In the story, "Their Eyes Were Watching God, " the main character is Janie, and as being a current reader of the book, I have some mixed feelings about her. To share my ideas and thoughts about her, I must establish some points about her life first.
The first thing that I want to discuss is her goal of finding love. Janie, in the first half of the book, has already gone through two marriages. Her first marriage with Logan Killicks was something that I found quite strange. The fact that she chose to leave him and run towards an uncertain future seems extreme to me because I could never dream of doing such thing. Another thing about this action is that she married someone who is of such age difference of her. I know, as being a teenager in the twenty first century, I must keep the time period of the story in mind, yet it seems a big gap. In addition to this, I personally think that she was being childish and immature when she claimed that she couldn't stand him anymore. I felt bad for Logan because the details of the story portrayed him to be a nice man that did everything for her. Most importantly, he loved her as well because her rejecting him ever so often hurt him every time. I could see her being impatient with him but I think that she should have stayed in the marriage and tried to fix the marriage in a more adult-like way.
Despite her marriages in the story, I agree with Janie's desire to find true love. I do believe that there is someone out there in the world that will make you the most happiest person in the world. Yet, I know this person is someone who will not only have the joys of marriage but as well as disagreements and maybe tough times. The part of this dream that I disagree with Janie is the way she decides to find or meet him. Personally, I would get to know the person first and spend a few moments together. The way that Janie approaches love is by rushing in immediately. If the person gives her some type of confidence or momentarily happiness, she believes it's love and decides to act dramatically. An example of this is Janie running away with Joe or deciding to marry Tea Cake and to sell the store. These actions seem desperate and extreme because they could turn out to be a mistake. As with her running away with Joe, she never imagined her to be sad and lonely when being married to him. She also disapproves of things that men do that don't satisfy her dreams. These actions make her seem childish and someone who doesn't really know what she is truly looking for.
Another part of Janie that I would like to discuss is her grandmother's perspective on life. When I was reading the beginning chapters of the book, I knew that it was not the grandmother's intention to be ruining Janie's life. From the grandmother's perspective it seems reasonable to desire someone worthy of Janie's hand who has a stable life already established. Another reason why I can understand her perspective is because their family's history is full of heartbreaks and abandonment. Yet I also understand Janie's desire to have the chance to meet someone who she likes instead of pressuring a marriage.
In conclusion, I like Janie's character. Her unique background history and development of a character creates a sense of women empowerment that I thoroughly enjoy despite some actions that she might have committed.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Thanks!
To begin, I want to thank everyone in our class for being open-minded, humble, nice, and above all, welcoming. The first day of school, I was nervous once I stepped inside the room. I remember that I immediately looked around and saw some familiar faces sprinkled with new ones in the class. This new found fact gave me peace inside because it gave me a sense of home. And thankfully , I was not wrong. This class has given me the confidence to express my ideas and learn many things despite my shy personality. English class is one that I enjoy the pleasure and ease of learning.
In our class, I personally would like to thank two amazing people, Genevieve and Veronica! Genevieve, thank you for being there and sharing the noon struggles everyday. Thanks for the extra help when my brain is tired and always sharing your eternal wisdom with me. I also enjoy our personal commentary with the clips and movies we see in class.
Next, I would like to thank Veronica!! Veronica, you are an extraordinary and one of a kind person. I would never have imagined meeting you at the beginning of the year during lunch, but thankfully we did. Your uniqueness and quirkiness sometimes, brightens my day. During class, your ideas and thoughts help me organize mine and help me get through questions on tiring days. I am so glad that we have become close friends throughout the days and can't wait until track season starts!
Last but not least, despite her not being in my period, I want to thank Michelle! :) Michelle, you and I have been great friends since last year in Tejano's, and I am glad we have stayed that way. I am grateful for the moments in which we share deep stuff and we quickly start laughing hysterically in class. Thanks for the laughs, candy, food, and advice that you have shared with me. Thanks, as well, for the English homework reminders you give me at the end of the day.
Above all, thank you everyone for the amazing and entertaining year so far! Mr. McCarthy; thank you for opening my mind to new ideas and further understandings of things. I am so grateful of being in your class and having a great time. To all, Happy Thanksgiving and be happy surrounded by family and friends who you love dearly. Eat well!!
