Carmen's Blog

The Invisible Man

2005-04-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well....I will say that this was one of my favorite pieces that we have read this semester. I enjoyed the class discussions about differences and thinking about how life is or isnt different in our society today dealing with racism. I would say that some things today are changing, but however, racism is still prevelant in some areas. For example, I have been exposed to many different races and nationalities through my life and enjoy being in a diverse group, but my town is extremely different. We maybe have 2 -3 families of a different race; therefore, many people in my town are very sheltered and close minded. Until we leave what we are used to and become a part of a bigger communtity (while remembering our past), we will not be as open minded. I think that racism has come a long way and it is not as serious these days, but I also think it could be better.
I thought that it was very interesting in the book when the white female stripper was infront of the black men. The white men were waiting for a "normal male response" from the black men. This was an example of how the society veiwed the black males, but the black males knew that they could not and would not have any reaction to the woman. If they would have reacted it would have caused them to be beaten or killed. It is sad that African Americans know ahead of time what their reponse should be to avoid conflict even if that is not how they would have acted otherwise. These situations are rude and very disrespectful. Hopefully in years to come, racism will become not as prevelant.

Reflection of Ideology (House of the Spirits)

2005-03-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am reflecting from Chapter 7 when Blanca is married to Jean de Satigny. This is interesting to me because it todays society we think that geneology does not matter, but in fact it is still present. Jean de Satigny and Blanca's marriage will create a "proper- more upstanding" last name that will then be accepted more easily. The blood relationship remains unimportant, it is concentrated on the last name that one will posess. This puts a person or family at a higher social class which in return means more respect and opportunities.
At first, I was thinking to myself that this does not exist anymore, but after thinking about it I realize this idea is still there in our world today. In each of our towns there are "upper class names" that everyone knows and gossips about. These families get special treatment for thinking like reservations, tickets, reservations and special deals on things. These names definitely mean something. In the United States and other countries, names are very important to people. It means people will know that you come from a respectable family.
In my opinion, Im sure that a known last name would help with different things in life, but I personally would not marry for a last name. I want to marry for love to someone that I can see myself with until I grow old. I want to depend on each other for fiances, not our parents or grandparents. I feel that if people do marry just for a last name, then it is sad. In the case that you were in love to someone that also had a known last name then you benefit double time which would be awesome!!!

POETRY QUESTIONS

2005-03-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

At what age did you know this was your calling?

Are a majority of your poems confessional and speak about trying times that you have had in life?

Is there one topic over any others that you enjoy including in your poems?

ANTIGONE

2005-03-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Antigone, although long and drawn out, I thought was interesting. Antigone showed to everyone in the town that she was a strong woman and nothing would stop her from showing that. She disobeyed Kreon by burying her brother who was brutally hanged, which is what any sister would have done. This act in turn caused a numerous amount of problems. Kreon expected everyone in the town to follow his commands and they never questioned Kreon until Antigone stood up to him. After Antigone stood up to Kreon then everyone in the town questioned his motives. Kreon pushed his youngest son and Antigone away until he really needed them in the end after his eldest son died. When he really needed his youngest son and Antigone, it was unfortunately too late. They were both dead. He probably should have thought about all of this before he started being an intense leader. One can only be as much of a leader as the followers allow him to be. They needed a leader figure, but he needed the town to stand behind him and think thier options through instead of war constantly.

Cortez

2005-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

These readings proved as many others do that legends like this one do change as they are passed through the generations. We have all heard fairy tales throughout our lives that we continue to pass down. Many of these have twists to them, but the main concepts stay the same. This story of Cortez is one that many young men would look up to and try to become. Cortez was considered a hero. He could do everything and do it very well. All men wanted to be like Cortez. When he was being chased by the 300 men he escaped and was not worried. The quote that I had used in my commonplace book delt with when Cortez was being chased and he bent down to tie his shoe. Many would think that during this time of being chased, one would not want to bend down and make them selves that accessible, but for Cortez this was an easy task. He was one that could have had this many men chasing him, stay protected, bed down and tie is shoe while balancing his gun. He was an ultimate hero that everyone wanted to be. It is interesting reading all of the variations to this story, but they all stay similar in saying that Cortez was amazing.

