarred to find out something like that happened to any of my family. As a result of her Grandma warning her of the tragedies, she expects Janie to marry Logan Killicks for a sense of security and protection when she can no longer be there for Janie. Therefore, Janie goes through with the marriage and finds herself very unhappy. Seeing this sorrow from Janie, makes me upset with her Grandmother because she doesn't seem to care at all that her granddaughter doesn't love the man that she has married.
It isn't long before Janie runs off with Jody. As soon as Janie meets Jody, he sweet talks her and wrangles her in. She falls for him fast, but it doesn't take much for him to stop even trying to impress her because it says in the story that, "On the train the next day, Joe didn't make many speeches with rhymes to her," This just goes to show that Joe stopped caring much for her after he got her in his grip. Then, as we read on we just see a digression of their relationship in general. It's painful to see just how much Janie has to put up when it comes to Joe. He hits her, treats her like a child, and verbally abuses her in front of others. In my opinion, no woman should ever be put down and abused the way that Janie was.
Seeing that although Janie was put through so much thus far when it comes to relationships yet she is still back for more is actually kind of relieving. It shows that Janie is very resilient. Even though up to now she hasn't been able to find this idea of Love, she still wants it and goes after it. By Janie going for Tea Cake, she shows that nothing will break her spirits for too long. This pleases me because it is depressing to see people ever give up on their dreams or love. A lot of times you see people just plain abandon their dreams of love, but Janie has not quit thus far!
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Classmates I am Thankful for in English
I very much enjoy my English II class with Mr. McCarthy during 5th period. We do a lot of critical thinking in this class and if it weren't for the people in this class that get me thinking, I may never be able to analyze literature the way I do today. There are many people in my class who I believe make me a better analyst, therefore I am very thankful to have them around.
Firstly I am thankful for Mr. McCarthy himself because he is an awesome teacher! We talk about a lot of ideas in his class and I feel like he asks us deep questions to try to push our thinking skills. Besides it all, he’s a pretty funny guy and makes me laugh a lot!
Additionally, I am extremely grateful for the many people in my class who have helped me throughout the year thus far. Although I’m appreciative for everyone in one way or another, I especially thankful for a few people in particular. These few are Genevieve, Yaira, Iris, Gisselle, and Kate. These ladies are amazing thinkers and people in general!!
Firstly, I wanted to thank Genevieve and Yaira because I have worked with them on most of the group work thus far in our class. I am always appreciative that Genevive has her own personal point of view on things and it’s very interesting to hear. Yaira on the other hand gives me more confidence in my thoughts and discusses the literature from class with me during lunch.
Next, I want to thank Iris, Gisselle and Kate! Iris is always that person I look to in class to share a laugh with when Mr. McCarthy says something funky (which happens often). Further more, Iris is one of my running buddies and she makes running with her a blast! Also, Gisselle runs with me! But inside the class I am thankful that Gisselle is always participating and letting the class in on her thoughts because she sometimes gives the answers that I cannot think of at the moment. Lastly, I would like to thank Kate because she sees things differently then I do at times. Kate is a very thoughtful person and I like to hear the way she sees things because it's very interesting and different from my own.
Firstly I am thankful for Mr. McCarthy himself because he is an awesome teacher! We talk about a lot of ideas in his class and I feel like he asks us deep questions to try to push our thinking skills. Besides it all, he’s a pretty funny guy and makes me laugh a lot!
Additionally, I am extremely grateful for the many people in my class who have helped me throughout the year thus far. Although I’m appreciative for everyone in one way or another, I especially thankful for a few people in particular. These few are Genevieve, Yaira, Iris, Gisselle, and Kate. These ladies are amazing thinkers and people in general!!
Firstly, I wanted to thank Genevieve and Yaira because I have worked with them on most of the group work thus far in our class. I am always appreciative that Genevive has her own personal point of view on things and it’s very interesting to hear. Yaira on the other hand gives me more confidence in my thoughts and discusses the literature from class with me during lunch.
Next, I want to thank Iris, Gisselle and Kate! Iris is always that person I look to in class to share a laugh with when Mr. McCarthy says something funky (which happens often). Further more, Iris is one of my running buddies and she makes running with her a blast! Also, Gisselle runs with me! But inside the class I am thankful that Gisselle is always participating and letting the class in on her thoughts because she sometimes gives the answers that I cannot think of at the moment. Lastly, I would like to thank Kate because she sees things differently then I do at times. Kate is a very thoughtful person and I like to hear the way she sees things because it's very interesting and different from my own.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway, unlike some of his stereotypical characters, was a dynamic man. It seems to me as though he was a celebrity and somewhat of a free spirit. Ernest was one of those authors who everyone seemed to constantly look to for new material. Ernest did things naturally and people automatically drifted to him.
Hemingway was a huge public figure in his time because he was known as a local celebrity. It was even said in the documentary that he was even well liked all the way back in high school. Something about Hemingway caused people to just drift to him and his writing increased his popularity even more because he was a great writer. People were always looking for new literature by Ernest and he almost always amazed them with a new work. Except for when he wrote one novel in which was highly criticized and said to be his worst piece of literature. Even though Ernest had one book that wasn't very impressive, he still was loved and soon redeemed himself.
Although it seems that Ernest Hemingway was a truly extraordinary man, he did have many downfalls when it came to relationships and family. Ernest had five wives throughout his lifetime, one nearly right after the other. This was because Ernest couldn't be alone and he was constantly able to find another woman that he "loved". In addition, he had 3 children in which he was inconsistent in parenting. This leads me to believe that Hemingway must have been a pretty free spirit because he didn't let anyone hold him down, especially not his wives or children. Ernest always seemed to be able to turn around whatever bad situation he was going through, though. Like, the fact that he used his poor athletic abilities as inspiration to write great novels of success.
Hemingway was a huge public figure in his time because he was known as a local celebrity. It was even said in the documentary that he was even well liked all the way back in high school. Something about Hemingway caused people to just drift to him and his writing increased his popularity even more because he was a great writer. People were always looking for new literature by Ernest and he almost always amazed them with a new work. Except for when he wrote one novel in which was highly criticized and said to be his worst piece of literature. Even though Ernest had one book that wasn't very impressive, he still was loved and soon redeemed himself.
Although it seems that Ernest Hemingway was a truly extraordinary man, he did have many downfalls when it came to relationships and family. Ernest had five wives throughout his lifetime, one nearly right after the other. This was because Ernest couldn't be alone and he was constantly able to find another woman that he "loved". In addition, he had 3 children in which he was inconsistent in parenting. This leads me to believe that Hemingway must have been a pretty free spirit because he didn't let anyone hold him down, especially not his wives or children. Ernest always seemed to be able to turn around whatever bad situation he was going through, though. Like, the fact that he used his poor athletic abilities as inspiration to write great novels of success.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Six Word Stories
Thunder strikes, branches fall, world silent.
Two birds, nest full, forever love.
Sunday afternoon, tension high, bears win.
Sun high, birds singing, beautiful morning.
Slinking slowly, only whispers, completely hidden.
Waiting long, nervous for arrival, anticipation.
Plane lands, camouflage uniform, daddy's back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)