In our class, I personally would like to thank two amazing people, Genevieve and Veronica! Genevieve, thank you for being there and sharing the noon struggles everyday. Thanks for the extra help when my brain is tired and always sharing your eternal wisdom with me. I also enjoy our personal commentary with the clips and movies we see in class.
Next, I would like to thank Veronica!! Veronica, you are an extraordinary and one of a kind person. I would never have imagined meeting you at the beginning of the year during lunch, but thankfully we did. Your uniqueness and quirkiness sometimes, brightens my day. During class, your ideas and thoughts help me organize mine and help me get through questions on tiring days. I am so glad that we have become close friends throughout the days and can't wait until track season starts!
Last but not least, despite her not being in my period, I want to thank Michelle! :) Michelle, you and I have been great friends since last year in Tejano's, and I am glad we have stayed that way. I am grateful for the moments in which we share deep stuff and we quickly start laughing hysterically in class. Thanks for the laughs, candy, food, and advice that you have shared with me. Thanks, as well, for the English homework reminders you give me at the end of the day.
Above all, thank you everyone for the amazing and entertaining year so far! Mr. McCarthy; thank you for opening my mind to new ideas and further understandings of things. I am so grateful of being in your class and having a great time. To all, Happy Thanksgiving and be happy surrounded by family and friends who you love dearly. Eat well!!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was an incredible writer that throughout his life battled with the fears of loneliness and stardom.
At the early years of Hemingway's life, he had to deal with the trouble hoods of his parents. His mother was an opera singer that kept reminding her family that she was the big star that still could have had a life if it weren't for her. His father on the other had, was cruel and unhappy living with a woman he had nothing in common with him and had the upper hand in the household. This type of relationship between his parents caused the young writer to develop emotions and characteristics that reflected the absence of his parents.
When Hemingway met his first of four wives, he knew that he was destined to be great. Yet the problem that Hemingway often encountered was the idea of being a man. His strive to being the most manly figure in society caused him to lost the interest of those around him. With the birth of his two sons, he tried to fill in the void of his father, yet he turned away his sons when it came to writing. Hemingway put writing above everything and everyone else, causing him to become a lonely man among his family and friends. As the years passed, Hemingway grew up to the title of a celebrity. With the new works that he published, he became a sensation among the famous, introducing him to the life of the party and drinks. This moment of his life ended with losing himself in the opinions of others. He saw that he finally had an effect in society and he was not going to let that go. People saw him as a man, and Hemingway finally got what he wanted.
Despite the life that Hemingway dealt with, the emotions of loneliness, manliness, and stardom was reflected through his work. These real emotions of life were easily perceived through his works that later became famous in the literary world.
At the early years of Hemingway's life, he had to deal with the trouble hoods of his parents. His mother was an opera singer that kept reminding her family that she was the big star that still could have had a life if it weren't for her. His father on the other had, was cruel and unhappy living with a woman he had nothing in common with him and had the upper hand in the household. This type of relationship between his parents caused the young writer to develop emotions and characteristics that reflected the absence of his parents.
When Hemingway met his first of four wives, he knew that he was destined to be great. Yet the problem that Hemingway often encountered was the idea of being a man. His strive to being the most manly figure in society caused him to lost the interest of those around him. With the birth of his two sons, he tried to fill in the void of his father, yet he turned away his sons when it came to writing. Hemingway put writing above everything and everyone else, causing him to become a lonely man among his family and friends. As the years passed, Hemingway grew up to the title of a celebrity. With the new works that he published, he became a sensation among the famous, introducing him to the life of the party and drinks. This moment of his life ended with losing himself in the opinions of others. He saw that he finally had an effect in society and he was not going to let that go. People saw him as a man, and Hemingway finally got what he wanted.
Despite the life that Hemingway dealt with, the emotions of loneliness, manliness, and stardom was reflected through his work. These real emotions of life were easily perceived through his works that later became famous in the literary world.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
6 Stories: 6 Words
- Missing: Teenage Girl, Town's Shining Future.
