On the Reservation

After watching "Smoke Signals", "30 Days", and reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" I have seen examples of what life can be like on a Native American Reservation. When comparing the society, culture, and area that I live in to Arnold's there are noticeable similarities and differences. To start of with what is most obvious to me and most prevalent is the rampant alcoholism on Native American Reservations. In my neighborhood alcohol is an almost non-existent problem, yet on many reservations it is so prevalent that it is one of the first difference that I wanted to talk about. It sounds like alcohol is not just a problem because of health risks but how it can stop people from following their dreams. Arnold said that if people had paid attention to his parents dreams that they could have been teachers or musicians and I think that that's a very significant statement. In my community for example simply because I liked computers someone asked me to intern at their computer shop which I have been doing for almost 2 years now. There are many more opportunities than there are on the reservation. On the reservation it seems as if there are many more cultures and traditions. There aren't very many traditions that my family and none that have much historical significance. Despite these differences, from a social perspective there are similarities as well. As kids it seems most similarities can be drawn from their dreams. In the end we still live inside of the same country and are all human which makes us similar. On the reservation it seems as if Native culture is still very alive although only time will tell if it stays that way.

Native Sons

You read some books for entertainment, and you read some books for enlightenment. Native Son definitely falls into the category of the latter. In book three of Native Son there was a twenty-two page speech given by Max, Bigger's lawyer. I found it to be a great speech, while it did take place in a fictional world, it brought up points that were anything but fictional. While the tactics that people used to catch and prosecute Bigger may have been exaggerated, they showed what things perhaps seemed like to Bigger. Calling 60 witnesses to the stand, combing the entire city of Chicago, these were all very grand and all only because Bigger was black. Max gave, in my opinion, a great speech. It raised many points and was not just a speech that was trying to fight for Bigger. He was fighting for civil rights all across America. He brought an almost fresh perspective by not trying to say Bigger was innocent, but instead trying to argue how things could change in the future. If I was on that jury I would have certainly not wanted to give Bigger the death penalty, or at the very least not for the murder of Mary Dalton. Bessie seemed to have been used as more evidence rather than something to charge Bigger with. Bigger certainly wasn't innocent, but Max's speech made me feel sympathy for him. Max seemed to know everything that Bigger was trying to say but couldn't. Max was definitely one of the most likable characters in that book and its a shame that he didn't win the case for Bigger.

A Principle to keep

When living life things can get quite hectic or confusing, however if you have a strong set of principles they can help you react in different situations. While these aren't a cover all handbook to life, they can assist in the making of decisions whether they are big or small. Some people might not eat certain things and others might have certain priorities over others. I personally hold a principle that deals with people, namely that I will never leave anyone who is crying. This isn't a principle I have to use everyday although it's not an extreme one either. Unless someone asks me to I won't leave them crying. The reason is that while some people don't want people to see them crying because they perceive it as a sign of weakness, sometimes all they need is to remember that there are people who don't want to see them cry. No matter what the reason is that they're crying as long as they don't feel alone then they haven't lost everything. Having somebody next to them can help them focus on what they are going to do next instead of focusing on what they're sad about. You don't even have to be physically next to the person, sometimes just a phone call or texting will work. I chose this as an important principle over other ones because I believe that one the of the most important things in life are the relationships you build with other people. So even if you don't always want to be comforting someone or helping them out, in the end it's worth it. Like I said before this isn't always a principle that I have to use but when I do it's very important that I follow through. So the next time that someone sends you a text at 12 at night it's probably better to respond if they sound sad rather than just putting your phone away.

Janie

Janie is the protaginist of Their Eyes Were Watching God and my opinion of her has been ever changing throughout the book. She seems to be developing throughout the book and in in fact has been alive for about 24 years from the begining of the book even though it may seem much less. At first I thought Janie seemed extremely naive, as she expected to fall in love with someone she just married. While it may seem as if it was her grandmother that misled her, Janie was 16 years old at the time. Right now, most people who are in 6th grade would at least know that is not how love works. In her defense I guess it was a diferent time period. After she runs away with Jody I was at first confused at why she seemed so unhappy. She had all this money, and at the time what I thought to be "power". I thought she was being sort of bratty at first and I did not understand why she was discontent with her life. However as the story unfolds it becomes aparent that she dislikes this relationship because of how it restricts her freedom. She is in a sense, supressed by Jody and is unable to truly enjoy life because of how controlling he has to be. While I believe that she should have told Jody how she felt earlier, I did find find myself understanding her point of view more as the story progressed. Now with Tea Cakes she seems to have finally found someone who geuinlly just wants her to have fun. If this is just a facade or the real deal will be found out later in the book, but at the moment it seems as if Janie is ready to take the risk, and sell what she has to go marry Tea Cakes. We will find out later in the book whether this is a smart choice or not. I for one am not sure whether this is a good choice or not, but what is life without some risks? In conclusion each chapter I read Janie develops as a character and my opinion of her does as well.

Thankful for a Classmate

I am thankful for many things but of course being thankful for people is something that I forget. When I first was in this class I knew some people but I didn't know anyone very well. As the year has progressed I have gotten to learn more people and become friends with them. While a friend ship may not be something that sounds like someone would be extremely thankful for when you don't know anyone in a class it is nice when someone reaches out to you in a sense. In the beginning of  the year I had no idea who's group I would be in for group work, and I sort of dreaded the idea of it. However Valerie and Dijzhane asked me to join their group, for which I am very thankful for. I actually enjoy group work now and because it is such a big part of our class, it makes me enjoy English more as a whole in general. I am also thankful for Liam simply because the amount of things hat he knows is incredible and he speaks in such a well read way that even if he doesn't know whats he's talking about, it sounds like he does. He also is a good friend outside of English and of course has taught me how to become a true baller. For all of this I am thankful

Hemingway

Hemingway, while he may have had a personal life that can be debated on how "good" it was, was in fact a terrific writer. He was one of the first authors that I have read that actually made me appreciate more than just the plot of a story. In fact many stories he has written don't tell the "plot" up front but leave it to the reader to understand what is really going on . For example in the short story that I'm analyzing, if you just take a quick glance at the story, it would seem as if there's just a boring conversation going on between a man and a woman. However upon closer inspection it can be inferred that the man is trying to convince the woman to get an abortion, although it is never actually stated. It is not often that I enjoy reading when it is for school, and I guess I still don't. But at the very least I am always interested to try to find out what is going in all of Hemingway's short stories. As far as his personal life goes I don't feel as if Hemingway is at fault for everything he did, it seemed as if he just had a lot of bad luck. Even still I find myself at odds of whether he was exactly a good role model or not.

Six 6 Word Stories

1. The Civil War was anything but
2. He didn't confess until the eulogy
3. For Sale: Wedding Ring, slightly worn
4. The NSA spied on the President
5. She reconsidered, halfway to the pavement
6. I used to share a surname