Homework for 4/1/08

The story I have chosen is "How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie." This story is rich in culture because the atmosphere that the speaker grows up in strongly influences his life, opinions on girls, etc. The culture of the speaker is that of a low socioeconomic background. He lives in an apartment in a bad part of town and his family requires government-issued food. This culture is familiar to me in a way. I have never been a part of it or experienced it, but I am aware that it exists and have been educated on some of the issues that surround this type of culture. The clues that give away the culture of the story are the government-issued food, the fact that people get stabbed in front of his apartment, etc. These are significant because they make his social class clear to the reader. I will search for more information on this type of culture by using keywords such as "low income."

Homework for Thursday 3/27/08

Becky-

• I think that the theme of this story is racism. The words black, white, negro, etc. are used more often than any other words in the story. It is hard to read the story without thinking of racism. The setting is very important to the story because it was written in 1923 which was a much more conservative time when having children of different races would be very unusual and looked down upon. It also mentions church often and this is an important addition to the setting because it lets the reader know that religion is important in their lives. In the beginning of the story, there isn't really a particular place that the story is happening at, but at the end, the author specifically lets the reader know that it is a Sunday in the fall.

No Name Woman

• I think that the theme of this story is sadness. The story has to do with a woman that commits suicide. The speaker is the woman's niece. The woman (her aunt) that committed suicide lived in China during the 1920s, which was a time that women were treated poorly in China. The niece is reflecting on her aunt's life and death and the difference in culture of the the two countries. The setting of the story is America because that is where the girl now lives. It takes place in 1975, years after her aunt was living. The story she tells, however, takes place in 1924 in China. It is interesting that there are two opposing settings of the story.

Homework for Tuesday, 3/25/08

How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie

This short story is easy to read and understand. This is a boy, mostlikely a teenager, who is having a girl come over while his family is gone. He got out of going to visit someone with his mother so he is sneaking around and having a girl over. He cleans up his apartment and hides certain things, such as embarassing pictures and food issued by the government. It is clear that his family does not have much money since they have government food and the fact that the boy says that his neighborhood is prone to violence. The way that the story is written almost seems like instructions that he was given or maybe instructions that he is giving someone else. He gives tips on what certain girls will do or where to take them to dinner, depending on where they are from. I think that the speaker of the story is Latino according to clues that he gave, but he never comes out and says it. This story is overall interesting and fun to read.

America

I think that this poem is a testimony to the way the writer feels about America and it's future. She uses negative words to describe it, but says that she "loves this cultured hell that tests [her] youth." I think that this means that there may be many things wrong with America, but she loves it all the same and that the bad things may even make it better. The last 4 lines discuss the future of America, and as we all know, there are definitely huge problems ahead with energy, pollution, etc. The writer says that she gazes darkly into the days ahead and sees "priceless treasures sinking in the sand." I think this is a type of warning to Americans to treat our country better and realize that we have to fix the problems at hand.

If We Must Die

This poem is by the same author as "America" and it discuess dying. McKay wishes for death to be noble, blooodless, and unlike the death of hogs, which is probably referring to being slaughtered. Later in the poem, it discusses a battle with some other group of people. She wants her and her "kinsmen" to face the other group and fight back, even if they die. This poem is somewhat weird in my opinion and it is hard to decide what she is talking about and why they would die.

Warm-Up 3/20/08

A.

• fighting, death, black, dark, loud, piercing,
• gun, shooting, killing, injuring, blood, red, fighting, enemy, trained to kill
• kill, hurt, win, conquer, take over, fight, charge, dominate

I don't imagine all war images to be of the Iraq war, I also think of movies and the poems read last night.

B. The strongest associations I have with WW2 are movies that I have seen that have to do with WW2. I also think of the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor. When I imagine WW2, I usually imagine it taking place mostly in Europe, not America. I view it as a time of death and destruction.