- Mother of the Bride: Unworn Dress.
- Came out hero, ended up lying.
- Planned for one, finished with more.
- He found hope within tiny hole.
- Traveled through time: true or not?
Thursday, September 18, 2014
John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?
In the story by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, the character of John Proctor turns out to be a very peculiar addition to this story. His behavior and personality at the start differs when compared to the ending. In the beginning, Miller sets him up as a person of great respect and force that has a clean name in the village. As the story proceeds, the reader starts to learn the real John Proctor that shoes his true emotions and thoughts in the final scene of Act four as a sinner. So now the question is: John Proctor, a hero or stooge?
After finishing this play, I had mixed a mixed response to this question. I knew that John Proctor was genuinely trying to be a nice person who stuck to his faith in the end, yet he had reason to be in this position in the first place. Following and living according to your faith makes a good person but it could not be enough to be considered a hero. Another interesting point about the ending was the fact that he destroyed his own testimony to save his name and his sons as well. Yes, he is trying to avoid any type of humiliation for his children but if he hadn't committed adultery, there would be no need for that. And to add to this point, his children would never know the real cause for all of this hectic fate.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a stooge is: a weak or unimportant person who is controlled by a powerful person, organization, etc. This definition seems to fit Proctor since it describes his actions done in the play. Proctor is a stooge since he was always so insecure because of his sin. In Act two, he keeps asking his wife, Elizabeth, for forgiveness and seems to be looking for her approval. This is evidence that he is wanting to be controlled by someone else by asking for permission. Another moment when he is asking for permission is in Act four when he is asking what he should do the morning of his death. This is a decision that he has to make on his own and no need to be asking anyone else to give him instructions to follow.
For these reasons and explanations, I believe that John Proctor was a stooge since there is no exact and true moment where he is choosing what he wants to do until the very end, which is not enough to justify himself for the entire play.
After finishing this play, I had mixed a mixed response to this question. I knew that John Proctor was genuinely trying to be a nice person who stuck to his faith in the end, yet he had reason to be in this position in the first place. Following and living according to your faith makes a good person but it could not be enough to be considered a hero. Another interesting point about the ending was the fact that he destroyed his own testimony to save his name and his sons as well. Yes, he is trying to avoid any type of humiliation for his children but if he hadn't committed adultery, there would be no need for that. And to add to this point, his children would never know the real cause for all of this hectic fate.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a stooge is: a weak or unimportant person who is controlled by a powerful person, organization, etc. This definition seems to fit Proctor since it describes his actions done in the play. Proctor is a stooge since he was always so insecure because of his sin. In Act two, he keeps asking his wife, Elizabeth, for forgiveness and seems to be looking for her approval. This is evidence that he is wanting to be controlled by someone else by asking for permission. Another moment when he is asking for permission is in Act four when he is asking what he should do the morning of his death. This is a decision that he has to make on his own and no need to be asking anyone else to give him instructions to follow.
For these reasons and explanations, I believe that John Proctor was a stooge since there is no exact and true moment where he is choosing what he wants to do until the very end, which is not enough to justify himself for the entire play.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
There Goes the Neighborhood
Nothing was the same since the big, god-looking men came into our tribe. I remember when they first came to discover my family on that sunny and peaceful morning the gods blessed us with.
It started as any other normal day with every tribe member fulfilling their duties. The men went to the fields in search for animals, the source of food that the gods gave to their faithful servants on Earth. The women were in the crops, planting and harvesting the delicacies and treasures that came from the ground. Even the children were behaving for once, playing and dancing near their mothers. As for myself, I was praying to the gods for giving us the pleasure of waking up another day with food and seeing a smile on everyone's face, the most important goal of a chief.
Just as I was done looking over the land, I heard the sound of the moving waters increase and the new sound of voices came to my ears. As quickly as I could, I ran around the rock, the only barrier to the marvel my eyes would see. In front of me, a towering wooden ship had just landed on our shore. The ship was huge with a white towering flag attached to the peak of the center wooden pole. As I approached this wooden marvel, a line of brave, pale men descending from the ship, as if they were sent from the gods. These men had pure clothing and shiny objects that all seemed obscured to me. But the most important member of these new men descended on top of this beautiful and majestic brown animal with a sight of power and height as its feet hit the ground.