"BLOOD WEDDING"

2005-02-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well "Blood Wedding", was an interesting foreshadowing play. The title gives foreshadowing of what would occur in the play. The groom and his mother had a problem with the knives because his brother and father were both brutally murdered. This foreshadow led the progression of the story. This play was in general a destined love story. Lenanardo and the wife had previoulsy been together , but since then had moved on with their lives trying to make it right. I think that they made them selves forget what they had in the relationship previously and focus on the present one, at least, until they saw each other again. Once Leanardo and the wife saw each other i think that their emotions and feelings took over and they realized what they were missing. I dont think that either of them had planned for this to happen, but when they saw each other emotions took ahold. They then left on the horse and ran away together. I think that they were both just trying to be happy and it left the play being a "Blood Wedding". The unwanted knives then took ahold of the two men that were fighting over the wife.

"The Awakening"

2005-02-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

After reading "The Awakening", I questioned what Edna's awakening really was and when it occured. I was interested with how the story unfolded. I thought that Edna was confused with life in general and she was trying to find herself throught the story. She tried things like children, which she wasnt fond of being a mother to; moving and starting relationships with other men to try and fill the void that she was having in her life. When her husband would leave on her trips, Edna would become closer to Robert. She enjoyed this attention, but I dont think it was clear to her how in love she was until Robert left to go to Mexico. After Robert left, she constantly missed him and awaited any word from him. When Robert returned, she realized that the void that she had been trying to fill would never fill. She had tried everything there was to be happy. Finding herself, reality and happiness meant trying different ways to be happy; although, when they failed, her ultimate happiness was found in the ocean. Dying was her way of letting go of the life that she could no control.

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

2005-01-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

The Yellow Wallpaper
Well to begin, I first found "The Yellow Wallpaper" so confusing that I got frustrated as I was reading it. Gilman's story starts with confusing broken off sentences until about the middle of the story where it is all coming together that she is definitely crazy. The women is ordered to be confined in her room most of the time, while the only thing she has to do to express herself is write about what she is thinking. At first I will say that I found the story to be so stupid and uninteresting, but after I thought about it, it is probably a wonderful example of someone's mind that does have a psychiatric disorder. We on the other hand, have no recollection of the "lame uncertain curves that suddenly commit suicide--plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradicitions", but these could mean everything to a person with this kind of disorder. Gilman's story shows the slow progression that she is taking to insanity.

I also found it interesting that the concept on why the story was written was unknown. I would be with the half of the class that says she wrote it and we should know and understand how she wanted us to interpret it. Though of all the examples that our class came up with, most of us were wrong after we had clicked on the link to explain why it was written.

This story was intriguing because like Douglass, you feel a heavier appreciation to something that is done, when you know it is forbidden and they are still doing it. In her case, she was not allowed to write, even though know it is a great way of therapy, but it was almost like she couldnt stop. She had to get the thoughts out of her mind almost to prevent her from more insanity. I think it becomes more real when it is secretly done because you know there was a definite reason why they wanted to be heard.

"The Narrative"

2005-01-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

The Narrative
In Douglass's, "The Narrative", I was so interested and pulled into the story. Every chapter seemed to draw me in more because it gave so much description on the events that took place. Every incident that he told of was almost like you were standing there with him watching and hurting for the person that was being abused. Its odd because no one today can even half grasp the concept of what it was like to be a slave, no one, but with Douglass it gave us a small step closer to understanding what they went through. I was amazed in the chapters that talk of him learing to write/read. I cant imagine myself being in a position that I had to sneak away when I did errands to learn just one or two words for the day and be completely excited. He had so much persistence with learning even though he knew that it was forbidden. This makes the story so much more meaningfull. The quote "this bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge" was so moving. He was willing to do anything and everything to learn to read because this put him one step closer to freedom. Every letter or word was another stepping stone to get out of the slavery. It is a very touching story because its hard to believe that these things did once happen in our world and understanding how many things we take for granted in todays society.