• The difference that I now see in the poem is that the belly is the turret. The poem makes more sense now that I know that a soldier would literally have to hunch in the turret for hours in the cold. Also, he can easily look down at the earth and the bombs that the plane is dropping down. I think the last line just means that he feels unimportant in his small turret while everyone else is in the plane, so when he dies, they just wash him out without giving much thought to it. I think that the reason that Randall Jarrell wrote this depressing poem is because he wanted to fly in the Army but failed the tests and didn't qualify. This would give him negative thoughts about flying in war. He probably thought about flying often because it was something that he was not allowed to do and he wanted to do it. Now that I know all of this information, it is much easier to interpret this poem and if I were to analyze it now, I would have a lot more to say about it and I would have a lot more insight. The information about what a turret is and the videos showing what it would be like inside one help a lot as well as the background information on the author.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

• This poem is very captivating to me. The language used seems odd, but after reading the footnotes it is a little more clear. This is another poem written about a soldier in war. The title lets you know that the character in the poem is going to die. The first two lines of the poem are the most unusual. I think that "the State" is his state of mind during the war. He is probably trying to zone out and think about other things while he is gunning down aircrafts. He says that he "hunched in its belly till [his] wet fur froze." "It" is the "state" that he is in. I think that this means he got so lost in the state of mind, he was damaged, or frozen. One can imagine that wet fur freezing would be a painful and cold experience, so this is a very negative connection to the way he is feeling. The next line, "Six miles from earth loosed from its dream of life" is another negative thought. I think that this means that when the plane was about six miles from the ground, he realized that he was not going to make it and that his dream for life was a lost cause. The part that strikes me as the most depressing is the 4th line, "I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters." I thought that when he awoke, he would be in heaven or in a more peaceful place, but even when he escapes and dies, he is in another nightmare. The last line is also depressing and I think that it shows the reality and harshness of war. The soldier realizes that his army cannot waste time on dead soldier and says that his dead body will just be washed away with a hose. It is hard for me to imagine feeling the way this character does. It also makes me wonder if soldiers in wars truly feel so unimportant and like they are trapped in nightmares, even when they die. This poem gives me a new respect for soldiers and the emotional and physical stress that they go through.

Homework for 3/18/08

• In "Cultural/Historical Inventory," the author discusses how the culture around us shapes our lives. It says that culture is part of who we are and has a huge influence on the way our lives are led. I agree with this because sometimes, culture shapes our actions and thoughts more than someone such as a parent or friend could ever do. This is important when one is reading a text because the culture of the time period in which the text was written has a lot to do with what the text says.
• "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke is a poem about a soldier before he goes off to war. He speaks mostly of his country, England. If he should die, he wants his family and friends to remember that he fought for his country, which he speaks very highly of. When I think about going off to war, I usually think of sadness. This speaker, however, uses imagery of England's rivers and sun, which keeps the poem positive. The poem also uses many positive words, such as gentleness, peace, love, blest, and eternal. It is interesting that this soldier has such a positive outlook on going to war.

Concerns for Essay 2

I am concerned that I repeated myself quite often. I feel like I ran out of things to say and got very redundant. I need some new ideas of what to write about so I won't be repetitive and to make it longer.

Warm Up 3/6/08

• The message of my poster is "Don't drink and drive."
• I chose this particular issue because it is very relevant to my life as a college student. Drinking is a common activity on and off campus and it is important to remind people that dangerous things can happen if bad decisions are made when drinking.
• I used bright, bold colors to catch the eye of viewers. This way, the message stands out and is hard to ignore.
• If this were a real public service announcement, it would hopefully be much larger and be posted at the exits of bars and on billboards. I would also have a picture of a real car, not a little drawing.

Topic Proposal for Essay 2

For Essay 2, I have chosen to write about my toothbrush. It is an object that I use everyday and reflects a lot about me and my lifestyle. The surface message of the toothbrush is that it is a tool for cleaning one’s teeth. Toothbrushes can be used for cleaning of other objects, but mine is used only for my teeth. The toothbrush’s design is not overly complex, but not as simple as toothbrushes once were. The side has rubber bristles that help for the cleaning of gums.
The part of toothbrushes that interests me the most is the way they reflect American culture. They show that we as Americans are very interested in our cleanliness and appearance. Toothbrushes and toothpastes always promise to whiten and improve one’s teeth with their new design, special bristles, etc. Today’s more complex toothbrushes are just another object that reflects the importance of image and cleanliness to Americans. In other countries, not everyone even owns a toothbrush, let alone a complex one with rubber bristles and special designs for cleaning.
My thesis is as follows: Though a toothbrush seems to be a simple object, it ultimately reflects the importance of cleanliness and appearance in American culture. The audience of my essay is general. It probably would not be enjoyed by younger children; however, it is aimed toward the majority of people, from teenagers to adults.