The first days with these men came as happiness to my tribe. We learned this new system of trade in which we, in return, taught these pales how to survive on these lands. We taught them to harvest the crops, the deliciousness of our meat, and our land treasures that they seemed so interested in. Months passed and we had learned to live amongst each other, sharing the land of the gods. Everything seemed well until a dreadful morning that rose with a dawn of fear.
For some unknown reason, the men that my family learned to love turned our backs on us. They gathered us up as if we were animals, took our land, our treasures, and our freedom. They seemed to have forgotten more and more our friendship as each whip hit one of our backs. My tribe and I were forced to work on the plantations from the first light of day to the last. Many of us wanted to rebel yet one look in their eyes full of treasure lust, told us no human kindness trace was left in them. Little by little, they took everything the gods had given to us. Little by little, they destroyed the lands of the gods. Little by little, there goes my neighborhood.
It started as any other normal day with every tribe member fulfilling their duties. The men went to the fields in search for animals, the source of food that the gods gave to their faithful servants on Earth. The women were in the crops, planting and harvesting the delicacies and treasures that came from the ground. Even the children were behaving for once, playing and dancing near their mothers. As for myself, I was praying to the gods for giving us the pleasure of waking up another day with food and seeing a smile on everyone's face, the most important goal of a chief.
Just as I was done looking over the land, I heard the sound of the moving waters increase and the new sound of voices came to my ears. As quickly as I could, I ran around the rock, the only barrier to the marvel my eyes would see. In front of me, a towering wooden ship had just landed on our shore. The ship was huge with a white towering flag attached to the peak of the center wooden pole. As I approached this wooden marvel, a line of brave, pale men descending from the ship, as if they were sent from the gods. These men had pure clothing and shiny objects that all seemed obscured to me. But the most important member of these new men descended on top of this beautiful and majestic brown animal with a sight of power and height as its feet hit the ground.
The first days with these men came as happiness to my tribe. We learned this new system of trade in which we, in return, taught these pales how to survive on these lands. We taught them to harvest the crops, the deliciousness of our meat, and our land treasures that they seemed so interested in. Months passed and we had learned to live amongst each other, sharing the land of the gods. Everything seemed well until a dreadful morning that rose with a dawn of fear.
For some unknown reason, the men that my family learned to love turned our backs on us. They gathered us up as if we were animals, took our land, our treasures, and our freedom. They seemed to have forgotten more and more our friendship as each whip hit one of our backs. My tribe and I were forced to work on the plantations from the first light of day to the last. Many of us wanted to rebel yet one look in their eyes full of treasure lust, told us no human kindness trace was left in them. Little by little, they took everything the gods had given to us. Little by little, they destroyed the lands of the gods. Little by little, there goes my neighborhood.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Who Am I?
Since the first day of Pre-K, I knew that my main goal is to get the best grades and get in to one of the best high schools in Chicago. So far, in my life, I have accomplished this goal and I am now creating the next phase. Now being exposed to an environment dedicated to choosing a career, I have chosen to become a lawyer with a law and college degree from Harvard University. This action is said easier than it’s done taking into account the immense level of competition there is to attend one of these Ivy League schools. The tireless and extended hours of dedication put into all of my classes to get the grades I’ve gotten so far is a sign of what education means to me. Being a Latina in the United States means pushing pass the boundaries and the stereotypes that everyone is thinking behind their heads. The drive that has been pushing me throughout these years is the devotion that I have to prove to others and myself all of the potential that I have to share with the world.
Being an athlete means putting your 100% effort and showing the ability you have in that sport. I consider myself a hidden athlete since it was not until my first year of high school that I had ever joined a sports team, especially a volleyball team. I’m a hidden athlete since I have discovered the talent that’s been in my body the entire time. I’ve always loved to be aggressive and to make perfect my hits in gym class, yet I never thought it meant that I was actually good. I am also very quick to learn making it easier to train and grow as well, even in a new field. This year I am already preparing to start my season as a sprinter in Track & Field.
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